†. Gen 19:17 . .When they had brought them outside, one said: Flee
for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in The Plain;
flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.
The messengers won't be going along. They're to stay behind to supervise
the holocaust.
Up till now, it appeared that God intended to destroy only Sodom. But now
His complete plan is unveiled. The whole plain was doomed-- all five cities of
the Siddim confederation, and all of their agriculture to boot --including the
livestock and all the wildlife and all the pets; plus the children, and all the
adults. A total civil, cultural, environmental, and economic, melt-down.
Compare that to Rev 18:2-24 where it appears that the global economy is
left a complete collapse just as rapidly as the twin towers of the World Trade
Center were brought down.
†. Gen 19:18 . . But Lot said to them: Oh not so, my Lord!
The word Lot used for Lord is 'Adonay (ad-o-noy') which is a proper name of
God only; in comparison to the word 'adown (aw-done') which is a lesser
ranking lord than Yhvh. When the men first arrived in Sodom, Lot addressed
them as 'adown because he wasn't aware as yet that they were of Divine
origin.
It's significant that the men didn't scold Lot for calling them 'Adonay. So
then, speaking with those messengers was all the same as speaking with
God, and that, it seems, is exactly how Lot now perceived them.
Lot was a righteous man (2Pet 2:8) but lacked commitment. He never really
grew in grace and the knowledge of God. Abraham's nephew was no more
spiritually mature at this point than when he left his mentor and relocated to
the Jordan Valley.
God instructed Abraham to walk before Him and to be perfect (Gen 17:1).
But when Lot moved out, he apparently never really took up a walk with
God; but instead found a home for his family among impious pagans; who
would certainly discourage Lot from getting too serious about his religion.
"Do not be misled; bad company corrupts good character." (1Cor 15:33)
†. Gen 19:19 . .You have been so gracious to your servant, and have
already shown me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I
cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
Listen to this man! He calls himself "your servant" yet resists his master's
wishes. Next, he expresses gratitude for the successful rescue, yet implies
his savior doesn't know what He's doing by sending his family into the hills.
Why on earth would God send Lot to the hills if the disaster was headed that
way too? Lot isn't being rational and objective; no, he's being emotional and
reactive; which people under stress usually are.
†. Gen 19:20 . . Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is
such a little place! Let me flee there-- it is such a little place --and let
my life be saved.
Lot surely must have known that town was just as wicked as Sodom but he
still wanted to live there anyway as if his future was any more secure in that
town than the one he was just leaving. And why he thought a "little place"
was a good place to live is a mystery. But then such is the human mind.
Little country towns seem more cozy and wholesome than the big city to
some of us. But all towns are populated with human beings; and human
beings are human everywhere.
†. Gen 19:21-22 . . He replied: Very well, I will grant you this favor
too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken.
Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.
Hence the town came to be called Zoar.
Zoar is from Tso' ar (tso'ar) which means little. So maybe we could nick
name it Smallville?
†. Gen 19:23-25 . . As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered
Zoar, the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from
the Lord out of heaven. He annihilated those cities and the entire
Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the
ground.
What a sight that must have been. The people in Smallville probably thought
the world was coming to an end! Fiery hail fell out of nowhere. Everything all
around them ignited and went up in flame and heat with a suffocating,
smelly pall filling the whole valley like a nuclear winter. Talk about scorched
earth!
Jude 1:7 says the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was an "eternal"
variety of fire. The Greek word is aionios (ahee-o'-nee-os) which means
unending; viz: perpetual.
Opponents contend that if the fire really was unending that it would still be
out there. But it's far more likely that "eternal" refers not to the fire's
characteristics; but to its source-- the smoldering impoundment depicted at
Isa 66:22-24 and Rev 20:10-11.
†. Gen 19:26 . . Lot's wife looked back, and she thereupon turned
into a pillar of salt.
If the chronology of the text is strict, then Lot's wife turned into salt after
their arrival in Zoar rather than along the way.
I can just imagine the look of fear that came over people in town when they
saw her like that. She didn't die in the conflagration, but she died just the
same.
Her "looking back" was obviously more than just a curious gaze. Lot's wife
was no doubt thinking of returning; and hoping against hope that enough of
Sodom would survive the incendiary attack so they could search the ruins for
their daughters' remains. It's sad when the only way to stop some people
from doing something contrary to God's wishes is to strike them with a
disability and/or take their life. (cf. 1Cor 11:26-30)
Cont.
