A COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 18 DEALING WITH THE VISIT OF GOD TO ABRAHAM IN THE APPEARANCE OF THREE MEN.

1. Genesis 19
1 The two angels 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.
1. It was a typical evening in Sodom as Lot sat in the gateway of the city ready to
invite any stranger to come to his place to stay for the night. It was a tradition of
hospitality in that part of the ancient world that has lasted to this day. Some feel
that this location where he was sitting is an indication that he was a civic leader in
the community. If that is not the case it is still obvious that he has taken up
residence in this sinful place, and is playing some role there. There is a lot of
speculation as to what his role was. Some say he was a judge and others the mayor
of the city, but all of this is just speculation and has no Biblical basis. Many jump to
the conclusion that he must have been a part of the local government because he was
sitting at the gate, and then they blast his character because he was a part of this
most corrupt people. This is nonsense, for there were many reasons for people to be
sitting at the gate of the city. It was the perfect place to meet people, for they had to
come into the city that way. In Ruth 4:1 we read, "Meanwhile Boaz went up to the
town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along,
Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat
down." If you study the gate of the city in the Bible you will see many reasons why
people sat at the gate, and making them all officials of the government just because
it was the key place for government to do business is foolishness. Many were there
just to observe the business and judgments of the government, and to get the latest
news. There is no reason whatever to assume Lot was a part of the government. Gill
in his commentary wisely rejects any idea of Lot being an official, and he writes,
"..he sat there to observe strangers that might pass by, and invite them into his
house, and that they might not fall into the hands of the wicked Sodomites, who
might abuse them; this being a time when not only travelers would be glad to put up
and take refreshment, but his wicked neighbors lay in wait for them to satisfy their
lusts on them: he had learnt this hospitality from Abraham."
There is also much speculation on the character of Lot for living in such a godless
city of corruption, and many judge him as being materialistic and being there for
the money and possessions. Many give him a black name with no basis for such a
judgment. It is wise to stick with the facts the Bible reveals and not make wild
accusations just because it is popular by preachers to use Lot as an example of the
backslider who is like the carnal Christian who is caught up in the world. The
evidence for this is circumstantial and very subjective. If we go to the highest
authority we get a totally different picture of this Old Testament hero. That

2. authority would be the New Testament where the following paragraph is given to us
by Peter.
II Pet. 2:4-10 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to
hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if he did not
spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but
protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an
example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a
righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that
righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous
soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9if this is so, then the Lord knows
how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of
judgment, while continuing their punishment.10This is especially true of those who
follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority."
2. God's Word calls Lot a righteous man three times in the above paragraph, and
testifies that instead of participating in any way with the sinfulness of Sodom, that
he hated the filthy lives of these people and was tormented by all the evil and
lawlessness around him. That does not sound like a backslider to me, but an
unbelievably godly man in the midst of a godless society. To add to the honor of this
man Jesus put Lot in the same category with Noah in Luke 17:26-29, "Just as it was
in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were
eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered
the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28"It was the same in the days
of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and
destroyed them all." In other words, they were two of a kind as the exceptionally
righteous men in an exceptionally unrighteous society. He was a hero to Jesus, and
is portrayed in the most positive light by Peter, and so you can make your own
choice between the hundreds of sermons who give him a negative image, or accept
him as a hero along with God and Jesus.
3. I won't use names so as to embarrass anyone, but here are a few examples of how
preachers reject the testimony of the New Testament and drag Lot through the mud
of their own making. One eloquent author wrote, "By faith Abram sojourned in the
land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles." We have no such
statement, in reference to Lot.* It could not be said, "By faith Lot sat in the gate of
Sodom." Alas! no; he gets no place among the noble army of confessors — the great
cloud of witnesses to the power of faith. The world was his snare, present things his
bane. He did not "endure as seeing him who is invisible." He looked at "the things
which are seen, and temporal:" whereas Abram looked at "the things which are
unseen and eternal." There was a most material difference between those two men,
who, though they started together on their course, reached a very different goal, so
far as their "public testimony was concerned. No doubt Lot was saved, yet it was
"So as by fire," for, truly, "his work was burned up." On the other hand, Abraham
had "an abundant entrance ministered unto him into the everlasting kingdom of

3. our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
It gets downright funny when one author assumes that sitting at the gate of the city
means he is a leader in this wicked society, and, therefore, he is part of its evil. He
then writes, "Hence, the angels' word to Lot contains a most unqualified
condemnation of his position in Sodom. They would rather abide in the street all
night, than enter under the roof of one in a wrong position. Indeed, their only object
in coming to Sodom seems to have been to deliver Lot, and that, too, because of
Abraham; as we read: "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 which Lot dwelt." This is strongly
marked. It was simply for Abraham's sake that Lot was suffered to escape: the Lord
has no sympathy with a worldly mind; and such a mind it was that had led Lot to
settle down amid the defilement of that guilty city. Faith never put him there; a
spiritual mind never put him there; "his righteous soul" never put him there. It was
simple love for this present evil world that led him, first, to "choose," then to "pitch
his tent toward," and, finally, to "sit in the gate of Sodom." And, oh! What a
portion he chose. Truly it was a broken cistern which could hold no water; a broken
reed which pierced his hand." This author gets the angels on his side in condemning
Lot, but neglects to point out that the Lord of the angels does not have a word of
condemnation, but only words of praise.
Another author writes, "So, Lot has gone from being merely around them to being
one of them!" So now Lot is no better than the Sodomites. This same author accuses
Lot of being selfish for choosing the best part of the land when he and Abraham had
to split up because of conflict with their servants. This is absurd, for Abraham gave
him the choice. How can it be selfish to do what Abraham gave him the freedom to
do? There is no rhyme or reason to the negative things preacher says about Lot. It is
nothing but slander against the man that Abraham risked his life to save when he
was captured by enemy forces. This author calls Abraham the friend of God, and
Lot the friend of the World, and again it is pure slander without foundation.
"Portrait of a Backslider," is how another preacher titles his message on Lot. Notice
how another preacher waters down the distress and torment of his soul that Peter
tells us about: "What a perfect picture Lot exhibits of a modern day carnal
Christian. He thinks he has the best of both worlds. The eternal benefit of knowing
the Lord as Savior, but also the temporal benefits that result from worldly influence
and possessions together with the acceptance by and fellowship with the people of
the world. Their gross sinfulness may vex his soul a little bit and he may not wish to
enter into quite all of their activity, but in general he gets along with all of them
quite well and is quite pleased with himself that he does." There is no end to this
type of negative talk about Lot, and the reason I stress all this slander is because it is
based on human speculation that defies the clear Word of God that is only positive.
He was not perfect and had his sinful nature like all the heroes of the Bible, but
there is no basis to pick him out as an example of the bad guy.
4. This chapter starts right off telling us he was a man of great hospitality who
treated strangers like the best of friends. He had no intention of harming these men,
but of providing for their comfort and safety. He was ready to make any sacrifice to

4. assure that they had a pleasant time in this dangerous city of corruption. He is the
good guy in this whole story, even though we question some of his choices.
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."
1. Lot is eager to invite these strangers to his home, and the first thing he offers is
that they can wash their feet. That is not what we usually do when inviting someone
to stay in our home, but we do not live in desert conditions. These angels had just
washed their feet earlier at the tent of Abraham, and now they need to do it again
for they had walked some miles. Dirty feet were one of the things that angels had to
experience in the human body. It was a constant issue, for there were no sidewalks
and dusty roads were all they had. So feet washing was a daily chore, and sometimes
twice or more daily. I can just imagine the angels complaining about this, for they
come from an environment with totally dirt free conditions, and everything stayed
white and clean all the time. It is humorous to think of angels having to wash their
dirty feet so often.
2. These angels were too independent to take charity, and so they refused the
invitation and said they would just rough it by spending the night outside in the
town square. They were angels and so they did not need to depend on man for any
of their needs, and they had no fear of anything men could do to them. They were
also well aware of Eastern customs that demanded modesty in responding to gifts.
You do not grab them in greedy selfishness, but let the giver insist that you take
them. These angels obviously had some training before they were sent on this
assignment, and so they knew how to act so as to conform to the culture.
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.

