Genesis 19 "Chapter of Sadness"

In the study of the Bible, what the Bible says is right and wrong, does not always line up with the laws and court decisions of the countries of earth. Governments have been wrong many times but the Bible stays the same. This is a study of what the Bible says and is not at all about the laws of the land. I appreciate the standard our country (US) sets but like nations in the past, standards slip sometimes. It is not just my belief but it is the opinion of historians that a country is often lost, not from enemies without, but from a decline from within. America needs a revival of the old respect for God and the words He spoke. Many of this generation do not remember what it was like when sin was a thing to be ashamed of and was hidden, when committed, in dark places. In our society, sin is the fodder for television shows and the marketing draw of whole cities. Shame for wrong is apparently considered a weakness and God has become like a wrecker service that is called upon only when there is some great tragedy. Men have changed the Bible into different translations to try to make it fit our deeds but the truth has not changed and that is what we will be judged by either in this life or in the end.

Genesis 19:1 "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;"

In the previous chapter we find 'three' eating with Abraham but only two actually went into the city. Their mission was to rescue Lot from the city. v15 "...Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city."

As we read the previous chapter we saw a statement made to Abraham by the Lord to explain the mission he was on. He had heard the cry concerning the two cities and now v20 of chapter 18 "And the Lord said Beause the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very grievous; v21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

So the angels arrive at the gate and I expect the Lord is somewhere outside the city watching. Lot apparently had some status in the city, perhaps because of his money, so he was at the gate greeting people who entered. He invited the angels into his house for the night but a mob of all the men from the city gathered around his house demanding that the two men be given to them. Lot tried to reason with the mob but he had lost his influence with them so that even his two virgin daughters were not a sufficient exchange for the two men. The story goes on with the angels encouraging Lot to hurry and leave the city but he lingered so that they had to take those in the household by the hand and remove them from the city. Even then Lot argues for one of the cities instead of immediately running to the mountains as instructed. Lot was saved for Abraham's sake but I think he thought he still had some influence of his own. The angels spared the city of Zoar but Lot left even this city and dwelt in a cave. v24 "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven v25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

The story continues with Lot getting drunk and lying with his daughters. The result were the people of Moab and Ammon.

It is truly a sad chapter. Perhaps some will see a cruel act from heaven. I see a people who had totally disregarded the precepts of God. I see a people that would take even the angels of God to do wrong with. Indeed, they were rescued by Abraham because Lot was with them in the previous chapter and Lot had to be rescued before judgment came for their deeds but judgment did come and will come when the time is right. Has the cry of our nation become so great that the Lord is come down to see for himself?