Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 19 mean?

Chapter 19 is one of the most dramatic and shocking chapters in Genesis—which is saying something! The events recorded here reveal the utter wickedness of the people of Sodom. They display God’s grace to Abraham in rescuing Lot and his family. They show God’s readiness and ability to judge the sins of humanity. And, these verses display the lasting consequences of sin in the hearts of Lot and his daughters.

In the prior chapter, God humors Abraham by discussing the conditions which Sodom must meet in order to avoid destruction. While God has no need to justify His actions to anyone, this conversation is permitted for our benefit. By allowing Abraham to set a standard for God’s justice, which Sodom abjectly fails, chapter 18 leaves no doubt that the fate of Sodom is unquestionably deserved.

In this chapter, two angels come to Sodom to destroy the city. These seem to be the same angels who had been speaking with Abraham in chapter 18. Lot greets them at the gates to the city and insists they stay in his house for the night. Based on what happens in the next few verses, Lot likely knows that travelling strangers will not be safe in the streets.

Even inside Lot’s home, however, these strangers are not out of harm’s way. The men of the city surround Lot’s house and demand the “men” be sent out so the mob “may know them.” The text is clear—both in terms of language, interpretation, and context—that a crowd of men from Sodom has gathered to homosexually rape these two strangers.

Lot pleads with them. He offers them his virgin daughters instead. Whether this is a symbolic gesture of middle-eastern hospitality, or an actual solution being proposed by Lot, the men of Sodom will not relent. The angels intervene and physically remove Lot and his family from the city. They give clear instructions to run for the hills and not look back. Lot says no, and they allow him to go to Zoar instead.

Then God’s judgment falls in the form of sulfur and fire. God destroys Sodom, Gomorrah, the region around it, all the people, and all the vegetation. Lot’s wife disobeys, looks back, and is turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters have been spared, but they have lost everything. The following morning, Abraham sees the smoke rising from all the land of the valley as from a furnace. Everything has been utterly destroyed.

Though they are safe in Zoar, Lot is afraid to stay there. He takes his daughters and runs for the hills, settling in a cave. It’s unclear why Lot didn’t run to the household of his uncle Abraham.

In one of Scripture’s most tragic embarrassments, Lot’s daughters decide they have lost all hope of ever being married or having children. They take matters into their own hands. Reflecting the all-but-nonexistent morality of the Sodomite culture in which they were raised, they get their father blindly drunk on two consecutive nights, each having sex with him in his stupor.

Both daughters become pregnant, and the resulting sons become the fathers of the Moabite and Ammonite peoples, respectively. Lot’s story, so far as the Bible is concerned, ends here, in ruin, shame, and humiliation.

Chapter Context
In the previous chapter, Abraham had bargained with God on behalf of his nephew Lot and the people of Sodom. The Lord assured Abraham He would not destroy the cities if He found ten righteous people there. Chapter 19 immediately demonstrates no righteous people are to be found. Every man of Sodom attempts to attack two visitors, who are God’s angels in human form. As the angels rescue Lot, God’s judgment falls, utterly destroying everything in the area around Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his daughters end up in a cave in the hills, where the daughters scheme to conceive children by making their father drunk. This ends Lot’s role in the story of Genesis, with future chapters focusing exclusively on the life and descendants of Abraham.

Verse by Verse

Verse 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

In the previous chapter, the Lord revealed to Abraham that He was going to investigate the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The outcry about their grave sins had reached Him. God, of course, was not literally “investigating” in order to find out something He did not know. Rather, this language and the conversation which followed were meant to show how justified God’s wrath was against Sodom. The implication was that judgment was coming to these cities for their wickedness. Abraham had pushed back. His nephew Lot and his family lived in the city. The Lord assured Abraham that if as many as ten righteous people were to be found in Sodom, no judgment would fall.

Now the two angels who were with the Lord in the previous chapter arrive at Sodom. When last we saw them, they were walking away from the Lord and Abraham and toward the city. The distance from Abraham’s home at Mamre, near Hebron, to Sodom was at least 20 miles. Either the angels were arriving on the following evening or, possibly, they had transported themselves to the city supernaturally.

They are still disguised in human form. As was the case when they appeared to Abraham, it is not clear when Lot realizes these two men are supernatural beings. In any case, the culture of the day required for good citizens to show great hospitality to travelers. Lot does so now, bowing low before them to welcome them to Sodom. Lot’s actions on behalf of these visitors, here and in the next verses, reflect this cultural view of care for visitors.

The gate of a city is often where the elders and leaders of a town would gather to discuss the issues of the day and provide wisdom and guidance. Though Lot is an immigrant to this region, his seat in the city gate and his welcoming of these visitors shows that he clearly holds a place of importance in Sodom. This speaks volumes about Lot’s relationship to the culture he chose to live in—those who openly challenged the sins of Sodom would not have been respected enough to sit at the city gate.

Verse 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.”

Two angels disguised as men have arrived in Sodom. Lot, sitting at the gate of the city as a leader and elder of the town, has welcomed them. He probably doesn’t yet know that these are angels sent to investigate the sins of the city’s people in preparation for God’s judgment.

What Lot does seem to know is that two men, arriving in the city late in the day, are not safe out in the open. In this and the following verse, Lot will urge them to come to his home for the night and to leave early in the morning. He is offering his hospitality, as demanded by the culture of the time. At the same time, though he does not say so, Lot is also offering his protection from the violent men of his own city.