5. 1. Lot would not take no for an answer, and he insisted with such passion that they
could not refuse him. He loved to be hospitable and have people to his home where
he could learn from strangers who traveled places he had never been. It was
equivalent to having a television in our day. He could have an evening of
entertainment and it would be educational as well. He was not going to let these two
get away and deprive himself of a great evening of conversation. It would be
embarrassing for the strangers to keep rejecting such an urgent request and so they
gave in and came to his home. There he treated them like family and made a meal
for them. It does not sound like angel food that he prepared, for you would think
that would be something more fluffy and light. Instead he made bread without yeast
and that does not have those characteristics. He did not know they were angels, and
angels probably eat anything anyway. They have good appetites, for they just ate
with Abraham earlier, and so we have two of the best fed angels on record here.
They were, no doubt, enjoying this unique experience of living in human bodies for
a day and enjoying human pleasures. It would add some variety to their eternal lives
of living in paradise. Variety is the spice of life, and hopefully that applies to angels
as well as humans. On the other hand it is possible they were saying. "We can't wait
to get through with this assignment and get back to heaven where the environment,
company and angel food is a million times better.” Whatever the case, it was nice of
Lot to be so friendly.
2. Lot was being very compassionate toward these two strangers for he knew just
how evil the people were, and he knew they would molest these two if they slept out
in the open. Strangers would have no idea of just how wicked the people were in
Sodom, and so in their innocence they would assume they were safe when in fact
they were in great danger. Lot was there to protect people from their ignorance, and
spare them from a tragic experience.
3. At this point I want to quote another anti-Lot author just to illustrate again how
prejudice they are toward him, and how they do not pay any attention to verses like
these last two. The quote says, "Lot did not help any of his family toward heaven.
Not one person in his household believed God. He brought no honor to Christ, his
God and Savior, in his generation. I cannot find one large-hearted, noble-minded, or
self-sacrificing thing he ever did in his entire life. When he died, Lot left nothing
behind that would indicate that he ever knew God at all. If we did not have Peter's
record, if all we read was the account Moses gives of his life, we would be forced to
conclude that Lot was a lost man. We should not be surprised that Lot's life turned
out like it did. Worldly, lingering souls, are never useful instruments for good to
others. They have no influence for good among men. They bring no honor to Christ
while they live." These are mighty harsh words for a man that God so loved he
saved him twice from certain death, and then used his seed to be a chain in the line
to the Messiah, and one that he calls a righteous man in the New Testament. I keep
pointing out the nasty things people say of Lot because God's Word does not
support them, and it is slander against a godly brother.

6. 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.
1. Here we have over-kill for sure. There are two strangers and all the men of the
city come expecting to use them as sex objects. This is ludicrous and hideous
behavior, and it reveals just why they had to be eliminated as a people. People who
fall this low are not going to be persuaded to change, and so the only alternative is
elimination. There is no generation gap in this city. They are all one in their iniquity
and all ages are equally corrupt. It is a perfect place for judgment, for there is no
hint that a future generation might change things for the better. The young are just
as far gone as the old timers.
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."
1. This is so pathetic that it is laughable. How in the world can people fall so low as
to treat strangers like this? They had no respect for people, and no respect for their
rights and dignity. They were there to rape two innocent men who had done them
no wrong. There are no words to describe just how ungodly and barbaric these
people were. The fact that the city is still here at this time is a testimony to the
amazing patience of God who can hold back judgment when it is long overdue. We
talk about the Hollywood cesspool because of all the sex in film and reality there,
but in the light of this passage Hollywood sounds like a nunnery in comparison. This
is the lowest of the low points even in the cultures of the godless of the O. T. God
tolerates terrible wickedness for a long time in hopes that there will come a day
when the wicked will repent and forsake their folly. These people were blest with
the most fertile land, and Gen. 13:10 says it was so well watered it was like the
garden of God. They had the best of a beautiful environment, and God is always
hopeful that beauty will lead people to see how ugly their sin is in contrast to that
beauty and repent. God also used Abraham to deliver these people in Gen. 14 when
they were defeated by enemy soldiers. God is hopeful that when wicked people are
delivered from death and destruction that they will repent in gratitude to God and
his providence in their lives. Unfortunately, man is so often depraved beyond being
able to respond positively to the blessings of God. Hitler and his generals were able
to sit and listen to the music of the great classical composers, and gaze at the worlds
great works of art, and then still plan how to brutally kill masses of innocent men,

7. women and children. Beauty and blessings do bring many to be grateful to God, but
you cannot count on it, for as Paul says in Rom. 2:4, "Or do you show contempt for
the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness
leads you toward repentance?" These Sodomites had every reason to be grateful for
the grace and mercy of God, but they chose to pervert all that he had blest them
with, including the sex drive.
2. This is the ultimate in sexual perversion when you have a whole town coming
together for a gang rape of two stranger who wandered into their midst. We do not
have any pictures of these two angels in the form of young men, but we can assume
that angels do not take on the form of sub-normal men. More than likely they were
unusually handsome specimens of the species, and when they came through the city
gates it was not just Lot who saw them, but the elders or other citizens who spread
the word that two very handsome men had entered their domain. Lust was the name
of their game and so the whole town was soon aroused to come and get in on the
action. Now you can see why there were not ten righteous men in the city that could
have saved it from destruction. They were all caught up in a homosexual lifestyle.
They did not pretend to want to get to know them like a welcome committee would
do, but without shame they declare that they want to have sex with them. They were
so obsessed with homosexuality that they refused to have sex with the two young
women that Lot offered them, and likely that is why Lot was willing to offer them,
for he knew they would refuse.
3. The thing that is most amazing is that as bad as these Sodomites were, they had
not reached the bottom of human depravity. This is brought out by Ezekiel in Ezek.
16:46-58 where God's own people are blasted for falling to a depth lower than
Sodom. They were so bad that in comparison they made Sodom look like the good
guys. It is unbelievable, but here is God's own words through the prophet: "46
Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters;
and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was
Sodom. 47 You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices,
but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. 48 As surely as I
live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did
what you and your daughters have done. 49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister
Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did
not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before
me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. 51 Samaria did not commit
half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have
made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. 52 Bear your
disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your
sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be
ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
53 " 'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of
Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, 54 so that you may
bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55
And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will
return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what

8. you were before. 56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of
your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned
by the daughters of Edom [h] and all her neighbors and the daughters of the
Philistines—all those around you who despise you. 58 You will bear the
consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD."
It is of interest that verses 49 and 50 point out a number of things besides
homosexuality that made the Sodomites worthy of God's judgment. We see the same
judgment comes on Jerusalem for being just like Sodom in Isaiah 3:8-9 "Jerusalem
staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against the LORD, defying his
glorious presence. 9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their
sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon
themselves." There is something about being open and bold about sin that makes it
even more detestable to God. It is terrible when it is hidden, but when it is done
openly and proudly it is worthy of greater judgment. This is scary when you see how
immorality, adultery and homosexuality are openly promoted on television as a
lifestyle. It makes you wonder how long before judgment will come on our country.
The only hope is that there are enough righteous people in America to hold back the
wrath of God.
Jeremiah adds his testimony to just how bad things got in Jerusalem even among
the prophets. In other words, those who should have been the best of people had
become the worst. Jer. 23:14 says, "14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have
seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the
hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like
Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."
If you go to Lev. 18 you can read the list of the sexual sins of the land that God gave
to Israel, and it is these sins that made them worthy of being driven out of the land.
They were warned not to follow these people in this sin, but they did and suffered
the same judgment. Lev.18:24-28says "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways,
because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became
defiled. 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land
vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The
native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable
things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before
you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out
as it vomited out the nations that were before you."
4. When we come to the New Testament we see Jesus adding his testimony to the
record that the Sodomites were not the worst sinners. The more light people have
the greater is their sin when they do not give heed to that light. So Jesus says in
Matt. 10:11-16, "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy
person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it
your greeting. 13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let
your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,
shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15I tell you the
truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment

9. than for that town. 16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be
as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." In Matt. 11:20-24 he gets more
specific and says, "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his
miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21"Woe to you, Korazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been
performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of
Judgment than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies?
No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had
been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24But I tell you that
it will be more bearable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you." Jesus is
saying that as bad as those people were, they would have watched the miracles of
Jesus and recognized him as the Messiah, and they would have become believers,
and their city would have been spared. Because God knows what people would have
done had they had the evidence like those did in the days of Jesus, they will be
judged with greater mercy than those who had it all and still did not repent. The
bottom line is, the Sodomites are not the worst people that ever lived, and they will
not be in the lowest level of hell. Not much consolation, but it is a Biblical fact.
5. The good news is that people who have fallen as low as these Sodomites can
become children of God with the promise of eternal life. Paul writes in I Cor. 6:9-11,
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male
prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what
some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." By God's grace the
worst can become the best if they claim the shed blood of Christ for forgiveness, and
trust in Jesus as their Savior.
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the
door behind him
1. Lot faced this mob alone, and he shut the door so that those inside would not be
exposed to the lust of this mob. He was brave to do so, and you have to give him
credit for being a hero of hospitality, which, by the way, is a great honor for a host
in the Middle East. It always has been and still is today. If you study hospitality in
that part of the world you will realize that they are famous for it, and it is because
the desert environment is dangerous, and survival often depended on receiving food
and water from someone who was a stranger to you. This became a sacred duty to
help strangers who needed food and water. It started with the Bedouins who were
nomads and it became a tradition that carried over into the lives of those who settled
in villages and cities. It was an obligation to sacrifice in order to make your guests

