Tuesday 5/31/22
Say "No" to Sin

1And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
 2And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
 3And 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.
 4But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
 5And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
 6And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
 7And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
 8Behold 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.
 9And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
 10But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
 11And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
 12And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
 13For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
 14And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
 15And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
 16And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
 17And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
 18And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my LORD:
 19Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
 20Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
 21And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
 22Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
 23The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
 24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
 25And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
 26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
 27And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
 28And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
 29And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
 30And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
 31And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
 32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
 33And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
 34And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
 35And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
 36Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
 37And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
 38And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Moses
Date Penned: (1450-1410 BC)
Overview: To Record God's Creation and Identify His Plan (c 1-22)
Theme: The Story of Abraham (c 12-25)
Message: God Rescues Lot (v 1-38)

Genesis 19 Commentary

(19:1-4) Lot's Pride in a Sinful Place - The gateway of the city was the meeting place for city officials and other men to discuss current events and transact business. It was a place of authority and status where a person could see and be seen. Evidently Lot held an important position in the government, or was associated with those who did, because the angels found him at the city gate. Perhaps Lot's status in Sodom was one reason he was so reluctant to leave (19:16, 18-22). 

(19:5-8) Lot's Sin expounds on his Family - The phrase "that we may know them" means the men wanted to have sexual relations with Lot's guests. How could any father give his daughters to be ravished by a mob of perverts, just to protect two strangers? Although it was the custom of the day to protect guests at any cost, this terrible suggestion reveals how deeply sin had been absorbed into Lot's life. He had become hardened to evil acts in an evil city. Whatever Lot's motives were, we see here an illustration of Sodom's terrible wickedness--a wickedness so great that God had to destroy the entire city.

(19:13) Lot Failed to Trust God - God had promised to spare Sodom if only ten righteous people lived there (18:32). Obviously not even ten could be found, because the angels arrived to destroy the city. Archaeological evidence points to an advanced civilization in this area during Abraham's day. Most researchers also confirm some kind of sudden and devastating destruction. It is now widely thought that the buried city lies beneath the waters of the southern end of the Dead Sea. The story of Sodom reveals that the people of Lot's day had to deal with the same kinds of devastating sins the world faces today. We should follow Abraham's example of trusting God. His selfless faith contrasts with the self-gratification of the people of Sodom.

(19:14) Lot Loses His Convictions - Lot had lived so long and was so content among ungodly people that he was no longer a believable witness for God. He had allowed his culture to shape him, rather than shaping his culture. Do those who know you see you as a witness for God, or are you just one of the crowd, blending in unnoticed? Lot had compromised to the point that he was almost useless to God. When he finally made a stand, nobody listened. Have you, too, become useless to God because you are shaped too much by your culture? To make a difference, you must first decide to be different in your faith and your conduct.

(19:16-29) Abraham Prays for Repentance - Notice how God's mercy toward Abraham extended to Lot and his family. Because Abraham had pleaded for Lot, God was merciful and saved Lot from the fiery destruction of Sodom. A righteous person can often affect others for good. James says that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5,16). All Christians should follow Abraham's example and never give up praying for those who need to be saved.

(19:16) Lots second guess - Lot hesitated, so the angels seized his hand and rushed him to safety. Lot did not want to abandon the wealth, position, and comfort he enjoyed in Sodom. It is easy to criticize Lot for being hypnotized by Sodom when the choice seems so clear to us. But to be wiser than Lot, we must see that our hesitation to follow may stem from the false attractions of our culture's pleasures. When God takes you by the hand and his leading is crystal clear, don't hesitate. 

(19;24) God Reveals More of His Character - In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see two facets of God's character; his great patience agreeing to spare a wicked city for ten righteous people) and his fierce anger (destroying both cities). As we grow spiritually, we should find ourselves developing not only a deeper respect for God because of his anger toward sin but also a deeper love for God because of his patience when we sin.

(19:26) Lot's Wife - Lot's wife turned back to look at the smoldering city of Sodom. Clinging to the past, she was unwilling to turn completely away. Are you looking back longingly at sinful pleasures and relationships while trying to move forward with God? You can't make progress with God as long as you are holding on to pieces of your old life. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 6:24: "No man can serve two masters."

(19:30-38) Lot's Compromise passes to His Children - In this pitiful sequel to the story of the destruction of Sodom, we see two women compelled to preserve their family line. They were driven not by lust but by desperation--they feared they would never marry and have children. Lot's tendency to compromise and refuse to act reached its peak. He should have found right partners for his daughters long before this; Abraham's family wasn't far away. Now the two daughters stooped to incest, showing their acceptance of the morals of Sodom. We are most likely to sin when we are desperate for what we feel we must have.

(19:30-38) The Sisters continue in Sin - Why doesn't the Bible openly condemn these sisters for what they did? In many cases, the Bible does not judge people for their actions. It simply reports the events. However, incest is clearly condemned in other parts of Scripture (Leviticus 18:6-18; 20:11-12,17, 19-21; Deuteronomy 22:30; 27:20, 22-23; Ezekiel 22:11; 1 Corinthians 5:1). Perhaps the consequence of their actions--Moab and Ammon became enemies of Israel--was God's way of judging their sin.

(19:37-38) Sin Continues to Abound - Moab and Ben-ammi were born out of incest. They became the fathers of two of Israel's most persistent enemies, the Moabites and the Ammonites. These nations settled east of the Jordan River, and Israel never conquered them. Because of the family connection, Moses was forbidden to attack them (Deuteronomy 2:9). Ruth, great-grandmother of David and an ancestor of Jesus, was from Moab.
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we Continue in the book of Genesis with Chapter 19 and in today's text we see our focus move to Lot. How in previous chapters he pitched his tents towards Sodom, then living in Sodom compromised himself to the point of giving his daughters over to these sinful people to satisfy their lusts. Lot's compromise cost him his family and His wife who is now dead and a pillar of salt. Half of his daughters are dead in the fire and brimstone of Sodom and his other daughters committed incest with their dad and bore him children. What a tragedy of a life in sin. In making application we see Lot's live is a good example to learn of sins progression. It starts with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life. Once we compromise on one of these vices, we then make decisions to get close to the sin, then we commit the sin, then the sin has us in its grasp, and when the sin is finished with us it produces death and tragedy. I see this in lives everyday around me who have been destroyed by sin. It could all be stopped if when first tempted we simply say "No", that is not what God would have me do. We sin when we attempt to meet our God given needs apart from God's plan for our life. The sad thing is that your sin affects others and God hates sin for this reason. How about you? Are you pitching your tents towards Sodom? Let us learn from our text today and the example of Lot's life to be courageous and simply say "NO" to sin.
Thank You for Reading Today's Devotional
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ο»ΏSincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.
Closing Prayer

Father in the Name and through the Blood of Jesus we pray that we would Take Today's Reading of Your Word and Give Us Understanding of Its Text, that You Apply this Word to Our Lives, and that you would help us grow in You. Father, Finally we Pray for Your Kingdom to come, that Your Will to be Done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. That You would Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen