Genesis - Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of Genesis tells the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities in the plain of Jordan. This chapter is significant in the Bible as it provides an account of the consequences of sin and disobedience, as well as the power of prayer and faith.

The chapter opens with two angels arriving in Sodom, where they are greeted by Lot, Abraham's nephew. Lot invites them to his home, where he prepares a feast for them. However, the men of the city surround Lot's house and demand that he bring out the two visitors so that they may have sexual relations with them. The men of Sodom were known for their wickedness, and this act was a clear example of their depravity and sinfulness.

Lot tries to reason with the men, but they refuse to listen. In a desperate attempt to protect his guests, Lot offers his own daughters to the mob instead, but they still refuse. It is only through the intervention of the angels that Lot and his guests are able to escape unharmed. The angels strike the men of Sodom with blindness, allowing Lot and his family to flee the city.

As they leave the city, the angels warn Lot and his family not to look back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, Lot's wife disobeys this command and looks back, instantly turning into a pillar of salt.

The chapter concludes with the destruction of the cities, which are consumed by fire and brimstone sent by God. This punishment was a result of the wickedness and sinfulness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The only survivors were Lot and his two daughters, who had been warned by the angels to flee to the mountains and not look back.

Chapter 19 of Genesis is a powerful illustration of the consequences of sin and disobedience. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah had turned away from God and indulged in wickedness and debauchery, and their punishment was severe. It also highlights the power of prayer and faith. Lot's faith and hospitality were rewarded, as he was saved from the destruction of the cities. The story also emphasizes the importance of obedience, as Lot's wife was punished for disobeying the angels' command not to look back.

In conclusion, Chapter 19 of Genesis is a powerful and cautionary tale that serves as a reminder of the consequences of sin and disobedience, as well as the importance of faith, prayer, and obedience. It is a story that has endured for thousands of years and continues to resonate with readers today.

Sin of Sodom

¹ Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw [them,] he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.

² And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square."

³ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴ Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.

⁵ And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them [carnally."]

⁶ So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,

⁷ and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!

⁸ "See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."

⁹ And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay [here,] and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.

¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

¹¹ And they struck the men who [were] at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary [trying] to find the door.

¹² Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city -- take [them] out of this place!

¹³ "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

Brimstone and Fire

¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."

¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."

¹⁸ Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!

¹⁹ "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.

²⁰ "See now, this city [is] near [enough] to flee to, and it [is] a little one; please let me escape there ([is] it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."

²¹ And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.

²² "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

²³ The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.

²⁴ Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.

²⁵ So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

²⁶ But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷ And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.

²⁸ Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

²⁹ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

Daughters of Lot

³⁰ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.

³¹ Now the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father [is] old, and [there is] no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth.

³² "Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father."

³³ So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

³⁴ It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, "Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in [and] lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father."

³⁵ Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

³⁷ The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he [is] the father of the Moabites to this day.

³⁸ And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he [is] the father of the people of Ammon to this day.