by
Lane Rogers
Genesis 19 & 20
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1Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. |
I. v.1a, The Men
A. According to v. 10,12,16, the two "angels" were men.
B. These are the two men who visited Abraham in 18:3.
C. Only two of the three men were sent to investigate the "outcry" against Sodom, (18:20) means that third person must have been dispatched to Gomorrah (18:20).
D. "The men" in this text are represented as a visitation from the Lord (v.18) "but Lot said to them, no Lord."
E. The men came to carry out the Lord's retribution against the wickedness of the city (v. 13b) but also in response to Abraham's prayer for the righteous (18:23-32), and the rescue of Lot (19:29).
II. Came into Sodom at evening when Lot was sitting at the gate. In a Canaanite city, the city gates were important. Here people gathered to gossip, to do business, and dispense justice. But the story makes it clear that Abraham's visitors arrive at mid-day where as Lot is visited when darkness is falling. A time when it would be dangerous to be out on the streets of Sodom.
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2And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square." 3Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.4Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5and 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." 6But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8"Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. 10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. |
V.1b through 11
I. The Visitation
A. V.2 turn aside. An indication of the large crowds of people in the city as opposed to the "come by" we noticed with Abraham.
B. V. 2 Set off early. Did Lot think that these men might have a chance to leave before getting into trouble with the townspeople?
C. V. 3 a feast -notice what a scanty feast this was. The only item mentioned is 'unleavened' bread. Compared to what Abraham served them (bread from fine flower).
D. V. 4-5. The men of the city, the men of Sodom...Where are the men? ...Throughout this sequence there is an ironic interplay between the "men" of Sodom, whose manliness is expressed in the universal impulse to homosexual gang rape and divine visitors who seem only to be men.
E. v.7 brothers....title is rejected by the gang of Sodomites in verse 9.
F. I have two daughters.....who have known no man! In the Near East, there was a sacred bond between the host and the guest. That bond or obligation took precedent over all other things. Lot surely is inciting the lust of the would be rapists by offering his daughters for their pleasure. The concluding episode of this chapter in which the drunken Lot unwittingly takes the virginity of both his daughters, suggests measure-for-measure justice meted out for his rash offer.
G. The contrast between Abraham and Lot can be clearly seen and goes back to Lot's decision to pitch his tent near Sodom (13:12). Lot later will be pictured as the father of the Moabites and Ammonites. Thus, the fate of Moab (v.37) and the fate of Ammon (v.38) will be the same as the fate of Lot. They will always live in the edge of the promised land but never in the promised land.
Verses 12-14
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12Then the two men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 14Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city " But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
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I. vs. 12-14. The messengers and their purpose
A. They had been sent to destroy the city and to rescue Lot (vs.12-13).
B. V. 14, The two sons-in-law are as the rest of the men in the city.
C. The sons-in-law thought Lot was joking!
Lot Delivered VS 15-29
I. Light Verse Dark
A. In contrast to the wickedness of Sodom which was placed in the darkness of night, (vs 2. 4-5) the deliverance of Lot took place at the break of day (v.15).
B. In contrast to the men of Sodom who blindly groped for the door to Lot's house, Lot and his family were led out of the city safely (v.16).
C. The picture then we are suppose to see is 'Lot' a righteous man living in the midst of evil and being rescued by God's chosen One.
II. VS- 17-22
A. In case you missed this
1. Lot requested shelter in the nearby city of Zoar (v.20) and by granting that request, the "Lord" saved Zoar from destruction.
2. We here are reminded of Abraham's prayer and the importance of prayer. vs.17-22.
III. VS. 23-28
A. We now are reminded of two things.
1. "The sun had arisen over the land" (v.23b).
2. Lot reached Zoar safely (19:23a).
3. The mention of the sun also ties this to an early morning rescue (v.15).
4. Sunrise is also a Biblical image of divine salvation for the righteous and judgment on the wicked (Isa.9:2; Mal. 4:1-2).
5. First, we have the divine rescue, (Lot) and now we have the divine judgment (vs.24-25). "The Lord rained burning sulfur down on Sodom and Gomorrah ."
6. The story does not dwell on the fate of the cities but on the fate of two individuals, Lot's wife and Abraham. Both looked at the destruction but with different outcomes.
