God Rescues Lot – Genesis 19:1-26

Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising

Genesis 19:1-26; July 19, 2026 Sunday PM

God Rescues Lot

We find ourselves this evening in a sad chapter as we see the inner life of the wicked city of Sodom. God and two angels have come to visit Abraham and Sarah, but they also came to deal with the city of Sodom that is very ungodly. God is the perfect multi-tasker!

Last week we saw the intervention by Abraham to ask God to spare the city if as few as ten righteous people are found inside the city. God, through two angels, was headed to investigate the city and said He would hold back if ten were found to be righteous.

In the end, we see that the city was destroyed and Lot, his wife, and his daughters are rescued. But there is still tragedy in the family.

This story illustrates God remembering of Abraham in the rescue of Lot. There is much to see in our text, so let us pray and then we’ll dig in. Pray.

1. Two angels arrive in Sodom

19:1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

In the previous account and this one, we have the opportunity for hospitality presented. In both cases, there seems to be an eagerness on the part of Abraham and Lot to show visitors kindness. Lot sees them, bows himself to the ground, and invites them to his house for the night.

The text says these were two angels that came to the city, but in the presentation to Abraham and Lot, they are observed as men – humans. Both show humility by identifying these as someone to respect (‘my lords,’ ‘your servant’).

Lot offered hospitality for the night and then has the perspective that they would be on their way in the morning to wherever they were going. Lot does not appear to know that Sodom was their destiny.

The fact that Lot was sitting in the gate could mean that he was simply there, but it could also imply that he had some business matter to handle, or perhaps he held some leadership position within the city. Although later in this chapter, verse 9, it would seem that residents there still saw him as an alien.

He could also have been there in this place to help protect people who came, as is evident as this story unfolds. He is aware of the nature of the city, and we shall soon see this noted.

Notice their response to the invitation:

And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

Their response was to prefer to stay there in the open square, the city square. This seems to be a common place where people would meet, gather, and perhaps know everything that was happening in the city.

2. Lot’s hospitality

3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

Lot’s insistence changed their minds, and so they came to Lot’s house where he prepared them food, just as Abraham his uncle did for his guests previously.

And so, as we simply think of both stories together, they both begin in similar ways. Guests arrive and hospitality is given. Lot had to insist they come to his house, but at this point we have similar contexts.

However, they are here in Sodom, and now things begin to get a bit strange:

3. Mob seeks two guests

4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”

Lot’s hospitality of these two men – two angels – was noted by all, and now there is this mob surrounding the house – a mob comprised of men of all ages eager to “know” these visitors in an inappropriate way. We understand that the verb “to know” has sexual connotations, as we see early in Genesis when Adam knew his wife and soon Cain was born.

Here are men seeking men in this inappropriate way and they are calling Lot – that same night, before they went to bed for the night – to give these men the two who were being lodged so they could have their way with them. The NKJV adds the word “carnally” to bring out the euphemism of what it means to “know them”.

The fact that men of all ages were here is quite disturbing as their homosexuality is noted as generational (Matthews). You have to wonder how many generations it took for this practice to become the norm in this city.

I hardly have to illustrate this because we could find illustrations of this kind of thing in our day.

It is hard not to compare today with what we read here and wonder how long we as a country will escape God’s judgment. God have mercy upon us.

This mob was calling for these men to come out so they could essentially rape them. I think the context of this passage is fairly clear on this. Thus, this is not a mob demanding Lot to release these men to them so they could sit down and get to know one another as we might at a family reunion. This was ugly.

And so, what does Lot do with this. Is he shocked? We get the sense early in this narrative that Lot knows what the city is like, and hence his call for the men to come to his house of safety rather than stay in the public square.

4. Lot’s strange solution

6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

Here is where our respect for Lot drops dramatically or completely. This is your nephew, Abraham? What in the world has become of him? He addresses the mob by going out and sealing the house behind him, as if to prevent the two men in the house from hearing this conversation.

Lot asks them to refrain from doing this. He says “do not do so wickedly!” Do not act wickedly like this.

The text says that Lot shut the door behind him. In this episode, the mention of ‘door’ becomes a key to seeing this all together.

Matthews notes:

“Figuratively, “door” conveys multiple meanings. The door is in effect the boundary between the saved and the condemned; it is symbolic of the line between the righteous and the wicked (cf. comments on 13:13), the civil and the vulgar … The “door” guards the sexual innocence of the angels and the purity of Lot’s daughters.[1]”

[1] Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, pp. 235–236). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Lot’s wicked ways are now on display as he tries to appease this crowd by offering to them his two virgin daughters instead of the two guests.

