Genesis Chapter 19

"Let it Rain Fire"

​Context:

Abraham negotiates with God, only to find out wicked prevails, in a way. God passed judgment down on the wickedness of Sodom and Gomoorah, while sparing Lot and his family.

Chief People:

• God
  
• Abraham
  
• Lot
  
• Lot’s two daughters
  
• Two angels​

​Choice Verses:

GENESIS 19:1 ​

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.​

• In the previous verse, while appearing to Abraham, the two angels were referred to as men, but here they are angels. God does not seem to be present. It’s hard to say if Lot knew they were angels, or if he is just showing respect to them as travelers. In ancient times, the gate was where the elders of the city would go to meet, where deals were made, and people would be judged. The fact that Lot was sitting there would strongly suggest that Lot had status within the city, and if so, likely was an active participant of the wickedness of Sodom.​

GENESIS 19:2 ​

My lords,' he said, 'please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.' 'No,' they answered, 'we will spend the night in the square.

• Although it appears Lot is being very hospitable, one has to ask why he wanted them to leave in the morning. We have to ask if he was trying to protect the travelers, be a good servant and host, or attempting to hide the wickedness of the city from them. The angels reject Lot’s offer, and plan to spend the night in the square. In ancient times this is rare, safety is a concern, and even more so in Sodom.​

GENESIS 19:3 ​

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

•  Lot’s offer was more than just a novel gesture, he insisted, and the angels agreed. Bread without yeast in Hebrew is called “matzah”, also known as unleavened bread. This is the first time in the Bible unleavened bread is mentioned. The fact that Lot made this without yeast implies he was in a hurry. Later in Exodus Moses and the Jews were in such a rush to leave Egypt they also made unleavened bread. The important lesson for us is to always show hospitality to strangers, you never know if one could be an angel (Hebrews 13:2).​

GENESIS 19:4 ​

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.

• The fact that all the men of the city showed up, both young and old, tells us that all were cut from the same cloth, they were all wicked. They likely had evil intent, or they wouldn’t have surrounded the house, to prevent either of these men escaping.​

GENESIS 19:5 ​

They called to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.

• We learn a few things here, Sodom has an odd way of welcoming travelers; several sins all wrapped up in this single verse. The men of Sodom demonstrate their wickedness in the most grotesque and obvious way possible. Rather than treating with the hospitality Abraham and Lot showed, they have gathered to rape and have sex with these men. Interestingly, this is where our word Sodomy comes from. One could argue that Homosextuality is a sin, and regardless of our belief, the more disturbing aspect of this was that both young and old took part in this evil. That simple fact indicates this was not an isolated incident, but something passed down from the old to the young.​

GENESIS 19:6 ​

Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him.  Lot seems to be determined to keep his guests safe, as he shuts the door behind him.

• Although the men of the city know Lot, as he lives there with them, he likely is risking his own safety by putting himself between the two travelers, and the mob. One has to wonder why Lot even lives in this wicked city.​

GENESIS 19:7 ​

​and said, 'No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.

• He pleads with them, fully aware their intentions are evil.

GENESIS 19:8 ​

Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.

• Lot offers a shocking alternative, one some may view worse than giving in to the mob's demands. Whatever his logic was, to some extent Lot has long ago given over his family to the wickedness of the city. He chose to be there, and exposed them to the wickedness of Sodom. More often than not, one’s character is influenced by those we associate with.​

GENESIS 19:9 ​

Get out of our way,' they replied. 'This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them.' They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

• Perhaps once respected, Lot appears to have gone from tolerated as a foreigner, to a hindrance to their wicked ways. These men have no interest in being reasonable or hospitable, nor do they wish to be intimate with Lot’s daughters. Lot sure does seem to find trouble, perhaps he will learn that nothing good comes from evil.​

GENESIS 19:10 ​

But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.

•  As things are getting serious, and the mob is getting more hostile, Lot is saved by the angels.​

GENESIS 19:11 ​

Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

• Perhaps not my first choice, but blindness works. Personally blindness was mercy compared to my alternative. However, what the wickedness the angels observed was all the evidence God needed, he no longer was relying on hearsay.​

GENESIS 19:12 ​

The two men said to Lot, 'Do you have anyone else here--sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here

• The angels have tested Lot, and apparently they are going to save him and his family. The angel's questions reveal danger is coming. Lord had promised Abraham He would not destroy the city if as few as ten righteous people could be found (Genesis 18:32). Lot, his wife, and his two daughters make four, at the most. With the Angels questioning it appears 10 could not be found, to this point.​

GENESIS 19:13 ​

because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.

