Chapter Nineteen
Encounter at Sodom
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
This chapter opens with the two traveling companions of God, identified here as angels, arriving at the gate of Sodom. This is the first reference to a gate in the Bible (Hebrew ‘šǎ’·’ǎr’),[1] the gate of a city could easily be described as the city center. In ancient cities it was the place where most business, legal, and social activities took place. It was also the place where the city’s most distinguished and honored citizens could sit and be available to help settle any disputes or issues that might arise. Lot was sitting at the gate; he went from living on the outskirts of town to being one who sits at the gate. Some scholars believe that Lot’s quick rise to prominence may have been due to Abraham’s rescue of Lot and the return of Sodom’s possessions after the invasion of the kings (see Genesis 14:1-24).
When Lot saw them, he immediately came over to greet them. Did he recognize them or know something about them? The text does not say, but it was in the evening, and he may have offered them a place to stay out of kindness, or perhaps that was his responsibility. An offer that the angels initially declined. Lot strongly objected and they finally agreed to stay the night at his house. When they arrived, Lot prepared a feast. This also the first time the Hebrew word ‘miš·tě(h)’[2] is used in Scripture, referring to a special meal, usually for honored guests. It is interesting to note that the only ingredient mentioned for the meal is baked unleavened bread. As previously mentioned, leaven is symbolic of sin and false doctrine. Once again, we observe a first mention, the Hebrew word ‘maṣ·ṣā(h)’[3] (unleavened bread), which will not appear again in the Bible until the observance of the first Passover in Egypt (see Exodus 12:8). While it is true that it was in the evening and bread without leaven would bake much faster, it is still interesting to note the contrast. God and his angels eating food without leaven, representing the absence of sin, in a city whose name, still to this day, relays the message of sin being judged.
19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
It would be difficult to imagine a more graphic scene of human depravity. The sin of Sodom was so great that any male visitor was at risk of being sexually assaulted. Seeing the angels arrive caused a stir among the men of Sodom, the author adds “both young and old,” to clarify that the entire city was indeed corrupt. We should not be fooled by the euphemistic expression, “that we may know them,” as the Hebrew word ‘nē·ḏe’ā(h)’,[4] even though does refer to ‘know’ or ‘learn’, is used here in context to know someone sexually (see also Genesis 4:1; 1 Kings 1:4). The intent of these men was to commit homosexual rape and they were so perverted that they would not take ‘no’ for an answer as Lot’s house was surrounded.
19:6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
The scene went from bad to worse, but Lot was not giving up. It seems outrageous that Lot would offer two virgin daughters to “do to them as you please,” Lot was desperate, but lust cannot be curbed by reason. He offered his place for shelter and therefore his promise of protection. But the mob would not listen, they ridiculed and mocked Lot by saying that he came to Sodom as a visitor and now he was trying to be their judge. As they approached closer, they promised to deal worse with him after they were done with the visitors. The Sodomites were not deterred by Lot’s words, they kept on pushing. As Lot was forced backwards, the angels grabbed him and brought him inside. To stop the pursuit, the angels blinded the men of Sodom, which ultimately made them exhausted as they tried to find a way in the house.
19:12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
Lot may have understood that these visitors were special before this time, but now he knows they are from God and are sent by Him to destroy the city and its occupants. The angels offer Lot and his family a chance to leave, including potential future sons-in-law. However, when he went out to warn them to leave, they thought he was joking and did not take him seriously. Apparently, they were so involved in the sinful life of Sodom they had no interest in changing; they may have even been part of the mob that had earlier surrounded Lot’s house.
19:15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
It was time for Lot and his family to leave, since they all saw how the angels dealt with the mob that evening, they knew that their warning was legitimate. But there was something that held them back. The angels then grabbed them and brought them outside the city. They were told not to look back or stop until they had escaped to the hills. Instead of following the angel’s instructions, Lot makes a strange plea to instead escape to the nearby city of Zoar. Lot must have known that their job was to save him and his family, so why would he be concerned for his life if he was to follow their initial instructions? Lot may have thought that he may have to move out of this area creating a burden, or perhaps the lifestyle of the valley was too alluring to leave. In either case, his request was granted and as a result the small city of Zoar was spared from destruction. The name ‘Zoar’ (Hebrew ‘ṣô’·’ǎr’)[5] means ‘little’ (many consider the modern-day city of Tell es-Safi to be built on the ruins of Zoar, however many archaeologists disagree for many reasons). The city could not have been too far from Sodom as Lot and his family traveled the distance by the time the sun had risen.
Considerations
What could possibly lure someone to stay in a town like Sodom, especially when its destruction is eminent? As discussed earlier, deception is a tool of Satan[6]; however, perhaps a greater influence in our lives is when we are self-deceived. The apostle John wrote about the problem of being deceived by our own thinking (see 1 John 1:5-10). Even when we know something that we are thinking or doing is wrong, we often rationalize what we are doing. We might think, “Well I have everything under control,” or perhaps, “I know my limits.” That kind of thinking is what is often referred to as, “playing with fire,” and appropriately so. The lure of sin is very real and very much a problem, even for Christians (see Romans 7:14-25). The apostle Paul reminds us: “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8) Paul is using the term ‘flesh’ to refer to the distractions of the world. We cannot have a close relationship with God if we continue in sin.
