Genesis 19:1-11 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 19:1-11. Let’s go!
Genesis 19:1-3 (NIV)
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.
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.”
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.
On verses 1-3: The fact that Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city of Sodom leads some scholars to believe that Lot was a leader in the city of Sodom. Lot invites two visitors, who happen to be angels, to rest at his house. The fact that Lot prepares a meal of bread without yeast suggests that it was quite a rushed meal. Lot doesn’t seem to go out of his way to serve his visitors lavishly as much as Abraham did for his three visitors in Genesis 18. Even in how they serve their visitors you can see the difference between Abraham and Lot. Perhaps Lot’s lesser hospitality was influenced by the self-centered culture of the city he lived in, in which case it shows that sin has this shrinking effect on our heart to love others. In any event, you can understand why God blessed and used Abraham more than God blessed and used Lot. How you welcome God into your life will directly impact how much God will bless and use your life.
Genesis 19:4-5 (NIV)
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.
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.”
On verses 4-5: Here the author of Genesis shows how depraved and corrupt the city of Sodom had become, how they would treat visitors as objects to fulfill their sexual appetites as opposed to guests in their city. That is the effect that lust has on our lives: lust causes us to look at people as objects to use and dispose of as opposed to human beings made in God’s image to love and cherish. Sin has a dehumanizing effect on our relationships.
Genesis 19:6-8 (NIV)
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
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.”
On verses 6-8: The request made by the men of Sodom in verse 5 was shocking, but Lot’s response is even more shocking, as he offers his own virgin daughters to sleep with Sodom’s men instead of letting them take advantage of his visitors. In the ancient near east, hospitality to strangers was an important part of the culture, but the kind of offer Lot makes is outrageous. Here Lot is willing to sacrifice his own daughters to save face with his guests whom he has just met. It goes to show how warped was the thinking of the people of Sodom, including Lot himself. Sin has this warping effect on our perspective.
What can we learn from this? Christians are to be welcoming and hospitable, but it is foolish, unloving and ungodly to put your own family in danger for the sake of pleasing people you hardly even know. As 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Genesis 19:9-11 (NIV)
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. And they said, “This fellow came here as an alien, 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.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
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.
On verses 9-11: The men of Sodom ignore Lot’s request and threaten to break down Lot’s door (v9). So the angels pull Lot back inside the house to protect him, shut the door and strike the men outside with blindness. The spiritual and moral blindness of the men of Sodom is now mirrored by physical blindness.
What can we learn from this? Sin has a separating effect on our lives. Just as the angels had to shut the door on the Sodomites, so because of our sin we can’t get near what is holy. Because of our sin the door to heaven has been shut and Jesus is the only key that can unlock the door.
Also, just as the Sodomites were struck with blindness, so sin has a blinding effect on our lives. It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 4:4, which says, “The god of this age [referring to Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Before we knew Christ, we were blind and could not see the door of salvation that is Jesus. But when God’s Word is spoken to our hearts and we respond with faith, we are given spiritual eyes to see who that door of salvation is. As the famous hymn Amazing Grace goes, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching in Your Word today that how much I welcome You will impact how much You bless and use me. Thank You for teaching me that sin has a shrinking effect on my heart for others, a dehumanizing effect on my relationships with others, a warping effect on my perspective, a separating effect on my relationship with You and a blinding effect on my eyes. Because of all that, may sin not rule over me. Instead, may Your Word bring light to my eyes and help me to see clearly, live wisely, and love fully. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