• Although it can be assumed the Angels will be the one’s destroying the city, on God’s behalf, this is not necessarily true. They say “we”, so it could be just the angels, but it is ultimately through God, and his desire.​

GENESIS 19:14 ​

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, 'Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!' But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

• On one hand, joking would seem more likely since sodom was so evil for some time, the thought of God was in no way part of their life, or beliefs. They were a city built on wickedness, and self gratification, it's all they knew. On the other hand, the angels did just blind the men at the door, not sure what more of a sign one would need. Especially since earlier verse made it clear all men of the city were part of the mob, so they were part of the problem.​

GENESIS 19:15 ​

With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, 'Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.

• ​Lot had 4 daughters in total, 2 of which were virgins, and in the house with Lot, 2 more that were married, but not present, only their husbands were, and outside part of the crowd. The angels make clear to Lot and his family that the time has come for the four of them to go to avoid being swept away in the punishment of the city.

​GENESIS 19:16 ​

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

• Six times the angels worked to get Lot out of the city. They told him to get out, they warned him the city would be destroyed, they urged him, they grasped his hand, they walked him out, and lastly they led him to safety outside the city. It’s easy for an outsider to question why Lot would hesitate in the first place, but we need to remind ourselves that he was asked to leave his home, and his two other daughters that were married. We only need to look at how the Jews stayed in post 1933 Germany as one antisemitic law after another was passed. What is important here is that although Lot was spared, it was not necessarily on his own merits, after all, he chose to live in this wicked city, and was fully aware of its wickedness. His choice to be there was not due to his righteousness, but more likely his desires to partake in the evils the city offered. What is discovered here though is sometimes the wicked are spared not because of themselves, but because of association with one of righteousness, and that was Abraham.​

GENESIS 19:17 ​

As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, 'Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!

• For obvious reasons, the angels had good reason to believe Lot may not flee, it already had been difficult just to get him to this point. These orders are direct, and a certain catastrophe is very near. Lot and his family are told to flee, not stopping until they reach the mountains.​

GENESIS 19:18 ​

But Lot said to them, 'No, my lords, please!

• For whatever reason, Lot is not prepared to leave the city. He attempts to beg the angels. It’s baffling as to his objections, perhaps he knows he still has two daughters within the city. Perhaps he just doesn't think he will make it to the hills in time.​

GENESIS 19:19 ​

Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.

• Lot acknowledges the greatness of what the angels have done for him and his family, but he just can't see the forest through the trees. He is unable to see the true miracle that is before him, all he sees is doubt and his own despair.​

GENESIS 19:20 ​

Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared.

• Despite all of this, Lot rejects their commands to run into the hills. He apparently does not believe they will make it in time. This is just another example of Lot’s poor character. Not only has he made to live in a wicked city with his family, one he knows is wicked, but now through the grace of God, he has no faith he will make it to the hills. He fails to realize that God intervened, regardless of his poor judgment, to keep him safe. Lot has also made an assumption, for whatever reason, that this small town would be safe; he continues to use poor judgment​

GENESIS 19:21 ​

He said to him, 'Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.

• Perhaps tired of hearing his whining, the angels conceded, and allowed Lot safety in the small town nearby. One would have to believe though that this town couldn’t have been much different than Sodom, with its close proximity.​

GENESIS 19:22 ​

But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.' (That is why the town was called Zoar).

• Zoar translated means a place of refuge; a sanctuary. There is still a sense of urgency, but Lot and his family must hurry. The Lord will not allow the judgment to begin until the family arrives at the town.​

GENESIS 19:23 ​

By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.

​

GENESIS 19:24 ​

Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens.