It is hard to grasp this as we put something like this in the context of our own lives. What in the world is this father thinking? What father, even a pagan father, would even consider doing something like this?

The explanation here by Lot is why some have looked at the concern here of inhospitality. The issue for Lot seems to be that he is unwilling to treat his guests this way. Fair enough, but the fact that he would offer his daughters who have not known a man makes it clear that the intent of this crowd to know the two men guests was clearly the sin of homosexuality and its forced behavior here.

Yes, Lot should have shown hospitality and protecting them would be part of all of that, but what stands out here is the worldview that Lot has, that these men have.

Lot offered his daughters, and I think the immediate context does indicate that rape was not off the table for Lot. It can also be seen as something even more:

Lot offers his virgin daughters [instead] … of the two strangers (v. 8a); he makes the swap more lucrative by pointing out the sexual innocence of the women. Virgins were more valuable. “Do to them as you please” (v. 8b) means he places them under their power (cp. 16:16). That he does not directly invite them to rape the women is suggested by comparing the Levite’s surrender in Judg 19:24: “You can use them and do to them whatever you wish.” When we remember the outcome of the Levite’s concubine in the hands of a brutal city gang (Judg 19:25–26), we can only conclude that Lot jeopardized the lives of his daughters, even any hope for a heritage—all for the sake of the strangers.[2]

[1] Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, pp. 235–236). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Of course the way chapter 19 ends will show that it was his daughters who in the end take advantage of their dad. We will cover that next week.

It is no wonder that the LORD and these two angels have come from the heavens to deal with Sodom. This is a very wicked city.

Notice now in verse 9 how the crowd reacts to Lot’s response:

5. Lot’s rescue from mob

9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.

Get out of the way, the crowd responds. Lot’s idea is ignored and they seem incited to force their way toward these men.

The next comment highlights how the natives of the city view Lot – that he is someone who “came in to stay here” – that is, he was a sojourner, an alien who has come and now is acting as if he knows it all.

They see his attempt to protect the outsider as an extension of his own reality. He was an outsider and is showing the two men the kind of hospitality he believes should exemplify the people of Sodom toward him. That may be conjecture, but if you have ever tried to settle into a foreign land, you know what I mean.

This crowd was harassing Lot both verbally and physically. They pressed hard against Lot, meaning they were laying their hands on him to remove him from the pathway. Lot stood between them and the two visitors and he was not moving.

This was about to get ugly, but notice what happens:

10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

At just the right time, the two angels grabbed Lot and brought him quickly into the house and shut the door. Not only was Lot rescued physically, but he was protected from further threat. The angels caused all of them, old and young, to be blinded so they could not figure out how to press further upon Lot and also the angels themselves.

In a way, this is a preview of the rescue that Abraham was praying Lot would find in God’s mercy toward Sodom. And, having seen the character of Lot, we have to look to the wisdom and mercy of God because Lot surely is not illustrating exemplary behavior in total.

6. Angels warn Lot

12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

This response of the angels answers the question of the last part of chapter 18. Abraham had asked the Lord to spare the city of Sodom if there were as few as ten righteous living there.

The task of the angels was clear in 18:20-21. The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great because their sin was great. Their purpose in going here was to see if the report was true, and then to deal appropriately. Abraham’s intervention was prompted by their stated purpose.

Now the angels “know” what is true about this place. After snatching Lot they tell him that he should round up his family and get them out because they were sent by the LORD to destroy this place.

In hearing what these angels say, it seems as if the interaction of Abraham was unnecessary because everything indicates that destruction was inevitable. In other words, the LORD knew full well that there were not even 10 righteous there and thus destruction was coming.

And yet, in real time, God sent the angels to see if it was true, and by experience we see in this story that it was true. There is no conflict here with God’s sovereignty and the unfolding reality of life as it comes to us minute by minute. I can’t explain it, but scripture presents both as true. Whatever free agency humanity has does not cancel God’s ultimate sovereignty in all things.

And so Lot now hears this and begins to spread the word. The blinded mob has disappeared.

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!”

What is interesting in this story is the idea of family as well as the idea of the righteous. Abraham pleads with God for his family, but Lot is presented as someone with very suspect righteousness. As someone offering his daughters rather than his guests does not sound like the kind of behavior befitting a godly man.

But now he is evangelizing his family with a warning about destruction that is about to come. Notice their reaction:

But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

They must have thought that Lot was crazy, or as the wording here, telling a joke. They were surprised to hear Lot speak this way. Indeed, Lot is not presented in the best of light in this account, and perhaps this was the assessment of his family as well.

