Genesis 19

CHAPTER 19THEME: The angels visit Lot; destruction of the Cities of the PlainThe preceding chapter was a picture of blessed Christian fellowship with God. But now the picture changes: We leave Hebron on the plains of Mamre where Abraham dwells and we go to the city of Sodom where Lot dwells. In this chapter Lot leaves Sodom with his wife and two daughters, and Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. Lot’s wife turns to a pillar of salt, and then we have Lot’s awful sin with his two daughters. In chapter 19 we have a picture of that which is “the blasted life.” Don’t forget that this man Lot happens to be a righteous man. It is hard to believe that; if I had only this record in Genesis, I wouldn’t believe it. But Simon Peter, in his epistle, says of Lot, “…that righteous man …vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2Pe_2:8). Lot lived in Sodom, but he never was happy there. It was a tragic day for him when he moved to Sodom, because he lost his familyhe lost all of them if you look at the total picture. It is tragic. There is many a man today who may be a saved man, but due to his life style or where he lives, he loses his family, his influence, and his testimony. I have been a pastor for quite a few years, and I know Christians like Lot. Not too long ago, the son of a leader in a church which I served said to me that all he was doing was waiting for his dad to die in order to repudiate the Christian life. He thought the whole thing was phony; all he could see was hypocrisy. Of course, all he was doing was telling about his home. What a phony his dad must be!

That man has lost his son, and he has lost his influence in other places, I can assure you. But I would not question his salvation. I think the man trusts Christ, but you would never know it by his life. Poor Lot! How tragic this is! This is one of two very sordid chapters in the Book of Genesis.

Genesis 19:1

THE ANGELS VISIT LOTThese two angels visit Lot in Sodom to announce judgment. Notice that Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. I cannot let that go by without calling attention to the fact that the ones who sat in the gate of a city were the judges. This man Lot not only moved to Sodom, but he also got into politics down there. Here he is, a petty judge sitting in the gate.

Genesis 19:2

These two men must have had dirty feet. Of course, if you had walked from the plains of Mamre down into Sodom wearing nothing but sandals, your feet would need washing, also. Again, I call your attention to this custom of that day which was practiced by those who extended hospitality to strangers. Lot was a hospitable man. When these strangers came, he invited them to his home, and they came in. At first, however, they were reluctant. “And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.” In other words, they said, “We’ll just stay outside. We don’t want to inconvenience you.” And they said this for a purpose, of course.

Genesis 19:3

Now these men have another feast. They had a feast with Abraham; they now have a feast with Lot. They had brought out something when they said, “We’ll stay on the street and just sleep in the park,” and Lot says to them, “You don’t do that in Sodom. It’s dangerous! Your life wouldn’t be worth a thing if you did that.” May I say that maybe Los Angeles ought to change its name to Sodom. It would not be safe for you to sleep on the streets of Los Angeles; in fact, it is not safe at all to be on the streets of Los Angeles at night. Many women who live alone will not come out to church at night. One dear saint of God told me, “I just lock my door at dark, Brother McGee, and I do not open that door until the next morning at daylight.

It’s not safe in my neighborhood to even walk on the street.” The days of Sodom and Gomorrah are here again, and practically for the same reason. Lot says, “No, men, do not stay on the street. It wouldn’t be safe for you.” When he “pressed upon them,” they came in.

