Genesis 19:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

NIV: But 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.

NASB: Yet he strongly urged them, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

CSB: But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.

NLT: But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate.

KJV: And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

NKJV: 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.

After welcoming two strangers to Sodom, Lot had offered to let them stay in his home for the night before they traveled on the next morning. Not only was he demonstrating the warm hospitality of good people in his culture, he was also hoping to protect these two from the violent men of his town. As will become clear, two newcomers alone and unprotected at night were not safe in Sodom.

Lot likely still does not realize that these two are angels. He definitely does not know they've been sent from God to investigate—actually, to confirm—the wickedness of the city in preparation for God's judgment on it. Lot certainly knows that strangers sleeping out in the open in Sodom are in serious danger.

Lot won't take their initial "no" for an answer to his offer to stay with him. He "presses them strongly," implying that Lot begs, pleads, and argues to convince them to stay in his home instead. They eventually agree and, as Abraham had done for them in the previous chapter, Lot makes for them a feast. Unleavened bread was likely included because it could be made more quickly.

The question is sometimes asked: do angels in human form eat food? For the second time in the book of Genesis, we witness these angels eating, receiving the generous hospitality of both Abraham and Lot. Another frequent question is whether angels still appear on the earth in human form. The writer of Hebrews, in the New Testament, encourages Christians to continue to offer hospitality to strangers, remarking that by doing so some have entertained angels without ever knowing it (Hebrews 13:2).

Genesis 19:1–22 describes what happens following the Lord's assurance to Abraham that He will not destroy Sodom if He finds ten righteous people there. Despite such a low standard, Sodom fails the test. Every man in the city attempts to rape two of the Lord's angels who are in human form. The angels intervene, eventually removing Lot and his family from the city by force, and out of God's mercy. The angels instruct the family to run to the hills, but Lot asks if they can flee to the tiny town of Zoar instead. The angels allow this.

Two angels, disguised as men, visit Abraham's nephew, Lot, in the city of Sodom. After the men of Sodom attempt to rape the angels in Lot's home, the angels rescue Lot and his family, forcibly removing them from the city. Then God sends fire and sulfur from heaven. This destroys all of the land and people in and around the cities. As stated in earlier verses, this is the result of their great and ongoing wickedness. Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt when she disobeys the angels by looking back on the destruction. Lot and his daughters flee first to Zoar, then to a cave in the hills. There, Lot's confused and frightened daughters get him drunk, have sex with him, and each become pregnant.

In the previous chapter, Abraham had bargained with God on behalf of his nephew Lot and the people of Sodom. The Lord assured Abraham He would not destroy the cities if He found ten righteous people there. Chapter 19 immediately demonstrates no righteous people are to be found. Every man of Sodom attempts to attack two visitors, who are God's angels in human form. As the angels rescue Lot, God's judgment falls, utterly destroying everything in the area around Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his daughters end up in a cave in the hills, where the daughters scheme to conceive children by making their father drunk. This ends Lot's role in the story of Genesis, with future chapters focusing exclusively on the life and descendants of Abraham.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.