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6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof." 9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door. ~ Genesis 19:6-11
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 19 where we find the two angels who were visiting Abraham earlier now paying a visit to Lot, Abraham's nephew, in the city of Sodom. The angels had gone to Sodom in order to assess the moral condition of the people before the Lord made a decision as to whether to destroy it or not. In fact, previously, Abraham had prayed to the Lord that He would not destroy it if at least ten righteous people lived in the city.
Angels are mentioned in 34 times in the Bible: 17 books of the Old Testament include angels, 17 of the New Testament also mention angels. About 103 times in the Old Testament and about 165 times in the New Testament angels are mentioned. The book of Hebrews describes angels as ministering spirits. According to Hebrews 1, God sends angels as ministers to all who will inherit eternal life.
In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, 'Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!'"
After the angels arrived in Sodom, the people of the city surrounded Lot's house because some of the men of the city wanted to sodomize the angels. When man rejects God and His truth, we don’t become more free and more human; we become less free and less human. We discover bondage to lies at a different level than before. We become less human, we reflect less the image of God who God is holy. In our own righteousness we become less and less human. As was the design when Satan challenged and redefined things, he ushered in a philosophy that leads to self-destruction.
According to our passage, Lot, in an act of true bravery, placed himself between the visiting angels and the vile perverts of Sodom. Lot did this because it was the custom of the land that when visitors were invited into one’s home, it became the highest responsibility to care for them and tend to them. Lot felt this responsibility towards the two men because they had come under his roof and therefore under his protection.
In v.8 of today's passage we read, "See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."
Lot offered the insane men of Sodom his two virgin daughters in exchange for the protection of the two men who were visiting his home. Although this sounds awful, Lot knew that the men of Sodom would not rape his daughters because they were betrothed to be married to two young men of Sodom. If these vile men of Sodom had accepted Lot's offer, there would have been great trouble created within the crowd that day. And, the wicked men didn't want that kind of trouble.
In v.9 of today's passage we read, "And they said, 'Stand back!' Then they said, 'This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.' So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door."
Lot had long had a great reputation in Sodom and the people respected him greatly. In fact, these people had been freed, according to Genesis 14, from the reign of the four kings who had come in from the land near Babylon to over take them and their cities. If it had not been for Abraham running those four kings down to rescued his captured nephew, who knows what the future held for Sodom. Due to these events, there was much respect to go around for Abraham and Lot.
It was very probable, although not stated, that Lot was appointed a judge in Sodom after Abraham defeated the four kings. This was an awarded position based on Lot's relationship with his uncle Abraham. Whether this is the case or not, Lot sat in the gates and was noted as an authority. But this crowd that had surrounded Lot's house was no longer interested in Lot's authority. These men were not only perverts, they had become unreasonably violent by the conduct of their wicked lives.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door."
Lot was pulled through the door by the angels to safety. This miraculous moment not only highlights the lengths to which the Lord will go to protect His own, it also points us to an event that could happen at any moment now. I speak of the rapture of the church. Lot was brought into complete safety, away from the wickedness of the people, and into the presence of the Lord. Once Lot was pulled in, the door that was open was permanently shut.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door."
The spotlight was squarely on the desperation with which the Sodomites sought out their evil desires which revealed the depth of their depravity. After the angels rescued Lot and struck the men of Sodom with blindness, one would think that after becoming blind the men would refrain from trying to abuse the two angels. Not so! The vile men of Sodom loved their sin so much that their blindness did not detour them.
Sin always starts with some desire, be it good or bad. It begins with the feeling of wanting to be satisfied. Initially, it is strictly emotional. And, if we follow its allurement, it leads us to deception. We start with the desire in our emotion and then it leads us to a deception in our minds. Then, we begin to justify and rationalize the right that we have for that which we desire. It is at this point that we believe it is fulfilling. And, once we have the opportunity to sin, we devise how we are going to satisfy the sin. This occurs in the will. At this point, we have gone from our emotions, to our minds, and then, to our wills; the three parts of our souls. When lust has conceived, it brings with it, death in a variety of expressions.
In Jeremiah 21:8 we read, "And to this people you shall say: 'Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.'"
The decision to let God define us and not the prevailing culture around us results in life. We are tempted from to time to time to forget that there are just two competing forces that fight for our allegiance. And, the one we follow will prevail in the end. What makes this choice so difficult is that the easiest path is natural for us in our fallen condition. If we could just see beyond, we would see that this is a no brainer, even though for now, it is most difficult. When we get to heaven, we will be elated to recognize that those many moments that we chose to let God define us were monumental, not only in our lives but in the lives of those whom we love. Instead of going the way of Sodom today, let us go the way of the Lord Jesus Christ which is the way of life.
