Genesis 19:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,

NIV: Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him

NASB: But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,

CSB: Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him.

NLT: So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.

KJV: And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

NKJV: So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,

The prior verse demonstrated why Lot was so insistent that these two travelers stay in his home for the night instead of sleeping in the city square. Lot's offer of hospitality and an early departure was meant to protect these travelers from the depraved men of his city. Lot even suggested the men leave early, probably to keep their very presence a secret (Genesis 19:2). Unfortunately, the men of Sodom realize they have visitors, and they surround Lot's house, demanding that Lot release the men to the mob in order to be gang raped (Genesis 19:5).

Assuming Lot does not know yet that these men are angels in disguise, Lot demonstrates a considerable form of bravery in this verse. When the men of the city demand that he turn over the strangers so they can gang rape them, Lot actually goes out to them. Even more, he goes out and closes the door to his house behind him, cutting off his own escape from this violent mob. His pleas in the next verse are courageous, given that they're delivered to a warped crowd of would-be-rapists.

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.

Accessed 5/19/2024 3:56:49 PM