1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
When you are in a city, a town, or a home where others who are there do not know the Lord, it is your duty to maintain your relationship with him - in spite of all that is going on around you.
When the men showed up at the gates of Sodom, Lot knew they were strangers who had never been there before.
As has already been discussed in previous lessons, hospitality is of the utmost importance, even when the culture around you is inhospitable.
Lot invited them into his home, offering them food and comfort during their visit, asking nothing in return.
They turned him down at first, but he was not easy to say no to. He kept trying to talk them into it, so they finally gave in and went to Lot's home with him.
It was a good thing they did!
Before they even had the chance to get comfortable enough to go to bed, all the people of the city came to Lot's door demanding to see the visitors.
The angels of the Lord were very fine specimens of creatures that had caught the eye of all those around them as they went into Lot's home. The people of the city wanted to rape and violate them, as was their regular practice and lifestyle. They wanted to defile the men with homosexual acts that were horrifying!
Lot went outside to fend them off, being someone who was familiar with the territory and the people around him. He thought he could reason with them.
But, when Lot could not reason with them to get them to go away, he was faced with a choice: protect his family, or protect the men of God.
Obviously, God should ALWAYS come first, even before your family! If you follow God, God will take care of your family!
Lot offered the vile men of the city his two virgin daughters. They could do whatever they had to do, if they would just leave the visitors alone!
The men of the city declined the offer, accusing Lot of judging them. After all, he did not agree with them. He was against their actions. Therefore, he thought he was better than they were and was judgmental and offensive.
Sound familiar?
Because of their accusation against Lot, they threatened to do worse to Lot if he didn't let them have the visitors!
You must remember that God does not need your protection. He only wants to know if you will stand up for him when the time comes. Lot stood up for the men of God, even offering to relinquish the safety of his family for their sakes.
They pulled him into the house and smote the crowd with blindness to protect Lot and his family.
It took a lot of courage to do what Lot did. Lot stood up for the visitors until it nearly cost him his life! And God stepped in to save him!
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