GENESIS

Notes on Genesis 19

• Genesis 19:1 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;

Lot became an important enough figure in Sodom to be able to sit at the gate which represented most probably something similar to a city counsel. Here is a sad story of how we can compromise our faith. Yet Lot was considered righteous because of his faith in God and that influenced his own standards of behavior which didn't get as bad as the other people in Sodom but he lost all his family and friends. He took with him down to Sodom a great number of people but came out with less than you can count on one hand.

If we fail God and compromise, we ourselves may still be saved but we might lose our families, our neighbors and others who might have been saved if we would have continually walked in the spirit and not allowed error to enter our lives.

Here is what the New Testament says about Lot.

• Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
• 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
• 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly;
• 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

The sin of Sodom vexed Lot but he still remained there and took the chance of losing his servants and family to the evil around him. He started out with a large company of people and ended up with just two daughters and himself.

• Genesis 19:2 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.

We see here that Lot possessed the same eastern hospitality that Abraham had in that he invited these men into the protection of his home.

• Genesis 19:3 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.

The wicked men of Sodom wanted to rape the men. How Lot escaped this fate is not known unless the time Abraham delivered the whole city of Sodom in the previous war may have made Lot too important a person to deal with in the same manner. For some reason Lot lived among them without being molested sexually.

• Genesis 19:6 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.

This did show that Lot was willing to risk his own life to save the angels of God. It is not known whether he knew that these men were from God. When he invited them into the protection of his home, he was obligated to protect them from the men of the city.

• Genesis 19:8 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.

The law of hospitality seems to have been greater than his concern for his own daughters. To us in this century, we would probably not think of Lot as very righteous for being willing to give up his own daughters in this way. Yet the bible calls him righteous. Perhaps he knew they would not want his daughters. Who knows? Seems like it was a plea made in desperation and he wasn't thinking.

• Genesis 19:9 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.

These men were not ordinary or they couldn't have resisted a whole multitude of men. Having mercy on Lot, they didn't allow the molestation of the daughters nor any harm to Lot. See how great a man Abraham was that God did this for him. The key to this is the phrase, "Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness." Faith in God, faith in what God says, and obedience to that word, is what pleases God.

• Genesis 19:11 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.

The apostle Paul was smitten with blindness at one time and it changed his whole life. These wicked men did not repent and so they perished when Sodom was destroyed.

• Genesis 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides a 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 spoke 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.

It was too late. Lot had lost almost everyone even his married daughters because of the unbelief and wickedness that influenced them.

• Genesis 19:15 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.

How wonderful and full of mercy God is. Perhaps he had mercy on Lot himself or He did it for Abraham's sake. God remembered the pleas of Abraham. Our faithfulness can very well save our families.

• Genesis 19:17 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 showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

This was a lack of trust and fear to leave the safety of a city. Yet this city contained more harmful things than the wild beasts of the wilderness.

The angel warned them not to even look back. To look back in sorrow to leave such a wicked city would be the same as being partaker with their evil and agreeing with it.

• Genesis 19:20 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.

Can we wonder how God could destroy the earth unless He first made a way of escape for those that believe faithfully in Him. I believe in the rapture for this reason.

• Genesis 19:23 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.

She probably was sorrowful to leave behind her friends and possessions. There is a warning in the New Testament of loving family, friends and possessions more than our relationship with God.

• Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
• 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
• 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

This doesn't mean that we forsake our families and follow the Lord, not caring for their souls. We must share the gospel with everyone. This means that if they disapprove of your faith in Jesus Christ and you choose to please them and compromise your faith because of them; you are not worthy of the Him. If you would rather live your own life and seek only the pleasures of this life and refuse to follow the Lord because in doing so you may be required to give up something you like, then you are not worthy of Him.

I'm not advocating legalism. I hate that myself. We sometimes are convinced something is wrong and we forsake that for the Lord's sake. That part is good. Our problem comes though when we add that to the message of the gospel and begin to require it of someone else who may be following the Lord and do not have a problem with the thing that bothered us.

Here is an example. When I was a child, I was not allowed to attend theaters. To us it was sin. So my cousins thought that salvation meant they had to give up going to the movies. It was wrong to give them this impression and make giving up movies part of the gospel but on the other hand if we thought going to the movies would hinder our walk with God and chose not to receive Him because we didn't want to give that up, we would not be worthy of Him.

It is wrong to add commandments God doesn't make but if He did speak to our hearts and convict us of something we may be doing, it would be wrong to disobey that conviction. Yet we can't impose this on others unless it is clearly written in God's word. This was a mistake of some earlier holiness churches. I think now though we are in more danger or going too far the other way and are so much like the world that no one can tell the difference between us and those that do not live for Christ.

The story of Lot and Sodom is a good example of a compromising worldly Christian. Are we able to live among sinners comfortably? Can they tell we are believers?

• Genesis 19:27 And Abraham got 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.

I don't know about anyone else but this makes me want to shout praises to the Lord. The words, "God remembered Abraham" makes me want to weep with joy. Abraham interceded and his nephew was saved. Let's not give up on our lost relatives and friends. God will hear us.

• Genesis 19:30 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.

When Lot saw similar sins in Zoar, he feared. Now he is finally getting it. He left and went to the mountains that he was commanded of the angels to go in the first place. Before we go any further it would appear that some time passed before the next part of this story. They had to leave Sodom in such a hurry, I'm sure they didn't have time to gather any provisions like the wine we read about next so it seems as if a period of time passed that they were able to get food and provisions in order to survive.

• Genesis 19:31 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.

We see that the daughters of Lot were already influenced by Sodom and did not trust God to make another way for them to have children. This is a good example of walking in the flesh (unbelief and fear) instead of trusting God. Sodom had already taken their hearts.

We saw that those saved in the ark of Noah were saved because of the righteousness of Noah. One of Noah's sons still had the influence of the wicked world within him.

We see that in God's mercy, even the wicked are sometimes delivered because of being related to or a friend to someone who believes and obeys God. Lot was saved because someone interceded on his behalf.

• Genesis 19:33 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 last night 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 bore a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
• 38 And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

These children became enemies of Israel in later times. It was the Moabite women to enticed the children of Israel into fornication causing the curse of God to come upon Israel. This was caused by the greed of Balaam. He was offered a reward from the king of Moab if he would curse Israel. Balaam couldn't curse Israel because they were God's people so he and the king devised a plan to get God to curse his own people. Balaam was another example of one who was a prophet of God but compromised his standing with God by going around those who were wicked. He did not go around them to convert them to God but to find a way to receive rewards and still be a child of God. It is not wrong to enter a place of evil to preach the gospel but if we are going for any other reason, it may compromise our faith. We better make sure God is sending us instead of us being drawn by our own lusts and desires. DC

Genesis 20