The angels initially reject his offer, claiming they will simply spend the night in the town square. In an era before large-scale hotels, inns, or other accommodations, it would not have been unusual for travelers to sleep in a public area for a night as they passed through a town. As messengers of God, the angels were not concerned for their own safety. Rather, they seem to be testing Lot to see how hard he would try to protect two unsuspecting “men” from the wickedness of his town.

Verse 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.

After welcoming two strangers to Sodom, Lot had offered to let them stay in his home for the night before they traveled on the next morning. Not only was he demonstrating the warm hospitality of good people in his culture, he was also hoping to protect these two from the violent men of his town. As will become clear, two newcomers alone and unprotected at night were not safe in Sodom.

Lot likely still does not realize that these two are angels. He definitely does not know they’ve been sent from God to investigate—actually, to confirm—the wickedness of the city in preparation for God’s judgment on it. Lot certainly knows that strangers sleeping out in the open in Sodom are in serious danger.

Lot won’t take their initial “no” for an answer to his offer to stay with him. He “presses them strongly,” implying that Lot begs, pleads, and argues to convince them to stay in his home instead. They eventually agree and, as Abraham had done for them in the previous chapter, Lot makes for them a feast. Unleavened bread was likely included because it could be made more quickly.

The question is sometimes asked: do angels in human form eat food? For the second time in the book of Genesis, we witness these angels eating, receiving the generous hospitality of both Abraham and Lot. Another frequent question is whether angels still appear on the earth in human form. The writer of Hebrews, in the New Testament, encourages Christians to continue to offer hospitality to strangers, remarking that by doing so some have entertained angels without ever knowing it (Hebrews 13:2).

Verse 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.

Abraham’s nephew, Lot, has welcomed two traveling strangers into his home in Sodom for the night. He has prepared for them a feast and has given them a place to stay. He doesn’t seem to know, yet, that these men are angels disguised in human form, and he can’t know that they’ve been sent from God to investigate the sins of the city in preparation for God’s judgment.

After they’ve eaten and before they’ve gone to bed, the sins of the men of the city now become evident. Lot desperately argued with the angels to keep them from spending the night in the town square. By offering them his home for the night, and encouraging them to leave early, Lot seems to be trying to keep their presence a secret from the predators of the city. This attempt fails, as all of the men of Sodom gather at Lot’s house and surround the place.

The men spell out their evil intentions clearly in the following verses. The text is careful to note that every man in the city of every age is involved in this attempted crime. This is a crucial fact, since the Lord had assured Abraham that the city would not be destroyed if ten righteous people were found there (Genesis 18:32). It’s now clear that number won’t be reached—Sodom is completely and totally corrupt.

Verse 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.”

Every single man in the city of Sodom has gathered and surrounded Lot’s house. They know he has welcomed two travelers into his home. The men of Sodom don’t know these strangers are angels disguised in human form, sent from God to confirm the sins of Sodom in preparation for God’s judgment.

The men of Sodom demonstrate their wickedness in the most grotesque and obvious way possible. They demand for Lot to send the strangers out, so they may “know” them. This language is a commonly-used Hebrew euphemism for sex. Despite absurd claims to the contrary, the “knowledge” sought here is not curiosity or friendliness. Lot’s reaction, shown in the next two verses, proves this: he will beg the men not to “act so wickedly.” The violent and angry response of this same crowd proves the point even further. The context of this passage makes the situation absolutely clear: the men of Sodom want Lot to turn his guests over for sexual purposes.

Verse 6. Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,

The prior verse demonstrated why Lot was so insistent that these two travelers stay in his home for the night instead of sleeping in the city square. Lot’s offer of hospitality and an early departure was meant to protect these travelers from the depraved men of his city. Lot even suggested the men leave early, probably to keep their very presence a secret (Genesis 19:2). Unfortunately, the men of Sodom realize they have visitors, and they surround Lot’s house, demanding that Lot release the men to the mob in order to be gang raped (Genesis 19:5).

Assuming Lot does not know yet that these men are angels in disguise, Lot demonstrates a considerable form of bravery in this verse. When the men of the city demand that he turn over the strangers so they can gang rape them, Lot actually goes out to them. Even more, he goes out and closes the door to his house behind him, cutting off his own escape from this violent mob. His pleas in the next verse are courageous, given that they’re delivered to a warped crowd of would-be-rapists.

Verse 7. and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

Lot is attempting to save two traveling strangers staying with him from a violent mob of men who have surrounded his house. These men—all the young and old men of Sodom—are intent on gang raping the visitors. Lot does not yet seem to know these two visitors are actually angels disguised as humans, nor that they have come to investigate Sodom’s sins in preparation for God’s judgment on the city. Still, the culture of the day demands that good men protect those to whom they have offered shelter. In fact, Lot’s motive from the start seems to have been to protect these strangers.

Lot has gone out of his house to address the mob, closing the door behind him. He begins by calling them brothers, acknowledging his relationship with them as a leader of their town. He begs them not to do such a wicked thing, which removes all doubt about the meaning of the crowd’s demand in verse 5.

Next he will offer them a terrible alternative.

Verse 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.”

