And 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.
15. when the morning arose ] At day-break. The doom was to be inflicted before sun-rise (cf. Gen 19:23). If Lot was still in the city, he too would perish: hence the men’s haste.
consumed ] See Gen 18:23.
iniquity ] Better, as R.V. marg., punishment. See note, on the ambiguous meaning of the Hebrew word, in Gen 4:13; cf. 1Sa 25:24; 2Sa 14:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 19:15
When the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot
Hastening Lot
I.
THE RIGHTEOUS NEED TO BE HASTENED.
1. In what?
(1) In matters of obedience to their Lord.
(2) In coming out from the world.
(3) In seeking the good of their families (Gen 19:12).
(4) In general quickness of movement in spiritual things (Gen 19:17; Gen 19:22).
2. Why?
(1) The flesh is weak.
(2) Perseverance is difficult.
(3) Sodom has a sluggish influence.
(4) When our worldly occupation is incessant, and takes up most of our thoughts, we are hindered from decision.
(5) Idle leisure is still worse. Men with nothing to do in the world seldom do anything in religion.
3. By what means?
(1) By reminding them of their obligations, their opportunities, and the days already wasted.
(2) By leading them to consider the flight of time and brevity of life.
(3) By warning them of the sure ruin of their impenitent friends.
(4) By setting before them the fact that delay in duty is sin, and leads to other sins.
II. THE SINNERS NEED TO BE HASTENED.
1. Sinners are very slow, and apt to linger.
(1) They have settled down in the Sodom of sin. Like the sluggard, they desire a little more folding of the arms to sleep.
(2) They are bound by many ties to the City of Destruction.
(3) They do not believe our warning (Gen 19:14).
(4) They trifle with our message when they dare not contradict it.
(5) Delay is Satans grand device for their ruin.
(6) Procrastination baffles our persuasions. Delays act like bales of wool dropped over the wall of a besieged city to deaden the blows of a battering-ram. Felix quieted his conscience by the idea of a more convenient season.
2. Our business is to hasten them.
(1) We must be in earnest ourselves, as these angels were.
(2) We must also be patient, and repeat our pleadings.
(3) We must be resolute, and lay hold on their hands.
3. We have many arguments with which to hasten them. May the Holy Spirit make them see–
(1) Their imminent danger while lingering.
(2) The sin of loitering when God commands them to escape for their lives.
(3) The fitness of the present above any possible future.
(4) The uncertainty that any available future will come.
(5) The supreme necessity of immediate decision with some; for it may be now or never with them; they will die in their sins if they do not hear the voice of God today. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The lingerer
I. WHY IS IT, THAT IN THE ESCAPE OF THE SOUL, MEN SO LINGER?
1. The first cause is the entanglement of their affections with worldly things.
2. Another cause of Lots irresoluteness would be the refusal of his sons-in-law and of their wives, his daughters, to escape with him.
3. Other causes of lingering there may be peculiar to yourselves.
(1) Perhaps you have not fortitude enough to brave the ridicule or the persecution that you will be exposed to.
(2) Perhaps you are but half-persuaded of your peril. Acknowledging in general terms your sin, you do not realize the possible imminency of its punishment. You presume upon a longer probation. You put off Christ with a promise. Be ye, therefore, ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.
II. Need I point out to YOU THE PERIL OF LINGERING? It is strikingly illustrated by the narrowness of Lots escape. How nigh he was to the fate that overtook his wife! How closely his reluctance, which the angels had to force, must have approached to her disobedience, which they had to punish! And how affecting this separation! She who left Sodom with him was not to enter Zoar with him. (H. Allon.)
A reason for haste
A Christian tradesmen bethought him that he had never spoken to a certain regular customer about his soul, though the man had called at his shop for years. He determined to plead earnestly with him the next time he came in his way. There was no next time; his customer died suddenly, so that he saw him no more. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Spiritual concerns first
When a young man made an open profession of the gospel, his father, greatly offended, gave him this advice: James, you should first get yourself established in a good trade, and then think of the matter of religion. Father, said the son, Jesus Christ advises me differently; He says, Seek ye first the kingdom of God. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Urgency needed
Brother, said a dying man, why have you not been more pressing with me about my soul? Dear James, replied the brother, I have spoken to you several times. Yes, was the answer, you are not to blame; but you were always so quiet over it; I wish you had gone on your knees to me, or had taken me by the neck and shaken me, for I have been careless, and have nearly slept myself into hell. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
No time to lose
The poor needle-woman with her inch of candle has work to finish. See how her fingers fly, for she fears lest she should be left in darkness, and her work undone. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Inducement to hasten
Do not some professors cause sinners to loiter by their own loitering? A man taking a seat at the Tabernacle came to the minister and said, Sir, do I understand that if I became a seat-holder I shall be expected to be converted? Yes, was the reply, I hope you will, and I pray that it may be so. Do you object? The answer was, Oh, sir, I desire it above everything. Was not the man hastened by the general feeling of hopefulness which pervaded the Church? Assuredly there is much in the atmosphere which surrounds a man. Among warm-hearted Christians it is hard for the careless to remain indifferent. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Which are here; Heb. which are found; i.e. which are present with thee, as this word is used, 1Ch 29:17; 2Ch 5:11; 30:21; 31:1. Whence some gather that he had two other daughters married to two Sodomitish men, who by their husbands persuasion and example staid and perished in those flames. But this is not necessary; for this phrase may be applied to the daughters by way of distinction from their spouses or husbands: q.d. Tarry no longer in expectation of thy sons-in-law, who are absent, and must be given up for lost, but take thy daughters which are found and present with thee, and go thy way.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15-17. The kindly interest theangels took in the preservation of Lot is beautifully displayed. Buthe “lingered.” Was it from sorrow at the prospect of losingall his property, the acquisition of many years? Or was it that hisbenevolent heart was paralyzed by thoughts of the awful crisis? Thisis the charitable way of accounting for a delay that would have beenfatal but for the friendly urgency of the angel.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when the morning arose,…. When it was break of day, for as yet the sun was not risen, nor did it rise until Lot got to Zoar,
Ge 19:23. He was now returned from his sons-in-law, and by this time it began to be light:
then the angels hastened Lot; urged him to get out of his house as fast as he could:
saying, arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; from whence Aben Ezra, and others, have concluded, as has been observed, that he had other daughters elsewhere, which they suppose were married to men of Sodom; but the phrase, “which are here”, or “are found”, or “are present” t, relates to his wife, as well as his daughters, and only signifies, that he should take all his relations that were present; and these may be only opposed to and distinguished from his sons-in-law that were absent, and refused to hearken to his advice and exhortations. Onkelos paraphrases the words, “who are found faithful with thee”; who believed what the angels said concerning the destruction of Sodom, as well as he, as did his wife and two daughters:
lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city; in the punishment inflicted on the city for their iniquity. See Re 18:4.
