Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the youngest to the oldest -- all the people from every quarter.
The two visitors have barely stepped inside Lot's house when the whole town arrives at his door. This is not a gang or a fringe group. It is the whole male population, young and old, from every part of the city. Such complete corruption raises a hard question — about the city, and about the believer who chose to live in it.
The verse sets the stage. The next verse gives the demand. One writer sums up what the crowd came for:
But many men of Sodom, both young and old, rudely interrupted their visit. They boldly demanded that the two men who had come to Lot's home come out to them, to suffer the horror of homosexual relations (vv. 4-5).
The arrival of God's messengers did not create this evil. It brought the evil into the open, where Lot could say nothing to excuse it:
The presence of the angels exposed the wickedness of Sodom at Lot's very door. It only magnified the guilt of "both old and young, all the people from every quarter." What could Lot say to lessen such unbridled lust?
The phrases in this verse are the point. No age group is exempt and no district of the city is missing. One commentator reads the wording as the moment when the city's real character finally speaks for itself:
Their visit brings out the open and unnatural depravity of the people of the city — "both old and young, all the people from every quarter" (v. 4). They pour out their shame without shame (v. 5).
Just before this, Abraham had pleaded for the city. He asked God to spare it if ten righteous people could be found there. Verse 4 gives the answer, and the timing matters:
It is beautiful to see that the Lord does not judge Sodom until it has become so bad that not even ten righteous people are left there. If there had been ten, God would have spared the cities. Abraham keeps interceding until this comes to light.
One writer traces such evil back to its root:
The first chapter of Romans puts this before us. There we find a list of crimes that shames us even to read, given not as some rare result of man's sin, but as the natural fruit of his departure from God. God gives them over to evil like the evil that brought judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. He gives them over to evil so corrupt that no one can even speak of it. It is as though the Spirit of God set the root and the fruit side by side and said to men: cut loose from God, and you give free rein to every form of evil the flesh can produce.
Lot had a seat in the gate of Sodom — a place of civic authority. The mob at his door shows what that position was worth:
The shameless proposal Lot made to his fellow citizens showed how powerless he was. The man who sat in Sodom's gate could not restrain their corrupt and lawless ways. If he had ever thought he could improve the people of Sodom by his influence and advice, this moment must have brought the truth home to his poor deceived heart. His life among them had been wasted, and all his efforts were useless.
Another writer explains why Lot could do nothing:
Off the path of faith, he does not master his circumstances; they master him. The men of Sodom break in on him. His very effort to host the heavenly guests only stirs up the lusts of the flesh.
Jesus pointed back to this night. One writer reads the scene as a picture of what is still ahead:
Lot holds an honoured place as a city official. But the city is doomed, and the time has come when it is ripe for judgment. From the Lord's own words in Luke 17, we know that this solemn scene foreshadows the judgment about to fall on this present evil world. There we read, "As it was in the days of Lot… so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed."
- Exposed. The angels' arrival did not cause Sodom's sin. It drew that sin out into the open at Lot's door, where old and young alike stood condemned.
- Complete. "Both young and old, all the people to the last man" — the corruption had no exceptions. The search for ten righteous people had its answer.
- Patient. God waited until the evil was complete; ten righteous people would have saved the city.
- Powerless. Lot's seat in the gate gave him no power to stop anything. The world masters the believer who settles in it.
- Prophetic. Jesus pointed back to this night as a picture of the world's state on the day He is revealed.
And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men that have come in to thee to-night? bring them out to us that we may know them.
The whole town — every man, young and old — comes to Lot's door and states its intention out loud. An evening of hospitality turns into a public display of Sodom's guilt — and it settles a case heaven had already opened.
The verse does not soften what the crowd wanted, and neither do the commentators.
But many men of Sodom, both young and old, rudely interrupted their visit. They boldly demanded that Lot bring out the two men who had come to his home, to subject them to the horror of homosexual relations.
The angels did not cause the evil. Their arrival brought it into the open.
The presence of the angels fully exposed the wickedness of Sodom at Lot's very door. It only increased the guilt of "both young and old, all the people to the last man." Lot might plead with the sinners to hold back from the gross evil planned in their wicked hearts... but he could not plead with the angels to spare the men of Sodom. Nothing but divine judgment could meet the evil.