10. welcome and safe. Lot's example in this matter is used to illustrate just how far that
sacrifice could go.
7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked
thing.
1. Lot make a futile effort to be kind by calling them his friends, and then pleads for
them to forsake their evil goal. If you know anything about mobs, you know they are
not easily influenced by politeness and pleading. Lot knew it instantly that he had to
be radical to have a chance of changing their minds, and so he comes up with the
most outlandish offer that we have anywhere in the Bible. If there is a major blot on
the record of this Bible hero, it is right here in the next verse. He was a desperate
man, but nothing can justify what he does. At least that is the typical judgment, but
maybe there is some reason for his action.
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."
1. This is absurd, and we think that this makes Lot as evil as the fools he is trying to
placate. How dare you offer your virgin daughters to this crowd of scum? It is just
an illustration of how serious the people of the ancient world took hospitality. If you
ate with a stranger they became your responsibility and you had to do whatever
possible to protect them. It may have been a foolish tradition, but it was just that
and Lot was being loyal to it. Stupid things are done in loyalty to traditions and
customs. It is a form of legalism that puts the rule above the person, and this is a
poor value system. Clarke writes, "Nothing but that sacred light in which the rights
of hospitality were regarded among the eastern nations, could either justify or
palliate this proposal of Lot. A man who had taken a stranger under his care and
protection, was bound to defend him even at the expense of his own life. In this light
the rights of hospitality are still regarded in Asiatic countries; and on these high
notions only, the influence of which an Asiatic mind alone can properly appreciate,
Lot's conduct on this occasion can be at all excused:" Some suggest that it was
clever of Lot, for he knew they would not desire his daughters because they were

11. homosexuals. There may be some truth to this, but it is a weak excuse for his action.
Morgan wrote, "To preserve his sacred bond of protection to his guests, he offers
the mob his two virgin daughters to satisfy their lusts. His offer shocks us, as it
probably did the early Israelite readers. It shows the importance of hospitality in
that ancient world, and how Lot considered his daughters the only cards he had to
play."
2. Calvin gives high praise to Lot and writes, “" It appears from the fact that Lot
went out and exposed himself to danger, how faithfully he observed the sacred right
of hospitality. It was truly a rare virtue, that he preferred the safety and honor of
the guests whom he had once undertaken to protect, to his own life: yet this degree
of magnanimity is required from the children of God, that where duty and fidelity
are
concerned, they should not spare themselves.” Calvin cannot praise him one
hundred percent, however, for he goes on, "As the constancy of Lot, in risking his
own life for the defense of his guests, deserves no common praise; so now Moses
relates that a defect was mixed with this great virtue, which sprinkled it with some
imperfection. For, being destitute of advice, he devises (as is usual in intricate
affairs) an unlawful remedy. He does not hesitate to prostitute his own daughters,
that he may restrain the indomitable fury of the people. But he should rather have
endured a thousand deaths, than have resorted to such a measure. Yet such are
commonly the works of holy men: since nothing proceeds from them so excellent, as
not to be in some respect defective. Lot, indeed, is urged by extreme necessity; and it
is no wonder that he offers his daughters to be polluted, when he sees that he has to
deal with wild beasts; yet he inconsiderately seeks to remedy one evil by means of
another. I can easily excuse some for extenuating his fault; yet he is not free from
blame, because he would ward off evil with evil."
3. What we learn from this is the folly and absurdity of traditions and customs that
become a form of legalism. Ordinarily it is wonderful to offer protection to
strangers, but the rules of hospitality in the ancient East went so far as to say that
once you invite someone into your home you are obligated to protect them even at
the expense of your own family and your own life. It was a high-risk situation you
created by having stranger in your home. This tradition that influenced the whole
Middle East for both Jews and Arabs was largely a blessing and beneficial to many,
but when it is taken literally as Lot is doing here it becomes a dangerous legalism
that is unreasonable. Lot was nobly following a sacred tradition and risking his own
daughter’s lives, but he was exalting a tradition of men above the will of God. When
any tradition forces you to do what is contrary to the Word of God, that tradition is
to be ignored. Lot just carried a good thing too far until it became a bad thing.
Barnes is merciful toward him and writes, " We may suppose it was spoken rashly,
in the heat of the moment, and with the expectation that he would not be taken at
his word. So it turned out." Another writer says that Lot made this radical offer,
not because he intended to do it, but to shock the mob into seeing just how
despicable they were being in forcing him to break the law of hospitality. If we could
really know this was his motive it would change the whole picture. All we know is
that God nowhere has any condemning words for Lot's behavior.

12. 4. 2 Peter 2:7 Tells us something about Lot that saves him from being a bad guy. It
says, "Lot, a righteous man, was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men-for
that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his
righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard." If not for this defense in the
New Testament we would be tempted to consider Lot as one of the perverts of
Sodom. Henry writes, "He reasoned with them, pleaded the laws of hospitality and
the protection of his house which his guests were entitled to; but he might as well
have offered reason to a roaring lion and a raging bear as to these head-strong
sinners, who were governed only by lust and passion. Lot's arguing with them does
but exasperate them; and, to complete their wickedness, and fill up the measure of
it, they fall foul upon him."
9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they
said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now
he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse
than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot
and moved forward to break down the door.
1. Two young virgins had no appeal to these men, and so they press forward
pushing Lot back with the intent of breaking down the door. This implies that Lot
locked the door somehow when he came out. Otherwise, why break the door down
rather than just open it? Lot was having a very bad day, for he is now being crushed
between a locked door and an angry mob. On top of this the crowd is criticizing and
threatening him. They call him an alien who came into their midst as an outsider
and now he is making judgments on their lifestyle and calling it wicked. Some are
saying let’s rape him and treat him worse than we are going to treat his guests. I
think you can grasp just how great a crisis Lot is in, and how desperately he must
feel the need for help. He had to be crying out inside, "God help me!"
2. Gill points out that this refutes any of the nonsense that says Lot was a judge in
the city with some official capacity. They are mocking his attempt to judge them,
and not acknowledging that he was a judge. Only a superficial reading of the text
can lead to the conclusion that these people had somehow elected or appointed Lot
as a leader. They despised him for coming into their town with his godly and ethical
purity and condemning their behavior. It is laughable to think they would have any
part of making a man like him a leader in their midst. The only reason they
tolerated his presence in their city was because of his uncle Abraham who had a
military might that rescued Lot earlier, and they would have to deal with Abraham
if they did anything to Lot.

13. 10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot
back into the house and shut the door.
1. It is not everyday that one is saved by an angel, but Lot had the honor of being so
loved by God that his angels saved his life in this critical situation. They were
obviously listening to all that was going on outside that door and realized that things
had gotten to a point where they had to come to his rescue. They did not do
anything until it was obvious that Lot had no chance of persuading them to cease
their evil mission. So often God lets us do all we can to make a difference, and he
does not come to our rescue until the last moment. Lot did his best to save these
men, and now they do their best to save him, and being angels they were far more
successful because of superior gifts. Lot had no idea he had two guardian angels in
his house, but how glad he was to learn about them when they dragged him to
safety. It was Noah and the ark all over again, for just as God shut the door of the
ark, so these angels shut the door, and all those outside had their doom sealed.
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.
1. How is this for a weapon? The ability to make the enemy blind is about as
effective a weapon as we can imagine. Henry said, " Justly were those struck blind
who had been deaf to reason." We have come a long way from bows and arrows,
but man's technology in weapons still lags light years behind those of angels. What a
way to win a war! All your enemies are blind and you only let them see again when
it is to your advantage, and they learn the folly of fighting you. We actually have an
account of just such a warfare in II Kings 6:18-22 "And when they came down to
him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with
blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19
And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me,
and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. 20 And
it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open
the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they
saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Israel said
unto Elisha, when he saw them, my father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 22
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou

14. hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before
them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master." How wonderful if all
wars could end this way, for it would mean the end of warfare. The only catch is
coming up with angelic technology that makes it possible to blind the enemy. There
are not many strategies that deal with a mob effectively, but blindness is extremely
effective. Someone pointed out that they apparently were still trying to find the door
after struck with blindness and this shows to what depth they had fallen, for they
were determined to pursue their evil no matter what. They were drunk with their
evil lust, and would molest these men in their blindness if only they could find the
door.
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,
1. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back, or the camel driver's back, as
many of the Sodomites probably were. There was no more pleading to be done, and
the angels took command of the situation, for it was now out of the hands of man.
God's cup of wrath was full to overflowing, and now all that could be done was to
run for your life. The angels allowed Lot to take any relative with him to escape the
judgment that was about to fall. Unfortunately every offer of salvation on the
physical or spiritual level calls for acceptance by those to whom it is offered. If they
do not accept the offer for whatever reason they are not saved. The offer is always
more widespread than the acceptance, and so there are many who could be saved
but are not because they do not accept the opportunity to be saved. Lot was told to
get his sons-in-law out of there, but what could he do if they would not go? Notice
how loving the angels are to Lot. They offer to save all who belong to him as an act
of pure grace. Apparently these angels did not know how bad a man Lot was, and
that is because only modern commentators teach about all his badness, and neglect
to point out that God considered him righteous and worthy of being saved from this
terrible place.
2. Henry has some interesting comments here: "Now this implies, 1. The command
of a great duty, which was to do all he could for the salvation of those about him, to
snatch them as brands out of the fire. Note, Those who through grace are themselves
delivered out of a sinful state should do what they can for the deliverance of others,
especially their relations. 2. The offer of great favor. They do not ask whether he
knew any righteous ones in the city fit to be spared: no, they knew there were none;
but they ask what relations he had there, that, whether righteous or unrighteous,
they might be saved with him. Note, Bad people often fare the better in this world

15. for the sake of their good relations. It is good being akin to a godly man." Henry
makes a good point, and that is that even unbelievers can benefit by being related to
believers, for they can be blest in ways that those who have no such connection can
never be. Lot is amazingly blest and spared because he is related to Abraham, and
those sons-in-law had a chance to be saved because of their relationship to Lot. God
does a lot of good things for unbelievers just because of their relationship to some
godly person. As we read on in the history of Lots two sons, they became really bad
guys, but they were still blest of God and their land was protected because they were
sons of Lot. The whole history of God's people is filled with grace and mercy no
matter how far they fall from pleasing God because they are the children of
Abraham.
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."
1. Quoting one author makes it clear that there are unanswered questions about
who is making the outcry, and what happened to them. "Who are these people
crying to the Lord against the people of Sodom? We are not told, but they had to be
just a few righteous souls, for if there had been even ten the Lord would have
spared the city. These few had to escape also, but we are not given any details, but
only the escape of Lot and his daughters. It could be that this outcry was of people
who had visited the city, but who lived elsewhere, and they saw just how bad things
were, and they may have experienced it for themselves." Gill interprets this cry as,
".. the cry of the sins of the inhabitants of it, which were many, and openly, and
daringly committed, and reached to heaven, and called for immediate vengeance
and punishment:"
2. Even good angels can have the task of destroying those who have filled the cup of
God's wrath by their wickedness. They are usually sent to minister grace to the
believer, but sometimes, as here, they are sent to minister judgment to the
unbeliever.
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law,
who were pledged to marry [1] his daughters. He
said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the
LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-

16. in-law thought he was joking.
1. The typical response to the prophet who comes shouting about the end of the
world and the need to flee the imminent destruction is to laugh and say, "You have
got to be kidding." The radical nature of a message like this seems too preposterous
to be believed, and so we assume the messenger is crazy or joking. This was the
response of these two boys who were going to marry Lot's two daughters. The joke
was on them, of course, but how could they know Lot was speaking the truth? This
same thing will happen when God judges the entire world. We read of it in II Peter
3:3-4, "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come,
scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, `Where is this
"coming" he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has
since the beginning of creation." It is the task of every believer to warn those whom
he loves about this judgment, but they need to be aware that not all will be willing to
take the way of escape, which is trusting Jesus as their personal Savior. All you can
do is what Lot did, and try to warn and persuade.
2. The folly of not heeding a warning is common in history, and here were men who
had a chance to be saved, but who perished because they took the warning as a joke.
It did not speak well for Lot’s influence in the family. He could not get his sons-in-
law to escape or his wife to obey and survive. All in all it was a fairly slipshod
rescue. You cannot rescue people who will not listen, or who will not follow
instructions. Calvin wrote, "the pious old man was despised and derided and that
what he said was accounted a fable; because his sons-in-law supposed him to be
seized with delirium, and to be vainly framing imaginary dangers. Lot, therefore,
did not seem to them to mock purposely or to have come for the sake of trifling with
them; but they deemed his language fabulous; because, where there is no religion,
and no fear of God, whatever is said concerning the punishment of the wicked,
vanishes as a vain and illusory thing." Warning people of the impending doom of
the day of the Lord is a thankless task, for most will greet such a warning with a
skeptical laugh. I like the way Henry describes the situation: "They had not forty
days to repent in, as the Ninevites had. Now or never they must make their escape.
At midnight this cry was made. Such as this is our call to the unconverted, to turn
and live. 2. The slight they put upon this warning: He seemed to them as one that
mocked. They thought, perhaps, that the assault which the Sodomites had just now
made upon his house had disturbed his head, and put him into such a fright that he
knew not what he said; or they thought that he was not in earnest with them. Those
who lived a merry life, and made a jest of everything, made a jest of this warning,
and so they perished in the overthrow. Thus many who are warned of the misery
and danger they are in by sin make a light matter of it, and think their ministers do
but jest with them; such will perish with their blood upon their own heads."
3. Typical of anti-Lot preaching one author says, "Why? Why would they not take
Lot seriously? Notice that we are not told that they refused to believe Lot so much as
they did not even take him seriously. There seems to be only one possible
explanation: Lot had never mentioned his faith before. His words were not a

17. repetition of his life-long warnings of sin and Judgment—they are something totally
new and novel. What a rebuke to the witness of Lot." Those who have a prejudice
against Lot see some evil in his life everywhere and never give him a benefit of the
doubt. Nobody blames Noah for not winning anyone but his family to come on to the
ark, and he had far more time than Lot to witness, but they pick on Lot. Nobody
mentions how many missionaries have labored for decades without winning a single
convert. They just like to make Lot out as the bad guy as often as they can to justify
their false interpretation of the evidence. Again, there is no hint of rebuke from
God, and I prefer God's view of Lot.
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."
1. The angels imply that even though it was God's intention to spare Lot and his
family, they still had to leave the city to be spared. They were chosen to be spared,
but had they stayed in the city they too would have perished. It is presumption to
say because I am chosen to be spared I can stay in the city and still survive. God
demands that the chosen still flee the city. The Sons-in-law were also chosen and had
the choice that others did not have to be spared, but they perished because they did
not leave. Man has to respond and take action in obedience to God's warning to be
spared. Lot's wife was chosen too, but she took action that disobeyed the warning
and she perished. Lot would have perished as well had he continued to delay and
resist fleeing with the angels.
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.
1. This hesitation of Lot leads the anti-Lot preachers to blast him again for his
worldliness as if he was clinging to his possession as his god. This negative
interpretation has no basis in the text, or in any word of God referring to this
situation. He could be delaying his departure because there were still others in the
city that he wanted to warn. Some speculate that he had other daughters who were

18. married, and he may have wanted to warn them as well. The point is, there is no
good reason to read anything negative into his hesitation except prejudice against
this man of God. If he was a bad as some make him out to be, the angels should have
let him stay instead of grabbing him and forcefully pulling him from destruction. He
had to be saved by force because of his delay. Put yourself in the same situation, and
you know that there are many good reasons why you would hesitate to leave
everything and everyone. Gill says he may have been waiting to see if his sons-in-law
would be coming after all. It was all happening so fast that there was not time to
think of all that should be done. His mind would be racing to think of who else could
be warned before it was too late. Whatever the reason for his delay, the angels knew
the time was up and it was now or never and so they did not reason or argue, but
just took him and the rest by their hands and led them away. Some people have to
be dragged to salvation kicking and screaming, and Lot was one of them, but do not
rob him of his place in the heart and mind of God who loved him enough to send
two angels to save him. How many others can you name who have had this kind of
special treatment?
2. It is interesting to note that even those who recognize Lot to be a man of God see
more negatives in his life than the Biblical text can justify. One such author is Don
Fortner who sees Lot as few preachers see him. I have not found another preacher
who has a more honest and exalted view of this man according to the Scripture. He
writes, "Many seem to think that Lot was a bad man, a wicked worldling, a child of
the devil; but he was not such a person Lot was a righteous man, made righteous by
the grace of God, born of God, washed in the blood of Christ, robed in his
righteousness, though he often behaved horribly. Lot was a true believer, a child of
God. He was a converted man, a justified soul, or heir of heaven. Lot truly was a
righteous man. The Holy Spirit places this matter beyond all controversy (2 Pet. 2:7-
8). God himself has given us good evidence of his grace in Lot. He was a man who
lived in a wicked place, "seeing and hearing" the evil around him. Yet, he was not a
wicked man. Lot had his faults, plenty of them; but he was distinctly different from
the men of Sodom. "He vexed his righteous soul with the unlawful deeds" he beheld
around him. He was wounded, grieved, pained, hurt, and angered by the deeds of
his neighbors. Lot had the same attitude toward the society in which he lived as
David did in his (Psa. 119:136, 158). Furthermore, Peter tells us that he "vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." Many of us are shocked by
certain acts of evil the first time we see them, but after a while we become accustom
to the abomination. Not Lot. He was continually grieved by the wickedness he
beheld around him. This is the thing I want you to see. God's saints in this world
have many blemishes. We are sinners still. We do not despise the gold because it is
mixed with dross; and we must not undervalue the grace of God in a man because it
is accompanied by corruption. Lot suffered much, because of his lingering, and his
family even more; but he was a true believer. Though he lingered in Sodom, he is
seated today in the blessed circle of the redeemed around the throne of Christ.
There he sits, elect, chosen of God, and precious. -- Redeemed, washed and forgiven
by the blood of Christ. -- Born again, sanctified and glorified by the Spirit of grace.
-- Side by side with and heir of the same glory as Abraham."

