GENESIS LESSON 28


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

      Genesis 19:2 "And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray
you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your
feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said,
Nay; but we will abide in the street all night."

     One thing we need to note right here, is that even today,
perverted sex of any kind is called sodomy (taken from Sodom). In this
passage above, they were spoken of as angels. I believe these were
heavenly messengers sent of God. Lot must have realized they were
messengers.  Lot wanted to get them safely in his home and out of town,
before evil came their way. When lot called them lords, it was not
capitalized meaning they were not the Lord. They were sent to see if
the evil was as bad as had been reported, so they wanted to stay out
in the street.

     Genesis 19:3 "And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned
in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and
did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat."

     I believe in this unleavened bread that Lot fed them, he was
saying, I am free of sin. "Leaven" means sin.

     Genesis 19:4  "But before they lay down, the men of the city,
[even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and
young, all the people from every quarter:"
     Genesis 19:5 "And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where
[are] the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto
us, that we may know them."

     You see, this city was so evil and perverted that they
participated in group sex. God was showing these two angels that all of
this city was involved in this lascivousness, except perhaps, Lot's
immediate family. This "know", in the verse above, meani participate
in an abominable act with them. Male rape, if you will believe it.

     Genesis 19:6 "And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut
the door after him,"
     Genesis 19:7 "And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so
wickedly."
     Genesis 19:8 "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not
known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to
them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for
therefore came they under the shadow of my roof."

     Why Lot had not moved out of this evil city before now, baffles
me. He knew how perverted they were. I really believe the reason Lot
offered his daughters to these men in this Scripture was to show that
sex sin between a man and woman (even though it is very bad) is not as
bad as it is between two men.

     God calls it an abomination. I believe that is  very mild word
for what it is truly. Just the fact that these girls were still
virgins, showed just how perverted this city really was. Lot called these
evil men brethren, which means a pretty bad thing. He was either 
overlooking their sins and fellowshipping with them or he was 
involved himself. Either way, it was terrible. For a dad 
to offer his daughters to this evil bunch +0didn't speak too highly of Lot.

     Genesis 19:9 "And they said, Stand back. And they said [again],
This one [fellow] came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge:
now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed
sore upon the man, [even] Lot, and came near to break the door."

     These men filled with lust would not listen to Lot. They even called
him an outsider. One sin leads to another. They were about to break and
enter Lot's home to get the men.

     Genesis 19:10 "But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot
into the house to them, and shut to the door."

     Genesis 19:11 "And they smote the men that [were] at the door of
the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied
themselves to find the door."

     The men, spoken of here, were the angels who pulled Lot into the
house. Just as punishment has fallen today on people who commit this
terrible sin, God punished these with blindness.

     Just as people today involved in this sin are not turning from
their sins, neither did these men of Sodom. Lot's big mistake was in
staying in this evil place. Separate yourself from people who are
involved in this evil.

     Genesis 19:12  "And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any
besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever
thou hast in the city, bring [them] out of this place:"
     Genesis 19:13 "For we will destroy this place, because the cry of
them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath
sent us to destroy it."

     Sudden destruction was to fall on this city. God would not put up
with this sin. These angels had orders form God to call down fire
from heaven. These angels were warning Lot and his family to get out.

     Genesis 19:14 "And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law,
which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place;
for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked
unto his sons in law."

     His sons-in-law had reprobate minds. They were so caught up in
these sins themselves, that they had never slept with their wives.
(They were virgins). They did not know God, so why would they believe
a warning from God? When this city of men was struck blind, it was not
only physical blindness, but spiritual, too.

     Genesis 19:15 "And when the morning arose, then the angels
hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters,
which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city."
     Genesis 19:16 "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his
hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two
daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him
forth, and set him without the city."

     I cannot believe that Lot and his family were slow to leave, and
had to be led away from this evil city by these two angels. The girls
went without their husbands. They were better off without them, if
they were caught up in homosexuality. I do not find where Lot had made
a stand for God in this city; the Lord showed mercy to him probably
because of Abraham, and also, because he befriended the angels.