God had said He would come down and see whether the reports matched the reality. That night at the door settled the question.
The Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me." Sadly, when the angels came into Lot's house, they found that Sodom's grievous sin matched the cry the Lord had heard in heaven.
God's delay was never ignorance:
Of course the Lord knew every detail of the evil in those cities. But He is always slow to judge until the wickedness proves beyond remedy.
Commentators trace the outburst back to comfort. Sodom sat in a rich, easy place, and ease left the men time on their hands.
There was also "abundance of idleness," which gave the men of Sodom plenty of time for their pleasures. When Adam was driven from Eden, he was to eat of the ground with sorrow all the days of his life. God added, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread." ... With all their idleness, the men of Sodom had clearly managed to eat their bread without the sweat of Adam.
Lot sat in the gate, the seat of a judge. The crowd at his door showed what that was worth.
Lot's position as judge now counted for nothing. In fact they threw it back at him as though he had no right to the office at all. If he had flattered himself that he could exercise an influence for good, he was now undeceived.
The root of the failure was where Lot had chosen to live:
Lot settled in Sodom with apparently some hope of improving it. He was a righteous man, but he "tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds" (2 Peter 2:8). He was simply in the wrong place, and made himself incapable of warning the people of God's judgment against evil.
The New Testament looks back at these cities and names the kind of sin it was.
Jude says: "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire." Here it is clear that this was a breaking out. It was not merely into sin, but into what was flagrant beyond measure — not evil alone, but contrary even to fallen nature.
Two things outlived the city — a word, and a warning:
The memory of the evil and its judgment has lasted. Our language still uses the word "sodomy" for sin of an especially vile and unnatural kind. This judgment, moreover, was a sample of what is yet to come on a much greater scale in "the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly" (2 Peter 3:7).
Jesus Himself used this night as a preview of His return.
The city where Lot holds an honoured place as a magistrate is doomed to judgment. The time has come when it is ripe for judgment. From the Lord's own words in Luke 17 we know what this solemn scene means. It foreshadows the judgment about to fall on this present evil world. There we read, "As it was in the days of Lot... so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed."
- Cry. Sodom's sin had already reached heaven as an outcry. God came down to see, and the demand at Lot's door matched the report.
- Cause. Plenty and idleness fed the appetite. These men ate their bread without Adam's sweat, and had spare time for their pleasures.
- Collapse. Lot sat in the gate as a judge. When the mob came, his office counted for nothing. Settling in the world gives a believer no power to restrain it.
- Condemnation. Scripture treats this as evil beyond ordinary sin, against even fallen nature. The ruined cities remain an example of judgment.
- Coming. The Lord makes that night a preview: as it was in the days of Lot, so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
And Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door after him,
Genesis 19 opens with two angels arriving at Sodom's gate, where Lot is sitting as a man of standing in the city. The crowd outside demands his guests, so Lot steps out and shuts the door behind him — an act that shows both what was good in him and how far he had drifted.
Going outside was in Lot's favour. He put himself at risk for the men under his roof. What he offered once he was outside was not to his credit.
Lot's concern for his guests was commendable. He even went outside, closing the door after him, to plead for the two men who had come under the shelter of his roof (vv. 6-8). But his offer of his daughters was far from commendable. How could he offer them to men of such vile character? He had no right to offer them to anybody, and they were already engaged to be married. He says the men had come to his home for protection. Abraham's words in Genesis 18:5 were very different. Abraham knew his visitors had come to have their hearts comforted by his fellowship.
The shut door had a second purpose. Lot was uneasy about the city he had chosen. He did not want his guests to see what he had settled into.
On the whole this is a sad scene. A believer in the world would have importance in it, and do good. He sits in the gate — the gate of Sodom! But Lot is not easy at being found there. He acts as though he were at ease, but he would keep the strangers from knowing what a place they had found him in. It is no use. He takes it on himself, uses atrocious means — for what could he do against them? Power delivers him, that is all.
Standing outside, Lot addresses the mob as his brothers. One writer links that word to something Lot had lost.
