Genesis 19 – 21

Let me start by saying I’m sorry for such long posts, but I get so excited about what I’m studying, I can hardly stand it.

Genesis 19 – 21

In chapter 19, we find out that the two individuals who were with the Lord when he met with Abraham and who left before the Lord did were two angels. How do you suppose they traveled to Sodom? Did they walk all of the way from where Abraham was living to Sodom?

The angels arrived at Abraham’s place in the hottest part of the day, which means they were there in the afternoon. They came to the entrance of Sodom the same evening. No one knows for sure where Sodom was, but we know from where he was located, Abraham could see columns of smoke rising across the plains toward Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen. 19:28).

For that matter, how do angels generally go from place to place? Do they fly? We know they walked away from Abraham and that they “came to the entrance of Sodom” where Lot was sitting. If they hadn’t been walking when they entered the city, I think the text would have mentioned it.

We know Abraham negotiated with God about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, finally stopping when he persuaded God to agree He would not destroy the city if TEN righteous people could be found. In chapter 19, we find there were, at most, four righteous people in Sodom – though maybe we shouldn’t assume Lot’s wife was righteous since she was destroyed on her way out of the city.

The actions of the “all the men of Sodom” make it evident that there really was a sin problem in Sodom. They wanted Lot to release his two visitors so they could have sex with them. Note that they did not care whether the two visitors wanted this or not. Lot knew this was “wicked,” but to protect the men, he offers up his two virgin daughters. The men of Sodom have no interest in the young women. The Sodomites then threaten Lot with worse than they were going to do to the visitors.

The two angels pull Lot into the house and bolt the door, then blind all of the men who were trying to get inside. Although the angels were not in Mamre when Abraham was negotiating, they knew what God wanted all along (see Genesis 19:29). They tell Lot they are going to destroy the city and urge him to take any of his relatives out of the city. Since his daughter’s fiancés think he is joking, only FOUR individuals leave the city before it is destroyed: Lot, his wife, and his daughters.

I’ve heard a lot of sermons on Lot’s wife looking back on the city and why she was turned into a pillar of salt. Was it because she was curious? Did she long for her previous life in the city (she must have traveled with Lot before they settled in Sodom)? The bottom line is that she was disobedient. The angels clearly warned them not to look back. She did it anyway.

The angels allow Lot to go to the village of Zoar, but he doesn’t stay there because he is afraid of the people. Instead he takes his daughters and goes to live in a cave in the mountains. The two daughters get him drunk – it probably wasn’t hard to do – and get pregnant by him. Hence, Moab and Ammon are born. We’ll run into the Moabites and Ammonites later in our reading.

What do we really learn from the story of Lot? According to 2 Peter 2:6-10, we learn that “the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.” We also learn that “He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.” Wow!

The Bible doesn’t say if Abraham and Lot meet face to face again.

Abraham apparently didn’t learn his lesson in Egypt, since he passes off Sarah as his sister again. But, in this instance, God visits King Abimelech of Gerar and warns him Sarah is already married. The king does the right thing, maybe even more than the right thing, since he gives Abraham 1000 pieces of silver to compensate for any wrong he might have done him. Abraham prays for Abimelech, his wife and her female servants so they could have children.

Chapter 21 begins with the birth and circumcision of Isaac (meaning “he laughs”), just as God had promised. From there we see trouble in the form of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah’s very human attempt to provide a son for Abraham through Hagar means there is someone with whom Abraham already has a relationship, someone who may take attention from her son Isaac. Seeing Ishmael make fun of Isaac, Sarah demands that Abraham make Hagar and Ishmael leave. In spite of his sadness at the thought, Abraham obeys God and does as Sarah says.

God comes to Hagar when she is at the end of her rope – has He ever done that with you? He reassures her and provides for her and Ishmael. Ishmael becomes a skillful archer and settles in the wilderness of Paran. His mother eventually arranges a marriage for him with a woman from Egypt.

Abraham makes a covenant with Abimelech stating he will never deceive him, his children or any of his descendants – can’t blame him for that, seeing as how Abraham had deceived him in the past – and that he will be loyal to him. They agree near a well, which is subsequently named Beersheba (well of the oath). Abraham plants a tamerick tree there and worships the Lord.

Then the Scriptures say (Gen 21:34): “And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country for a long time.” Yes, this is the man to whom God gave the whole of the land of Canaan, yet he lives there as a foreigner. Think of what God has given us that we have not yet seen happen.

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 22 – 24.

It’s raining today, so I’m going to wait until tomorrow to get my strawberries. Right now, I’m kind of waiting for my Cabbage Casserole to get done. It’s in my overcrowded crock pot – maybe, I should have gotten one larger than 2 quarts. We used to eat this at college and though a lot of people complained, I really liked it. It’s got shredded cabbage, browned ground beef, onions, peppers, jalapenos (we didn’t get any of that in college), tomato sauce, rice, and chicken broth (it called for water). It’s smelling pretty good right now, but we’ll see.

Until next time…