“Joking” translates (mĕṣaḥēq), which recalls Abraham’s and Sarah’s laughter (ṣāḥaq) at the prospects of bearing “Isaac” (yiṣḥāq; 17:19, 21; 18:12; 21:3). The prediction of destruction is too fantastic for the sons-in-law to take seriously.[3]

The NET translates this as “he was ridiculing them” meaning that these sons-in-law thought that Lot was preaching at them, as it were.

The time-table for destruction was short, and so things pick up in the morning:

15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.”

Only four are noted here as being urged to leave the city. The sons-in-law were unconvinced, and so the angels urge Lot to take his own blood away from this place. The night before there was safety inside the house. Now there is only safety outside the city.

Time was of the essence, and so the angels are urging Lot to get going:

16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

This is a very beautiful verse as it illustrates very well the grace and mercy of God. Even Moses footnotes this as the LORD being merciful to Lot.

For whatever reason, Lot was lingering (NET ‘hesitated’). Perhaps he was trying to convince his sons-in-law and others. In verse 12 the angels identify Lot’s loved ones as sons-in-law, sons, daughters, and ‘whomever you have in the city’ perhaps meaning others related or friends.

Here it ends up being just the four of them: Lot, his wife, and two daughters.

The LORD through these angels literally reached out and took these four by the hand and took them to a safe place outside the city. Talk about an illustration of rescue.

17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

This can be slightly confusing as we have a plural pronoun “they” who take Lot’s family outside, and then we have a single “he” calling out for everyone to escape. Is it Lot or an angel calling out here? It is most likely one of the angels calling out since we see the response in verse 18 from Lot.

Not only is Lot escorted out along with his wife and daughters, but they now press the idea that they do not try to go back or get near the city because of the danger. God brought them safely outside, but they are warned not to go back or to even look back.

Lot seems to be that guy who has a hard time moving. Notice this comment:

“Flee” (mālēṭ) appears five times (vv. 17[2×], 19, 20, 22) and “run, flee” (nûs) once (v. 20). The two often occur in parallel (e.g., 1 Sam 19:10); the former describes slipping away successfully from danger and the latter open flight from danger. Hebrew mālaṭ is a sound play on the name of Lot (lôt); the humor of the play is that Lot is anything but quick to leave.[4]

All is well, right? Lot should be thankful to the LORD for this angelic rescue. The warning has been given, and it is evident that nothing good will transpire in the city. It makes sense and is a wise idea to get far away from this place and go into the mountains.

But notice that Lot, like Abraham, negotiates for something different:

18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

Lot does not like the prospects of living in the mountains, and so asks if he can escape to a nearby city. He is concerned that mountain life will result in some bad thing that will bring about his death.

There is something just so ironic about Lot’s thought process here. Does he not recognize exactly what has just transpired? God has been merciful to Him, as he acknowledges for sure, but he still prefers to direct his steps in another direction. He prefers to escape to a nearby city. He is utterly dependent upon God’s mercy, but he still has his own idea about the future. He is concerned about the potential of unknown evil in the mountains.

This reminds me of some of the conversations Jesus’ disciples had with Him. They miss the big picture, but get caught up in the smaller things.

It seems from another angle that Lot perhaps thinks that the calamity that will strike Sodom and Gomorrah will spill over into the mountains, and so he hopes to find refuge in a small city nearby which presumably the LORD would spare and thus create a protected space.

What does the LORD think of this?

21 And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”

Just as Abraham bargained with God over Lot, now Lot bargains with the angel about sanctuary. The angel’s reply indicates that this little city would have been overthrown in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and so God promises to protect it.

Notice the name:

Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Zoar means ‘small’ and we see this in the rhetorical question of Lot in verse 20 as he asked the Lord to spare this small city: is it not a little one? And so, we have the bargaining of both Abraham and Lot in these narratives, both concerned about math.

And thus we see that God will spare a small city for the sake of Lot.

Lot is urged once again to get moving: hurry, escape there. The LORD’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah now is put on hold until Lot and his family can get themselves to the small city, Zoar.

23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.

After a night of drama and sin in the dark, now we see Lot and his family have exited Sodom and have entered the safety of Zoar after a short negotiation and rescue by the LORD.

Now it is time for the LORD’s judgment:

24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

This was a total devastation by the LORD. Fire comes from above and wipes out everything below. In contrast to the judgment of all the earth before in the days of Noah, now there is a localized judgment and now by fire. Everything, everyone, all that was growing, all wiped out.

God has dealt with the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah and has leveled the cities. Lot is safe. But the struggle is not over yet. Notice the famous verse:

26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

We will pick up here next time and explore Luke 17 and see how that text uses this material. We will then end our study of Genesis 19.