19. Now the text does leave it open for speculation about the cause of Lot's hesitation.
But there are good reasons as well as bad, and that is why I question the radical
interpretation that says Lot was being negative here. Maybe he was, but we have no
basis in the text to come to this conclusion. Yet most do, and even Pastor Fortner
who has the highest view of Lot, writes this about this hesitation: "Moses tells us,
"He lingered!" What a short sentence that is to tell us so much about this man.
Consider these words in the context in which they are found, and I am sure you will
agree that Lot's behavior was shocking. - "He lingered!" This, it seems to me, is the
most shocking thing revealed about him. His greed and covetousness, his
drunkenness, his incest are all less shocking than this - "He lingered!" Lot knew the
awful condition of the city in which he lived. "The cry" of its abomination was
"great before the face of the Lord" (19:13). Yet, "he lingered!" Lot knew the fearful
judgment coming down upon all within the city (19:13). Yet, "he lingered!" He
knew that God is a God of righteousness, justice, and truth. Yet, "he lingered!" He
knew and believed that judgment was both real and imminent. He tried to persuade
his sons-in-law to flee the wrath of God (19:14). Yet, "he lingered!" Lot saw the
angels of God standing by, warning him and his family to flee. Yet, "he lingered!"
He heard the command of God by his messengers (19:15). Yet, "he lingered!" C. H.
Spurgeon wrote, "Lot was slow when he should have been fast, backward when he
should have been forward, trifling when he should have been hastening, loitering
when he should have been hurrying, cold when he should have been hot." This
seems incredible. It is shocking beyond imagination. "He lingered!" This shocking
behavior of Lot is written in the Scriptures for our learning."
3. Maclaren wrote, "Second thoughts are not always best. When great resolves have
to be made, and when a clear divine command has to be obeyed, the first thought is
usually the nobler; and the second, which pulls it back, and damps its ardor, is
usually of the earth, earthy. So was it with Lot. Overnight, in the excitement of the
terrible scene enacted before his door, Lot had been not only resolved himself to
flee, but his voice had urged his sons-in-law to escape from the doom which he then
felt to be imminent. But with the cold gray light of morning his mood has changed.
The ties, which held him in Sodom, reassert their power. Perhaps daylight made his
fears seem less real. There was no sign in the chill Eastern twilight that this day was
to be unlike the other days. Perhaps the angels’ summons roused him from sleep,
and there ‘arise’ is literally meant. It might have given wings to his flight. Urgent,
and resonant, like the morning bugle, it bids him be stirring lest he be swept away
‘in the punishment of the city."
4. J. C. Ryle's sermon on this text is an amazing paradox, for none praises Lot more
than Ryle, and yet he also paints a bad picture of him because of this hesitation to
leave Sodom. He wrote, "You would perhaps say, after reading this paper, “Ah, Lot
was a poor, dark creature,—an unconverted man,—a child of this world!—no
wonder he lingered.”
But mark now what I say. Lot was nothing of the kind. Lot was a true believer,—a
real child of God,—a justified soul,—a righteous man.
Has any one of you grace in his heart?—So also had Lot.
Has any one of you a hope of salvation?—So also had Lot.

20. Is any one of you a “new creature”?—So also was Lot.
Is any one of you a traveler in the narrow way which leads unto life?—So also was
Lot.
Do not think this is only my private opinion,—a mere arbitrary fancy of my own,—
a notion unsupported by Scripture. Do not suppose I want you to believe it, merely
because I say it. The Holy Ghost has placed the matter beyond controversy, by
calling him “just,” and “righteous” (2 Peter ii. 7, 8), and has given us evidence of
the grace that was in him.
One evidence is, that he lived in a wicked place, “seeing and hearing” evil all around
him (2 Peter ii. 8), and yet was not wicked himself. Now to be a Daniel in Babylon,—
an Obadiah in Ahab’s house,—an Abijah in Jeroboam’s family,—a saint in Nero’s
court, and a righteous man in Sodom, a man must have the grace of God.
Another evidence is, that he “vexed his soul with the unlawful deeds” he beheld
around him. (2 Peter ii. 8.) He was wounded, grieved, pained, and hurt at the sight
of sin. This was feeling like holy David, who says, “I beheld the transgressors, and
was grieved, because they kept not Thy word.” “Rivers of waters run down mine
eyes, because they keep not Thy law.” (Psalm cxix. 136, 158.) Nothing will account
for this but the grace of God.
Another evidence is, that he “vexed his soul from day to day” with the unlawful
deeds he saw (2 Peter ii. 8.) He did not at length become cool and lukewarm about
sin, as many do. Familiarity and habit did not take off the fine edge of his feelings,
as too often is the case. Many a man is shocked and startled at the first sight of
wickedness, and yet becomes at last so accustomed to see it, that he views it with
comparative unconcern. This is especially the case with those who live in towns and
cities. But it was not so with Lot. And this is a great mark of the reality of his grace.
Such an one was Lot,—a just and righteous man, a man sealed and stamped as an
heir of heaven by the Holy Ghost Himself.
Reader, before you pass on, remember that a true Christian may have many a
blemish, many a defect, many an infirmity, and yet be a true Christian nevertheless.
You do not despise gold because it is mixed with much dross. You must not
undervalue grace because it is accompanied by much corruption. Read on, and you
will find that Lot paid dearly for his “lingering.” But do not forget, as you read, that
Lot was a child of God."
Yet, after all this, Ryle goes on to point out all of the bad things about Lot that
make him quite worthless, even though he will be saved. The major criticism is that
he did not seem to have any influence for good in his community of Sodom. He could
not win his own sons-in-law to believe, and none but his own family were worthy of
being saved, and so he made no difference for God in his whole life. He has a tragic
end with nothing to show for his life, and so he was a failure. The problem with this
kind of criticism is that it is clearly discrimination against Lot. We have said it
before, Noah had ten times the time to win people to belief and he won none but his
own family, and he is not ever criticized for it.
When we read of all the great men and women of faith in Heb. 11 we often forget
how it ends. Heb. 11:35-40 says, "Women received back their dead, raised to life
again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a

21. better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained
and put in prison. 37They were stoned[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to
death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered
in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were all
commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they
be made perfect." Not all people of faith have fairy tale type endings. Many suffer
great persecution and death and never have a chance to impact their society because
of the terrible times in which they live. Many a godly missionary has spent a lifetime
in some lands with no fruit for their labor, but they please God, and that is the
greatest success. My point is, Lot is not held up to us as a great example in the Old
Testament, for he did live among a very wicked people, and there is not much to
praise him for, but there is very little evidence to support the extreme negativity
toward him. He is not my hero, but neither is he my enemy, and I see no call to go
out of my way to find bad things to say of him based on speculation and insinuation.
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!"
1. Again we see that their salvation was conditional upon their obedience to focus on
what they were running to and not what the were running from. Don't look back is
a command, and if it is not obey the salvation from death is forfeited, and that is just
what happened to Lot's wife. She was almost saved, but almost does not count, for
she lost her life for one mistake of looking back. She was warned and did not heed
the warning as did the rest of her family, and the end result was that she lost the
very salvation she had in her hands.
2. They could not stop anywhere in the plains, for the whole plains were going up in
flames. They had to get to the mountains or they were toast. Getting out of town was
just the first step in his salvation, and this leads us to see an analogy with the
experience of salvation in Christ. The initial step of asking Jesus to be our Savior
takes us out of hell, but it does not take us to complete safety. The rest of our lives
needs to be saved as well, and this means getting to the mountains of sanctification
and out of the plains of worldly living, which is so dangerous and detrimental to our
soul's growth. Don Fortner puts it so forcefully when he writes, "In verse 17, there
is a word of instruction for all believers. Though he had been delivered from Sodom,
Lot was still in danger. He must not rest in the plain. He must escape for his life to
the mountain. You and I who have been delivered by God's almighty grace from the
bondage and dominion of sin are here given an urgent word of instruction. "Escape