t “quae inveniuntur”, Pagninus, Montanus; “quae adsunt”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “quae praesentes”, Fagius, Munster, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot to hasten away with his family; and when he still delayed, his heart evidently clinging to the earthly home and possessions which he was obliged to leave, they laid hold of him, with his wife and his two daughters, , “ by virtue of the sparing mercy of Jehovah (which operated) upon him,” and_ led him out of the city.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
15 And 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. 16 And 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. 17 And 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. 18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20 Behold 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. 21 And 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. 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 15, 16:
Lot was reluctant to leave Sodom, even after the shameful conduct of the depraved men the previous night. The angels were forced to use physical force to remove him, his wife, and his two daughters from the city. Jehovah’s mercy toward weak, worldly Lot and family would not allow their destruction along with wicked Sodom.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
15. The angels hastened Lot. Having praised the faith and piety of Lot, Moses shows that something human still adhered to him; because the angels hastened him, when he was lingering. The cause of his tardiness might be, that he thought he was going into exile: thus a multiplicity of cares and fears disturb his anxious mind. For he doubts what would happen to him, as a fugitives when, having left his house and furniture, naked and in want, he should retake himself to some desert place. In the meantime, he does not consider that he must act like persons shipwrecked, who, in order that they may come safe into port, cast into the sea their cargo, and every thing they have. He does not indeed doubt, that God is speaking the truth; nor does he refuse to remove elsewhere, as he is commanded; but, as if sinking under his own infirmity, and entangled with many cares, he, who ought to have run forth hastily, and without delay, moves with slow and halting pace. In his person, however, the Spirit of God presents to us, as in a mirror, our own tardiness; in order that we, shaking off all sloth, may learn to prepare ourselves for prompt obedience, as soon as the heavenly voice sounds in our ears; otherwise, in addition to that indolence which, by nature, dwells within us, Satan will interpose many delays. The angels, in order the more effectually to urge Lot forward, infuse the fear, lest he should be destroyed in the iniquity, or the punishment of the city. For the word עוון ( ayon) signifies both. Not that the Lord rashly casts the innocent on the same heap with the wicked, but because the man, who will not consult for his own safety, and who, even being warned to beware, yet exposes himself, by his sloth, to ruin, deserves to perish.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) When the morning arose.Lot had thus the night for making his preparations, but part of this he spent in his visits to his sons-in-law.
Consumed.Heb., swept away; and so in Gen. 19:17. See Gen. 18:23-24, where it is rendered destroy.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. When the morning arose Or, as the dawn went up; as it began to turn towards day, “when the morning star rose . ” Kalisch . It was after sunrise when Lot reached Zoar, (Gen 19:23,) so that he must have left Sodom some time before .
Hastened Lot It was hard for him to tear himself so suddenly away from his home .
Which are here Hebrews, which are found . This implies other daughters which were not found .
In the iniquity of the city The city and its iniquity are to be blotted out together, and those who perish with the city, perish with and in its iniquity, being identified with it.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And as the morning began the angels put pressure on Lot to hurry up, saying, “Get up. Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment on the iniquity of the city.’
As first light arises the matter is now urgent and there is no time to lose. ‘Who are here’ suggests he may well have had further daughters. On the other hand Gen 19:31 calls one of them ‘the firstborn’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 19:15 And 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.
Ver. 15. Lest thou be consumed. ] So Rev 18:4 . “Come out of her, that ye receive not of her plagues.” Musculi ruinis imminentibus praemigrant, et aranei cum telis primi eadunt , saith Pliny. a Swine flee home before a storm. Let men hasten out of their natural estate, as Lot was bidden to do out of Sodom: there is the smell of the fire and brimstone upon them.
a Plin., lib. viii. cap. 28.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Genesis
THE SWIFT DESTROYER
Gen 19:15 – Gen 19:26 .
