Morning Light: Genesis 19 – Lot Flees Sodom

[Today: Genesis 19] Lot Flees Sodom. In Gen. 19 we find that just as Abraham was visited by angels over the destruction of Sodom, so also Lot is visited by angels in the very city itself. The whole affair is very unfortunate leading to the death of Lot’s wife and the debauchery of his daughters against him.
[Gen 19:1-38 KJV] 1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing [them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. 3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, [even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where [are] the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. 6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. 8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. 9 And they said, Stand back. And they said [again], This one [fellow] came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, [even] Lot, and came near to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. 11 And they smote the men that [were] at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. 12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring [them] out of this place: 13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. 15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. 17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20 Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, ([is] it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. 21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. 30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, [and] lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
In chapter 18 Abraham meets with three strangers who turn out to be the angels of God. They warn him that Sodom is going to be destroyed. The Lord points out that it is not his will to do anything in the area without informing His covenant partner Abraham.
[Gen 18:16-17 KJV] 16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
Christian culture has very little recognition of the authority God gives us in world affairs. When Adam fell Satan become the god of this world. Jesus came to restore man’s rightful state in the earth. When Jesus met with the believers after His resurrection He emphasized this:
Matthew 28:18-19: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore…
The authority of Jesus therefore has implications for the believer. According to Paul we are to:
Unseat Spiritual Wickedness when we encounter it:
[Eph 4:27 KJV] 27 Neither give place to the devil.
Pull Down Evil Strongholds:
[2Cr 10:4 KJV] 4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Contend through Prayer with Spiritual Wickedness In High Places:
[Eph 6:12, 18 KJV] 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. … 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Because of Abraham’s prayers before the Lord destroys Sodom He sends two angels to rescue Lot. Unfortunately Lot doesn’t particularly think he needs to be rescued. He knows it is a wicked city but for his own reasons he is reluctant to leave.
There was a problem of rampant immorality in Sodom. Homosexuality is the hallmark of a culture standing in the threshold of its own destruction. When those before the flood became wicked in their imagination they were destroyed. When Sodom gave itself over to wicked imagination they were destroyed. When Rome became corrupted with sexual deviancy it was soon destroy and over run by the Vandal hordes. The point is not the specific sin of homosexuality but that that widespread homosexuality is a marker of a society reaching its end. Why?
[Rom 1:28-32 KJV] 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Notice that these sins are something God gives a population up to because they “do not like to retain God in their knowledge.” This is perhaps why Christians have such un-Christian reactions to the LGBT community, because their existence is an indictment against a luke-warm church disinterested in the things of God maintaining only a veneer of godliness but no true piety.
When the scripture addresses the LGBT issue it never mentions an individual. There is not one named LGBTQ person named in scripture. Rather the scriptures identify this demographic as being present in a culture as a judgment against a nation for no longer wishing to retain God in it’s collective knowledge.
In v. 13-22 we observe some curious behavior of the angels. They do nothing to destroy the city until Lot was rescued? Why? Because Abraham had negotiated this point with the Father. We have no idea just how much influence we have over world events.
Unfortunately Lot simply is not willing to give up his gains and holding in Sodom. They thought the angel was speaking mockery. What they thought they heard in the angel’s tone was actually what was in their own hearts. They were bound by a spirit of mockery. The mockery that they judged in the people of Sodom was in their own hearts and astoundingly what they projected by extension into the very words of God.
We may not think we suffer from this spirit but let the scripture interpret or discern us. David wrote about the spirit of mockery and warned against it as a reason for economic downturn and the absence of God’s blessing:
[Psa 1:1-3 KJV] 1 Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Notice the willingness of the angels to mitigate the plan of God at Lot’s request. Lot wanted to spare one of the “little cities” so he could maintain his comfortable life. This was a fateful decision that caused his destiny to become an abortion. God will give us things that are even outside his perfect will if we are not very careful about demanding and complaining to get our way.
In v. 23-29 we see that God spared Lot because He remembered Noah. The Old Testament people relied on the name of Abraham the same way you and I rely on the name of Jesus. God spares us in JESUS’ NAME as Lot was spared in ABRAHAM’S NAME.
The circumstance dealing with Lot’s wife is a cautionary example of looking back. There is a point even when God is giving us what isn’t best for us that there will be consequences if we continue to demand our way. To this day there is a pillar in the valley where Sodom was destroy called “Lot’s wife.”
[Luk 9:62 KJV] 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
In the last verses of our chapter we see the final end of Lot and his legacy. His daughters get him drunk and have sex with him. He would not have done this sober so we know he had his standards, but what you allow in moderation your children will take to excess. The nations that came out of Lot through this incestuous union were Ammon and Moab. These nations were bitter enemies of the descendants of Abraham and were ultimately destroyed.
This is the end of Lot that we need to consider when Abraham was told to leave his kindred including Lot behind in Haran. God would have spared Lot but Abraham moved in pity instead of obedience. Had Abraham realized the misery he was bringing upon himself and his nephew he would have made the hard choice and left Lot behind. We should learn from this example in our own lives and relationships that need to be terminated lest a worse fate come upon our “Lots” and ourselves.