Fear, Love, and Trust in God – Genesis 19-20

“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. 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.’ 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.” Genesis 19:1-3

It is evening time, by now, the buyers and sellers at the city gate have departed. Why is Lot sitting at the city gate after sun down? Sodom is a wicked city.

Suddenly, Lot sees two messengers. Angel is the Hebrew word for messenger. Something about these figures commands his respect. He bows with his face to the ground. He invites them to stay at his home overnight. They decline his invitation preferring to stay overnight in the open square. Lot strongly insists that they stay the night with him. So, they accept.

In Matthew 10:11-15, Jesus instructed His disciples, saying, “Whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

Jesus advised His disciples to depart from rejecting homes and cities. He said that the outcome for communities who reject His Gospel messengers shall be less tolerable than what Sodom and Gomorrah experienced. To reject the Gospel is to reject God’s gracious gift of everlasting life.

Lot welcomed God’s messengers into his home. He made a feast including unleavened bread for them. They ate with Lot. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” At this point, it does not seem that Lot knew he was entertaining angels.

“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. 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.’ So, Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, ‘Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 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.’ 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.” Genesis 19:4-9

Up until now, things were well for Lot and his visitors, but peaceful moments in Sodom were the exception and not the norm. The city was full of defiled souls. Old and young men from all over the city gathered at Lot’s door and wanted to defile his guests sexually.

Why was Lot raising his daughters in such a place? 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” 2 Corinthians 6:15 asks, “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 commands, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

In 2 Peter 2:7-8, Peter wrote that God “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” He was vexed. He did not do what they did, but when the men of the city demanded the right to defile Lot’s guests, he offered to them his two virgin daughters to do with them as they wished. Lot had protected his daughters’ purity until now, but why would he in a heated moment exchange their purity to protect these strangers that he just met? Was that a decision based on a cultural norm? It is not normal to God. Jesus said that good shepherds lay down their lives for their sheep. A father who loves his daughters fights to spare them from defilement. In this regard, Lot was not righteous.

Thankfully, Lot’s visitors were angels. These two angels had all the men of Sodom outnumbered.

“But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 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.” Genesis 19:10-11

Psalm 91:11 says, “He [God] shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Lot and his family were in danger. The angels switched to protective mode. They blinded all the men at the doorway. From that point forward all that the men had before them was pitch darkness. Soon, they would all experience fire from heaven.

“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! 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.’ 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.” Genesis 19:12-14

Lot’s daughters were under his roof. His sons-in-law were out in the city. Lot said his daughters had not known a man. So, either they had not consummated the marriage yet... in the Jewish tradition, the engagement or betrothal is considered as binding as being married... or they knew something that their father did not know. In any case. Lots’ sons-in-law disregard his warning. In this regard, Lot was like a prophet who warns people to flee from the coming wrath.

“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.’ 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. 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.’” Genesis 19:15-17

The night is over, the morning has come. The angels have delayed the judgment as long as possible. Finally, they take Lot’s family by the hands and lead them out of the city. They urge them to get to the mountains and not to look back.

“Then Lot said to them, ‘Please, no, my lords! 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. 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.’ 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. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.’ Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar.” Genesis 19:18-22

The angels had just blinded the men of the city to keep Lot’s family from harm. They just led his family out of the city by their hands. Their city is about to go up in flames. Lot does appreciate the mercy which the angels have shown him, but he wants to flee to a small city rather than to a mountain. They granted his request.

“The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So, He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:23-26

Jesus referred to the story of Lot and his wife to warn His listeners to flee to safety when days of tribulation begin. In Luke 17:28-32, Jesus said, “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife.”

“And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 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. 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.” Genesis 19:27-29

God answered Abraham’s prayer. God saved his nephew from being destroyed with the wicked

“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. 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. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.’ 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. 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.’ 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. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 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.” Genesis 19:30-38

Lot’s daughters got out of Sodom, but the defiling spirit of Sodom apparently remained in them. They conspired to make their father drunk and impregnate themselves by him. They did not seek the Lord after their city was destroyed and their mother was gone. If they had sought the Lord, He would have revealed to them that they were not the last survivors on earth. They could have spared both themselves and their father from defilement. They mothered the nations of Moab and Ammon. These nations worshiped idols with human sacrifices. Their nations never recover after Babylon destroys them.

The Book of Ruth is about a Moabite woman who believed in God. Her family line was spared. Ruth married Boaz. She had a son by Boaz. Eventually, Ruth became the great grandmother of a baby boy named David. That boy became king of Israel. The kings of Judah descended from her family line. Matthew 1:5 includes Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Glory to God’s grace!

Genesis 20 includes a very similar story to Genesis 12:11-13. Kind of like a Hallmark movie... same plot different setting and characters. While in Gerar, a city of the Philistines, Abraham and Sarah tell King Abimelech that they are brother and sister. It was true that they were stepbrother and stepsister, but they were also married.

“And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, ‘Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.’ But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, ‘Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.’ And God said to him in a dream, ‘Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.’” Genesis 20:1-7

The Lord spoke to Abimelech in a dream. He indicated to Abimelech that he was about to die because he stole Abraham’s wife. Let this be a warning to anyone who is considering to or is committing adultery! Proverbs 7:27 says that the adulterous “house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death.”

King Abimelech defended himself before God, saying that he took Sarah because he thought she was Abraham’s sister. Well, that’s till thievery, plus abuse by way of forced marriage. Even so, the Lord said that He kept the King from touching Sarah. He told Abimelech to give Abraham back his wife. God calls Abraham a prophet. God will use Abraham’s faith and prayers to heal the kingdom of Gerar’s women.

“So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.’ Then Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?’ Genesis 20:8-10

Abimelech did not stay in bed that day. He rose up early and told his servants what happened to him. Fear fell upon them. Next, Abimelech let Abraham know that he was not happy with him.

“And Abraham said, ‘Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, he is my brother.’ Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, ‘See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.’ Then to Sarah he said, ‘Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed, this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.’ Thus, she was rebuked.” Genesis 20:8-16

The fear of God is a wonderful blessing. When people fear the Lord, they fear to do harmful and shameful things to themselves. The fear of God is a strong sense of being under His watchful eye. The fear of God compels the soul to do what is right in God’s eyes.

In Luther’s Small Catechism, each time he explained a commandment of the Lord, he began with the phrase, “You should fear, love, and trust in God.” For example, for the first commandment, he wrote, “You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” For the sixth commandment, he wrote, “You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.”

“So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” Genesis 20:17-18

This is why King Abimelech needed Abraham to pray for him. The king took another man’s wife and the King above the king, that is the Lord, dealt him a severe consequence.

The good news for Abraham and Sarah is that her life was preserved once again. And God took what was meant for evil, namely her kidnapping, and moved her kidnapper to pay a large sum of money to her husband.

God spoke to a Philistine King. He sent Lot to speak to his sons-in-law who did not want to hear from him. God is very merciful. He wants to have an everlasting personal relationship with us. I know this because I surrendered my life to Him for His glory. He forgave my sins and gave me His Holy Spirit. That’s how He changed my life. The Lord got me out of “Sodom” and got “Sodom” out of me. I now have love, joy, and peace in Him. I want to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. I want to help others to do the same.

This can be your experience too if it has not already happened for you. Just confess to the Lord that you are a sinner in need of His saving grace. Ask God to forgive all your sins. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. He will save your soul and give you new life. 2 Corinthains 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Being in Christ is the safest place to be.