The religious significance of this solemn page of revelation is but little affected by any of the interesting questions which criticism raises concerning it, so that I am free to look at the whole narrative for the purpose of deducing its perennial lessons. There are four clearly marked stages in the story: the lingering of Lot in the doomed city, and the friendly force which dragged him from it; the prayer of abject fear, and the wonderful answer; the awful catastrophe; and the fate of the wretched woman who looked back.
1. Lot’s lingering and rescue by force. Second thoughts are not always best. When great resolves have to be made, and when a clear divine command has to be obeyed, the first thought is usually the nobler; and the second, which pulls it back, and damps its ardour, is usually of the earth, earthy. So was it with Lot. Overnight, in the excitement of the terrible scene enacted before his door, Lot had been not only resolved himself to flee, but his voice had urged his sons-in-law to escape from the doom which he then felt to be imminent. But with the cold grey light of morning his mood has changed. The ties which held him in Sodom reassert their power. Perhaps daylight made his fears seem less real. There was no sign in the chill Eastern twilight that this day was to be unlike the other days. Perhaps the angels’ summons roused him from sleep, and their ‘arise’ is literally meant. It might have given wings to his flight. Urgent, and resonant, like the morning bugle, it bids him be stirring lest he be swept away ‘in the punishment of the city.’ Observe that the same word means ‘sin’ and ‘punishment,’-a testimony to the profound truth that at bottom they are one, sin being pain in the root, pain being sin in the flower. So our own word ‘evil’ covers all the ground, and means both sin and sorrow. But even that pealing note does not shatter his hesitation. He still lingers. What kept him? That which had first taken him there-material advantages. He had struck root in Sodom. The tent life which he had kept to at first has been long given up; we find him sitting in the gate of the city, the place for gossip and friendly intercourse. He has either formed, or is going to form, marriage alliances for his daughters with men of the city who are as black as the rest. Perhaps his wife, whom the story will not name, for pity or for horror, was a Sodomite. To escape meant to leave all this and his wealth behind. If he goes out, he goes out a pauper. So his heart, which is where his treasure is, makes his movements slow. What insanity his lingering must have seemed to the angels! I wonder if we, who cling so desperately to the world, and who are so slow to go where God would have us to be for our own safety, if thereby we shall lose anything of this world’s wealth, seem very much wiser to eyes made clear-sighted with the wisdom of heaven. This poor hesitating lingerer, too much at home in the city of destruction to get out of it even to save his life, has plenty of brothers to-day. Every man who lets the world hold him by the skirts when Christ is calling him to salvation, and every man who is reluctant to obey any clear call to sacrifice and separation from godless men, may see his own face in this glass, and perhaps get a glimpse of its ugliness.
What a homely picture, full of weighty truth, the story gives us, of the angels each taking two of the reluctant four by the hand, and dragging them with some degree of kindly force from destruction into safety! So, in a great fire, domestic animals and horses seem to find a strange fascination in the flames, and have to be carried out of certain death by main force. They ‘set him’-or we might read, ‘made him rest’-outside the city. It was but a little distance, for these ‘cities’ were tiny places, and the walls were soon reached. But it was far enough to change Lot’s whole feelings. He passes to feeble despair and abject fear, as we shall see. That forlorn group, homeless, friendless, stripped of everything, shivering outside the gate in the cold morning air, may teach us how wise and prudent the man is who seeks the kingdom of God second, and the other things first.
2. There was a pause outside the city. A new voice speaks now to Lot. ‘They’ brought him forth; but ‘He’ said ‘escape.’ The same ‘Lord’ to whom Abraham had prayed, has now rejoined the mysterious pair whom He had sent to Sodom. And Lot’s entreaty is addressed to Him whom he calls ‘my Lord.’ He uses singular pronouns throughout, although the narrator says that he ‘said unto them .’ There seems to be here the same idea as is embodied in the word ‘Elohim’; namely, that the divine powers are regarded as in some sense separable, and yet all inhering in a personal unity. At all events, we have here a distinct representation of an intercourse between God and man, in which thoughts are conveyed to the human spirit direct from the divine, and desires pass from the human to the divine. The manner of the intercourse we do not know, but the possibility of the fact can scarcely be denied by any believer in a God; and, however we may call this miraculous or abnormal, the essence of the event can be repeated in the experience of each of us. God still speaks to men, and men may still plead with God. Unless our religion is communion, it is nothing.
The divine voice reiterates the angels’ urgent command in still more stringent words: ‘Escape for thy life.’ There is to be no more angel-leading, but Lot’s feet are to be made as hinds’ feet by the thought of the flaming death that is pursuing. His lingering looks are sternly forbidden, since they would delay his flight and divide his heart. The direction of his flight is for the first time pointed out. The fertile plain, which had lured him down from the safe hills, is prohibited. Only on the mountain-side, probably the eastern mountains, where the morning red was beginning to blush, is there safety.
Lot’s answer shows a complete change of feeling. He is too fully alarmed now. His fright is so desperate that it has killed faith and common sense. The natural conclusion from God’s mercy, which he acknowledges, would have been trust and obedience. ‘Therefore I can escape,’ not ‘but I cannot escape,’ would have been the logic of faith. The latter is the irrationality of fear. When a man who has been cleaving to this fleeting life of earthly good wakes up to believe his danger, he is ever apt to plunge into an abyss of terror, in which God’s commands seem impossible, and His will to save becomes dim. The world first lies to us by ‘You are quite safe where you are. Don’t be in a hurry to go.’ Then it lies, ‘You never can get away now.’ Reverse Lot’s whimpering fears, and we get the truth. Are not God’s directions how to escape, promises that we shall escape? Will He begin to build, and not be able to finish? Will the judgments of His hand overrun their commission, like a bloodhound which, in its master’s absence, may rend his friend? ‘We have all of us one human heart,’ and this swift leap from unreasoning carelessness to as unreasoning dread, this failure to draw the true conclusion from God’s past mercy, and this despairing recoil from the path pointed for us, and craving for easier ways, belongs to us. ‘A strange servant of God was this,’ say we. Yes, and we are often quite as strange. How many people awakened to see their danger are so absorbed by the sight that they cannot see the cross, or think they can never reach it!
God answered the cry, whatever its fault, and that may well make us pause in our condemnation. He hears even a very imperfect petition, and can see the tiniest germ of faith buried under thick clods of doubt and fear. This stooping readiness to meet Lot’s weakness comes in wonderful contrast with the terrible revelation of judgment which follows. What a conception of God, which had room for this more than human patience with weakness, and also for the flashing, lurid glories of destructive retribution! Zoar is spared, not for the unworthy reason which Lot suggested-because its minuteness might buy impunity, as some noxious insect too small to be worth crushing-but in accordance with the principle which was illustrated in Abraham’s intercession, and even in Lot’s safety; namely, that the righteous are shields for others, as Paul had the lives of all that sailed with him given to him.
God’s ‘cannot’ answers Lot’s ‘cannot.’ His power is limited by His own solemn purpose to save His faltering servant. The latter had feared that, before he could reach the mountain, ‘the evil’ would overtake him. God shows him that his safety was a condition precedent to its outburst. Lot barred the way. God could not ‘let slip the dogs of’ judgment, but held them in the leash until Lot was in Zoar. Very awful is the command to make haste, based on this impossibility, as if God were weary of delay, and more than ready to smite. However we may find anthropomorphism in these early narratives, let us not forget that, when the world has long been groaning under some giant evil, and the bitter seed is grown up into a waving forest of poison, there is something in the passionless righteousness of God which brooks no longer delay, but seeks to make ‘a short work’ on the earth.
3. So we are brought face to face with the grim story of the destruction. There is a world of tragic meaning in the simple note of time given. ‘The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.’ The low-lying cities of the plain would lie in shadow for some time before the sun topped the eastern hills. What a dawn! At that joyous hour, just when the sunshine struck down on the smiling plain, and lake and river gleamed like silver, and all things woke to new hopes and fresh life, then the sky darkened, and the earth sank, and horrible rain of fiery bitumen fell from the black pall, salt mud poured in streams, and over all hung a column of fat, oily smoke. It is not my province to discuss the physical cause of the destruction; but I may refer to the suggestions of Sir J. W. Dawson, in his Egypt and Syria , and in The Expositor for May 1886, in which he shows that great beds of bituminous limestone extend below the Jordan valley and much of the Dead Sea, and that the escape of inflammable gag from these through the opening of a fissure along a great ‘line of fault,’ is capable of producing all the effects described. The ‘brimstone’ of the Authorised Version is probably rather some form of bituminous matter which would be carried into the air by such an escape of gas, and a thick saline mud would accompany the eruption, encrusting anything it reached. Subsidence would follow the ejection of quantities of such matter; and hence the word ‘overthrew,’ which seems inappropriate to a mere conflagration, would be explained.
But, however this may be, we have to recognise a supernatural element in the starting of the train of natural causes, as well as in the timing of the catastrophe, and a divine purpose of retribution, which turns the catastrophe, however effected, into a judgment.
So regarded, the event has a double meaning. In the first place, it is a revelation of an element in the divine character and of a feature in the divine government. To the men of that time, it might be a warning. To Abraham, and through him to his descendants, and through them to us, it preaches a truth very unwelcome to many in this day: that there is in God that which constrains Him to hate, fight against, and punish, evil. The temper of this generation turns away from such thoughts, and, in the name of the truth that ‘God is love,’ would fain obliterate the truth that He does and will punish. But if the punitive element be suppressed, and that in God which makes it necessary ignored or weakened, the result will be a God who has not force enough to love, but only weakly to indulge. If He does not hate and punish, He does not pardon. For the sake of the love of God, we must hold firm by the belief in the judgments of God. The God who destroyed Sodom is not merely the God of an earlier antiquated creed. ‘Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yea, of the Gentiles also.’
Again, this event is a prophecy. So our Lord has employed it; and much of the imagery in which the last judgment is represented is directly drawn from this narrative. So far from this story showing to us only the superstitions of a form of belief which we have long outgrown, its deepest meaning lies far ahead, and closes the history of man on the earth. We know from the lips which cannot lie, that the appalling suddenness of that destruction foreshadows the swiftness of the coming of that last ‘day of the Lord.’ We know that in literality some of the physical features shall be reproduced; for the fire which shall burn up the world and all its works is no figure, nor is it proclaimed only by such non-authoritative voices as those of Jesus and His apostles, but also by the modern possessors of infallible certitude, the men of science. We know that that day shall be a day of retribution. We know, too, that the crime of Sodom, foul and unnatural as it was, is not the darkest, but that its inhabitants who have to face that judgment too will find their doom more tolerable, and their sins lighter, than some who have had high places in the Church, than the Pharisees and wise men who have not taken Christ for their Saviour.