22. for thy life!" Ever flee from sin, Satan and the world. "Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling." Never imagine that you have apprehended that for which
you have been apprehended by Christ, as long as you live in this world. "Look not
behind thee!" Forgetting those things, which are behind, reach forth unto those
things which are before. Count all things but loss for Christ. Do not hanker after the
world. Flee from it. "Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." "Set your
affection on things above." "Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus." Having put your hand to the plow, do not look back. It is
written, "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, [2] please!
1. What audacity to say no to God's word to him through these servant angels. Yet,
God respected his desire to do something different that what was planned. The
original plan was to get him to the mountains, but he pleads to be able to go to a
small town instead. He is arguing with God's plan and seeking to modify it, and this
makes him seem like a rebel against the wisdom of God. Then when God allows it to
go his way, it seems like he is a man of great faith, for God agrees that his idea is not
bad. This leads commentators to be torn between condemning his resistance to God,
and praising him for his thinking outside the box that so pleased the Lord that he
made a modification of his plan.
2. Calvin is a good example of trying to condemn and commend Lot at the same
time. He wrote:
"For it is to be held as an axiom, that our prayers are faulty, so far as they are not
founded on the word. Lot, however, not only departs from the word, but
preposterously indulges himself in opposition to the word; such importunity has,
certainly, no affinity with faith. Afterwards, a sudden change of mind was the
punishment of his foolish cupidity. For thus do all necessarily
vacillate, who do not submit themselves to God. As soon as they attain
one wish, immediately a new disquietude is produced, which compels them
to change their opinion. It must then, in short, be maintained, that Lot
is by no means free from blame, in wishing for a city as his residence;
for he both sets himself in opposition to the command of God, which it
was his duty to obey; and desires to remain among those pleasures, from
which it was profitable for him to be removed. He, therefore, acts just
as a sick person would do, who should decline an operation, or a bitter
draught, which his physician had prescribed. Nevertheless, I do not
suppose, that the prayer of Lot was altogether destitute of faith; I
rather think, that though he declined from the right way, he not only did
not depart far from it, but was even fully purposed in his mind to keep
it. For he always depended upon the word of God; but in one particular he

23. fell from it, by entreating that a place should be given to him, which
had been denied. Thus, with the pious desires of holy men, some defiled
and turbid admixture is often found. I am not however ignorant, that
sometimes they are constrained, by a remarkable impulse of the Spirit, to
depart in appearance from the word, yet without really transgressing its
limits. But the immoderate carnal affection of Lot betrays itself, in
that he is held entangled by those very delights, which he ought to have
shunned. Moreover, his inconstancy is a proof of his rashness, because he
is soon displeased with himself for what he has done."
3. Maclaren thinks Lot is so fear filled that he is just acting crazy. He wrote, "Lot’s
answer shows a complete change of feeling. He is too fully alarmed now. His fright is
so desperate that it has killed faith and common sense. The natural conclusion from
God’s mercy, which he acknowledges, would have been trust and obedience.
‘Therefore I can escape,’ not ‘but I cannot escape,’ would have been the logic of
faith. The latter is the irrationality of fear. When a man who has been cleaving to
this fleeting life of earthly good wakes up to believe his danger, he is ever apt to
plunge into an abyss of terror, in which God’s commands seem impossible, and His
will to save becomes dim."
Maclaren wants to condemn this craziness, but in the light of God's response to his
request he has to change his mind, and he wrote,
"God answered the cry, whatever its fault, and that may well make us pause in
our condemnation. He hears even a very imperfect petition, and can see the
tiniest germ of faith buried under thick clods of doubt and fear. This
stooping readiness to meet Lot’s weakness comes in wonderful contrast with
the terrible revelation of judgment, which follows. What a conception of God,
which had room for this more than human patience with weakness, and also for
the flashing, lurid glories of destructive retribution! Zoar is spared, not
for the unworthy reason which Lot suggested—because its minuteness might buy
impunity, as some noxious insect too small to be worth crushing—but in
accordance with the principle, which was illustrated in Abraham’s
intercession, and even in Lot’s safety; namely, that the righteous are
shields for others, as Paul had the lives of all that sailed with him given
to him."
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.
1. Lot is saying that your plan won't work because I will not be able to get to the

24. mountains in time to escape and so the this whole rescue attempt will be futile and I
will perish anyway in spite of all your effort. So thanks for nothing guys, if you are
locked into your agenda, and cannot see that my way will work better. The
implication is that he is so tired from being up all night trying to get his family to
listen to his plea to escape the city before it is too late. He is exhausted and ready to
drop and he knows he cannot make it to the mountains, and so he comes up with an
alternate plan.
2. Calvin again has such ambivalence in trying to both condemn and commend the
prayer of Lot. He wrote,
"Behold now, they servant has found grace in thy sight." Though Lot
saw two persons, he yet directs his discourse to one. Whence we infer,
that he did not rely upon the angels; because he was well convinced that
they had no authority of their own, and that his salvation was not placed
in their hands. He uses therefore their presence in no other way than as
a mirror, in which the face of God may be contemplated. Besides, Lot
commemorates the kindness of God, not so much for the sake of testifying
his gratitude, as of acquiring thence greater confidence in asking for
more. For since the goodness of God is neither exhausted, nor wearied, by
bestowing; the more ready we find him to give, the more confident does it
become us to be, in hoping for what is good. And this truly is the
property of faith, to take encouragement for the future, from the
experience of past favor. And Lot does not err on this point; but he
acts rashly in going beyond the word for the sake of self-gratification.
Therefore I have said, that his prayer, though it flowed from the
fountain of faith, yet drew something turbid from the mire of carnal
affection. Let us then, relying upon the mercy of God, not hesitate to
expect all things from him; especially those which he himself has
promised, and which he permits us to choose.
"I cannot escape to the mountains." He does not indeed rage against
God, with determined malice as the wicked are wont to do; yet, because he
rests not upon the word of God, he slides, and almost falls away. For why
does he fear destruction in the mountain, where he was to be protected by
the hand of God, and yet expect to find a safe abode in that place, which
is both near to Sodom, and obnoxious to similar vengeance, on account of
its impure and wicked inhabitants? But this verily is the nature of men,
that they choose to seek their safety in hell itself, rather than in
heaven, whenever they follow their own reason. We see, then, how greatly
Lot errs, in seeing from, and entertaining suspicions of, a mountain
infected with no contagion of iniquity and choosing a city which,
overflowing with crimes, could not but be hateful to God. He pretends
that it is a little one, in order that he may the more easily obtain his
request. As if he had said, that he only wanted a corner where he might
be safely sheltered. This would have been right, if he had not declined
the asylum divinely granted to him and rashly contrived another for
himself.

25. 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."
1. In other words, you do not have to spare a large segment of this land under
condemnation, but just one little town. It is no big deal to let a handful of people
survive this judgment day, so I and my daughters can also survive. He is pleading
for mercy based on how few people need to be spared in order for him to survive.
But in total disregard for the Word of God in the New Testament that declares that
Lot was a righteous man and that he hated all of the wickedness of Sodom, we read
comments like the following from the anti-Lot crowd: "In verse 20, Lot twice
emphasizes the smallness of the city to which he wants to flee. He seems to think that
Sodom is wicked because it is large and that his addictions and sin are a problem
only in such a place. What he really wants is a manageable version of his problems.
What he wants is a small city where he can retain control of things, where he can
indulge in idolatry and wickedness on a small enough scale to keep it from being
overwhelming. Righteousness demands that we take up our crosses and crucify
what needs to die. It is foolish to attempt sin management in Zoar."
2. The anti-Lot people say he wants to continue his life of sin in Zoar, but fail to
point out that God approves of his plan and agrees to save the small town for his
sake. If they are right as to Lot's motives, then they are including God in on the plan
to approve his sinful desires. This is clearly nonsense and should make us see how
fanatical the anti-Lot crowd is in finding every possible reason to condemn this
man, even when it is on a matter where God takes a stand along side of him. To me
it is sinful to condemn a man for doing what God agrees to let him do. To read in sin
when it is not there is not expounding the Word, but one's own prejudices.
3. Almost all commentators struggle with trying to be objective about Lot. They
want to acknowledge that God is going out of his way to save this man, but they are
not really sure they agree with God in doing so. They feel they have to make Lot out
to be the bad guy even when God is treating him like a precious jewel to be saved at
all cost. Even Matthew Henry who comments favorably on Lot here feels the need to
throw in some negatives lest anyone think he is implying that Lot is a good guy. He
wrote, "It was Lot's weakness to think a city of his own choosing safer than the
mountain of God's appointing. And he argued against himself when he pleaded,
Thou hast magnified thy mercy in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain;
for could not he that plucked him out of Sodom, when he lingered, carry him safely
to the mountain, though he began to tire? Could not he that saved him from greater
evils save him from the less? He insists much in his petition upon the smallness of
the place: It is a little one, is it not? Therefore, it was to be hoped, not so bad as the
rest. This gave a new name to the place; it was called Zoar, a little one. Intercessions
for little ones are worthy to be remembered. 2. God granted him his request, though