The text does not explicitly say if Lot knows that the two men he is protecting are actually angels in human disguise. Based on his protective treatment of them, it’s safe to assume Lot does not yet realize he is sheltering creatures who fear no human being. On the other hand, if Lot does think these are holy visitors sent from God, it might help us to comprehend the baffling suggestion he makes in this verse.

After begging the violent, corrupted men of his city not to follow through on their threat to rape his guests, Lot offers them his own virgin daughters to do with as they will, as an alternative. Suddenly, Lot doesn’t seem to be such a righteous man. Even assuming that Lot is speaking in the typical, overstated style of ancient middle-eastern hospitality, this seems to be a ghastly suggestion. Maybe Lot is simply trying to demonstrate how evil the mob’s demands are. Perhaps, if Lot really believes the men he is sheltering are messengers of God, he fears such an act will bring down immediate annihilation from God.

Then again, it must be said that this offer is consistent with Lot’s character. Lot has remained “righteous” in the sense that he is not participating in the wickedness that every other man in his city embraces. He seems to be a kind, generous, and hospitable man. However, Lot hasn’t moved his family away from the wicked influences of Sodom. For whatever reason, wealthy Lot has continued to make the choice, year after year, to raise his family there. In a sense, as the leader of his home, he has been sacrificing his family to the influence of Sodom for quite some time, fully of aware of the depths of depravity all around them. As we’ll see in the following verses, Lot is even preparing to marry his daughters to a couple of the wicked men of the city.

So, while the idea that Lot would offer his daughters seems appalling, Lot has already, in some sense, given his family over to the Sodomite culture.

Verse 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.

In every age, those who stand for what is right in the path of those who would do evil, even imperfectly, risk becoming a target of wrath themselves. Lot has done all he can to protect two travelers staying with him from the men of his city who want to attack and rape them. He has even offered his own two virgin daughters in trade. Whether this offer was made in earnest, or simply as a way of exaggerating the evil the men of Sodom planned to commit, it’s a disturbing turn in the story.

Now the men of Sodom make it clear they will not be turned away. In fact, they are offended by Lot’s moralizing. How dare an immigrant judge their moral choices by telling them what they can and cannot do to strangers! Enraged, the mob moves in on Lot, threatening to do worse than they had planned for the two visitors, which was rape (Genesis 19:5–7). The crowd of men from Sodom attempts to break his door down to get to the two strangers inside Lot’s house.

Fortunately for Lot and his family, the men inside his house are not mere men. Their actions demonstrate God’s grace, contrasting with Abraham’s fears in chapter 18. God will rescue Lot, and his family, despite their foolishness.

Verse 10. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.

In spite of Lot’s questionable efforts to manage the rapacious mob surrounding his house, they refuse to be turned away. Lot has attempted to protect two travelers, who are actually angels in human form. Lot’s fears that these two will not be safe overnight on the streets of Sodom are well justified. As soon as the city discovers there are visitors, a crowd of men arrive at Lot’s house and demand he send out the strangers so they can be raped.

Lot refused this, and instead went outside in an attempt to reason with the men. Their reaction to his interference is to threaten to do even worse to Lot. As the men of Sodom move to get to Lot and break down his door, the angels inside the house grab Lot, pull him inside, and shut the door. They have saved his life for the moment, and they aren’t done saving him.

Verse 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.

Finally, these strangers from out of town, these two travelers, reveal their true nature as angels by using the power of God to control a crowd of men intent on breaking down Lot’s door to get at them. Neither Lot nor those in the crowd could have known that the angels had come to investigate the sins of the city in preparation for God’s judgment against it.

The angels allowed the men to fully demonstrate their wickedness right up to the moment in which they would have hurt Lot and his family. Lot knew that travelers would not be safe out in the open in Sodom, and attempted to keep the men safely in his own home overnight. Unfortunately, the men of Sodom arrived and demanded the strangers be handed over for rape. Lot’s attempts to discourage them failed, resulting in even more aggression.

In the prior chapter, God used human language to speak of “investigating” the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. He also humored Abraham’s attempt to plead for the righteous who might be living in Sodom. At this moment, all of these threads come together. The purpose of the “investigation” is not for God’s benefit, but for ours. Seeing the reaction of the men of Sodom, the angels have provided all the evidence necessary to show that God’s impending judgment is warranted.

The angels first pulled Lot back inside the door to keep him from the mob. Here, they supernaturally blind all of the men who are about to break that door down. Perhaps they did so with a blast of powerful light. Suddenly without sight, the men outside could no longer find the door. Interestingly, the text says the men were still so intent on their sin that they “wore themselves out groping for the door.” This crowd is so energized by rage and perversion that even when blinded, they will not stop.

Regardless, the danger from the mob to those inside the house has been averted for the moment. A greater danger is coming, however, and the angels will quickly address this with Lot and his family.

Verse 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.

The angels have subdued the violent and rapacious mob seeking to break Lot’s door down. Now they turn to Lot and those safe inside the house for the moment. The question asked by the two angels reveals that a greater danger is coming. They ask Lot if there is anyone else in town beside his wife and two daughters that he would hope to get out of the place. They list possibilities: sons, daughters, sons-in-law, anyone at all.

There may be two levels to this question. On the one hand, as the following verse will reveal, God is about to destroy the city (Genesis 19:24–25). The point of the question is an offer of safety: the angels seek to rescue anyone attached to Lot.

