Genesis 19

S - Gen 19
O - OMG so much sin! :( A lot of it in this passage concerns sexual immorality
1The 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.2"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."3But 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.
Seems to be like Chapter 18 with Abraham, minus the Lord himself.
And then here's the scary part4Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.5They 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."
WHAT. WHATTTTT.All I can tell from this is that they must be so hopelessly and completely immersed in sin for it to rule their mind and bodies, thus leading them to act and speak in this way. Not just one man, but all the men of Sodom. So if I were to put this into the Parable of the Weeds from Matthew 13, the field would be overtaken by weeds.SB: Homosexuality was so characteristic of the men of Sodom that it is still often called sodomy.
v8 SB: Ancient hospitality obliged a host to protect his guests in every situation.
v9 Centuries later, Moses was also considered an outsider and accused of setting himself up as a judge
The angels allow Lot to take the people who belong to him and flee Sodom before they destroy it. Shows God's mercy.
v14 - "sons in law thought he was joking" Lot lost his power of moral persuasion even among his family members. Seems like the sin in them was really great, just like the other men.
16When 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.17As 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!"v16 - SB says Lot hesitated - perhaps because of his reluctance to leave his material possessions (fair point). I thought that was a little silly...when God says he's going to destroy the city and allows you to flee for you life, perhaps in our human nature we all have a tendency to consider our wealth and what our future would be without it, even when you know it's a life and death situation.SB: the 10 righteous people required to save Sodom (18:32) had now been reduced to four.
"the Lord was merciful to them" - Deliverance is due to divine mercy, not to human righteousness.v17 - clear instructions were given and they were to be followed

18But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please!19Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.20Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."21He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.22But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar.)This appears to be parallel to chapter 18 where Moses pleaded with the Lord. and the Lord granted his request.
23By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.24Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens.25Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land.26But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Only after Lot reached Zoar, THEN the Lord rained down burning sulfur. (v29 "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".Lot's wife's disobedient hesitation became proverbial in later generations (Luke 17:32)
And then another shocker.v33 "they (Lot's daughters) got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him" because 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth.32Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father."Not having faith in the Lord to bring them through those times, but tried to take matters into their own hands, just like Sarah and Abraham in Gen 16.SB: Though Lot's role was somewhat passive, he core the basic responsibility of the drunkenness and incest that eventually resulted in his two daughters' becoming pregnant by him. (v36)v36-38 The sons were the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites - 2 nations that were to become bitter enemies of Abraham's descendants.
A - God brings judgment upon the sinful. Because of his divine mercy, he saves the righteous.God keeps his promises - he listened to the prayer of Abraham and kept that promise.Trust in God because he reigns supreme. No need to take matters into your own hands. God is the way, the truth and the light.P - To deliver us from the evil one. To be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ in the good times (when it seems we don't need him) and the bad (instead of trying to use our own abilities).