Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Genesis 19 – Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. According to Bible scholars, the events of Genesis 19 took place approximately in 2067 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Genesis 19 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Genesis 19 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Genesis 18, we read about God promising Isaac’s birth to Abraham and Sarah. Well, in this Bible study on Genesis 19, we will read about Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction.
Without any further delay, let us study together Genesis Chapter 19, shall we?
Lot Meets The Two Angels
1 Now 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 he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”
And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”
3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
In Verse 1 of Genesis 19, it is recorded that the two angels who went with the Lord to visit Abraham in Genesis 18, went to Sodom in the evening after having eaten at Abraham’s place. Now, Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When he saw the angels, he got up to meet them and bowed his face towards the ground because he realised that they were no ordinary humans. In Verse 2 of Genesis 19, Lot petitioned and invited the angels, calling them as lords, to stay at his house for the night. Lot didn’t want the angels to fall prey to the perverse people of Sodom. Also, he had no clue that the angels were there to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
The angels intended to spend the night in the open square. Verse 3 tells us that Lot insisted strongly to the angels to stay at his house for the night. Hence, they entered Lot’s house. Lot prepared a feast for the angels and baked unleaved bread and the two angels ate.
Sodom’s Men Were Carnally Corrupt
4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”
In Verses 4-5 of Genesis 19, just before Lot and all who were in his household, including the angels went to sleep at night, all the men, both young and the old of every quarter of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. They called out to Lot and asked him to release the two men (who were angels) to them so that they could have sexual intercouse with them. The men wanted to know Lot’s guests carnally (sexually). They were so sexually perverted and full of sin that they went to Lot’s house to demand for the angels. They didn’t know that the men who came to Lot’s house were angels indeed. I am not sure if that (knowing that the men were angels of God) would have changed their mind because they were so deep in sexual immorality.
Notes
The guests (angels) at Lot’s house didn’t pass unnoticed. Somehow, the men of Sodom came to know about them and wanted to know them sexually. Some Jewish teachings say that it was Lot’s wife who told about Lot’s guests to her neighbours. Lot had apparently asked his wife to get some salt for his guests. Lot’s wife according to Jewish teachings was a Sodomite and it was not customary for them to show hospitality to guests. So she was angry with Lot for trying to introduce also the custom of giving salt to their guests in Sodom. Nevertheless when she went to ask salt from her neighbours she had told them about Lot’s guests and that is how the word spread about them. Now, we do not know how true are these sayings. However, I am putting it out here to cover different viewpoints.
Lot Pleads With Sodom’s Men To Spare His Guests
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.”
In Verses 6-8 of Genesis 19, Lot went out to meet Sodom’s men through the doorway of his house and shut the door behind him so that they could not enter or barge through the door and take away his guests by force to do homosexuality with them. In Verse 7, Lot implored Sodom’s men to not be so wicked. He told them to take his virgin daughters instead of his guests and to satisfy themselves as they pleased and to leave his guests alone. He also told Sodom’s men that he took his guests into his house to save them from their wickedness and perverseness.
Sodom’s Men Desire To Hurt Lot And Become Blind
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.
In Verses 9-11 of Genesis 19, Sodom’s men yelled at Lot to stand back because they were angry that Lot refused to handover his guests to them. They accused Lot by saying that he came to their city, Sodom, to stay as a soujourner and yet he acted as if he were their judge and judged their actions of homosexuality. They were angry that Lot judged their sin and called homosexuality for what it is -a wicked sin! Therefore, they said that they would deal harshly with Lot than they would have dealt with Lot’s guests.
And, they altogether pressed against Lot and came near the door to break it. However, the two angels reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house and shut the door and they struck the men of Sodom blind. Even the young men of Sodom were so perverse and filled with homosexuality and very carnally corrupt. All the men outside Lot’s house became weary trying to find the door for they were all blinded. This was already the beginning of the punishment of the sins of Sodom. It already began with them going blind.
Observation
The angels already knew what was going on. Moreover, there might have been a huge commotion and noise as the men of Sodom yelled at Lot asking him to release his two guests. Therefore, every one inside Lot’s house were probably aware of what was going on and the situation outside the house. The angels rescued Lot from the men of Sodom otherwise they might have killed him by pressing against him.
It was not 10 or 20 men. The scripture says that all the men of Sodom from every quarter, young and old, had gathered asking for the two men to have sexual intercourse with them -Homosexuality. This means that there were thousands of men standing outside Lot’s house and they were pressing against Lot pinned up against the door trying to barge in and to harm Lot because of his refusal to handover his guests.
The Two Angels Instruct Lot To Escape With His Family
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
In Verses 12-13 of Genesis 19, the angels instructed Lot to take his sons-in-law, daughters, and whomever he had in the city of Sodom out of it. And they finally revealed to Lot the purpose for which they were there. By now Lot had understood that were indeed God’s angels who were able to blind all the men who came to attack them.
Lot’s Sons-In-Laws Laugh At Lot
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
When Lot spoke to his sons-in-law about the impending destruction of Sodom, they laughed because they thought Lot was merely joking and they didn’t believe that the Lord was going to destroy the city. Lot had 4 daughters, two of them were married and were living in the city with their husbands. Two of them were unmarried whom he previously offered to the men of Sodom instead of his guests when they demanded Lot to release his guests to them.
