LOT

*30/08/2020*

FIFTH SUNDAY SERMON

THEME: *ANGELS: MESSENGERS OF GOD*

TOPIC: *ANGELS MINISTERED TO MANY PEOPLE*

SUB-TOPIC: *LOT*

Text: Genesis 19:1-22

#before Sodom was destroyed#

*Lot's* fortunes had gone very well. The *gate* of a city was the place where the town elders met (Ruth 4:1). Lot had become so enmeshed in the life of the city that he had become a ruling elder.

*bowed himself:* A term commonly used for the worship of God (Genesis 22:5; 24:26); here it describes Lot's act of reverance to special guests (Genesis 18:2). The angels appeared as men (Genesis 18:2), and Lot greeted them as such.

*My Lords* is a greeting of respect for special visitors.

*your servant's house:* Lot's generous offer of hospitality may have been motivated out of kindness toward them as well as his sense of the dangers his city might hold for them.

*The men of Sodom* were aggressive homosexuals, bent on raping innocent travelers. Under the circumstances, Lot showed great courage by inviting his guests to stay at his house under his protection.

The Hebrew verb for *know* is ordinarily used of normal sexual relations between a male and female (Genesis 4:1). Here it is used to describe the perversion of homosexual sex between men. Romans 1:18-32, especially vv.26,27. The term sodomite comes from the passage.

Lot's plight was severe; he had invited guests into his home for protection and was now in danger of seeing them abused by an unruly mob. Lot's desperation led him to risk the lives of his own *two daughters* to protect the lives of strangers from the mob. We can see why  an outcry from the city had gone up to the Lord (Genesis 18:20,21). The crazed crowd was now about to attack Lot, whom they resented as an outsider even though he had risen to a position of prominence in the city. Those who were morally blind were now stricken with physical *blindness* by the angelic guests (see similar angelic blight in 2 Kings 6:18). Only the confusion and panic of these wicked men spared Lot and his family from vicious assault. The angelic guests had completed their search and were about to bring down the judgment of God on the city. In mercy, they offered an escape to Lot's immediate family. There simply were not sufficient righteous persons in the city for it to be spared (Genesis 19:13; 18:24-33).

*Arise* can mean "make haste".

*he lingered:* Lot had mixed feelings about the destruction that was to come. Lot had his family needed to be propelled from their home by physical force. The verb for *took hold* means "to seize".

*the Lord being merciful:* This is the whole point of the story. God could have destroyed the city of Sodom with no word to Lot or Abraham (Genesis 18:17). But because of God's mercy, His angels grabbed Lot and his family and brought them forcefully to safety.

*Zoar* means "Insignificant in Size".

*Confession*

Lord, when you send forth your angels to execute judgment. In your mercy, provide an escape for my family and I.

*In Jesus name*

Amen.

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