At the same time, the Lord had promised Abraham He would not destroy the city if as few as ten righteous people could be found (Genesis 18:32). Lot, his wife, and his two daughters make four, at the most. In the following verses, Lot’s attempt to find anyone else to come with him will make it abundantly clear that not even ten righteous people were to be found in Sodom. Both God’s justice and His mercy would be satisfied. No righteous people would be swept away with the wicked.

Verse 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.”

Finally, the two angels disguised as humans reveal their full mission to Lot and his family. They have been sent by the Lord, who intends to destroy Sodom (Genesis 19:24–25). Later verses credit the action to God, while the angels here use the expression “we” when referring to Sodom’s impending ruin. This might refer to the combined actions of God and His messengers, much the same way a player on a team might say “we will…” when discussing an activity. Or, it might mean that God’s destruction will be accomplished through the agency of these same angels. Either way, their role is to move forward God’s plans for Sodom’s judgment.

With this statement, the outcry against Sodom’s people has reached the Lord, in every conceivable sense. The time of judgment has come. The angels will give Lot one last chance to grab any relatives or friends and take them with him. God’s justice against Sodom will be satisfied, but in His mercy these angels will rescue all who are with Lot, Abraham’s nephew.

Verse 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.

Given the opportunity by the angels to warn any of those close to him to flee the city before God’s judgment came, Lot steps outside again. Given how recently an angry mob had been trying to break down his door, Lot is taking another risk. He is willing to risk his own life if he might save others.

This verse tells us that Lot does indeed have two sons-in-law, men from Sodom who are engaged to marry his two virgin daughters. Awkwardly, prior verses suggest they were not morally upright men, since verse 4 indicated that every man in the city was in the mob surrounding Lot’s house. This would suggest that Lot’s own prospective sons-in-law were part of a crowd demanding he send the two strangers out for them to have sex with. Lot’s choice to live as the only righteous man in Sodom meant the only men available to marry his daughters were themselves wicked.

Still, Lot considers these men family. He urgently warns them to leave this city God is about to destroy. They decide Lot must be joking. It’s possible they assumed Lot’s experience with the mob had given him a moment of insanity. Or, they had gotten into the habit of ignoring Lot’s opinion on spiritual issues. They will soon learn he is neither crazy, nor being playful.

Verse 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.”

During the prior night, two angels disguised as men had arrived in Sodom. Lot offered to protect them in his house, knowing they would not be safe in the streets overnight. A mob arrived at Lot’s home, demanding these strangers be sent out so they could be raped. When this same crowd attacked Lot for interfering, the strangers pull Lot back into the house and supernaturally blind the attackers. They warn Lot to go and call anyone else he wishes to save from death to leave Sodom immediately. Lot does so, but nobody listens.

Here, a long night in Sodom finally comes to an end. It will be the last night before God’s judgment rains down on the city. The angels make clear to Lot and his family that the time has come for the four of them to go to avoid being swept away in the punishment of the city. The language used here is the same that Abraham used when asking the Lord if He would sweep the righteous away with the wicked. The Lord had assured Abraham that He would not destroy the city if He found ten righteous people. He did not—the city of Sodom is completely and utterly depraved.

Still, the Lord will be merciful to “righteous Lot” (2 Peter 2:7) and his family, likely because of God’s covenant promises to bless Abraham and all those with him.

Verse 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.

Lot lingers. Even with a mob out to destroy him and those with him, Lot lingers. Even with powerful angels telling him to run to escape the wrath of God, Lot lingers. Why? We’re not told, but lingering seems to be what has gotten Lot into this danger in the first place. He could have taken his family and left Sodom long ago, but he stayed. He waited. The wickedness grew worse and worse all around him, and he just didn’t leave. Even in these last moments before judgment fell, Lot finds it difficult to force himself to leave behind the evil place he called home.

The angels, however, will not wait any longer. They grab all four members of Lot’s family by the hand and seemingly drag them outside of the city to a safe distance. Why do they force Lot to go? We’re told it’s because the Lord is merciful.

In the previous chapter, Abraham had raised the question of God’s character when it came to judging the righteous and the wicked. This chapter clearly reveals God’s mercy toward Lot and, by extension, Abraham, even in the face of such rebellious wickedness nearby. That mercy even includes dragging a man like Lot by the hand, quite literally, in order to rescue him despite his own foolish actions.

Verse 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.”

God had predicted His judgment on Sodom, which is so morally corrupt that there are not even ten people in the city who do not participate in horrific depravity (Genesis 18:32; Genesis 19:4–5). In an act of mercy, God sends two angels disguised as men to rescue Abraham’s nephew, Lot, along with his wife and two daughters. Despite all Lot’s family has seen and heard, the angels still have to physically drag the family outside the blast zone that Sodom will become.

The angels’ instructions here are for Lot and his family to run to the nearby hills, to not look back, and to not stop anywhere in the valley. Lot and his family are to keep going until they reach the hills so they won’t be caught up in the catastrophe which is coming. These orders are direct, yet motivated by God’s mercy and compassion. As we’ll see in the following verses, however, Lot still looks for ways to avoid accepting what He is told.

Verse 18. And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords.