Lot goes out to plead for his guests and to reason with his fellow-townsmen. Sadly, he calls them "brothers." He even offers them his two daughters (vv. 6-8). He has lost the simplicity of faith. In this scene of difficulty, danger and surrounding wickedness he no longer looks only to the Lord. Instead he uses worldly wisdom, choosing what he thought was the lesser of two evils.
Lot meant to protect. What the scene proves is that he had no strength to do it.
We also see that Lot is a true believer. He recognises the heavenly visitors and treats them with due reverence. He seeks to honour them and to shelter them from the insults of the men of the world. Sadly, he only finds that he has no power to restrain their wickedness.
Lot did not arrive at this night in one move. One writer traces the steps that brought him to this door.
Bearing this in mind, our chapter is full of the most solemn warning for us all. He may have regarded his election as a judge as a step up; it was in truth a sad fall, bringing dreadful consequences. We saw him at first pitching his tent toward Sodom. Then he dwelt in it, and shared in its defeat, as recorded in Genesis 14. Now he has become a leader in it. And with what effect? Has he cleaned up its degraded morals? Has he improved its ethical standards? Not in the least! He has, as we shall see, only involved himself and his family in its evils.
Lot's pleading achieves nothing. The crowd turns on him, and the door he shut behind him becomes the door that saves him.
Lot argues with them. He pleads with them. He is even ready to degrade his own children to cover and protect these strangers. In the end the riot gets so bad that they say to him, "Stand back!" Their anger is roused, and they cry, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge!" What moral power has he over them when their passions and lusts are roused? None. They tell him plainly, "Now we will deal worse with you than with them." They would have broken the door in. But at that moment the door opens, and the men pull Lot inside.
- Door out. Lot's going outside to plead for his guests was good — he put himself between them and the mob.
- Door shut. He also wanted to hide from the strangers what a place they had found him in. The closed door hid nothing.
- Door word. He called the mob "brothers." He had lost the simplicity of faith, and he now chose what he judged the lesser of two evils.
- Door powerless. Tent toward Sodom, then living in it, then leading in it. He improved nothing there, and he could not restrain the city's wickedness for a single night.
- Door opened. His pleading saved no one, including himself. Hands reached out from inside and pulled him in — power delivered him, and that was all.
and said, I pray you, my brethren, do not wickedly!
Lot steps out of his own front door, pulls it shut behind him, and addresses a mob bent on violence as family. He calls them "my brothers." That one word raises the question of the whole chapter. What happens to a believer's voice once he has settled down inside the place he is trying to correct?
Commentators fasten on that single word. It shows where Lot had come to belong.
Verses 6, 7. What a picture of the falseness of his position. How strange that he could have settled there — and my brothers!
That word was not his starting point. One writer traces the slow drift behind it.
Lot's speech plainly shows how deeply he had become involved in the affairs of Sodom. He intended to stay only a little while. Instead he became a judge among them, and he looked on them as his brothers. Many a Christian has become thoroughly immersed in the world in the same way. He has touched the world in some small way, meaning to get away again. But he has gone further and further into its ties, until he found himself helpless, or unwilling, to break them.
Lot puts himself between the crowd and his guests. Then he offers something no father had the right to offer.
Lot's concern for his guests was commendable. He even went outside, closing the door after him, to plead for the two men who had come under the shelter of his roof (verses 6-8). But his offer to sacrifice his daughters was far from commendable. He had no right to offer them to anybody. Children are not the property of their parents, and his daughters were already engaged to be married (verse 14).
Lot begs the men to hold back. His plea could go only so far.
Lot might plead with the sinners to hold back from the gross evil planned in their wicked hearts. He might propose a lesser evil, as he saw it, to spare the guests he had brought under the shelter of his house. But he could not plead with the angels to spare the men of Sodom. Nothing but divine judgment could meet the evil. Lot's shameless proposal to his fellow citizens showed how powerless he was. The man who sat in Sodom's gate could not restrain their corrupt and lawless ways. Perhaps he had once thought he could improve the people of Sodom by his influence and advice. If so, this moment must surely have shown his poor deluded heart that his life spent for them had been wasted.