4. The fate of the loiterer. Her backward look must have been more than momentary, for the destruction of the cities did not begin till Lot was safe in Zoar. She must have lingered far behind, and been overtaken by the eruption of liquid saline mud, which, as Sir J. W. Dawson has shown, would attend or follow the outburst of bituminous matter, so that her fate was the natural consequence of her heart being still in Sodom. As to the ‘pillar of salt’ which has excited cavils on the one hand and foolish legends on the other, probably we are to think rather of a heap than of a pillar. The word does not occur in either meaning elsewhere, but its derivation implies something raised above the level of the ground; and a heap, such as would be formed by a human body encrusted with salt mud, would suit the requirements of the expression. Like a man who falls in a snowstorm, or, still more accurately, just as some of the victims at Pompeii stumbled in their flight, and were buried under the ashes, which still keep the outline of their figures, so Lot’s wife was covered with the half-liquid slimy mud. Granted the delay in her flight, the rest is perfectly simple and natural. She was buried in a horrible tomb; and, in pity to her memory, no name has been written upon it. She remains to all generations, in a far truer sense than superstition dreamed of when it pointed to an upright salt rock as her prison and her monument, a warning of the danger of the backward look, which betrays the true home of the heart, and may leave us unsheltered in the open plain when the fiery storm bursts. ‘Remember Lot’s wife.’
When the angels awoke Lot, the day was breaking. By the time that Abraham had risen ‘early in the morning,’ and reached the place by his tent from which he had yesterday looked on the smiling plain, all was over, and the heavy smoke cloud wrapped the dead with its pall-like folds. So swift and sudden is to be the coming of the Son of man,-as the lightning which rushes in one fierce blinding flash from one side of heaven to the other. Wherefore, God calls to each of us: ‘Escape for thy life; look not behind thee.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 19:15-22
15When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” 21He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
Gen 19:15 As dawn came the angels became emphatic.
1. up (lit. arise) – exact form of Gen 19:14
2. take – BDB 542, KB 534, Qal IMPERATIVE
In Gen 19:16-22 the angels’ concern and protection is continued.
“or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city” This is a common term for divine judgment (cf. Gen 18:23-24; Gen 19:15; Gen 19:17; Num 16:26; 1Sa 12:25).
Gen 19:16 “he hesitated” This VERB (BDB 554, KB 552, Hithpael IMPERFECT) is used several times in the OT and means “to linger” or “delay.” Why Lot tarried is not stated. One can only speculate, but it does reveal a lack of trust in the angels’ message. The warnings of Gen 19:17 imply a reluctance on Lot’s part to leave his life in Sodom or possibly his physical possessions (i.e., household goods, servants, valuables, livestock). Remember Lot chose the best grassland for himself (cf. Gen 13:10).
“for the compassion of the LORD was upon him” The Hebrew NOUN (BDB 328) is found only here and Isa 63:9, which also denotes YHWH’s covenant love, compassion, mercy, and grace towards His people. His special care is related to His promises to the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). The VERB (although never appearing in Psalms) is used of YHWH’s special covenant love (cf. 2Ch 36:15; Joe 2:18; Mal 3:17 [twice], but note the contrast when they sin in 2Ch 36:17; Eze 5:11; Eze 7:4; Eze 7:9; Eze 8:18; Eze 9:5; Eze 9:10)!
Gen 19:17 “Escape for your life” The VERB “escape” (, BDB 572, KB 589, Niphal IMPERATIVE) is used five times in this context (cf. Gen 19:17 [twice], 19,20,22). It is a sound play on the name “Lot” (, BDB 532).
“Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley” The angels give several emphatic statements to Lot.
1. escape for your life – BDB 572, KB 589, Niphal IMPERATIVE
2. do not look back – BDB 613, KB 661, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense (note the tragedy of Gen 19:26, apparently it was hard for Lot and his family to let go of their lives in Sodom)
3. do not stay anywhere in the valley – BDB 763, KB 840, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
4. escape to the mountains – same form as #1
“Anywhere in the valley” literally means “five cities.” This referred to five major cities in the Jordan plain: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, which is also called Bela (cf. Gen 14:2).
Gen 19:19 This verse shows something of Lot’s personality. Exactly why he was afraid of the mountains is uncertain (unless it is just their distance away), but at least it reveals a lack of trust in YHWH’s continuing protection and provision (lit. “favor in your eyes,” cf. Gen 6:8; Gen 32:5; Gen 34:11).
NASB “lovingkindness”
NKJV “mercy”
NRSV “great kindness”
This is the Hebrew special covenant NOUN hesed (BDB 338).
SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED)
Gen 19:20 “please, let me escape” This is a COHORTATIVE (BDB 572, KB 589, Niphal COHORTATIVE), which explains the “please, let” of NASB.
The next VERB (BDB 310, KB 309) “escape” (lit. “live”) is a Qal JUSSIVE.
Gen 19:21 “Behold, I grant you this” This is literally the Hebrew idiom “lift the face” (VERB, BDB 669, KB 724, Qal PERFECT plus “face,” BDB 815). It comes from the judicial realm. If a judge “lifted the face” of an accused to see who he/she was, then his impartiality was jeopardized (cf. Lev 19:15; Psa 82:2; Pro 18:5). The judge must be no respecter of persons.
Lot, afraid that he could not make it to the mountains, asked for Bela (Zoar, BDB 858, the root means “to be insignificant”), which means “small” (BDB 859 I), “to be spared.” The angels, surprisingly, approved his request (it seems in a sense all three angels represented YHWH’s personal presence). This city was large enough to have a king, as is recorded in Gen 14:2. This may theologically be another way to show the power of intercession (i.e., Abraham in Gen 18:22-33).