Genesis 19:4

This is a sickening scene which reveals the degradation of this citythe city of Sodom. The name that has been put on this sin from that day to this is sodomy. Apparently there was no attempt made in the city of Sodom to have a church for this crowd and to tell them that they were all right in spite of the fact that they practiced this thing. May I say to you that the Word of God is specific on this, and you cannot tone it down. Sodomy is an awful sin. When this man Lot had gone down into the city of Sodom, he did not realize what kind of city it wasI’m sure of that. He got down there and found out that perversion was the order of the day, and he brought up his children, his sons and daughters, in that atmosphere. When he earlier had pitched his tent toward Sodom, he had looked down there and had seen the lovely streets and boulevards and parks and public buildings. And he had seen the folk as they were on the outside, but he had not seen what they really were. The sin of this city is so great that God is now going to judge it. God is going to destroy the city. Let’s draw a sharp line here. There is a new attitude toward sin today. There is a gray area where sin is not really as black as we once thought it was. The church has compromised until it is pitiful. In Southern California we have a church made up of those who are homosexuals, and, lo and behold, they all admit that the pastor of the church is one also! May I say to you, the lesson of Sodom and Gomorrah is a lesson for this generation. God is not accepting this kind of church. The idea today seems to be that you can become a child of God and continue on in sin. God says that is impossibleyou cannot do that, and this city of Sodom is an example of that fact. Paul asks the question: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” And the answer is “God forbid,” or, Let it not be (see Rom_6:1-2). The idea that you can be a Christian and go on in sin is a tremendous mistake, especially to make light of it, as I judge is being done in this particular case. This is what they were doing in Sodom and Gomorrahand God destroyed these cities. Don’t say that we have a primitive view of God in Genesis but that we have a better one today. Don’t argue that, after all, Jesus received sinners. He sure did, but when He got through with them, He had changed them. The harlot who came to Him was no longer in that business. When she came to God, she changed.

That is the thing that happened to other sinners. A publican came to Him, and he left the seat of customs. He gave up that which was crooked when he came to the Lord. If you have come to Christ, you will be changed. Many people write and try to explain to me that we are living in a new day and I need to wake up. My friend, we are living in a new day, but it just happens to be Sodom and Gomorrah all over again.

Genesis 19:6

The men of Sodom were outside the door, asking that these guests in the home of Lot be turned over to them. Lot said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.” That is the way Lot looked at it, and he had been down there in Sodom a long time. It wasn’t new morality to him; it was just old sin.

Genesis 19:8

When a man entertained a guest in that day, he was responsible for him. Lot was willing to make this kind of sacrifice to protect his guests!

Genesis 19:9

“And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: …” You see, Lot was advancing in the political arena there.

Genesis 19:10

If Lot’s guests had not done this, both they and Lot would have been destroyed, because that was the intention of the men of Sodom.

Genesis 19:12

Lot is in a very bad situation. He had spent years down in the city of Sodom. He had learned to tolerate this sort of thing, although he calls it wickedness. He had seen his sons and daughters grow up, and they apparently had married among people with those ethical standards. When the time came that Lot got this word form the Lord to leave the city, he went to his sons-in-law and said, “Let’s get out of here. God is going to destroy this city.” They laughed at him.

They ridiculed him. I suppose they knew that the week before Lot had invested a little money in real estate there. He had lived so long as one of them, without any real difference, that they took his warning as big joke. This man was out of the will of God in this place, and he had no witness for God. He did not win anybody for the Lord in this city. The same principle is true today: when you go down to their level, my friend, you do not win them.

I think that that is being clearly demonstrated in this hour. Frankly, I would agree with Abraham that this man Lot wasn’t saved, but remember what Peter said: “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And 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)” (2Pe_2:6-8). I tell you, Lot never enjoyed it down there in Sodom. Now that he is going to leave the city, he cannot get anyone to leave with him except his wife and two single daughters.

Genesis 19:15

Here is a man who was God’s man in spite of everything. If I only had the Book of Genesis, I am not sure I would believe that Lot was saved, but since Peter calls him a righteous man, we know that he was. Lot had become righteous because he had followed Abrahamhe believed God, and he had offered the sacrifices. God extends mercy unto Lot, and he now believes God and gets out of the city.

Genesis 19:17

Even Lot didn’t want to leave. He would get out of the city, but he couldn’t make it to the mountain.

Genesis 19:20

This city was a little place called Zoar, and that is where Lot went. You see, this man came out of Sodom, but he did not come clean even out of there. And, of course, he got into a great deal of trouble at that particular time.

