The Mob’s Request
God sent two angels to save Lot and his family from destruction (Genesis 19). Lot took these angels into his home. At those days, he who had taken a stranger under his protection and care was bound to defend him even at the expense of his own life.
Seeing the two visitors, the evil men of Sodom said to Lot, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them” (Genesis 19:5). The mob wanted to have homosexual activities with the two angels. According to archeological discoveries this sin, punishable by death under the law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22, 29), was common among the inhabitants of the Canaan.
Lot Offered His Daughters
Lot left the house, after locking the door behind him to prevent the mob from going in, and made a serious plea to try to turn the minds of the old and young from their wicked plan. He said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly” (verse 7). But the men would not listen to him and insisted on their evil request.
Sadly, Lot responded “Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof” (verse 8).
Feeling that no argument could alter their goals, Lot made a sad suggestion to save his visitors from shame and death. His belief in the serious obligation of hospitality, so greatly practiced in Eastern cultures, shows though it does not approve of his suggestion. The honored people in that culture believed that he who had taken a stranger under his roof was obliged to protect him even at the cost of his own life. The duty of hospitality is still common today, in some Near Eastern countries. Only to an Oriental person, possibly, would the duty of a host toward his guests seem to approve, or at least excuse, Lot’s strange behavior at this time.
The purity of Lot’s two daughters in a city like Sodom is proof of Lot’s fatherly love and care with which he had raised them up. This shows that what he suggested was not carelessly given. The common care of Orientals to guard their women was shown in one story by Jacob’s sons toward their sister (Genesis 34). The fact that such a suggestion was made shows that Lot had tried every possible way to change the minds of the mob, with no success. He knew fully the degree of evil that filled the inhabitants of his city (2 Peter 2:7, 8).
God’s Deliverance
The Lord allowed Lot to try to alter the evil plans of the Sodomites in order that he might be convinced of the degree of their corruption. But when his efforts were unfruitful, the angels took matters in their hands to protect everyone from injury. The angels of the Lord 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 19:12).
This supernatural act convinced Lot and his family with the heavenly nature of his visitors. Then, the angels of God shared with Lot the purpose of their mission. They said, “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” (Genesis 19:13).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