Gen 19:22 Again the angel commands Lot.
1. hurry – BDB 554, KB 553, Piel IMPERATIVE (the opposite of Gen 19:16 a)
2. escape – BDB 572, KB 589, Niphal IMPERATIVE (cf. Gen 19:17 [twice], 19,20), only here in Genesis through Deuteronomy
“I cannot do anything until” The destroying angels are under orders to spare Lot and his family. This reflects either
1. the grace of YHWH
2. the power of intercessory prayer (i.e., Gen 18:22 ff)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
iniquity. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause). App-6. Cause put for effect = judgment. Compare Psa 7:16.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 23
LOT
“And 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. And 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. And 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. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold 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. And 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. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Gen 19:15-23
The Sodomites were a reprobate people, hardened by the perverse practice of grievous, vile sin. In Sodom, homosexuality had become the normal, dominant way of life. Men with men and women with women, leaving the natural use of the body, commonly practiced such wickedness that God determined he would destroy Sodom in his holy wrath.[13]
[13] Homosexuality is still an abomination to God. It is the perverse practice of wicked men with perverted hearts and minds, acting in a manner that is against nature. Wherever homosexuality becomes commonly accepted, reprobation is evident. Any society that permits, accepts and condones the practice of homosexuality is under the judgment of God (Rom 1:24-32).
Sodom was a city under the judgment of God. However, there was one righteous man in that city; and God, who will not destroy the righteous with the wicked, would not destroy Sodom until he had delivered righteous Lot from the city. The historical record of that deliverance is found in Genesis 19.
Two angels came to Sodom to destroy the Sodomites and to deliver Lot and his family (Gen 19:1-3). The men of Sodom, moved by perverted lust, attempted to rape those two men (angels in human form) who had come as Gods messengers on the first night they were in town (Gen 19:4-11). Lot appealed to those beasts not to do so wickedly; but they paid no attention to him. Until this time Lot had managed to get along with the Sodomites by compromise. That is the only way a righteous man can get along with godless men. So Lot, thinking that the prostitution of his daughters would be less vile than the homosexual rape of the men in his house, offered to give his virgin daughters to those vile reprobates! They laughed in his face and started to break into his house. When they did, the two men God had sent, pulled Lot inside and struck the men of Sodom with blindness. Then those messengers of mercy warned Lot to take his family and flee from the city, saying, The Lord hath sent us to destroy it (Gen 19:12-13). Lot, being aroused with fear, went to warn his sons-in-law, but he seemed to them as one who mocked (Gen 19:14).
What a sad, sad story. When Lot spoke for God, when he attempted to convey the message of God to his daughters and sons-in-law, they thought he was trying to pull a joke on them! Having seen his life, they could not hear his words! Yet, Lot stands before us in Scripture as a marvelous picture of Gods grace. This is particularly set before us in Gen 19:15-23.
In Gen 19:15-16, we see the blessed violence of grace (Gen 19:15-16). When the angels of God hastened Lot and commanded him to flee from Sodom, he lingered! Therefore, the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand, and brought them out of the city. Grace snatches men and women from destruction (Jud 1:23; Psa 65:4; Psa 110:3). Lot hesitated; but grace hastened. If God had not been merciful to him, snatching him from the city, Lots lingering would have been his ruin. The same is true of every believer. We escaped the clutches of Satan only because God our Savior snatched us from the kingdom of darkness and translated us into his kingdom of light.
In Gen 19:17, there is a word of instruction for all believers. Though he had been delivered from Sodom, Lot was still in danger. He must not rest in the plain. He must escape for his life to the mountain. You and I who have been delivered by Gods almighty grace from the bondage and dominion of sin are here given an urgent word of instruction. Escape for thy life! Ever flee from sin, Satan and the world. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Never imagine that you have apprehended that for which you have been apprehended by Christ, as long as you live in this world. Look not behind thee! Forgetting those things which are behind, reach forth unto those things which are before. Count all things but loss for Christ. Do not hanker after the world. Flee from it. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Set your affection on things above. Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Having put your hand to the plow, do not look back. It is written, If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Gen 19:18-21 show us something about the weakness of faith. What a sad picture this is. It was a great weakness in Lot that he preferred Zoar, the city of his choosing, to the mountain of Gods choosing. Fearing that he could not make it to the mountain, he desired to dwell in Zoar. He recognized Gods grace in his deliverance from Sodom; but he did not trust Gods grace to take him all the way up to the mountain. Even now, Lot wanted to enjoy the ease and comfort of the world. Here is a sad, painful fact, but a fact nonetheless, a fact that every child of God will learn by painful experience in this world — True faith is mixed with much unbelief.
Gen 19:21-23 show us the cause of Gods longsuffering. God is longsuffering with and preserves the wicked in life for the salvation of his own elect (2Pe 3:9). There are some sinners in this world who must and shall be saved. God will save his own elect. Christ will have his redeemed. The Holy Spirit will regenerate and call every sinner chosen by God in eternity and redeemed by Christ at Calvary. Until the last of Gods elect are called, he will not destroy this world (Rev 7:1-3). What care, wrote Matthew Henry, God takes for the preservation of his people. The winds (of judgment) are held till Gods servants are sealed.
