>< v.16-19 God let’s Avraham in on the plan Notice that Yehovah allows Avraham to know of the judgement of S’dom in advance. Avraham had a special role in the plan of God and he was elected because of his
faithfulness, obedience and consistency. God does not keep His plans for mankind a secret.
>< v.20-23 The outcry against S’dom and ‘Amora The iniquity of these two cities had reached the point of
no return in the eyes of Yehoveh. Avraham gets a glimpse of how justly God assessed the time for judgment. Avraham was well aware of his nephew, Lot, living in S’dom and he is concerned for his safety and well-being.
>< v.24-33 Avraham’s bargaining intercession Avraham was very aware of God’s mercy toward the righteous and the distinction He makes between the good and the bad. From moving in his request of 50
righteous people down to 10, Avraham probably grew aware of the intense wickedness of the cities as well as Lot’s ineffective witness there. The final number they agreed on was 10 people, not one.
Provided that there was a minyan in the midst of the wicked population, Yehoveh would hold back judgment.
GENESIS 19
>< v.1-3 Lot welcomes the two “malach” Typically, the Hebrew term malach simply means “messenger” (usually human). This term is used here, but we can deduce from context of this chapter that they were indeed heavenly messengers, or angels. Angels have the ability to take on physical form, which happens often throughout the Scriptures when they interact with men.
We see a cordial Middle Eastern dance between a host offering, and a guest response to the initial invitation “Oh, I can’t accept that”…followed by the hosts insistence to accept his hospitality. This is still very common practice.
< v.4-11 Lot’s vexation and moral compromise The lustful mob surrounding Lot’s house demanded to have homosexual relations with the visitors. Lot’s response betrayed tension in his ethics; his offer to gratify
their sexual lusts contradicted his plea not to act “wickedly.” He offered up his two virgin daughters as a less deviant kind of wickedness in order to uphold the constraints of Eastern hospitality to protect his guests.
The mob of men tell Lot to stand back and mocked him because he moved into their territory and tries to act like a judge. Nothing could stand in the way of these men whose homosexual deviation carried an uncontrollable lust that defies restraint. Even when the angel-men blinded them, they still tried to fulfill their lust. Lot was now being protected by those he had earlier sought to protect.
>< v.12-29 Lazy Lot and a column of salt The two men warn Lot about the coming destruction and instruct him to collect those who belong with him. His pagan sons-in-law thought Lot was just joking and stayed.
Lot was dallying (mahhah) after receiving the warning, so the angels forcefully escorted him and his daughters and wife out of the city. He was told “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you, don’t stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise, you’ll be swept away!”
Lot pleads with the angels in his typical comfort-loving, lazy-Lot fashion and (from a place of immobilizing fear) begs them to allow him to escape to a small town just nearby so he would survive.
Yehoveh caused destruction to come down from the sky like a rain of fire and brimstone (**burning sulfur— used to destroy garbage dumps just outside the ancient city walls).
His wife “looked back”…this is a Hebrew idiom, the word
used here is MAHAHH…She didn’t heed the warnings and lagged behind…so she suffered the same fate as the inhabitants of the district.
>< v.30-38 Descendants from drunken deceit Lot’s daughters may have very well believed that they
were the last human beings on earth and that it was up to them to produce descendants for their father Lot. So they came up with a plan to get Lot drunk, sleep with him and hopefully produce children. The older daughter bore a son called Mo’av, and the younger daughter bore a son
son called Ben-‘Ammi who is the ancestor of the Ammonites. The two nations that came from these sons
were among those that God had forbidden His chosen people, the nation of Israel, to intermarry with. Lot consistently chose the ways of the world as seen in his preference to be among the wicked of S’dom, while
Avraham chose to stay identified with Yehoveh God and dwell in the Promised Land of Canaan.
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