The Two Angels Escort Lot And His Family Out Of Sodom
15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”
In Verse 15 of Genesis 19, the angels urged Lot who was slow to hurry. Jewish teachings imply that he was trying to take also his possessions with him and it slowed him down. The angels took hold of Lot’s hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of Lot’s two unmarried daughters and they brought them out of the city of Sodom and set them outside the city because the Lord was merciful to Lot for the sake of Abraham. The angels then urged Lot to escape for his life and to not look behind nor stay anywhere in the plains of Jordan. They urged Lot to escape to the moutains to be safe from the destruction.
Observation
Lot’s two married daughters long with their husbands (who were probably Sodomites too) were left behind in Sodom because they failed to believe the message that Lot brought from the angels. Therefore, they were destroyed during Sodom’s destruction.
Lot Escapes To Zoar
18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”
21 And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
In Verses 18-22 of Genesis 19, we see the conversation between Lot and the two angels. He acknowledged the Lord’s mercy. He asked the Lord’s angels to have mercy on him one more time and to allow him to escape to a nearby little city with a small population and apparently less wickedness. Lot was afraid to go to the mountains for fear of losing his life. Hence, he petitioned if he could go to the nearby small city and the angels agreed to it and urged him to flee there quickly. They said that they could not destroy Sodom until he arrived at the nearby little city. The city was named Zoar meaning ‘it is little/small”.
The Lord Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
In Verses 23-25 of Genesis 19, we see how the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. It was dawn. Immediately, the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by raining brimstones and fire on the two cities. He overthrew the cities filled with carnal sin, including all its plains, its inhabitants and everything that grew on the ground. The Lord was so merciful towards Lot and all those who choose to escape with him from among his family for the sake of Abraham.
Lot’s Wife Becomes A Pillar Of Salt
26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot’s wife made the mistake of disobeying God’s word. She looked back at her past life, her two daughters, sons-in-law, property and possessions and the city which she so loved despite its grave sins. She was okay with living in Sodom despite its wickedness. The same applies for Lot too. He didn’t move from Sodom to a different place despite its sin. However, the Lord had mercy on Lot for the sake of Abraham and his promise to him that he would not destroy the righteous along with the wicked in Sodom.
The amplified version states that Lot’s wife not only “looked back” to where her interests were, but perhaps lingered behind and was overtaken by the fire and brimstone; her dead body likely became continually encrusted with salt since this disaster occurred in the salt-rich area around the Dead Sea. God sought to rescue Lot’s household and wife along with Lot. However, she disobeyed and suffered the consequences of her own disobedience. God didn’t punish her. She reaped the consequences of disobedience.
Jewish Teaching on lot’s wife
Also, I had mentioned before, in some Jewish teachings it is written that she sinned with salt by betraying Lot’s guests to her neighbours, thereby making the whole city know about Lot’s guests. She betrayed Lot’s guests despite knowing the wickedness of Sodom’s people. For this same reason, she was punished with salt.
Abraham Saw Smoke Going Out Of Sodom And Gomorrah
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
In Verses 27-29 of Genesis 19, Abraham rose up early and went to the place where he had previously stood before the Lord. He saw all the land of Sodom and Gomorrah and its plains and columns of smoke went out it like from a furnace (an excavation where which stones are burned into lime- a mineral). God’s words came to pass and when He destroyed the plains, He remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of Sodom and Gomorrah so that his life was spared. Lot had a lot (no pun intended) to thank Abraham for.
Lot Went Out Of Zoar To Live In The Mountains
30 Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.
Verse 30 of Genesis 19 tells us that Lot was afraid to live in Zoar because it was near Sodom. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah had put the fear of the Lord on the all the people who saw its destruction. Hence, Lot went to the mountains to live with his daughters in a cave.
Lot’s Daughters Behave Corruptly With Lot
31 Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 35 Then 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.
In Verses 31-35 of Genesis 19, we see the corrupt behaviour of Lot’s unmarried daughters. The firstborn of Lot, seeing that she and her sister were both virgins, thought that the whole earth was destroyed like at Noah’s time, and there was no man left for them to bear offsprings with. So, she advised her younger sister that they both must lie down with their father to prolong his genealogy. Hence, they made Lot drunk with wine and each went to Lot on consecutive days and lied down with him. Since Lot’s daughters grew up in Sodom and Gomorrah the carnal corruptness of Sodom and Gomorrah was in their blood and hence they behaved sexually corrupt with their own father which is a sin.
The Moabites And The Ammonites
36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child 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 And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
In Verses 36-38 of Genesis 19, talks about the Moabites and the Ammonites. Lot’s daughters were pregnant with his children. Instead of becoming a grandfather to his daugthers’s children, now he was the father of his daughters’ children. The first daughter named her son Moab from whom the Moabites came from and the second daughter called her son Ben-Ammi from whom the Ammonites come from.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Genesis 19. God reveals His faithfulness to His word and how He spared Lot for the sake of Abraham. He reveals His mercy to Lot even though he chose to live in Sodom despite its wickedness. We also see how homsexuality is a grave sin in God’s eyes and He destroyed both the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah rampant with homosexuality. Also, we learn from Lot’s wife that there is a price to be paid for disobedience. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!