• To make it clear, God is mentioned twice in this verse as the one responsible for this destruction. Some have speculated this burning sulfur was an earthquake, or a volcanic eruption, but that matters not as to the how. What is important is the why; God hates evil, and as with the flood, he will destroy it. This verse is also the first mention of Gomoorah, prior verses, just spoke of Sodom. In Scripture, fire and sulfur are associated with God's judgment on earth (Psalm 11:6) (Ezekiel 38:22), as well as with His eternal judgment in hell (Revelation 21:8). Peter, specifically, references God's judgment on Sodom as an example of God's readiness and ability to judge the ungodly and to rescue the righteous (2 Peter 2:6–10). To this day, apparently, sulfurous fumes populate this area around the Dead Sea.

GENESIS 19:25 ​

Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land.

• Similar to the flood, everything was destroyed. Today, the Dead Sea plain continues to be barren and desolate, but we know from previous verses it was very fertile land; Lot chose it for its great location to settle in. God’s destruction turns out to be complete and lasting, it appears He will never allow wickedness to ever inflict this area.

GENESIS 19:26 ​

But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

• Either for the sake of curiosity, perhaps hoping her other two daughters had followed, or simply to see the destruction like rubbernecking today, her disobedience for not completely listening to the angels to not look back ended up sealing her fate. The implication of the passage is that in looking back, Lot's wife was expressing her continuing affection for the sinful culture of Sodom (Luke 17:31–32). The lesson here is once we are released from our sins we shouldn’t look to return to them, we need to continue our path towards God.

GENESIS 19:27 ​

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.

• Knowing what was to come, Abraham’s first task of the day was to see the destruction; perhaps seeing fireworks of all fireworks, but knowing Abraham, surely without enthusiasm.

GENESIS 19:28 ​

He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

• Abraham would have understood, of course, that the Lord had destroyed the cities and the region. He would have understood that the Lord did not find even ten righteous men there. He may not have known yet, though, that the Lord had spared his nephew Lot and Lot's two daughters in the town of Zoar. Although this destruction of two cities, and all surrounding areas may seem unjust to some, it's actually the opposite. First, he allowed Abraham to determine how many good people there had to be in order to spare the city, and even though he could not find the 10 agreed on, he still spared Lot and two of his daughters. He also sent his two angels to the town to confirm its true wickedness, which turned out to be just as horrible as the outcry described, perhaps even worse.

GENESIS 19:29 ​

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

• The Hebrew translation for “remembered’ is mindful. Remembered is not to be taken as God forgot about Lot, he was just mindful of his relationship with Abraham. If not for Abraham, Lot surely would have been killed with the rest of the city. Although he did show some goodness with his treatment of the two angels, it's unlikely Lot lived a sinless life. God never forgets, God acknowledges something at a particular time, and then acts on it.

GENESIS 19:30 ​

Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.

• After all the drama, Lot finally moves to the Mountains as the angels earlier instructed, with his two daughters. Perhaps the people of Zoar looked on Lot as a bad omen. Afterall, Lot and his two daughters were the only ones to survive the complete destruction that just occurred, they may have feared he’d bring the same destruction upon them too. It’s unlikely they acted any differently than Sodom a Gomorrah.

GENESIS 19:31 ​

One day the older daughter said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children--as is the custom all over the earth.

• Feeling desperation and isolated one could only surmise this is the only option Lots daughter felt she’d be able to conceive, but this seems more of rationalizing than logical. The three of them left a town with people in it, so they were aware all was not destroyed, but I suppose we should remember they had lived in Sodom, where such acts may have been considered normal. Perhaps they recognized that all the other men they knew were wicked, and they viewed their father as one in God’s grace?

GENESIS 19:32 ​

Let's get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.

• One cant forget that Lots once offered his two daughters up for sexual pleasure to the men of Sodom, and perhaps this is a case of what goes around comes around. We can speculate for the wrong, and for the right, for whatever the right is worth here. This plan is horrific in both its motivation, and its details. However, it's important to remember that these women were raised in a profoundly depraved culture. Although, as far as we know, these two women are still virgins, it's safe to say Lot had not shown the best fatherly traits.

GENESIS 19:33 ​

That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

• Lot’s life just seems to be filled with poor choices, and should be a lesson to all. This lack of trust in God reflects poorly on Lot's spiritual leadership. It is far more important to depend on God than ourselves, and even more so today as we increasingly depend on man, technology, and governments for our needs.

GENESIS 19:34 ​

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, 'Last night I slept with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.

• Although wine and alcohol are not prohibited in the Bible, and are often mentioned in a positive manner, as well as incorporated in some rituals, what is considered wrong is in excess. Lot’s case increasingly appears to be in excess.

Genesis 19:35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

• The older daughter went first, and was able to succeed. Now she convinces her younger sister to do the same. As horrible as this may seem, for whatever reason, the daughters feel this is their only option. In their defense, and I hate to defend this decision, but this act does not appear to be for simple pleasure, their intent was to preserve their family line. There are some lessons to be learned here. Lot had failed as a father, he hadn’t taught his daughters about God. All they knew was sexual immorality displayed with great wickedness in Sodom. When wickedness is rampant within a given society, it becomes acceptable, it becomes normal. We can see that today in our society with all the indoctrination of our children. Second lesson is we can conclude Lot is weak, and he repeatedly proves it. He succumbs to the evils of sin, starting with his decision to pick this area to live in. He sees the benefits to himself, knowing full well of the reputation of the area. He places greed over God. He eventually moves into the den of wickedness, and resists leaving, until the angels force him to leave. His sins controlled him. Third lesson, display humility. Lot showed no humility, and this is evident first when he was taken captive, and likely destined for slavery. Abraham rescued him, and yet after being saved Lot not only moves back to the area of wickedness, but into the city itself. Then after God’s destruction, rather than seeking refuge from his uncle, he moves his two daughters into a cave. For lack of humility, he chose not to ask for help from his uncle or God, but once again he relied on himself, which we see repeatedly that he had a knack for making poor decisions.

GENESIS 19:36 ​

So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.

• Mission accomplished

GENESIS 19:37 ​

The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today.

• Ironically Moab translated means “from the father”. Not surprising, the Moabites were a pagan nation, not serving God, but rather a practice of idolatry. More irony, the Moabites are believed to have settled in and around the city of Zoar, the same city Lot ran to for safety. Scripture does reference the city of Zoar as a Moabite city (Jeremiah 48:34). The Moabite people would later become enemies of Israel. Interesting to note, the mention “of today” would suggest that at the time of this verse's writing, the Moabites still existed.

GENESIS 19:38 ​

The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

• Ben-Ammi translated means son of my people; son of my kindred. The Ammonites were a pagan people also who worshiped the gods Milcom and Molech. God commanded the Israelites not to marry these pagans, because intermarriage would lead the Israelites to worship false gods (Deuteronomy 7:1–6). We learn later that King David’s son Solomon disobeyed this command and married an Ammonite woman, bringing with her the false idol worship of the Ammonites. The Ammonites too were for much of history enemies of Israel.

​Crucial Words

• Sodomy - Originally, the term sodomy, which is derived from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis, was commonly restricted to anal sex.  Both sodomy and sodomize originate from this Bible verse.

• Zoar - A place of refuge; a sanctuary. In Hebrew it means little, small.

• Moab - Translated means "from my father".

• Ben-Ammi - Translated means son of my people; son of my kindred, "born of incest."​

Cross Reference

(Hebrews 13:2)

 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

(Ezekiel 16:49–50) 

49 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

(Ephesians 2:1–10) 

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(Psalm 11:6) 

On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.

(Ezekiel 38:22)

 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

(Revelation 21:8) 

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

(2 Peter 2:6–10) 

6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

(Luke 17:31–32) 

31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!

(Jeremiah 48:34) 

The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

(Deuteronomy 7:1–6) 

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.[a] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

Questions:

• Genesis 19:1 Was Lot aware that these were angels?

• Genesis 19:2 Why had Lot assumed the angels would be leaving in the morning?

• Genesis 19:5 Does this verse say homosexuality is a sin?

• Genesis 19:6 Why is Lot living in this city when he has to realize the full extent of its wickedness?

• Genesis 19:13 What were all the sins of Sodom? Answer: (Ezekiel 16:49–50) (Ephesians 2:1–10)

• Genesis 19:26 Why had Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt?

• Genesis 19:30 Knowing Lot likely lost everything, why wouldn’t Lot return to the safety of his uncle abraham?

• Genesis 20:1 Why did Abraham move?

​Christ seen (or mentioned)?

​Central Lessons(s), and Timeless Truth(s):

• Seek God, not sin.

Conclusion:

​Sidenotes:

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