Why did a righteous man reach for such a proposal? He had stopped looking to the Lord.
Lot goes out to plead for his guests and to reason with his fellow townsmen. Sadly, he calls them "brothers." He also offers his two daughters (verses 6-8). For he has lost the simplicity of faith. In this scene of difficulty, danger and surrounding wickedness he does not look only to the Lord. Instead he chooses by worldly wisdom what he thought was the lesser of two evils.
The crowd answers that this newcomer has made himself their judge. The taunt exposes his position.
If a man mixes with the world to get ahead, he must make up his mind to bear the sad consequences. We cannot profit from the world and testify effectively against its wickedness at the same time. "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge!" This will never do. The true way to judge is to stand apart, in the moral power of grace, not in the superior spirit of the Pharisees.
Lot's message that night was a plea for better behaviour. He had a better one to give.
Lot was sitting in the gate, the place of a judge. He was a believer making an effort to control the evil natures of ungodly men... the Christian is "not of this world." He has a message of grace with power to deliver people "from the present evil age" (Galatians 1:4)... Lot settled in Sodom with apparently some hope of improving it. He was a righteous man, but he "was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard" (2 Peter 2:8). He was in the wrong place, and he made himself incapable of warning the people of God's judgment against evil.
- Wrong place. Lot meant to stay in Sodom a little while. He ended up seated in its gate, and that position cost him the power to warn anyone.
- Wrong word. Calling the mob "my brothers" exposed his false position. The men he rebuked were the company he had made his own.
- No power. He could ask them not to act wickedly; he could not stop them. His plea showed how little the man in the gate could restrain.
- No credibility. A believer cannot profit from the world and testify against it at the same time. True judging means standing apart in the power of grace.
- No resource. He had lost the simplicity of faith. So he weighed two evils instead of looking to the Lord, and the message that rescues people out of a doomed world went unspoken.
Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man let me now bring them out to you; and do to them as is good in your sight only, to these men do nothing; for therefore have they come under the shadow of my roof.
Lot stands outside his own door, bargaining with a mob, and the price he offers is his two daughters. It raises two questions: how could a man the Bible calls righteous say this, and what had brought him to it?
Lot's words come out of a mind that has stopped looking upward. One writer traces the offer to that failure.
Lot goes out to plead for his guests and to reason with his fellow-townsmen. Sadly, he calls them "brothers". He offers his two daughters (vv. 6-8). He has lost the simplicity of faith. This is a scene of difficulty, danger and surrounding wickedness. Instead of looking only to the Lord, he chooses by worldly wisdom what he thought was the lesser of two evils.
Protecting his guests was right; the means was not. A commentator points out that Lot had no authority over his daughters to give in the first place.
Lot's concern for his guests was commendable. He even went outside, closing the door behind him, to plead for the two men who had come under the shelter of his roof (vv. 6-8). But his offer to sacrifice his daughters was far from commendable. How could he offer his virgin daughters to men of such vile character? In fact, he had no right to offer them to anybody. Children are not the property of their parents. Besides, his daughters were already engaged to be married (v. 14). As for the two men, Lot says they had come to his home for protection. How different were Abraham's words in Gen. 18:5! Abraham realized that his visitors had come to have their hearts comforted by his fellowship. We may be sure that the two angels would not have allowed Lot to give his daughters to the men of the city.
The offer measures two things: what years in Sodom had done to Lot's thinking, and what his standing in the city was worth.
Lot tried to calm them by sacrificing his two unmarried daughters. That shows how low he had sunk in his own mind through Sodom's contamination. His position as judge now counted for nothing. They threw it back at him as though he had seized the office with no right. If he had flattered himself that he could have a good influence, he was now undeceived.
The men of Sodom threw Lot's position back in his face. One writer says their reply was fair.
He was troubling his righteous soul over their unlawful deeds. Yet the men of the city have a right to say to him, "What business have you here?" They said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge!" (v. 9). You are quarrelling with sin in the place of sin. They have a perfect right to judge like that. Association with the world destroys all power of testimony. He ought to be witnessing to his total separation from the world. There is vexation of spirit, but no power.
The end of the chapter shows what Lot's public office produced — including for the daughters he tried to bargain away here.
