30 JUNE GENESIS 19

Mercy in the Midst of Judgment – Escaping the Fire

Genesis 19 opens with divine urgency. Two angels arrive in Sodom to carry out judgment, but their mission includes rescuing Lot and his family. God’s justice is never without mercy.

Genesis 19:1–3 (NIV) "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. ‘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.’ 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." Lot, though living in a corrupt city, recognises the sacred nature of his visitors. His hospitality mirrors Abraham’s earlier encounter, though the moral climate of Sodom stands in stark contrast to Mamre. But sin quickly reveals itself.

Genesis 19:4–5 (NIV) "Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. 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.’" The depravity is public, aggressive, and unanimous. This was not merely inhospitable; it was a culture of violent lust. The cry of Sodom that had reached Heaven is now fully visible on earth. Lot, trying to protect his guests, responds in a deeply troubling way.

Genesis 19:6–8 (NIV) "Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, ‘No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 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.’" Lot’s offer reveals how deeply the values of Sodom had influenced him. In trying to uphold one principle (protection of guests), he violates another (protection of his daughters). It shows that proximity to wickedness dulls discernment. The angels intervene.

Genesis 19:10–11 (NIV) "But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 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." Judgment was coming, but first came the command to escape.

Genesis 19:12–13 (NIV) "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, 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.’" Lot hesitated, but God’s mercy persisted.

Genesis 19:15–16 (NIV) "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.’ 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." Lot is literally pulled to safety. The text does not hide his reluctance, but highlights God’s mercy. Salvation comes not because of Lot’s merit, but because of the Lord’s compassion. Then comes a command with symbolic weight:

Genesis 19:17 (NIV)"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!’" Looking back would symbolise longing for what God had condemned. Yet Lot’s wife did just that. Genesis 19:26 (NIV) "But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."

Her backward glance was more than curiosity, it revealed a heart not fully surrendered. Jesus later referenced her as a warning: Luke 17:32–33 (NIV) "Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it." Judgment fell as fire from Heaven consumed the cities.

Genesis 19:24–25 (NIV)"Then the Lord rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities, and also the vegetation in the land." But even in wrath, God remembered Abraham:

Genesis 19:29 (NIV) "So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived." God’s mercy toward Lot was rooted in His covenantal relationship with Abraham. This reminds us that intercession matters, and that God is faithful to those who stand in the gap.

The chapter ends with a disturbing account of Lot’s daughters, who, believing they were the last humans on earth, engage in incest to preserve their lineage. Their sons, Moab and Ben-Ammi, become the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites, nations later in conflict with Israel.

Genesis 19:36–38 (NIV) "So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today."

Even in this tragic epilogue, God would eventually bring redemption. From the Moabites would come Ruth, and from Ruth, the lineage of Christ.