In the previous verses, two angels have forcibly removed Lot and his family from Sodom to save them from God’s impending judgment on the city. As predicted by God, there are not even ten righteous people left in the entire city, and Lot and his family have recently been rescued from a mob intent on raping their travelling guests. These strangers, the angels sent by God, then told Lot and his family directly, to run for the hills to save their own lives. They are not to look back, not to stop in the valley, or else they’ll be swept away with the citizens of Sodom.

Now Lot responds by complaining and criticizing the angels’ plan. For whatever reason, Lot does not think he can make it to the hills, and will instead ask to stop in a smaller town outside of Sodom, called Zoar. Lot continues come across as less and less likable and grateful. Still, the Lord will continue to be more and more merciful to him.

Verse 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.

God’s promised judgment is coming on Sodom, which is so morally depraved that there are not even ten people in the city who don’t participate in abject evil (Genesis 18:32). In the previous verses, the angels sent from God to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah have physically moved Lot and his family outside of town. Despite all they have seen and heard, this involves the angels literally taking Lot and his family by the hand and dragging them away from danger. The angels then tell the family to flee to a safe place in the nearby hills.

Amazingly, instead of obeying, Lot complains and offers an alternative plan. His objection seems to be that he does not believe that he and his family will make it to the hills in time before the judgment comes. He’ll suggest an alternative in the following verse.

It’s a bold request with the ring of ingratitude, insolence, and lack of faith in the Lord who just saved them. Lot himself seems to recognize this. He admits he has found favor in the Lord’s sight and that the Lord has been kind in saving his life. Still, Lot asks for more favor. Perhaps surprisingly, God will grant his request.

Verse 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!”

Over the last few hours, the Lord has shown great mercy to Lot and his family. The angels have saved them from an angry and rapacious mob in Sodom, have physically removed them from the doomed city, and have now told them to run for the hills without stopping to save their very lives. At every step along the way, these angels have acted with extraordinary grace and patience with Lot and his family.

Despite all of this, Lot rejects their commands to run into the hills. He apparently does not believe they will make it in time. Now Lot asks if the Lord would maybe allow them to flee to a small city nearby. This is not only a request that he seek shelter in a closer place, but it also implies God withholding judgment on that tiny town, as well. The implication in the request is that this little village was likely going to be destroyed if Sodom was annihilated.

Lot has been saved, along with his family, from the judgment of God on a wicked city which he called home for many years. This makes Lot’s request seem extremely bold. Abraham had asked the Lord to spare Sodom if as many as ten righteous people could be found—which, as it turned out, was more than Sodom could muster. Lot asks God not to destroy this presumably wicked but much smaller city, simply so he and his family can shelter there.

Neither the Lord nor the angels rebuke Lot for this request, as we’ll see in the following verse.

Verse 21. He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

Lot has literally been dragged, by the hand, out of the depraved city of Sodom as God’s destruction looms near. This was accomplished by two angels, appearing as men. In the previous verse, Lot has refused the command of the angels for him and his family to run for the hills without stopping in order to escape God’s judgment on Sodom. Instead, Lot asked if he and his family might shelter in a much smaller town nearby, if the Lord would be willing not to destroy that little town.

Instead of rebuking Lot for his ingratitude or insisting on judging this little town, which for all intents and purposes was a part of the Sodom and Gomorrah cultures, the Lord simply agrees. He continues to show Lot great favor both in saving his life and granting his requests, apparently in keeping with His covenant promises to bless his uncle Abraham.

Verse 22. Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

The Lord has granted Lot’s request not to destroy a small city nearby so that Lot and his family can flee to it and escape God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. This is quite a generous allowance. Lot is so entrenched in Sodom that he has to be dragged, by the hand, out of the city by two angels. These are the same angels who initially told Lot and his family to run directly for the hills, in order to be completely out of the disaster zone. When Lot asks to flee only to a nearby town, his request is graciously accepted.

There is still a sense of urgency at play, however. Lot and his family must hurry. The Lord will not allow the judgment to begin until the family arrives at the town that will now be called Zoar, which comes from a word that means “to be small.” This town was formerly known by the name Bela (Genesis 14:8).

Verse 23. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

The Lord’s judgment is coming on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah—actually, upon the entire region occupied by these two depraved cultures. Prior to this, and for the sake of our own understanding, God even allowed Abraham to set the limit of Sodom’s rescue: 10 righteous people. This, despite being such a low standard, is a test this culture could not pass. Lot and his family were living in Sodom, but God has mercifully removed them, allowing them now to escape what is coming by hiding out in the small, nearby city of Zoar. In fact, the Lord has agreed not to destroy Zoar for their sake.

In the previous verse, it was made clear to Lot that the judgment would not begin until his family reached Zoar. Now they have arrived, sometime after sunrise. Just as the family makes it to safety, God enacts one of his most spectacular instances of earthly wrath. In a moment symbolic of God’s ultimate defeat of sin and evil, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be annihilated in a rain of fire.

Context Summary
Genesis 19:23–29 describes the utter destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with sulfur and fire. Based on prior descriptions in the book of Genesis, this devastation is both overdue and well-deserved. The Lord’s judgment wipes out the cities, all of the valley, all of the people, and all of the vegetation. God demonstrates that He will judge humans for their sinfulness when the time is right. He also demonstrates His grace and mercy, however, remembering His promises to Abraham in rescuing Abraham’s nephew Lot.

