LESSON 11
Genesis for Today: Chapters 18-19
by Herb Drake

Copyright (c) 1998, 2020, Herb Drake.

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The Three-Fold Angel of the LORD

The Angel of the LORD appears again to Abraham -- this time as three men. Many Christians embrace this as an early invocation of the Trinity, and there are countless paintings depicting the scene in this way. But many scholars regard the Angel of the LORD as being one of the three, the other two being messenger angels, as it is difficult to believe that there was any trinitarian thought in Moses' day. But whoever the angels are, the thy appear unexpectedly; Abraham did not see them coming.

Abraham responds with the proper desert hospitality, offering them refreshments, which they accept. Sarah overhears their conversation, and when she hears the news that she will bear a child, she laughs to herself because she is far past menopause. Somehow, the Angel of the LORD hears the laugh and the conversation ends. God is patient with those who dispute him, as he was with Moses, Habakkuk, and Job, but laughing at a promise of God results in an immediate cut-off of dialog.

Angels leave Abraham with another significant question that jumps out to ask the reader: "Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?"

The Destruction of the Cities

The Angel of the LORD looks toward the city of Sodom and let's Abraham know his plans for its destruction. The sins in the cities of the plain were very grave. That God waits for Abraham, a mere human, to respond--something that was considered remarkable by the rabbis, but the pause in the conversation seems to be a test for Abraham. Perhaps it was because Lot dwelled in Sodom, Abraham begs that Sodom be spared. After several exchanges, God agrees to withold the judgment if even ten righteous persons could be found there. As the men depart, the reader has to wonder whether Abraham's stock had fallen in the eyes of the LORD. It is likely that the LORD smiled.

The destruction begins in Chapter 19, with two of the angels finding Lot sitting at the gate of Sodom. Are they there to investigate whether there were ten righteous men in residence there? If so, the investigation was only a formality as God surely knews the answer to the question and they later tell Lot that they are there to bring about city's demise. Like Abraham had done in the previous chapter, Lot offers them hospitality which, after a brief but polite exchange, they accept.

Things go downhill from there as the news of the visitor's arrival spread. All the men of Sodom surround Lot's home and demand that the visitors come out so that they could be "known," that verb in this context meaning sexual contact. Lot did what he could to prevent such an atrocity, even offering them his virgin daughters as a substitute, because the violation of desert hospitality against his guests is the greater sin. The visitors bring an end to the crisis by miraculously blinding those outside the dwelling so that they could not find the door to break it down.

The pride of Sodom's citizens, and their failure to recognize and respond to human need, is the real issue here. Modern church people often fail to understand this and condemn homosexuality while tolerating adultery and failing to serve those with human needs.

The fate of the city having been confirmed by this episode, Lot tries to convince his future sons-in-law to join him and fleeing the city before God destroys it. Their response, that they thought Lot was just joking, is probably the most tragic verse in Genesis. Lot and his family are forcefully evacuated, as Lot's reticense to leave is the final clue to his attraction to Sodom.

Destrution was planned for all the cities of the plain, so Lot is urged to flee into the mountains. Probably because of his advanced age, he begs to be allowed to go to Zoar and that that city be spared. The angels agree, but delay the judgment until Lot and his family have safely reached their destination.

As mentioned previously in The Story of Lot, his wife does not survive the judgment because her regret for her former city is so great that she yields to the fatal temptation of "looking back." Then the LORD destroys all the cities of the plain. In a final verse, all doubt is removed concerning the fate of those cities; God destroyed them because of their great sin, but in his compassion, he "remembered" Abraham and Lot. As Abraham returned to the overlook where he asked God to spare the cities, he witnessed the death of his hope. Clyde Francisco observed: "Only a man who has looked out upon the smokey ruins of his prayer to God can understand Abraham's pain and dismay." We need to take notice of the contrast between Abraham and Lot.

Genesis 16-17 | Genesis 20-21