When Lot "sat in the gate of Sodom" (v. 1), he was acting as a magistrate. Being a righteous man, he must have longed to help improve its terrible state of unrighteousness and immorality. He achieved nothing. He only wrecked his own power to witness against it, and destroyed his family. "He seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting" (v. 14). He himself barely escaped at the last moment, with no power to deliver others. He even lost his own wife. The angels did rescue his two unmarried daughters, but they soon drew their father, who had drifted away from God, into drunkenness and immorality — the very sins of Sodom itself.
Nothing in this chapter would lead you to call Lot a good man. Yet the New Testament does.
We cannot see any redeeming feature in the sad history. Yet the Holy Spirit is quick to discern anything of Christ in any one of us. He says that God "rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds)." How refreshing that verse is! It is like an oasis in the desert, a silver lining on a gloomy cloud.
(The quotation is from 2 Peter 2:7-8, given here in the ESV; the writer used an older translation.)
- Place. Lot's shocking offer is not an isolated lapse — it is the harvest of where he chose to live, "quarrelling with sin in the place of sin."
- Loss. Living inside Sodom cost him the simplicity of faith. In a crisis he weighed the lesser of two evils instead of looking to the Lord.
- Powerlessness. He had no right to offer his daughters. He had no strength to protect anyone. The mob turned on him instead.
- Family. He took office to improve the city. It wrecked his witness and ruined his family: wife lost, sons-in-law scornful, daughters corrupted.
- Mercy. Despite a record with no redeeming feature, God calls Lot righteous and rescues him. That is the one bright line in the story.
And they said, Back there! And they said [again], This one came to sojourn, and he must be a judge? Now we will deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed hard on the man -- on Lot; and drew near to break the door.
The mob at Lot's door does not just refuse his plea — they turn on him. In one line they throw out the man who had set himself up as a judge among them, and the taunt shows what living in Sodom had cost him.
Lot spoke against their sin, but he spoke from inside their city. One writer grants the mob's objection its full force:
"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials," and He delivers "righteous Lot." But while he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds, the men of the city have a right to say to him, "What business have you here? This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge" (v. 9). You are quarrelling with sin in the place of sin. Association with the world destroys all power of testimony, when he ought to be witnessing to his total separation from it. There is vexation of spirit, but not power.
"Sojourn" means a short stay. The sneer measures how far Lot had drifted from it — and what he ended up calling the men of Sodom:
And how very solemn to hear one who had been a companion of the man of faith speak to these debased Sodomites and call them "Brothers," only for them to revile, rebuke and threaten him. This was the world's reward to the righteous man who had given his life in service for them. Lot's address shows how far he had gone into the affairs of Sodom: his intention was to sojourn, to stay for a little while, but he became a judge among them and looked on them as his brothers.
Lot had made himself a judge in Sodom. That standing now bought him nothing:
Lot tried to calm the mob by offering them his two unmarried daughters. That shows how low he had sunk in his own mind through Sodom's corruption. Lot's position as judge now counted for nothing; in fact they flung it back at him as though he had been a mere usurper of the office.
Lot had an argument for staying: a good man's duty is to improve the place he lives in. One writer traces his slide back to that reasoning:
Step by step Lot drew nearer to guilty Sodom. How often he flattered and excused himself that his was the wise and right course, unlike his exclusive uncle Abraham! What is the use, what the duty, of a good man in the world, if not to improve it? ... Lot had no such clearness of vision. He had more confidence in human nature, more assurance of the moral influence of a good man like himself. He hears too late the rebuke of his folly from the lips of the most unclean Sodom: "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge."
The threat was not bluster. It turned at once into action against Lot:
He had judged them often. Day by day their abandoned way of life tormented his righteous soul, and his presence among them had no doubt curbed their lawless ways to some degree. But their resentment at his interference now comes out in their threat: "Now we will deal worse with you than with them." It was no idle threat, for "they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down." If the angels had not stepped in, they would have carried out their wicked threat.
Can a person take profit from the world and correct it at the same time? One writer answers no, and gives the alternative:
If a man mingles with the world to get ahead, he must make up his mind to endure the sad consequences. "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge." This will never do. The true way to judge is to stand apart, in the moral power of grace, not in the superior spirit of self-righteousness.