Verse 24. Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

Finally the Lord’s judgment falls on Sodom and Gomorrah. By the literal words of this verse the Lord Himself rains sulfur and fire on these cities “out of heaven.” There’s no question that Genesis means to communicate that this fire and brimstone came directly from the Lord as His judgment against the people of these cities for their grave sins. While the angels in the prior passages spoke of their role in destroying the city, those seem to have been “team” accounts, with the angels speaking as part of God’s planned process for this event.

Human nature often balks at God’s wrath. This, as it turns out, is why God went through the very process we see in Genesis; God proves in no uncertain terms that His wrath is justified. The sins of these cultures have been ongoing (Genesis 13:13), and well-known (Genesis 14:22–23). God even allowed Abraham to set his own conditions for Sodom’s rescue—an incredibly weak standard which the culture failed to meet (Genesis 18:32).

What were the crimes of these people that made them worthy of destruction? The most obvious answer is found in this very chapter, as every man in the city gathered to homosexually rape two strangers in town (Genesis 19:5–7). Indeed, the modern word “sodomize” comes from its association with this ancient doomed city.

Ezekiel 16:49–50 goes beyond the obvious, though, in listing the other, additional crimes which made Sodom worthy of God’s wrath: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”

We must not fail to recognize God’s indignation with Sodom’s lack of care for the poor, her pride and arrogance, her gluttony and sloth, along with the homosexual immorality she became famous for. And we must not forget that, as was the case with Lot, we all depend on the grace of God to save us from His own wrath, through our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:1–10).

In Scripture, fire and sulfur are associated with God’s judgment on earth (Psalm 11:6; Ezekiel 38:22), as well as with His eternal judgment in hell (Revelation 21:8). Peter, specifically, references God’s judgment on Sodom as an example of God’s readiness and ability to judge the ungodly and to rescue the righteous (2 Peter 2:6–10). To this day, apparently, sulfurous fumes populate this area around the Dead Sea, along with deposits of asphalt. While we don’t know for sure that those are directly tied to this divine act of punishment from the Lord, the symbolism is powerful.

Verse 25. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

The Lord’s rain of sulfur and fire wasn’t limited to the city limits of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sins of the people were not a matter of geography, but of culture. God’s intent here is not to merely condemn some specific city, but a specific approach to God’s revealed truth. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah completely rejected God’s character in their sin. So, He overthrew those cities, as well as the surrounding valley. He destroyed all the people in that region, along with all of the vegetation.

Today, the Dead Sea plain continues to be barren and desolate. It wasn’t always that way. When Lot chose to settle there, the “Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord…this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah” (Genesis 13:10).

God’s judgment for the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah was complete and lasting, a reminder for generations to come that God will hold humans accountable for their sinful choices.

Verse 26. But Lot ‘s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Even after they had been told by actual angels that God’s judgment was coming on Sodom, Lot and his family did not leave easily. Still, God was merciful; the angels forcibly rescued Abraham’s relatives from the city. After they were out, one of the angels gave them very specific instructions: “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley” (Genesis 19:17). Even then, Lot insisted on being allowed to stop in a tiny, nearby town, a request the angels granted (Genesis 19:20).

Lot’s wife disobeyed this order from God through the angels. She “looked back,” and was punished by being turned into a pillar of salt. Whether this is a literal, supernatural transformation, or a poetic way of indicating that she was caught up in the destruction due to her delay, the text gives no further details. In either case, God does not let her sin stand.

The language used here might suggest Lot’s wife gazed intently; the point is not that she merely allowed her eyes to take in the catastrophe. The implication of the passage is that in looking back, Lot’s wife was expressing her continuing affection for the sinful culture of Sodom (Luke 17:31–32). Later in this chapter, Lot’s daughters will also act in a way consistent with a lack of faith in God and reflective of the morality of the godless culture in which they were raised.

Some traditions point to an odd rock formation near the Dead Sea as the remnants of Lot’s wife, though we have no biblical evidence for this.

Verse 27. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

In the previous chapter, Abraham had bargained with the Lord on behalf of the city of Sodom, where his nephew Lot lived. The Lord had revealed His intention to destroy the city but had agreed to spare it if as many as ten righteous people could be found there (Genesis 18:32). Knowing that, Abraham had returned home from the place where he stood with the Lord, looking toward the valley and the condemned cities. Abraham now returns to the same spot the next morning, not knowing what he will find when he looks across the plain.

The following verse will describe the scene. One can only imagine the horror Abraham would have felt when seeing that the town where his nephew lived has become a firestorm.

Verse 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.

After securing from the Lord a promise not to destroy the city where his nephew lives if ten righteous people can be found there (Genesis 18:32), Abraham returns the next morning to the place where he and the Lord stood looking out over the plain the night before. What he sees is smoke. Abraham sees so much smoke rising from the valley where Sodom and Gomorrah once had been that it looks like the smoke of a furnace rising into the air.

Abraham would have understood, of course, that the Lord had destroyed the cities and the region. He would have understood that the Lord did not find even ten righteous men there. He may not have known yet, though, that the Lord did spare his nephew Lot and Lot’s two daughters in the town of Zoar.

This is an important, often overlooked aspect of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham worried that God’s wrath was too extreme—the lack of righteous people proved this was untrue. Abraham was likely worried about the fate of his nephew, Lot—God’s provision to rescue Lot proved that to be unfounded, as well. This story not only teaches us that God will judge sin and evil, but that He will do so in ways which are both fair and just, even though limited human beings cannot see all of the details He does.