7. The obvious point is obedience. Abraham was told "don't look anywhere in the plain so the writer reminds us that he "returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord." (vs.27-28).
8. Lot's wife (v.27) did not obey was turned into a pillar of salt.
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30Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31Then 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 the earth. 32"Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father."33So 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. 34On the following 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 our family through our father." 35So 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. 36Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day. |
I. A matter of Incest vs. 29-38
A. The start of this section is a clear reminder of the part that Abraham played in this matter. (v.29).
B. In the irony of this story, Lot performs an act that was equally as bad as those of his former home town. Sodom had just been destroyed for such behavior (see v. 19:8).
C. One might also notice how this story mirrors that of Noah and the post flood world.
D. One ought only remember the equally shameful deed of Tamar in Genesis chapter 38 and that deed was called righteous (v.26).
E. Does the end justify the means? In this case, Lot's daughters saved his seed line. (See Deut. 2:9 and 19).
F. Though the Moabites and the Ammonites are considered to be Israel's relatives, they are excluded from Israel's worship (Deut.23:3-4).
G. But, the Moabites and Ammonites mistreated Israel and that was the primary reason for their exclusion (Num.22:4-20; Deut. 23:4).
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1Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. 2Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister " So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married." 4Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? 5"Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother ' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this." 6Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7"Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
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I. Abraham and the Nations
A. Abraham's role as intercessor and by him all people of the earth will be blessed.
B. He prayed for the Philistines (20:7) and God healed them (v.17) In this story, Abimelech plays the role of the righteous Gentile. We see that God's chosen one can live in peace and harmony with the Gentiles.
1. There is a conscious effort here to draw attention to the Gentile nations. Notice,
a. 19:29-38: Moabites and Ammonites
b. 20:1-18: The Philistines
c. 21:1-8 Isaac
d. 21:9-21: Ishmaelties
e. 21:22-34: Philistines
Verse 1.---Abraham leaves the great tress of Mamre. Traveled to Negev to sojourn in Gerar.
Verse 2.---Sarah was taken to Abimelech's house. Did Abraham mistakenly judge the Philistine people as being wicked?
C. Verse 3-16
1. And God came to Abimelech. This potentate was immediately given a higher moral status than Pharaoh in chapter 12. God speaks to him only thorough plagues where as Abimelech is directly addressed.
2. (3)You are a dead man. Better translation, you are about to die.
3. (4) will you slay a nation even if innocent? Abraham just went though this same ordeal with Lot. Now Abimelech makes the same plea.
4. (5) and , she , she too.... This repetitive sputter of indignation is vividly registered in the Hebrew language. Most modern translations smooth over this.
5. There is great stress on the innocence of Abimelech (4b).
6. Abimelech was innocent and God Himself concurred with judgment ("I know you did this with a clear conscience" v.6).
7. I did not allow you to touch her. We are told more about this at the end of the story.
Chapter 20: 1.7
A. Abraham journeys and sojourns for the first time since 12: 9-10. This current story is very similar to that of 12:9-10 and 26:1-11. Gerar is in the southwest corner of Canaan and is later known as the Philistine territory.
B. In 12:10-20 the writer presents very early the reason Abraham calls Sarah his sister but here we do not find out until vs. 11-13.
1. Since this is Abraham's second offense it is clear that he has not learned his lesson.
2. Once again, he deliberately betrays his wife.
3. Abraham knowingly places her life and well being in jeopardy.
4. What is worse, he apparently does not believe that God will bring an offspring through Sarah.
5. Once more, Abraham does not consider the consequences of his behavior on other people and to some extent, all of this may be behind the testing in chapter 22.
C. It is God who intervenes and protects Sarah. God and Abimelech carry on a conversation in the dream. This conversation is unusual in several respects.
a. God speaks to one outside the community of faith (see Num.22:20), and indeed strikes up a conversation with him. Abimelech's response draws a positive approval from God.
b. Similar to Abraham in 18:22-33, Abimelech perceives an injustice, sharply questions God and states his innocence. Abimelech expects his innocence to be acknowledged even under the threat of death.
c. Verse 6 states that God had been so active in his life, God prevented Abimelech from touching her.
d. God makes the threat of death knowing that Abimelech was innocent (compare verse 3 with verse 6). This is a matter of fact statement regarding the moral order and the seriousness of adultery. In vs. 17-18 we read that Abimelech's death would have been caused by a malady that was capable of being healed and that the women of his household were unable to conceive.
e. God devotes attention to the effects of the deeds apart from guilt or innocence. By preventing Abimelech from touching Sarah through illness God has prevented something much worse from happening.
f. God says that two things must happen in order to preserve Abimelech's life.