Abraham stayed a stranger among his neighbours. The same world that told Lot to stand back had different words for him:
He confesses before the sons of Heth, "I am a sojourner and foreigner among you." As such he gains the respect of the world, for they say, "You are a prince of God among us." How striking the contrast to poor Lot — the believer who gave up his pilgrim character to dwell in Sodom. The world treats such a man with well-deserved contempt. In the day of his trouble they say, "Stand back… this fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge."
- Sojourn. Lot meant to stay a little while. The mob's own word for him shows he never planned to settle there.
- Settle. In the end he called the men of Sodom his brothers. That shows how far in he had gone.
- Judge. He became a judge, hoping a good man could improve the city. The men of Sodom flung the office back at him as if he had stolen it.
- Stand back. Nobody can profit from the world and rebuke it at the same time. Commentators say the mob's objection was fair — and its threat was real.
- Rescued. The door held only because the angels acted. Lot escaped the judgment, but with no power left to deliver anyone else.
And the men stretched out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door.
The crowd of Sodom had turned on Lot and was pressing hard at his own door. His words and his standing in the city saved nothing; the guests he had taken in reached out and pulled him inside.
Lot had tried everything. He welcomed the visitors, appealed to the crowd, and even offered his own daughters. None of it held the men of Sodom back.
Lot is a true believer. He recognises the heavenly visitors and treats them with reverence. He seeks to honour them and to shelter them from the insults of the men of the world. Sadly, he only finds that he has no power to restrain their wickedness. In his desperation he is even ready to stoop to the shameful step of handing his two daughters over to the mob's lust, to quiet the uproar. His efforts only make the men of Sodom angrier. They tell him to "stand back." They argue that this man, who came among them as an outsider, now takes it on himself to act as their judge. With these threatening words they press hard on Lot. Only the angels' action saves him from the violence of the mob.
Lot also held office in Sodom. Another writer weighs what that was worth.
Lot's position as judge now counted for nothing. In fact they threw it back at him, as though he had seized the office with no right to it. If he had flattered himself that he could exercise an influence for good, he was now undeceived.
The angels pull Lot in and shut the door. What they do next is more than an escape plan.
The men of Sodom threatened to treat Lot worse than they had meant to treat his guests. Then the two men quickly pulled Lot back into the house and closed the door. But they did more than that. They used the power of God to strike the attackers blind, and this thwarted their wicked intentions. It is a picture of the way God will inflict judicial blindness on the ungodly. They have willingly blinded themselves to the truth of His word, and so they have laid themselves open to His dreadful judgment. Such blinding is a warning of greater judgment to come.
The order of events matters. The blindness came first, and the fire came after.
The world is left to its blindness and the next thing is that judgment falls.
The same visitors who blinded a city also drew one man out of it to safety.
We may gather from Scripture that the service of angels has a twofold character. On one hand they carry out judgment. On the other hand they are "ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation" (Ps. 104:4; Heb. 1:14). We see them in this twofold service at Sodom. They had come in judgment, to destroy the city. In God's providence they were also there to rescue a true believer from a false position!
Genesis 19 opens by calling the visitors "two angels." From this verse on, the account calls them "the men" again. One writer sees grace in that change.
How touching it is to see how, in the troubles that surround Lot in Sodom, these angels begin to appear as "men" again! (Gen. 19:10, 12, 16.) Sweet grace of God, shining out in the very middle of the trial from which it could not exempt us, because we needed that trial!
The angels pulled Lot inside. That was a rescue, not a victory — and when he went out to warn his family, nothing he said carried weight.
The believer in a false position has no power in testimony. Lot went out and warned his sons-in-law of the coming judgment, but to them he seemed to be joking. It was indeed a witness to the truth, but it condemned him. Had he not claimed to be a righteous man? Yet he was so drawn to Sodom that he chose to live there, and even took a leading part in its affairs. Did he really believe the LORD was about to destroy the city? His whole life flatly contradicted his testimony.
Another writer sets Lot beside Abraham.