Does our struggle with sin ever stop? Not until we are with Jesus in heaven. James tells us that while we are on earth, we should, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8) In the process of sanctification we become more mature in Christ, as we grow closer to Him, we realize how insignificant the things of the world are and how more important our relationship with Jesus is. The key to getting past our struggles today, are the words, “draw near to God.”
It is interesting to note that the angels could not begin their destruction until Lot had successfully left Sodom and arrived safely in Zoar. There are a number of literary types and models in the Bible.[7] This could be described as a model of how God handles judgment of a city or even a larger area; He will not judge if there still remain people who are faithful to Him. This should not be confused with persecution or discipline; those are different matters. This is a situation of righteous judgment. Knowing this helps us understand the book of Revelation and final judgment.
Lot believed in God and His promises, making him from God’s perspective a righteous man. But just like any Christian alive, Lot remained a sinner and something in Sodom appealed to him. Verse one tells us that he was found at the city gate, a place typically occupied by the city leaders. Did Lot compromise his relationship with God to fulfill his lusts? Did he share in the guilt of the city? To some degree, yes, as evidenced that he is living there and apparently was enjoying some of the benefits of leadership. Did he yield to his lusts and was now on a ’slippery slope’ falling away from God? The apostle Peter also recorded that Lot was tormented in his soul by the wickedness around him (see 2 Peter 2:7-8), so no, he recognized that he was in the wrong place. There is no doubt that Lot succumbed to his lusts and soon found himself in a seemingly ’no win’ scenario. But Lot was rescued from the predicament by God. As Christians, it is important to note that regardless of how far someone falls from God, He can and will rescue and restore fellowship with Him (see James 4:8).
The sites of Sodom and Gomorrah is a subject of great debate. There are two primary theories, perhaps the one that has been around the longest, places them around the remains of the ancient cities of Numeira and Bab edh-Dhra, respectively. In what is called the Arbah (or southern) region of the Dead Sea valley. Archeologists believe that this region and several cities were completely destroyed by some form of large fire, as evidenced by a wide area of land being covered with some form of a “spongy ash” substance. However, recently there has been interest and significant evidence that Sodom may be in the southern Jordan River Valley area referred to as the Kikkar (a round region, from the Hebrew word meaning ‘round’) at a site known as Tall el-Hammam. Here is an excerpt from an article published in the Popular Archaeology magazine:
Now having completed the tenth season of excavations, an archaeological team headed by Steven Collins of Trinity Southwest University, New Mexico, has unearthed a goldmine of ancient monumental structures and artifacts that are revealing a massive Bronze Age city-state that dominated the region of Jordan’s southern Jordan Valley, even during a time when many other great cities of the “Holy Land” region were either abandoned or in serious decline.
Known as Tall el-Hammam, Collins has been leading excavations at the imposing mound, or tel, since 2005.
"Very, very little was known about the Bronze Age in the Middle Ghor (southern Jordan Valley) before we began our excavations in 2005," says Collins. "Even most of the archaeological maps of the area were blank, or mostly so. What we’ve got on our hands is a major city-state that was, for all practical purposes, unknown to scholars before we started our Project."
Indeed, according to Collins, when comparing it with the remains of other nearby ancient cities, along with its prime location and dates of occupation, it emerges today as the best candidate for the lost city of Sodom—the infamous city that, based on the Biblical account, was destroyed by God in a fiery cataclysm because of its iniquity.
"Tall el-Hammam seemed to match every Sodom criterion demanded by the text," he says. "Theorizing, on the basis of the Sodom texts, that Sodom was the largest of the Kikkar (the Jordan 'Disk', or 'well-watered plain' in the biblical text) cities east of the Jordan, I concluded that if one wanted to find Sodom, then one should look for the largest city on the eastern Kikkar that existed during the Middle Bronze Age, the time of Abraham and Lot. When we explored the area, the choice of Tall el-Hammam as the site of Sodom was virtually a no-brainer since it was at least five to ten times larger than all the other Bronze Age sites in the entire region, even beyond the Kikkar of the Jordan."[8]
Destruction of Sodom
19:24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Since Lot and his family safely arrived in the small city of Zoar, it was time for the Valley of the Jordan to become the valley of fire. From above, God rained sulfur and fire onto Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the valley, all were consumed by fire. During the destruction, Lot’s wife, who was behind him, disobeyed the angel’s instruction and looked back. She instantly became a pillar of salt, not much else is said about her until Jesus referred to this incident when teaching a group of Pharisees about the coming Kingdom of God. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:20-37)
This statement by Jesus confirms the destruction of Sodom and Lot’s wife. This is not a factious story or fable, the destruction of these cities and the punishment for looking back actually happened.