1. (v.7) He must restore Sarah to Abraham and then Abraham, a prophet, must pray for him. Indeed, if he does not do this his entire family will be claimed.
2. Since God has declared Abraham to be a prophet, Abimelech is now dependent on the prophet for intercession.
20: 8-18, Abimelech reacts.
V. 8ff--- Abimelech reacts in two basic ways.
(1) He calls all of his servants together and makes a report to them. They are afraid.
(2) Having been assured by God that he is innocent, Abimelech now confronts Abraham.
1. v v. 9-10...And Abimelech...said...and Abimelech said...
The repetition of the introduction with no intervening response from Abraham is pointedly expressive. Abimelech vehemently castigates Abraham (with good reason) and Abraham stands silent.
2. vs. 11-12...When Abraham finally speaks up his words have the ring of a person seeking self justification.
a. He had determined that there was no fear of God in this place.
b. Sarah his half-sister became his wife (a practice later forbidden Deut. 27:212). There was some deception involved here.
c. In this case, Abraham blames God for making him wander which seems a self-serving reply.
3. What did Abraham fear? If we remember that Gerar is part of Sodom, for all Abraham knew he was going to be approached as were the two men who went to Sodom. In Sodom, two strangers came to town and were immediately objects of sexual assault by the entire male population.
In the case of Abraham, two strangers come to town, one male and one female. He assumes that the female (Sarah) will appease the rapists and if they are not appeased he will be murdered. Once again, Abraham is wrong. Abimelech turned out to be a decent man.
4. Verse 13, actually reads, the gods made me a wanderer. Most English translations translate this "God" but after all, Abraham is addressing a pagan.
5. And Abimelech took sheep and cattle. Unlike Pharaoh in chapter 12, Abimelech offers all this after Sarah leaves his harem.
According to the Documentary Hypothesis, there was originally one story and the other two were copied from the original and slightly re-written. I reject that idea on the basis of the chart below. While it is true there are some similarities between the stories one will notice there are substantial differences. Thus, all three stories were actual events that happened in Abraham and Isaac's life.
There are four common motifs:
Travel to a place in which the husband and wife are unknown.
A claim that the man's wife is his sister, because he fears being killed on account of her.
Discovery of the ruse.
Resolution of the situation created by the false identity.
When you study the events, however, you see a number of differences in the motivations, details, and conclusions. And, the episodes in chapters 20 and 26 presuppose that the reader is familiar with wife-sister account in chapter 12.Observe the variety in these stories in the chart below:
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Passage |
12:10-20 |
20:1-18 |
26:7-11 |
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Couple |
Abraham, Sarah |
Abraham, Sarah |
Isaac, Rebekah |
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Locality |
Egypt |
Gerar |
Gerar |
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Reason For Stay |
Famine |
None Given |
Famine |
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King |
Pharaoh |
Abimelech |
Abimelech |
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Offense |
Sarah Taken as wife |
Sarah entered harem |
Potential Only |
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King Becomes Aware |
Not said |
warning dream |
Sees
Isaac Caressing |
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Reason For Deceit |
Abraham's Fear of Death |
Abraham's Fear of Death |
Isaac's Fear of Death |
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Excuse |
None Given |
No fear of God in this place...When God had made me wander...asked favor of Sarah |
Because I thought I might lose my life on the count of her |
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Penalty on King |
Serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household. |
Abimelech, his wives and concubines could not beget or bear children. |
None. Orders people not to molest either Isaac or Rebekah. |
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Gifts because of Sarah |
Pharaoh treats Abraham well -- sheep, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels. |
None reported |
Not applicable |
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Expiation |
None |
1,000 shekels of silver, plus sheep, cattle, and slaves |
None |
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Expulsion |
Sent away with wife and possessions. |
None. "Live wherever you like." |
Not immediately, but finally because of Isaac's wealth only. |