In Chapter 18 Abraham had three visitors at his house. Two of these visitors were angels and one of them was the Lord. While the Lord investigates the outcry that has gone up against Sodom and Gomorrah, the two angels end up staying in the home of Abraham's nephew Lot in Sodom.
"The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city." (Genesis 19:1a) We don't want to miss the significance of where these angels meet Lot. Men who sat in the gateway of a city were civic leaders and judges. Lot is not indulging in the sins of his fellow citizens, according to the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 2:7-8) but he has integrated into the society enough to become an elected official. He was an outsider at first, having come all the way from Ur of the Chaldees, but he has compromised his faith to the point that the people of Sodom can hardly tell any difference between him and themselves. This is probably why he hasn't led anyone to the Lord during all the years he's lived there. Abraham asked the Lord to spare the city if He could find ten righteous people there, but the Lord won't find ten righteous people there, and not even Lot's own family members are living close to the Lord. Nothing has been accomplished spiritually by Lot while he's lived in Sodom; the opposite is actually true. Lot's own faith has suffered. We will see in tomorrow's passage that his family doesn't appear to be saved. He hasn't set a godly enough example that any of his friends and neighbors have come to believe in the Lord through his actions or his testimony. Honestly, if the Apostle Peter hadn't stated that Lot was a righteous man who was vexed by the sin around him, I wouldn't suspect him of being a godly man at all.
Lot displays the same type of hospitality as his uncle Abraham. "When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. '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.'" (Genesis 19:1b-2a) In a time when people wore sandals, feet got pretty dusty. It was customary to offer visitors the opportunity to wash their feet before they came into the house. I find it interesting that Lot almost seems to be trying to hurry them on their way the next morning. He suggests that they should leave "early in the morning". I don't know whether he has any inkling that these men are angels, but he knows that strangers don't always fare too well in Sodom, so it's not safe for them to linger there long.
At first the two men reject his offer. I am not sure why. Perhaps because, as angels, they don't need the protection of his house. Or perhaps they are just giving him more of an opportunity to extend hospitality and become concerned for them, because they are going to need to be able to get him to listen to them, and it will be easier for them to get him to listen to them if he feels interested in their welfare. "'No,' they answered, 'we will spend the night in the square.' 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." (Genesis 19:2b-3) I think Lot was quite alarmed when he heard their intention of sleeping in the square. He knows no one will survive a night in the square without being robbed, physically or sexually assaulted, or killed.
I'm surprised that no commentary I've ever consulted about this passage has made any mention of the fact that they ate unleavened bread. Lot didn't use yeast because he's trying to put a quick meal in front of the men and he doesn't have time to let the dough rise, but I can't help noticing the similarity between this meal and the Passover meal that the children of Israel ate on the night before the exodus. Lot is about to make his own exodus, though he doesn't know it yet.
Something very shocking happens next. What happens next demonstrates to us the utter breakdown of law and order in Sodom. It demonstrates a total lack of morals and an absence of any respect for human life and personal dignity. "Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom---both young and old---surrounded the house. 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.'" (Genesis 19:4-5) This sounds like something out of a horror movie. A mob has formed outside the house. This mob includes every man of the city. There's not a male of Sodom who is old enough to be considered a man who is not presently standing outside Lot's house demanding he push the two visitors outside so they can assault them. I can't think of any way to put their request other than how the Bible intends for us to take it: all the men of Sodom are demanding to be allowed to gang rape Lot's visitors. If Lot does not release the visitors to them, they intend to take them by force. If they are allowed to do what they want with the visitors, it would result in the death of the visitors if they were mere human beings.
We have no idea whether the men of Sodom know the visitors are angels. I tend to doubt it. To them they are probably just foreigners and strangers, which makes them more attractive because they are different and new. In their minds, being from out of town makes the visitors fair game. Because they are not citizens of Sodom and because they have remained in town after sundown, in the minds of these men they have forfeited their right to safe passage. It could even be that they think Lot is having sexual relations with the visitors. After all, that's what they themselves would do with anyone staying in their houses. People with evil intentions often project their own wicked thoughts onto others, so they might be thinking, "Why should Lot have all the fun? Why is he keeping these interesting strangers to himself? He needs to let us in on this."
In tomorrow's passage we find Lot trying to reason with the men of Sodom, but they will not listen. They will try to beat the door down and the angels will have to supernaturally prevent the men from doing harm to Lot or to anyone else in the house. Then they will inform Lot of the impending destruction of the city.
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