26. there was much infirmity in it, Genesis 19:21,22. See what favor God showed to a
true saint, though weak. (1.) Zoar was spared, to gratify him. Though his
intercession for it was not, as Abraham's for Sodom, from a principle of generous
charity, but merely from self-interest, yet God granted him his request, to show how
much the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails. (2.) Sodom's ruin was suspended
till he was safe: I cannot do any thing till thou shalt have come thither. Note, The very
presence of good men in a place helps to keep off judgments. See what care God
takes for the preservation of his people. The winds are held till God's servants are
sealed, Revelation 7:3,Eze+9:4.
3. Even Spurgeon uses the word foolish frequently when commenting on this request
of Lot, and he wrote, " Foolishly, Lot thought that he knew what was better for him
than the angels of the Lord. Let us not be too hard on Lot, though. We also often
believe that we know what is best for us, as we ignore the word of the Lord. We can
infer Lot's motive in resisting the angels' advice from what he says next: "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?" Lot desired to go to a small town near Sodom, a town similar to
Sodom. Lot, despite his hatred for the sin there, still had affection for the lifestyle
that Sodom afforded him. He is also subtly asking the angels to spare that small
town, saying "it is small...it is very small, isn't it?" Lot (foolishly) thinks that a small
town of sin is less deserving of judgment than a large town of sin. We have a similar
misconception when we think that a "small" sin is less deserving of judgment than a
(so-called) large sin. We swear off and abhor the large sins, but cherish and
continue to dwell in the small sins. We think nothing of gossiping, teasing, lusting,
profanity, cheating on taxes, etc. We must realize that the small sins are just as
destructive and hated in God's sight as the large sins. James states: "[W]hoever
keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it"
(James 2:10)."
4. The big problem with calling something foolish when God says it is fine with me is
that it makes God approve of what is foolish. We have to understand all things in
the light of what God's attitude is on a matter. In this case God says it is fine to go to
the small city, and yet men are constantly finding reasons why it is not fine with
them. It seems that we all have to choose what voice to follow. Will we accept what
God accepts as acceptable, or will we oppose it because it is not acceptable to us?
21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this
request too; I will not overthrow the town you
speak of.
1. It is downright funny to see the contrast between the response of God and that of
anti-Lot skeptics who have little to nothing good to say of Lot. God responds with

27. sympathy for his fatigue that makes it unlikely for him to get to the mountains. God
says, okay we will change the plan and let you escape to that town, which will also
be allowed to survive because you are in it. Here is the marvelous grace of God in
action. The people of this little town did not have a clue that they were going to
benefit from the prayer of Lot. God granted his request to get to this small town,
and since there was not way to spare Lot without also sparing that town, the people
there survived the judgment of God. We have no record of what happened in that
town after the destruction of Sodom and other cities all around them, but you would
hope they were overwhelmed with being spared out of all this destruction, and that
they repented in dust and ashes, of which there were plenty all around them, and
turned to the Lord in thanksgiving. God's mercy to the righteous often benefits
those who are completely undeserving. This little town would have been burned to a
crisp with all the others around them had it not been for Lot begging to run to it for
shelter.
2. Now that we have heard from God in his mercy, let us hear from Mackintosh in
his judgmental spirit when he writes, "What a picture! He seems like a drowning
man, ready to catch even at a floating feather. Though commanded by the angel to
flee to the mountain, he refuses, and still fondly clings to the idea of "a little
city," — some little shred of the world. He feared death in the place to which God
was mercifully directing him — yea, he feared all manner of evil, and could only
hope for safety in some little city, some spot of his own devising. Oh! Let me escape
thither, and my soul shall live." How sad. There is no casting himself wholly upon
God. Alas! He had too long walked at a distance from Him; too long breathed the
dense atmosphere of a "city," to be able to appreciate the pure air of the divine
presence, or lean on the arm of the Almighty. His soul seemed completely unhinged;
his worldly nest had been abruptly broken up, and he was not quite able to nestle
himself, by faith, in the bosom of God. He had not been cultivating communion with
the invisible world; and, now, the visible was passing away from beneath his feet
with tremendous rapidity. The "fire and brimstone from heaven" were about to fall
upon that in which all his hopes and all his affections were centered. The thief had
broken in upon him, and he seems entirely divested of spiritual nerve and self-
possession. He is at his wits' end; but the worldly element, being strong in his heart,
prevails, and he seeks his only refuge in "a little city."
22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do
anything until you reach it." (That is why the
town was called Zoar.)
1. God's plan had to be put on hold until Lot was safe. The button could not be
pushed until Lot was in place. The fires of judgment were ready to burst forth in
awesome and destructive power, but for the moment they were held back because of
Lot having to drag his weary rear into this small town. It is funny what God will do

28. to spare someone he loves. God's love limits him in what he can do, for he cannot
just let Lot go up in flames because he is too tired to get to the mountains. He had
the power to go ahead and destroy Lot and his daughters along with the small town
too, but he was limited by his love. The love of God limits his power so that he does
not do what he can do. In other words, if God was not love he would do just what we
would do if we were God. He would operate on power only and wipe out every evil
person instantly, which means that the end of history would have been right then,
and his judgment would not have been limited to Sodom and the cities of the plain.
It would have been universal. The only reason it was not, and is not yet, is because
God is limited by his love. He is not willing to let the world perish in its sin, but
waits patiently for people to repent, for his plan is not to destroy man but to save
man. He cannot bring himself to let his wrath at sin lead to the end of the world, for
he wants to send a Savior with a message of salvation that will go into all the world.
God's goal is not to tear down, but to build up. He wants to save and not destroy,
and this little town is an illustration of his plan and his grace. Like the little town of
Bethlehem, it marks a spot where God tells us what he really wants for this
judgment-deserving world. Zoar means little, and that is how God works in the
world. He starts with a mustard seed, or a little baby, and from the little he blesses
the whole world.
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had
risen over the land.
1. The sun was rising and it was a beautiful morning in the neighborhood, for Zoar
that is, and for Lot and his girls. For Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities of the
plain it was their last morning, and they would never see another sunrise, for the
moment Lot was safe the fires of judgment fell from heaven. It makes you realize
that every morning is a delight for some and a dread for others. Good and evil are
happening at the same time everywhere. Deliverance and damnation are only a
small distance apart.
24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur
on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of
the heavens.
1. Barnes gives us a lot of information in his commentary as he writes, " The dale of
Siddim, in which the cities were, appears to have abounded in asphalt and other
combustible materials Gen_14:10. The district was liable to earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions from the earliest to the latest times. We read of an earthquake in
the days of king Uzziah Amo_1:1. An earthquake in 1759 destroyed many thousands

29. of persons in the valley of Baalbec. Josephus (De Bell. Jud. iii. 10, 7) reports that the
Salt Sea sends up in many places black masses of asphalt, which are not unlike
headless bulls in shape and size. After an earthquake in 1834, masses of asphalt
were thrown up from the bottom, and in 1837 a similar cause was attended with
similar effects.
The lake lies in the lowest part of the valley of the Jordan, and its surface is about
thirteen hundred feet below the level of the sea. In such a hollow, exposed to the
burning rays of an unclouded sun, its waters evaporate as much as it receives by the
influx of the Jordan. Its present area is about forty-five miles by eight miles. A
peninsula pushes into it from the east called the Lisan, or tongue, the north point of
which is about twenty miles from the south end of the lake. North of this point the
depth is from forty to two hundred and eighteen fathoms. This southern part of the
lake seems to have been the original dale of Siddim, in which were the cities of the
vale. The remarkable salt hills lying on the south of the lake are still called Khashm
Usdum (Sodom). A tremendous storm, accompanied with flashes of lightning, and
torrents of rain, impregnated with sulphur, descended upon the doomed cities."
2. Gill adds much more information as he writes, "Lord rained upon Sodom, and
upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And not upon
those two cities only, but upon Admah and Zeboiim also, see Deu_29:23; this was
not a common storm of thunder and lightning, with which often there is a smell of
sulphur or brimstone; but this was a continued shower of sulphurous fire, or of
burning flaming brimstone, which at once consumed those cities and the inhabitants
of them; and the land adjacent being bituminous, or however some parts of it, full of
slime pits, or pits of bitumen, a liquid of a pitchy quality, Gen_14:10; this flaming
sulphur falling thereon, must burn in a most fierce and furious manner; and which
utterly consumed not only houses, goods, and everything upon the land, but the land
itself, and turned it into a bituminous lake, called to this day, from thence, the Lake
Asphaltites, the Greek word for bitumen being "asphaltos". Of this conflagration
some Heathen writers speak, as particularly Tacitus (f) who says, some large and
famous cities, or, as some copies have it, Jewish ones, not far from Jordan, were
struck with thunderbolts, and were fired "igni ceolesti", with fire from heaven, and
were consumed; and so Solinus (g) relates, that, “at some distance from Jerusalem, a
sorrowful lake appears, which the black ground testifies was stricken by heaven and
turned into ashes; where were two towns, the one called Sodomum, the other
Gomorrum.''This was a righteous judgment on those cities, and a just retaliation for
their sin; their sin was an unnatural one, and nature is inverted to punish them, fire
comes down from heaven, or hell from heaven, as Salvian's words are, to consume
them; they burned with lusts one against another, and flaming sheets of sulphurous
fire fall upon them, burn and destroy them; and, in allusion to this terrible
conflagration, hell is called the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Jud_1:7
Rev_20:14; and this destruction was brought upon them by Jehovah the Son of God,
who had appeared to Abraham in an human form, and gave him notice of it, and
heard all he had to plead for those cities, and then departed from him to Sodom, and
was the author of this sad catastrophe; this amazing shower of fire and brimstone
was rained by him from Jehovah his Father, out of heaven; so the Targums of