This makes the story of Sodom and Gomorrah crucially relevant to the famous story of Abraham and his son, Isaac. When God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis chapter 22, we need to remember the context of this very story. God proved to Abraham that He would not only act justly, but that He would provide for Abraham’s welfare in ways Abraham himself had not considered. This earned trust, not blind faith, is what drives Abraham’s obedience in that upcoming event.

Verse 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.

This verse restates what Abraham learned only later. God saved Lot and Lot’s daughters because He remembered Abraham. God even saved Lot’s wife, at least temporarily, though she died during the escape due to her own disobedience. God did indeed overthrow and thoroughly destroy the region in which Lot lived for their overwhelming sinfulness. But God saved Lot.

God’s act of rescue even in His judgment would serve as evidence to Abraham that God would keep His promises to Abraham in the years to come. What happened in Sodom and Gomorrah has to be remembered when interpreting God’s command to Abraham in chapter 22 to sacrifice his son Isaac. God has proven that He will not only act properly, but that He will work out all things for good in ways Abraham never could have foreseen. It is that earned trust, through experience with God’s providence, which will lead Abraham to place his faith in God during such a confusing time.

Verse 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.

When the angels rescued Lot and his family from the destruction coming on Sodom and Gomorrah, they specifically told Lot to “escape to the hills, lest you be swept away” (Genesis 19:17). Lot said no. He begged, instead, for the angel to allow him to escape to the small city of Zoar. The angel agreed.

Now, however, Lot is afraid to live in Zoar. He has apparently lost everything in God’s destruction of the region. All his flocks, herds, servants, slaves, and property are apparently gone. He may have felt exposed and unprotected in Zoar for some reason. He might have feared retaliation or abuse from those who lived in the city, now that he was a less-wealthy and less-powerful man. In any case, he takes his two daughters and runs to the hills, after all. They settle in a cave. It’s unclear why Lot didn’t run, instead, to the safety of his uncle Abraham’s household.

Context Summary
Genesis 19:30–38 describes the humiliating, horrific fate of Lot and his daughters. Having lost everything and living in a cave in the hills with their aging father, the two daughters assume no man will ever marry them or give them children. Their plan to remedy the situation is shocking, but not impossible for children raised in a culture like that of Sodom. Lot’s daughters get their father drunk on two consecutive nights, each having sex with him and becoming pregnant.

Verse 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.

Though saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his two grown daughters have lost everything else, including Lot’s wife, the girls’ mother. They’ve been reduced to living in a cave in the hills, overlooking the annihilation of the entire region.

Prior to these events, Lot’s two daughters had been engaged to men in Sodom (Genesis 19:14). Those men were destroyed along with the rest of the city for their wickedness. Now they cannot imagine a life beyond what they have lost. From their perspective, they will find no husbands. They will never have children. Some interpreters speculate that Lot’s daughters might have believed they were the only people left on earth. Others think it’s more likely these women felt that men from outside their familiar culture were unsuitable as husbands.

The following verses will reveal the actions they choose to take in response to their view of the world, but it is important for us to recognize that their view is false. Though they could not see it then, the world beyond what was lost was still full of eligible husbands. The God who had so dramatically saved their lives would certainly be capable of providing husbands for them in due time. Clearly, Lot also did not lead them to this conclusion, though he apparently had no idea what they had planned for him.

Lot’s daughters were not willing or able to trust God in this, however. Given that they were raised in the depraved culture of Sodom, and engaged by their father to men of that city, this is hardly a surprise.

Verse 32. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.”

Lot’s two grown virgin daughters had lost all they had ever known. This included their home, their mother, their wealth and status, and the men to whom they were engaged. The previous verse revealed their state of mind: They could not imagine that they would ever have opportunity to be married or have children after all they had lost. Instead of trusting the God who saved them to provide such things, they hatched a plan to provide them for themselves. This plan is horrific in both its motivation, and its details. However, it’s important to remember that these women were raised in a profoundly depraved culture. Their father had even arranged for their marriage to men of that city. These are two desperate women, filled with fear and steeped in a godless environment.

Their plan, as it turns out, is as simple as it is awful: incest. More specifically, the women plan to get their father Lot so drunk with wine that he would not resist (or even be aware of) their coming to have sex with him in the night.

Verse 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.

Lot’s two grown virgin daughters have experienced intense loss. They have witnessed the annihilation of their culture in Sodom, the loss of their prospective husbands, the destruction of their family’s wealth and power, and the death of their mother. Their despair was stated in prior verses: they were convinced no men would ever marry them. They would never have children. All they had was gone. They were living in the hills in a cave with no prospects for any kind of better life.

This lack of trust in God reflects poorly on Lot’s spiritual leadership. Then again, Lot chose to not only raise his children in a city as corrupt as Sodom, he arranged for his daughters to marry men of that city. That these women would turn to despair in a crisis is not surprising. Unfortunately, this upbringing also seems to factor into their attempt at resolving their situation. In Sodom, the men of the city demanded Lot turn over his guests so they could be raped (Genesis 19:5). Lot’s daughters enact a plan, here, which also revolves around sexual abuse.