On the heights, Abraham interceded as a friend with God. Down in the worldly cities of the plain, Lot was defiled and powerless. That contrast is worth careful thought, and it should sink into all our hearts.
- Powerless. Lot pleaded, bargained and pulled rank on the crowd. Nothing worked. Only the angels saved him.
- Pulled. The hand that reached out was not his own — the rescue came from outside the door, not from anything inside the house.
- Blinded. The angels blinded the attackers first, and judgment followed. It pictures the judicial blindness God sends on people who blind themselves to His word.
- Twofold. The same visitors came on two errands: to destroy a city, and to serve one believer as ministering spirits.
- Saved, yet loss. The angels brought Lot out alive, but his own family heard his warning as a joke. Rescue is not the same as a life that counts.
And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance.
The men of Sodom are clawing at Lot's door. His two visitors answer the mob with a stroke of blindness that leaves the whole crowd fumbling in the dark. Two questions follow. Why blind these men instead of destroying them? And why did they keep hunting for the door once they were blind?
By this verse, everything Lot tried had failed: his appeal, his offer, his place in the city. He had nothing left. The rescue was not his doing.
Lot is a true believer. He recognizes the heavenly visitors and treats them with the respect they are due. He tries to honour them and to shelter them from the insults of the men of the world. Sadly, he only finds that he has no power to restrain their wickedness. In his desperation he is even ready to stoop to the shameful act of handing his two daughters over to their lust, to quiet the crowd. His efforts only rouse the anger of the men of Sodom. They tell him to "stand back." They argue that this man, who came among them as an outsider, now takes it on himself to act as their judge. With these threatening words they press hard on Lot. Only the action of the angels saves him from the violence of the mob.
The blow fell on the whole crowd, small and great alike. These men had already blinded themselves to God's word, and now God blinded their eyes.
The two men used the power of God to strike the attackers with blindness, and this stopped their wicked plans. It is a picture of how God will inflict judicial blindness on the ungodly. They have willingly blinded themselves to the truth of His word and laid themselves open to His dreadful judgment. Such blinding is a warning of greater judgment to come.
But if God takes a man's sight, how is the man still to blame? One writer answers.
God never made any man bad. But He may, and in certain cases does, give people up to the consequences of their own folly and evil. That is, He hardens in judgment those who treat His grace lightly and reject it... All are responsible. Sin destroys the ability to obey God, but not the responsibility.
Blind and worn out, they still groped for the door. God's hand had touched them, and they did not stop.
I suppose this shows very persevering wickedness; no sense of God's hand on them.
The blindness bought one night, no more. It stopped the crime without changing the criminals.
As the struggle reached its climax, the angels stepped in and took charge. Their power blinded the evildoers, and it left them baffled for that night, just before their destruction the next morning.
This blindness did not end at Sodom. One writer sees it in people who hold the Bible and still cannot see what is in it.
God is striking this land with blindness, you may be certain... Only the Holy Spirit gives a right understanding of Scripture. The natural person does not understand the things of the Spirit of God, and that is the lesson one learns from Sodom in Lot's day. God leaves the world in its blindness, and the next thing is that judgment falls.
Lot had lived in Sodom for years and disapproved of what he saw. Now the mob turns on him.
Some Christians think they can help the men of this world do what is right by joining hands with them. They would do well to study how the men of Sodom treated Lot at this point. He had often judged them. Day by day their shameless way of life distressed his righteous soul. His presence among them had no doubt curbed their lawless ways to some degree. But their resentment at his interference now comes out in their threat: "Now we will deal worse with you than with them." It was no idle threat... If the angels had not stepped in, they would have carried it out.
- Light refused. The blindness fell on men who had already shut their eyes to God's word. God gives people up to the results of the evil they choose.
- Light removed. Judicial blindness takes away the ability to obey. It never takes away the responsibility. The blind man is still accountable.
- Sin persists. Struck blind, they still searched for the door: wickedness that keeps going with no sense of God's hand on it.
- Judgment falls. The blindness only baffled them for one night; it was a warning of the greater judgment that came at dawn.
- Lot's lesson. A believer who joins hands with the world loses the power to restrain it. Lot became the mob's target, and only the angels saved him.