/
for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in The Plain;
flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.
The messengers won't be going along. They're to stay behind to supervise
the holocaust.
Up till now, it appeared that God intended to destroy only Sodom. But now
His complete plan is unveiled. The whole plain was doomed-- all five cities of
the Siddim confederation, and all of their agriculture to boot --including the
livestock and all the wildlife and all the pets; plus the children, and all the
adults. A total civil, cultural, environmental, and economic, melt-down.
Compare that to Rev 18:2-24 where it appears that the global economy is
left a complete collapse just as rapidly as the twin towers of the World Trade
Center were brought down.
†. Gen 19:18 . . But Lot said to them: Oh not so, my Lord!
The word Lot used for Lord is 'Adonay (ad-o-noy') which is a proper name of
God only; in comparison to the word 'adown (aw-done') which is a lesser
ranking lord than Yhvh. When the men first arrived in Sodom, Lot addressed
them as 'adown because he wasn't aware as yet that they were of Divine
origin.
It's significant that the men didn't scold Lot for calling them 'Adonay. So
then, speaking with those messengers was all the same as speaking with
God, and that, it seems, is exactly how Lot now perceived them.
Lot was a righteous man (2Pet 2:8) but lacked commitment. He never really
grew in grace and the knowledge of God. Abraham's nephew was no more
spiritually mature at this point than when he left his mentor and relocated to
the Jordan Valley.
God instructed Abraham to walk before Him and to be perfect (Gen 17:1).
But when Lot moved out, he apparently never really took up a walk with
God; but instead found a home for his family among impious pagans; who
would certainly discourage Lot from getting too serious about his religion.
"Do not be misled; bad company corrupts good character." (1Cor 15:33)
†. Gen 19:19 . .You have been so gracious to your servant, and have
already shown me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I
cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
Listen to this man! He calls himself "your servant" yet resists his master's
wishes. Next, he expresses gratitude for the successful rescue, yet implies
his savior doesn't know what He's doing by sending his family into the hills.
Why on earth would God send Lot to the hills if the disaster was headed that
way too? Lot isn't being rational and objective; no, he's being emotional and
reactive; which people under stress usually are.
†. Gen 19:20 . . Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is
such a little place! Let me flee there-- it is such a little place --and let
my life be saved.
Lot surely must have known that town was just as wicked as Sodom but he
still wanted to live there anyway as if his future was any more secure in that
town than the one he was just leaving. And why he thought a "little place"
was a good place to live is a mystery. But then such is the human mind.
Little country towns seem more cozy and wholesome than the big city to
some of us. But all towns are populated with human beings; and human
beings are human everywhere.
†. Gen 19:21-22 . . He replied: Very well, I will grant you this favor
too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken.
Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.
Hence the town came to be called Zoar.
Zoar is from Tso' ar (tso'ar) which means little. So maybe we could nick
name it Smallville?
†. Gen 19:23-25 . . As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered
Zoar, the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from
the Lord out of heaven. He annihilated those cities and the entire
Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the
ground.
What a sight that must have been. The people in Smallville probably thought
the world was coming to an end! Fiery hail fell out of nowhere. Everything all
around them ignited and went up in flame and heat with a suffocating,
smelly pall filling the whole valley like a nuclear winter. Talk about scorched
earth!
Jude 1:7 says the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was an "eternal"
variety of fire. The Greek word is aionios (ahee-o'-nee-os) which means
unending; viz: perpetual.
Opponents contend that if the fire really was unending that it would still be
out there. But it's far more likely that "eternal" refers not to the fire's
characteristics; but to its source-- the smoldering impoundment depicted at
Isa 66:22-24 and Rev 20:10-11.
†. Gen 19:26 . . Lot's wife looked back, and she thereupon turned
into a pillar of salt.
If the chronology of the text is strict, then Lot's wife turned into salt after
their arrival in Zoar rather than along the way.
I can just imagine the look of fear that came over people in town when they
saw her like that. She didn't die in the conflagration, but she died just the
same.
Her "looking back" was obviously more than just a curious gaze. Lot's wife
was no doubt thinking of returning; and hoping against hope that enough of
Sodom would survive the incendiary attack so they could search the ruins for
their daughters' remains. It's sad when the only way to stop some people
from doing something contrary to God's wishes is to strike them with a
disability and/or take their life. (cf. 1Cor 11:26-30)
Cont.
/