Two words found in Gen 19:16 pretty well summarize the life of this man, Lot – He lingered! The angels of God stood before him, calling him to take his family and flee from Sodom. Yet, as God was preparing to rain fire and brimstone upon the city, even then, we are told – He lingered! Those two words are most solemn. They are full of food for thought. They ought to sound like the blasts of a trumpet in our ears. They should cause us all to sit up and pay attention.
Who was this man, Lot?
Many seem to think that Lot was a bad man, a wicked worldling, a child of the devil; but he was not such a person Lot was a righteous man, made righteous by the grace of God, born of God, washed in the blood of Christ, robed in his righteousness, though he often behaved horribly.
Lot was a man with a very good beginning in the way of faith (Gen 11:31). Very few begin as well as Abrahams nephew, Lot. He clearly learned much, sacrificed much and showed great promise. If Lot had only continued as he began, we would not question the excellence of his character. He left Chaldea with his godly uncle Abraham. He forsook his youthful companions, believing the promise of God. He worshipped God with Abraham. Whenever Abraham built an altar to the Lord God, Lot worshipped at that altar. Whenever God spoke to Abraham, Lot anxiously and carefully listened as Abraham taught him the word of the Lord. Lot entered into the land of promise with Abraham.
Lot was a true believer, a child of God. He was a converted man, a justified soul, or heir of heaven. Lot truly was a righteous man. The Holy Spirit places this matter beyond all controversy (2Pe 2:7-8). God himself has given us good evidence of his grace in Lot. He was a man who lived in a wicked place, seeing and hearing the evil around him. Yet, he was not a wicked man. Lot had his faults, plenty of them; but he was distinctly different from the men of Sodom. He vexed his righteous soul with the unlawful deeds he beheld around him. He was wounded, grieved, pained, hurt, and angered by the deeds of his neighbors. Lot had the same attitude toward the society in which he lived as David did in his (Psa 119:136; Psa 119:158).
Furthermore, Peter tells us that he vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Many of us are shocked by certain acts of evil the first time we see them, but after a while we become accustom to the abomination. Not Lot. He was continually grieved by the wickedness he beheld around him.
This is the thing I want you to see. Gods saints in this world have many blemishes. We are sinners still. We do not despise the gold because it is mixed with dross; and we must not undervalue the grace of God in a man because it is accompanied by corruption. Lot suffered much, because of his lingering, and his family even more; but he was a true believer. Though he lingered in Sodom, he is seated today in the blessed circle of the redeemed around the throne of Christ. There he sits, elect, chosen of God, and precious. — Redeemed, washed and forgiven by the blood of Christ. — Born again, sanctified and glorified by the Spirit of grace. — Side by side with and heir of the same glory as Abraham.
What did Lot do?
Moses tells us, He lingered! What a short sentence that is to tell us so much about this man. Consider these words in the context in which they are found, and I am sure you will agree that Lots behavior was shocking. – He lingered! This, it seems to me, is the most shocking thing revealed about him. His greed and covetousness, his drunkenness, his incest are all less shocking than this – He lingered! Lot knew the awful condition of the city in which he lived. The cry of its abomination was great before the face of the Lord (Gen 19:13). Yet, he lingered! Lot knew the fearful judgment coming down upon all within the city (Gen 19:13). Yet, he lingered! He knew that God is a God of righteousness, justice, and truth. Yet, he lingered! He knew and believed that judgment was both real and imminent. He tried to persuade his sons-in-law to flee the wrath of God (Gen 19:14). Yet, he lingered! Lot saw the angels of God standing by, warning him and his family to flee. Yet, he lingered! He heard the command of God by his messengers (Gen 19:15). Yet, he lingered!
C. H. Spurgeon wrote, Lot was slow when he should have been fast, backward when he should have been forward, trifling when he should have been hastening, loitering when he should have been hurrying, cold when he should have been hot. This seems incredible. It is shocking beyond imagination. He lingered! This shocking behavior of Lot is written in the Scriptures for our learning.
There are many in the church of Christ today who are very much like Lot. We all know far more than we practice. We all linger too much here. We say we believe in heaven, but pursue the world. We say we believe in eternal punishment, but seem to be bothered little by the fact that thousands are going to hell, even many of our own families. We know that the time is short, but live as though it was long. How little we redeem the time. We know that there is a warfare between light and darkness, but appear to be at peace. We know that there is a race to run, but we seem to be content to sit still. We know that judgment is coming, but we appear to be fast asleep.
We all appear to live as though consecration to Christ is extreme and burning zeal for his glory is fanaticism. We all shrink from self-denial, personal sacrifice, and wholehearted commitment. Our Lord says, take your cross and follow me. He commands us to cut off the right hand that hinders us and pluck out the right eye that is set upon the world. He tells us that the gate is strait and the way is narrow that leads to life everlasting. Yet, we try our best to make the cross lighter, to nourish the hindering hand, salve the worldly eye, widen the gate and broaden the way. Like Lot, we linger! We try constantly to hold both the world and Christ. We know what is right. We know the command of Christ. We have heard our Savior say, Love not the world! No man can serve two masters! Yet, we linger!
Does this apply directly to you? does it apply directly to me? Let us be honest with ourselves before God. Perhaps at one time you ran well. But now you linger. Once your heart burned with love for Christ. Now, though your hearts wakens, you sleep (Son 5:2). Like Lot, you linger. Like Peter, you follow the Lord afar off. Your soul is miserable. Linger no more (Lam 5:16-21).
Why did Lot linger?