30. Jonathan and Jerusalem both call him, the Word of the Lord."
3. W. B. Johnson writes, "Not only these cities, but as we learn from Deut. 29:23,
Admah and Zeboim, all the five cities of the plain except Zoar, were submerged by
fire. The five cities are named in, Gen. 14:2. Bush holds that brimstone and fire is
used to signify lightning. Adam Clarke holds that brimstone "is used
metaphorically, to point out the utmost degree of punishment executed on the most
flagitious criminals." He refers for examples to Deut. 29:23; Job 18:15; Psalm 11:6;
Isa. 34:9; Ezek. 38:22. He adds: "As hell and an everlasting separation from God
and the glory of his power, is the utmost punishment that can be inflicted on sinners,
brimstone and fire are used metaphorically to indicate its torments." He adds
further: "We may safely suppose that it was quite possible that a shower of nitrous
particles may have been precipitated from the atmosphere, here, as in many other
places, called heaven, which by the action of fire, or the electric fluid, would be
immediately ignited, and so consume the cities. As we have already seen that the
plains about Sodom and Gomorrah abounded with asphaltum or bitumen pits
(slime pits in chap. 14), that what is particularly meant here in reference to the plain
is the setting fire to this vast store of inflammable matter by the agency of lightning;
and this, in the most natural and literal manner, accounts for the whole plain being
burnt up; as that plain abounded in this bituminous substance. Thus we find that
three agents were employed in the total ruin of these cities, and all the circumjacent
plain: 1. Innumerable nitrous particles precipitated from the atmosphere; 2. The
vast quantity of bitumen which abounded in that country, and 3. Lightning, rained
from heaven in a mighty storm, which ignited the inflammable materials, and thus
consumed both the cities and the plain in which they were situated." It is probable
that this explanation suggests nearly the nature of the catastrophe. While the
judgment was of God, natural causes were employed to effect his judgments. It
cannot be doubted that some fearful visitation, terrible as that upon Herculaneum
and Pompeii, destroyed this region. Outside of the Bible the traditions have survived
in the other ancient writers who have alluded to this region, among them Josephus,
and the Roman geographer Strabo, and the historian Tacitus."
25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire
plain, including all those living in the cities—and
also the vegetation in the land.
1. It was animal, mineral and vegetable that were destroyed, for nothing could
withstand the burning flames of that sulphurous shower from heaven. As one said,
"It was hell from heaven." Long before the atomic bomb, God had weapons that
were equally powerful in doing a complete job of destroying everything he aimed at,
but he had the equal power to let one little town escape the flames because of Lot.

31. That is what you call pinpoint accuracy. Keep in mind this area was so beautiful
and fruitful that it was like the Garden of Eden, and now it is the most worthless
spot on earth revealing just how devastating the sinfulness of man can be on the
ecology of the world.
2. Clarke in his commentary tries to separate the facts from the myths and gives us
this account:
"This forms what is called the lake Asphaltites, Dead Sea, or Salt Sea, which,
according to the most authentic accounts, is about seventy miles in length, and
eighteen in breadth. The most strange and incredible tales are told by many of the
ancients, and by many of the moderns, concerning the place where these cities stood.
Common fame says that the waters of this sea are so thick that a stone will not sink
in them, so tough and clammy that the most boisterous wind cannot ruffle them, so
deadly that no fish can live in them, and that if a bird happen to fly over the lake, it
is killed by the poisonous effluvia proceeding from the waters; that scarcely any
verdure can grow near the place, and that in the vicinity where there are any trees
they bear a most beautiful fruit, but when you come to open it you find nothing but
ashes! and that the place was burning long after the apostles' times. These and all
similar tales may be safely pronounced great exaggerations of facts, or fictions of
ignorant, stupid, and superstitious monks, or impositions of unprincipled travellers,
who, knowing that the common people are delighted with the marvellous, have
stuffed their narratives with such accounts merely to procure a better sale for their
books.
The truth is, the waters are exceedingly salt, far beyond the usual saltness of the sea,
and hence it is called the Salt Sea. In consequence of this circumstance bodies will
float in it that would sink in common salt water, and probably it is on this account
that few fish can live in it. But the monks of St. Saba affirmed to Dr. Shaw, that they
had seen fish caught in it; and as to the reports of any noxious quality in the air, or
in the evaporations from its surface, the simple fact is, lumps of bitumen often rise
from the bottom to its surface, and exhale a foetid odour which does not appear to
have any thing poisonous in it. Dr. Pococke swam in it for nearly a quarter of an
hour, and felt no kind of inconvenience; the water, he says, is very clear, and having
brought away a bottle of it, he "had it analyzed, and found it to contain no
substances besides salt and a little alum."
As there are frequent eruptions of a bituminous matter from the bottom of this lake,
which seem to argue a subterraneous fire, hence the accounts that this place was
burning even after the days of the apostles. And this phenomenon still continues, for
"masses of bitumen," says Dr. Shaw, "in large hemispheres, are raised at certain
times from the bottom, which, as soon as they touch the surface, and are thereby
acted upon by the external air, burst at once, with great smoke and noise, like the
pulvis fulminans of the chemists, and disperse themselves in a thousand pieces. But

32. this only happens near the shore, for in greater depths the eruptions are supposed to
discover themselves in such columns of smoke as are now and then observed to arise
from the lake. And perhaps to such eruptions as these we may attribute that variety
of pits and hollows, not unlike the traces of many of our ancient limekilns, which are
found in the neighbourhood of this lake. The bitumen is in all probability
accompanied from the bottom with sulphur, as both of them are found
promiscuously upon the shore, and the latter is precisely the same with common
native sulphur; the other is friable, yielding upon friction, or by being put into the
fire, a foetid smell." The bitumen, after having been some time exposed to the air,
becomes indurated like a stone. I have some portions of it before me, brought by a
friend of mine from the spot; it is very black, hard, and on friction yields a foetid
odour."
26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a
pillar of salt.
1. It almost seems like Lot and his daughters had just stepped over the towns city
limit line when the fire fell from heaven, but Lot's wife stopped short and turned to
see her home in Sodom, and she was caught in the raining sulphur just inches away
from being secure in Zoar. It was really bad timing to stop and look back at that
moment when just another step or two and she would have been out of the danger
zone into the safety zone. Many a happy ending is ruined by bad timing, and this
was one of the worst. Morgan has a strange comment when he says, "She glances
back. In that one glance, "she identified herself with the damned town"and forfeited
her gift of salvation. Even more disturbing than the sight of Lot's petrified wife is
her husband's silence. There is no mention of grief." By whose standard is the lack
of a tear mentioned about Lot a more disturbing sight than a dead wife wrapped in
sulpher? Here we see the argument from silence that is so perverted that we are to
suppose Lot is so hard hearted that he had no concern that he lost his wife so near to
the place where she could have been safe. You can easily damn anybody by
supposing things that are not said of them to be true anyway. Again it is the ugly
head of the anti-Lot mob being raised with no basis in the text.
2. What a strange text this is. History is filled with comments on this matter of Lot's
wife becoming a pillar of salt, and the speculations are endless as to just what
caused this once in a history of the world event. As far as I know, there are no other
examples of this happening to anyone, and so it is as rare as anything can be. You
cannot get anything to be less than once, and so it is the ultimate in rare. That is
why it attracts so much attention, for everyone wants to solve the mystery of
something so rare. God does not inspire Moses to give any details, and so it is up to
the detective-like minds of commentators to dig for clues.