     Genesis 19:17  "And it came to pass, when they had brought them
forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou
be consumed."

     Lot and his family had to leave their home and their belongings,
but they should have been very thankful to get out with their lives.
In fact, the destruction was to be so widespread, that they were to run
to the mountain for safety. The angel warned them not to look back.

     Genesis 19:18 "And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:"
     Genesis 19:19 "Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy
sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto
me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some
evil take me, and I die:"
     Genesis 19:20 "Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and
it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, ( [is] it not a
little one?) and my soul shall live."

     This was a prayer of Lot to the Lord. Can you even believe that
Lot would question God on this? He realized God had been merciful, but
still wanted to alter the plans that God had made for his safety. It
seemed, Lot did not want to live in the country where you have to work
with your hands, he was a city dweller. Let's read on, and see if the
Lord answered his prayer.

     Genesis 19:21 "And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee
concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for
the which thou hast spoken."
     Genesis 19:22 "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any
thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was
called Zoar."

     God answered Lot's prayer. It seemed this city, as well, had been
set for destruction, but the Lord spared it for lot to dwell in.  The
name "Zoar" means little. The angel told him to hurry, so that he could
carry out the destruction.

     Genesis 19:23  "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered
into Zoar."
     Genesis 19:24 "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;"
     Genesis 19:25 "And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain,
and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the
ground."

     You see, this was like an atomic blast, but it came from the LORD
Himself. This was judgement. Sometimes, God uses people and nations to
bring judgement, but in this case, He took care of it Himself. He
explained that not only the cities were destroyed, but the people, and
the trees, and all living things.

     Genesis 19:26  "But his wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt."

     Disobedience to God can bring instant, sudden destruction, as it
did to Lot's wife, The Bible says, even now when you put your hand to
the plow, do not look back.

     Genesis 19:27  "And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the
place where he stood before the LORD:"
     Genesis 19:28 "And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and
toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of
the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."
     Genesis 19:29  "And it came to pass, when God destroyed the
cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of
the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which
Lot dwelt."

     You can see in all of this, that God remembered Abraham and saved
Lot, his nephew. I do not see, in any of this, that it was from
righteous living of Lot that saved him. It was by grace, and in
remembrance of Abraham. The description of this great destruction
would be very similar to hell. The only difference is this happened
and was over. Hell is continuous.

     In the next lesson, we will pick up here at verse 30.











                             Questions 28


1.  Who went to Sodom and saw Lot at the gate?
2.  What did Lot invite them to do?
3.  What is a word used today for perverted sex?
4.  Why did they want to stay in the street?
5.  What did Lot serve them?
6.  What does "unleavened" stand for?
7.  Who surrounded Lot's house that night?
8.  Why?
9.  What did Lot offer them, instead of the angels?
10. What did "know" mean in V-5?
11. Where did Lot talk to the men of the city?
12. What word did Lot call them, that indicated he fellowshipped with
    them?
13. What does God call homosexuality?
14. They accused Lot of being a stranger who moved into town. Why
    would he try to be their __________?
15. Why would the men not listen to Lot?
16. The angels saved Lot how?
17. What happened to the men trying to break into the house?
18. Did Lot have other members of his family, besides his wife and two
    daughters?
19. When Lot tried to get them to leave, how did they react?
20. What two kinds of blindness are meant?
21. When did the men tell Lot to leave?
22. Did he leave immediately? Explain.
23. What 2 reasons were probably why God saved Lot?
24. Did Lot go where God sent him?
25. Where did he go?
26. What was the name of the place where Lot went?
27. What does the name mean?
28. How did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?
29. This was like what?
30. What 3 ways does God bring judgement?
31. What, besides the cities, were destroyed?
32. What did Lot's wife do wrong?
33. What happened to her?
34. Disobedience brings what?
35. When Abraham looked, what did it look like toward Sodom?
36. Who did God remember in all of this?
37. This destruction reminds us of what?