This is an important question. If we would learn and be warned by Lots lingering, we must know the cause of it. To know the cause of a problem is the first step to finding its cure. Maybe you have no fear of lingering. Let me refresh your memory with Lots history. If you choose Lots path you are sure to reap his character.
The Scriptures show us several things that led up to Lots lingering. Let me mention just two, two things that led to Lots lingering in Sodom. First, he made the wrong choice early in life. Abraham and Lot had a falling out because of Lots greed (Gen 13:9-10).[14] When they parted company, Lot chose the land near the town of Sodom. The men of Sodom who would be his neighbors were wicked beyond thought, but the pastures were fertile and green. He chose by sight, not by faith. Like Eve before and Achan after, he saw, he coveted, and he took. He did not seek the counsel of the Lord. He looked only upon the things of time. He seems to have thought little of eternity. He was concerned for profit, but thought little of the glory of God, the welfare of his soul, and the salvation of his household. There was nothing in Sodom to help Lot or his family toward heaven. There was no prophet to minister to his soul, no place where God was worshipped, and no brethren to encourage him or for him to encourage. Lot made his choice solely upon the basis of carnal lust. The move toward Sodom just seemed most profitable.
[14] Strife between brethren is often, if not usually, about money, wealth, and earthly possessions. Abraham was a godly man. He chose the way of peace. Lot was a greedy man. He chose the way of prosperity. His choice was indescribably costly!
Second, Lot mixed with godless, unbelieving men when there was no need for him to do so. He chose for his companions the men of Sodom. First, we are told that he pitched his tent toward Sodom. Then we see him living in Sodom. Perhaps he moved to Sodom, to please his wife, perhaps to please his daughters, perhaps to please himself. We do not know. But this is certain — We never lack an excuse to do what we are determined to do.
This is the cause of Lots lingering. He made the wrong choice early in life. And he chose the companionship of the ungodly. When a child of God does these two things, we are sure to hear unfavorable accounts concerning his soul. There is no surer way to danger than to make the wrong choices early in life and to take upon yourself a yoke of companionship with ungodly men and women (2Co 6:14 to 2Co 7:1).
Remember Lot., is the warning Christ gives to all who would follow him. Beware of Lots choices and the consequences of them, when choosing a companion, a career, deciding where to live and raise your family, or you are thinking about taking a better position.
We have no indication that Lot approved of the Sodomites, or ever participated in their wickedness. He loved the riches of Sodom. Yet, in order to have the riches of Sodom, he was willing to spend his life among the Sodomites. What a pity! If you lay your head in the lap of the world, you need not be surprised if you awake one day like Samson and discover that your strength is gone, that the Spirit of God has left you!
What was the result of Lots behavior?
What does it matter if Lot lingered in Sodom? After all, he was saved, he was justified, he went to heaven when he died. Let me show you the folly of such wicked reasoning.
Lot, though a righteous man himself, did no good among the inhabitants of Sodom. He lived in Sodom for many years. He had great opportunity to do much good. But he had no influence upon the men of the city for good. No one there had any respect for him. No one respects a man who compromises himself, his principles, and his God for gain. Not one righteous person could be found in Sodom, other than Lot himself. None of his neighbors believed his testimony. None of his friends honored his God. None of his servants feared their masters God. In short, his life had no influence for good, his words carried no weight, his faith was not followed, his God was not honored.
Lot did not help any of his family toward heaven. Not one person in his household believed God. He brought no honor to Christ, his God and Savior, in his generation. I cannot find one large-hearted, noble-minded, or self-sacrificing thing he ever did in his entire life. When he died, Lot left nothing behind that would indicate that he ever knew God at all. If we did not have Peters record, if all we read was the account Moses gives of his life, we would be forced to conclude that Lot was a lost man. We should not be surprised that Lots life turned out like it did. Worldly, lingering souls, are never useful instruments for good to others. They have no influence for good among men. They bring no honor to Christ while they live.
What should we learn from Lot?
Lot was a sad character, a frustration and a disappointment; but, if ever there was a man who stands before us in Holy Scripture as a picture of grace, that man is Lot. His life declares, Salvation is of the Lord! The only righteousness he had was the righteousness which God, by his grace had given him. Grace imputed the righteousness of Christ to him. Grace imparted the righteousness of Christ to him. Grace preserved righteousness in him. Lot was delivered from divine judgment, not by his free-will, but by Gods free-grace. Truly, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation (2Pe 2:10).
If we are Gods children, be assured, he will have our hearts. He may break our hearts, but have them he will. He may bring us to earthly ruin, but he will have our hearts. He may take away all earthly comfort and joy, but he will have our hearts!
Linger no more (Eph 5:14-18). For the glory of Christ, linger no more. If you would be useful to Christ, linger no more. Oh, let us now return to our God (Jer 3:11-14; Jer 3:22). Life does not linger. Death does not linger. Judgment does not linger. Hell does not linger. Let linger no more. It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light (Rom 13:11-12). Linger no more!
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
hastened: Gen 19:17, Gen 19:22, Num 16:24-27, Pro 6:4, Pro 6:5, Luk 13:24, Luk 13:25, 2Co 6:2, Heb 3:7, Heb 3:8, Rev 18:4
are here: Heb. are found
iniquity: or, punishment
Reciprocal: Gen 32:31 – rose upon Num 16:21 – Separate 2Ch 31:1 – present Jer 51:6 – be not Eze 7:7 – morning Dan 3:28 – hath sent Mat 24:16 – General Mar 13:15 – General Act 12:7 – Arise Heb 1:14 – sent