Lot’s daughters concoct a plot to inebriate their father so they can sexually use him, in order to conceive children. Here, Lot’s firstborn daughter successfully executes the plan. They see to it that Lot is so blindingly drunk that he has no idea what is happening. His oldest daughter then takes advantage of her father, sexually, in order to conceive a child.

Verse 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.”

Lot’s daughters are reeling from the loss of their home, mother, and prospective husbands during the annihilation of Sodom. Apparently, they have no sense of trust in God, or His provision for their future. Instead, they seem convinced they no longer have any hope of marriage or children. This faithlessness is not unexpected, since Lot chose to plant his family deeply in the midst of a godless, depraved Sodomite culture.

The plan these women devise to fix their predicament is also reflective of the culture in which they were raised. Earlier, men of the city demanded two strangers be sent out of Lot’s home in order to be raped (Genesis 19:5). Recently, Lot’s daughters have plotted to conceive children by sexually violating their father—getting him drunk to the point of stupor and then having sex with him.

Lot’s oldest daughter has already been successful in her attempt. Since her scheme worked on the previous night, she encourages her younger sister to take advantage of their father, as well.

Verse 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.

After losing everything in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, including the men to whom they were engaged, Lot’s two daughters made a plan to attempt to have children of their own. This plot not only reflects a lack of trust in God, it also echoes the deep depravity of their childhood culture. In order to have children, Lot’s daughters plan to get Lot so drunk with wine that he would not be aware that they were coming into his bed to have sex with him.

The older daughter went first, and was able to succeed. Lot is so blinded by alcohol that he is not even aware of what’s happening, and has intercourse with his own daughter. She then encourages her younger sister to follow the same plan of action. So, on the following night, the younger daughter does the same. Lot appears not to have been aware of what had happened in either case.

Verse 36. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.

Lot’s two daughters had sex with their father on consecutive nights. Acting desperately, but very deliberately, they got him so drunk with wine that he didn’t even realize what was happening (Genesis 19:33; 35). Both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant through this sexual abuse of their own father.

Why would they do such a thing? Their stated reason was they assumed no man was left who would marry them and give them children. The men they were engaged to had been destroyed in God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24–25). Their mother was dead (Genesis 19:26). Lot, apparently, had lost all of his wealth, and they were now living in a cave. In their view, there was nothing left for them.

Lot, apparently, had not taught his daughters to seek help from the Lord or to wait for Him to provide. That goes a long way to explaining their despair and scheming. At the same time, even the godless world outside of Sodom and Gomorrah would have regarded this kind of incest as wrong. The action of the daughters reflected the “anything goes” morality of the culture in which they were raised in. Sodom had been wiped from the face of the earth, but it had not been removed from the hearts of Lot’s family. Lot had allowed his family to be deeply influenced by this cultural sin, and it certainly shaped his daughters’ sense of morality.

Despite their humiliating origins, the sons conceived in this event become the fathers of significant people groups: the Moabites and Ammonites. As seems to be common in the Bible, their names serve as a reminder of the circumstances of their birth.

Verse 37. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.

Lot and his two grown, virgin daughters were rescued from the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah by two angels (Genesis 19:15–16). During this escape, the entire culture of Sodom was wiped out, along with the girls’ mother and their prospective husbands (Genesis 19:24–26). While sheltering in a cave, the women despair of ever finding husbands or having children. This lack of faith is unsurprising, given that their father chose to anchor his family in such a depraved culture. Unfortunately, that same depravity is reflected in the plan Lot’s daughters concoct in order to bear children: to get their father so drunk that they can have sex with him.

On consecutive nights, Lot’s own daughters carry out this very plan. They make him so inebriated that he doesn’t even realize what is happening (Genesis 19:33, 36). His own children sexually abuse him in order to become pregnant.

The son of the firstborn daughter was called Moab. This word sounds similar to the Hebrew term meaning “from father.” He became the father of the Moabite people, who would later become enemies of Israel. Likewise, the younger daughter bears a son named Ben-ammi, whose Ammonite descendants are also antagonistic towards God’s people.

Verse 38. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

As Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, two angels rescued Lot and his grown, virgin daughters. After losing their mother, prospective husbands, and homeland, these women sheltered in a cave with their father. Reflecting a lack of spiritual guidance from their father, Lot’s daughters assume they will never be able to find husbands and have children. Echoing the heinous immorality of their home culture, the women scheme to conceive children by their own father, plying him with alcohol until he literally has no idea what is occurring (Genesis 19:33, 36).

Lot’s two daughters had sex with their father on consecutive nights. Both become pregnant. The older daughter’s son is named Moab, the patriarch of the Moabites, who become enemies of Israel.

The son of the younger daughter was called Ben-ammi, a name meaning “son of my people”. He eventually becomes the father of the Ammonite people. Like the Moabites, the Ammonites would later become enemies of Israel.

End of Chapter 19.

Please Note:

The material use in this post, video is from BibleRef.com which is from Got Questions Ministries and is posted here to be read by Immersive reader in the Edge Browser. If you copy this material please follow these rules:

•Content from BibleRef.com may not be used for any commercial purposes, or as part of any commercial work, without explicit prior written consent from Got Questions ministries.

•Any use of our material should be properly credited; please make it clear the content is from BibleRef.com.

•BibleRef.com content may not be altered, modified, or otherwise changed unless such changes are specifically noted.