Geneses Chapter 19- Wrath upon Evil

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Geneses Chapter 19- Wrath upon Evil

The Text from https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.19.NIV

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

1 The two angels(1) 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. (Lot met the angels.)

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. (Lot welcomed them to his house and served yeastless bread due to urgency, purity, and hospitality.)

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.”

(NASB, "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 have relations with them.”) (The local people harassed Lot and his guests.)

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.” (Lot protecting the guest, offered his two daughters to the mob.)

9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! (Lot as a foreigner judged people at the entrance of the city.) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. (The mob denied Lot and tried to enter the house.)

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. (The angels in the house rescued Lot and blinded the mob.)

12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here- sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,

13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” (Angels told Lot to rescue any other family members from the imminent judgement on the city.)

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. (Lot shared the news of judgement to his sons in law but they didn't listen to him. They had a chance but lost.)

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. (The angels forcefully drove Lot and his family out of the city.)

17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” ("Flee from the destruction to the mountains. But DON'T LOOK BACK." Lk. 9:62)

18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please!

19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die.

20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it- it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” ("Not the mountains which is far but to the nearby small town.")

21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. (Lot's plea was granted.)

22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar(small).)

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.

24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah- from the Lord out of the heavens. (The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with rain of burning sulfur.) (2, Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.)

25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities- and also the vegetation in the land. (The cities and all living things destroyed.)

26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Lot's wife failed to follow the direction of life and became a salt pillar.)

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. (Abraham witnessed the destruction of the cities.)

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. (But Lot was saved from the judgement because of Abraham. Lot wrongly chose the land but barely spared.)

Lot and His Daughters

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. (Lot and his daughters fled to the mountains.)

31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children- as is the custom all over the earth.

32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”

35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. (Lot's daughters slept with their drunken father and conceived babies.)

37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. (The first gave birth to Moab, sounds like "from father" in Hebrew.)

38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. (The second Ben-Ammi, "from the son of my father". Lot barely survived by the two tribes; Moabites and Ammonites.)

(1, Angels) (AI)

Biblical angels are created, immortal spirit beings who serve as God's messengers, warriors, and agents of divine will. They are not bound by physical laws, often appearing as men or in terrifying, glorious forms with multiple wings and eyes. Key roles include protecting believers, delivering messages, and executing judgment.

Names of Biblical Angels

Michael: An archangel and warrior who defends God's people.

Gabriel: A messenger angel who delivered divine revelations to Daniel and Mary.

Lucifer/Satan: A fallen angel who rebelled against God.

Note: Other names like Raphael or Uriel appear in apocryphal or deuterocanonical texts (e.g., Tobit, 2 Esdras), rather than the standard canonical Bible.

Types and Hierarchy of Biblical Angels

Angels (General): God’s messengers and agents.

Archangels: Chief angels, specifically Michael and Gabriel.

Cherubim: Guardians of sacred spaces (e.g., Eden, the Ark) often described with four faces (lion, ox, human, eagle) and four wings.

Seraphim: Highest order surrounding God’s throne, having six wings and praising God.

Ophanim (Wheels): Entities described as wheels within wheels covered in eyes, associated with God's throne.

Principalities, Powers, Dominions: Classes mentioned in Pauline epistles referring to heavenly hierarchy.

Duties and Powers

Messengers: Delivering God's instructions to humans.

Protectors/Warriors: Defending people from spiritual or physical danger.

Worshippers: Praising God in heaven.

Executing Judgment: Carrying out acts of destruction, such as in Sodom.

Appearance and Nature

While sometimes looking like human men, biblical descriptions often depict them as non-physical beings with "blazing glory". They can appear with multiple wings, legs resembling polished brass, and faces like lightning. They are "ministering spirits" (Hebrews 1:14), created prior to the earth and do not marry or reproduce.

Mt. 22:30, At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Heb. 1:14, Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

(2, Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.) (AI)

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, detailed in Genesis 19, was a divine judgment where God rained burning sulfur upon the cities due to extreme wickedness, sexual immorality, and inhospitality, destroying all inhabitants except for Lot and his family. The event is a quintessential biblical example of judgment.

Key Aspects of the Destruction:

Biblical Account: Angels warned Lot to flee for his life and not look back. While fleeing, his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Cause of Destruction: The cities were notoriously wicked, characterized by violence, homosexuality, rape, and severe inhospitality.

Nature of Judgment: Sulfur and fire fell from the sky, overturning the cities and the entire plain.

Scientific Theories: While traditional views focus on supernatural intervention, some researchers suggest a massive meteor airburst around 1650 BCE, which would have produced a devastating shockwave, potentially matching the story.

Historical/Cultural Impact: The names Sodom and Gomorrah became symbolic of utter destruction and divine judgment.

Sodom and Gomorrah in the New Testament (AI)

In the New Testament, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is cited as a definitive example of divine judgment against sexual immorality, rampant wickedness, and lack of hospitality. It serves as a warning of pending judgment, where God destroyed the cities with fire and brimstone, rescuing righteous Lot.

Key New Testament References:

2 Peter 2:6-9: States God turned the cities into ashes, condemning them to destruction and making them an example of what happens to ungodly people, while rescuing righteous Lot.

Jude 1:7: Highlights that these cities and surrounding areas "indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh," serving as an example of undergoing punishment by eternal fire.

Luke 17:28-32: Jesus references the days of Lot, noting that people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building right before fire and sulfur rained from heaven to destroy them all.

Mt. 10:14-15: 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

These references emphasize that the destruction was a historical reality that serves as a theological warning against extreme sinful behavior.