This is the first time the Hebrew word ‘gǒp·rîṯ’[9] appears in the Bible, it refers to sulphur or brimstone (another name for sulphur). It is regularly employed in Scripture referring to judgment (see Psalm 11:6; Ezekiel 38:22). This is also the first time the Hebrew word ‘ēš’, translated here as ‘fire’, is used in conjunction with judgment. This word will also be regularly used in Scripture to represent divine judgment. The first and only other time the word was used was regarding the flaming torch in Genesis 15:17 to formalize the covenant between Abram and God.
Verse 29 explains that it was through Abraham’s intervention for Lot and his family that Lot was kept safe and was not harmed in the destruction.
Considerations
Death by being changed to salt could certainly qualify as an odd way of being judged. When we look at passages like Zephaniah 2:9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.” And Deuteronomy 29:23, “the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger and wrath—,” we see that salt could have been an integral part of the destruction. That would certainly prevent plants from growing, making the land unusable for many generations. So perhaps having Lot’s wife turn into salt is not that strange after all. It is interesting to note that several historians have reported seeing the pillar, including Josephus, as noted in his “The Antiquities of the Jews” - Book 1:
God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; and laid waste the country with the like burning, as I formerly said when I wrote the Jewish war. But Lot’s wife continually turning back to view the city as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, although God had forbidden her so to do, was changed into a pillar of salt; for I have seen it, and it remains at this day.[10]
Longing for the Way of the World
Lot’s wife longed for things that were not of God. The way of the world had influenced her to the point that the ways of God were no longer important to her and as a result, she was condemned and turned into salt. That warning is still valid today, not that we will be turned into salt, but we need to always be alert of our surroundings and properly respond to any temptation.
Many scholars point out that it seems that verse 24 refers to two different LORDs (actually YHWH in the text),[11] one on earth and the other in heaven. Since God is omnipresent, everywhere at all times, this could simply be a reference to His involvement from two different locations. However, many Jewish rabbis and scholars, using this text and many others (for example Isaiah 42:1; 48:16; 61:1; 63:7-14), believed that God had a Son and a Holy Spirit. Being three distinctive personalities but still considered only one God, which matches the definition of the Christian Godhead (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, see commentary under Genesis 1:1).
Lot and His Daughters
19:30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to 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 offspring from our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Lot and his daughters did not stay long in Zoar as they lived in the hills in a cave, which according to an ancient map called the Madaba Map, was not too far from the city. Although finding a cave would not be difficult since the Dead Sea region has many caves (such as those that the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in). Even though they probably did not bring any possessions with them from the city when the left Sodom, the two daughters managed to obtain some wine.
The daughters carry out what might be considered a rather fiendish plot. Although to their credit, they were still virgins (see verse 8) and they were not motivated by lust. Nevertheless, they did not seek God, nor advice from their father. They believed that they would now never marry and that the family line would stop with them. So, they arranged to get their father drunk and have sexual intercourse with him, knowing that he would never have agreed. They considered incest to be the only solution to their problem. This story is the last we hear about Lot himself.
The son of the older daughter was named appropriately, Moab, essentially meaning “from the father,” and was the progenitor of the Moabites, who became enemies of Israel. Although they were generally idolaters, not all of them were evil. Ruth, for example, was a Moabite woman and, as the wife of Boaz, became one of the ancestors of Jesus (see Matthew 1:5). The youngest daughter also had a son whose name was Ben-ammi, meaning “son of my people,” who became the father of the Ammonites, also at times were enemies of Israel. Naamah, an Ammonite woman, was one of Solomon’s wives and the mother of King Rehoboam, who also was in the lineage of Jesus (see 2 Chronicles 12:13; Matthew 1:7). Both nations at one time in their histories were strong and fierce, but now neither one exists.
Considerations
The apostle Paul in his epistle to the church in Ephesus wrote, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (Ephesians 5:18) This is a subject that often brings up strong emotions and is very dear to many people. We are instructed to avoid being drunk, and to some that means one should avoid alcohol all together. Paul is pleading with all believers to remain sober; this applies to any substance that voluntarily takes us either away from our fellowship with God or where we can lose control of our own thinking and actions. To be sober means to understand something clearly. If we are under the influence of something we may not be able to comprehend the truth or understand what is going on around us. Instead of allowing ourselves to be under the influence of something foreign, we are to instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we are continuously being filled with the Holy Spirit, we are able to fully comprehend and understand. The Greek implies an on-going action of being filled. We must remain sober otherwise we run the risk of being persuaded by temptation. The word ‘debauchery’ in the English generally means excessive indulgence, something corrupt or wicked. The Greek word also implies a lack of morals or a dissolute life. If we choose to be under the influence, we run the risk of not being able to influence or demonstrate that we are different, thus losing our ability to witness or have an effective ministry.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8179.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 4960.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 4682.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 3045.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 6820.
[6] See commentary under Genesis 3:4-5.
[7] See Considerations under Genesis 2:15-17.
[8] Possible site of ancient Sodom yields more finds. (2013, June). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/june-2013/article/possible-site-of-ancient-sodom-yields-more-finds
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 1614.
[10] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (p. 41). Peabody: Hendrickson.
[11] See commentary before Genesis 2:4 for explanation of the Tetragrammaton.