The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the
gate of S’dom. (Bereshit / Genesis 19:1; CJB)
This week's parsha (Torah portion) includes a most
disturbing incident. God sent two angels to rescue Abraham's nephew Lot and his
family. While they were in Lot's house, a large contingent of males of the city
arrived, demanding to have sex with the angels. The Hebrew word for angel is
"malach", meaning "messenger". Their appearance was human-
like. So the men of the city had no idea with whom they were dealing. To them
the angels were simply strangers.
The moral decadence of that city is further illustrated
through Lot himself, who to protect his guests, offered his daughters to the
men. That Lot sought to protect his guests at all is honorable. His
unwillingness to give in to the specifics of his neighbors' demands shows he
had not fully succumbed to the level of their depravity. But that he would
offer his daughters in order to pacify them shows that Lot was no better than
they.
We may wonder at how the New Covenant Scriptures could
describe Lot as "a righteous man who was distressed by the debauchery of
those unprincipled people" (2 Peter 2:7; CJB). Doesn't his behavior reveal
otherwise? What might be going on here is disturbing, but instructive. It is
easy to write off Lot. His actions are deplorable, but if we miss how he got to
this place, we will also miss God's warning to us.
The first Psalm contrasts the wicked and the righteous (see
Tehillim / Psalm 1). The righteous have blessed, fruitful lives; the wicked
come to nothing. The difference between how these two live helps us see what
might have happened to Lot. According to the Psalm, the wicked spend their time
in the company of the wicked; the righteous are focused on God's Word. It's not
that the righteous choose better company; it's that they derive their lives
from the Scriptures.
Lot was part of Abraham's entourage. He conceivably could
have remained in close relationship to the man called to be a blessing to the
world (see Bereshit / Genesis 12:1-3). He could have remained in community with
the man regarded as God's friend (see James 2:23), who lived life based on
God's Word and not derived from the surrounding culture. But for some reason
Lot was drawn to the city of Sodom, thus rejecting the life of faith to which
his uncle was called. His reaction to the men of the city shows that he
retained some sense of right and wrong, but it appears that his society had
significantly worn off on him. We read at the beginning that when the angels
arrived, Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Unlike the righteous in Psalm 1,
he was hanging out with the wicked. It eventually got to him, and he may not
have even been aware of it.
Even people who know better yet immerse themselves in the
company of evil will absorb the values of those they hang out with. But a truly
righteous man like Abraham doesn't immerse himself in anything but God's Word.
That doesn't mean we are not to be in relationship with people. Far from it!
Rather our relationships need to be, first and foremost, grounded in Scripture.
That's the only way to be free from the expectations and values of others and
be the kind of blessing to others we (and they) need us to be.
2 comments:
Alan:
I've long been fascinated by the paradoxes in Lot's life: "...and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds).."
I have always viewed lot as a seriously compromised believer, who chose to live among the sensual and worldly culture of Sodom. (Not unlike some who call themselves believers today.) However, as I read your thought provoking commentary It occurred to me that Lot's offer of his daughters to the men of Sodom may have been slightly less heinous than it first appears, since he knew the character and appetites of his fellow Sodomites. I imagine Lot understood that there was virtually no chance that they would take any intertest in his daughters, as "...the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Romans 1:27). His offer may have been little more than an empty and worthless gesture given the culture of Sodom.
I agree with unknowns' thoughts as it would seem that Sodom was a perverted city-so offering females when the interest was not in females may have been more of a ploy on Lots' part to distract/divert their attentions so HE could somehow remove the 'men' before disaster. (however, his carnality of living amongst them would have dulled his sensibility to seeing the divine purpose in any of this) as he was far removed from following Abraham by his own desires!
I also follow your blogs, Alan, and greatly agree with your insight, esp that your heritage can open up for this Gentile, a better understanding of the Old Testament particularly! Thank you so much. Sue in WI.
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