Genesis 19:26

DESTRUCTION OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAINGod destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and we are told two things, one concerning his wife and the other concerning his daughters. Concerning his wife we read: I think this verse has been greatly misunderstood. Why in the world did Mrs. Lot turn and look back? I think that the reason is twofold. First of all, she turned and looked back because she did not want to leave Sodom. She loved Sodom. She loved Lot, too, but it was a lot of Sodom that she loved. And she didn’t want to leave it. She was probably a member of the country club, the sewing club, and the Shakespeare club. In fact, there wasn’t a club in town that she was not a member of. She just loved these little get-togethers in the afternoon. I’m not sure but what they met and studied religion in a nice little religious club also. She was right in the thick of it all, my friend, and she didn’t want to leave. Her heart was in Sodom. Her body walked out, but she surely left her heart there. This is a tremendous lesson for us today. I hear a great many Christians talking about how they want to see the Lord come, but they are not living as if they mean it. On Sunday morning, it is difficult to get them to leave their lovely home. And on Sunday night, they are not going to leave their lovely home because they love television, too. They have a color television, and they are going to look at the programs on Sunday night because there are some good ones then. But when the Lord comes, my friend, you are going to leave the television; you are going to leave that lovely home; you are going to leave everything. I have just one question to ask you: Will it break your heart to leave all of this down here? I have asked myself that question many times. To be honest with you, I am not anxious to leave. I would love to stay. I have my friends and loved ones whom I want to be with. And I have the radio ministry that I want to continue. I’ll be frank with you, I hope the Lord will just let me stay here awhile longer. But I also want to be able to say that when He does call, I will not have a thing down here which will break my heart to leavenot a thing. I love my home too, but I would just as soon go off and leave it. How do you feel about that today? Mrs. Lot turned and looked back, and this is one of the explanations. The other reason that she looked back is simply that she did not believe God. God had said, “Leave the city, and don’t look back.” Lot didn’t look back; he believed God. But Mrs. Lot did not believe God. She was not a believer, and so she didn’t really make it out of the city. She was turned to a pillar of salt. I am not going to go into the story of Lot’s two daughters in verses Gen_19:31-38. It is as sordid as it can be. Frankly, Lot did not do well in moving down to the city of Sodom. He lost everything except his own soul. His life is a picture of a great many people who will not judge the sins of their lives. They are saved, “yet so as by fire.” The Lord has said in a very definite way to these folk who have put all their eggs in a basket like this that if they will not judge their sin down here, He will judge it. Apparently, that was the case in Lot’s story. I want to conclude this chapter by looking at Abraham. What did Abraham think of all this?

Genesis 19:27

When Abraham looked down toward Sodom, I think his heart was sad. I am not sure whether or not he knew that Lot had escaped. He probably learned about it later on. When he looked down there, he probably was sad for Lot’s sake, but Abraham had not invested a dime down there. When judgment came, it did not disturb him one whit because he wasn’t in love with the things of Sodom and the things of the world. Remember that we are told, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world …” (1Jn_2:15). I sometimes preach a sermon which I have entitled “Sightseeing in Sodom.” First, I look at Sodom through the eyes of Lot himself: he sure had a wrong view of it. And then of Mrs. Lot: she fell in love with it. You can also sightsee in Sodom with Abraham: he lost nothing down there. Finally, you can go through Sodom with the Lord and see it as He sees it.

It is too bad that the church today is not looking at the sin of sodomy as God looks at it. I do not think it is any more prevalent today than it has been in the past, but there is a tremendous percentage of our population who are homosexuals engaging in perversion. We speak of it in a more candid manner than we ever have, and it is something that is right in our midst. What is to be the attitude of the Christian toward homosexuality? Even Lot in his day said, “You are doing wickedly.” And God judged it. Isn’t it enough for the child of God to know that he cannot compromise with this type of thing? This is a sin! The world indulges in it and then calls it a sickness. The same thing is said about the alcoholic. Sure, he’s sick. Of course, he’s sick. But what made him take that first drink and continue to drink until he became sick? Sin did it, my friend. Sin is the problem, and homosexuality is a sin. It is so labeled in the first chapter of Romans where God says He gave them up (see Rom_1:18-32). Genesis 19 is a very important chapter for this present generation in which we are living today.