Genesis, Start To Finish

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● Gen 17:3b-4 . . and God spoke to him further: As for Me, this is My covenant with
you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

That announcement regards nations rather than individuals. Abram is well known as
the father of the Jews, but he is also father of more than just them. The majority of
Abram's progeny is Gentile and a very large number of those are Arabs.

Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile.

● Gen 17:5 . . And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham's original name was 'Abram (ab-rawm') which means: high, or exalted
father. In other words: a daddy; as the respectable head of a single family unit.
Abram's new name 'Abraham (ab-raw-hawm') means: father of a multitude of
family units. In other words: not just the paterfamilias of a single family unit; but
the rootstock of entire communities.

* The title "father" isn't limited to parents; it also applies to strong spiritual
personages. (e.g. 2Kgs 2:12 & Isa 9:6)

● Gen 17:6 . . I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and
kings shall come forth from you.

The king who matters most is Messiah.

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."
(Matt 1:1)

● Gen 17:7a . . I will maintain My covenant between me and you, and your
offspring to come,

The word for "maintain" is basically means: to rise (in various applications, literal,
figurative, intensive and causative). The very first instance of that word is Gen 4:8.

"Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him."

That's kind of negative. Here's a passage that really says what God meant.

"Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled
the troughs to water their father's flock; but shepherds came and drove them off.
Moses rose to their defense, and he watered their flock. When they returned to
their father Reuel, he said: How is it that you have come back so soon today? They
answered: An Egyptian protected us from the shepherds; he even drew water for
us and watered the flock." (Ex 2:16-19)

The "offspring to come" was Isaac's and Jacob's rather than every last one of
Abraham's posterity.

● Gen 17:7b . . as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages,

Abraham's covenant is permanent; has never been annulled, deleted, made
obsolete, abrogated, set aside, given to another people, nor replaced by another
covenant. In point of fact, even Christians benefit from Abraham's covenant. (Eph
2:11-22 and Gal 3:26-28)

God promised Abraham He would guard the safety of this particular covenant
Himself personally. The covenant God made with Moses' people as per Deut 29:9
15 neither supersedes, amends, nor replaces the covenant God made with Abraham
in this chapter (Gal 3:17). Attempts been made to package all the covenants into a
single security like a Wall Street derivative similar to a collateralized debt obligation
(CDO). But that just creates a bubble and is really asking for trouble.

● Gen 17:7c . . to be a god to you and to your offspring to come.

This part of the covenant is somewhat conditional. It will only include those among
male Hebrews that undergo the circumcision coming up in the next few passages.
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● Gen 17:8a . . I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come,

Ownership of the land is realized not only in Abraham's progeny alone. God said He
assigned the land not only to his offspring, but to "you" too. Abraham didn't get to
take possession of his promised holdings while he was here, but in the future, he
will.

"You will keep faith with Jacob, loyalty to Abraham, as You promised on oath to our
fathers in days gone by." (Mic 7:20)

"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 8:11)

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign
country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose
architect and builder is God." (Heb 11:8-10)

● Gen 17:8b . . all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding.

Abraham and his covenanted posterity may not always occupy the land, and they
may not always be in control of it; but it remains deeded to them forever.

● Gen 17:8c . . I will be their god.

The wording of the covenant thus far hasn't been specific regarding the identity of
Abraham's offspring for whom El Shaddai will be their god. Later on it will become
clear that only the line through Isaac is effected. Neither Ishmael nor any of the
other brothers were granted rights to the land.

● Gen 17:9a . . God further said to Abraham: As for you,

The next covenant is totally a guy thing; and later incorporated in Israel's
covenanted law (Lev 12:2-3). The ladies are not a part of this one because
Abraham's posterity isn't perpetuated by mothers. Children in the Bible inherit their
tribal affiliation and their family names from the fathers rather than the mothers
even when Jewish men father children by Gentile women, e.g. Asenath,
Zipporah,Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth.

● Gen 17:9b . . you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My
covenant.

The Hebrew word translated "keep" basically means to hedge about (as with
thorns), i.e. guard, to protect, attend to. The general meaning in this particular
instance is: to preserve.

● Gen 17:10 . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring
to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.

* Circumcision didn't begin with Abraham. It was practiced in Egypt as early as
2400 BC.

Circumcision doesn't serve to improve a man's physical appearance. Men were
created whole; and after God finished the six days of creation, He inspected
everything and graded it all very good. So circumcision doesn't correct design
errors; but actually mars a man's natural appearance. It renders him somewhat
disfigured so that he no longer bears a precise resemblance to his ancestor Adam--
nor will he ever again. A circumcised man is still a human being; just altered
somewhat.

The surgery doesn't impair sexual function so we can rule out the possibility that
God imposed circumcision on Abraham and his male posterity for the purpose of
discouraging romance. After all if a man's genital nerves were to be disabled, it
would be very difficult for men to procreate-- and that would conflict with God's
promise to Abraham that he would be fruitful and become very numerous.
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● Gen 17:11 . .You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the
sign of the covenant between Me and you.

The Hebrew word for "sign" is from the very same word for the mark upon Cain,
and the rainbow of Noah's covenant. A sign not only labels thing, but also serves
as a memory preserver; like the Viet Nam war memorial. Abraham's circumcision,
like rainbows and war memorials, is one of those "lest we forget" reminders of
important events.

NOTE: The "covenant between Me and you" has nothing to do with the covenant
made later between God and Abraham's posterity per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy. That's an important distinction

● Gen 17:12-13a . . And throughout the generations, every male among you shall
be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the home-born slave and the one
bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised,
home-born, and purchased alike.

Home-born slaves were those born while Abraham owned its parents. The
classification was reckoned Abraham's offspring; viz: his sons; thus indicating that
the Hebrew word zera' is ambiguous and doesn't always apply to one's biological
progeny.

The Bible doesn't call ritual circumcision a baptism but it sure looks like a species of
baptism to me. Take for example the crossing of the Red Sea. The New Testament
calls it a baptism (1Cor 10:2) yet none of the people under Moses' command got
wet; they never even got damp. So baptisms come in a variety of modes, and for a
variety of purposes.

● Gen 17:13b-14 . .Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an
everlasting pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh
of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My
covenant.

Say a man's father was a member of the tribe of Issachar, and for one reason or
another never got around to circumcising his son.

Well; until the son submits to the ritual, he cannot be counted among Issachar's
posterity. In point of fact, he cannot be counted among Abraham's either though
Abraham be his ancestor.

This may seem a petty issue but in matters of inheritance, can have very serious
repercussions for the non-circumcised man. He's not only cut off from his kin, but
also from Abraham's covenant guaranteeing his posterity ownership of Palestine
plus points beyond to the north, the south, the east, and the west. (The little piece
of turf now occupied by the State of Israel is but a parking lot in comparison to
what God promised Abraham back in Gen 13:14-15.)

Also included in the "covenant between Me and you" is the promise to always be
the god of Abraham's posterity. Well; until the non-circumcised son undergoes
circumcision, The Lord wouldn't be his god; consequently he would have no right to
expect God's providence.

To give an idea of just how serious God is about this ritual: After Moses was
commissioned to represent God in the Exodus; the Lord rendezvoused with him and
came within an inch of taking his life over this very issue.

"Now it came about at an inn on the way that The Lord met him and sought to put
him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it
at Moses' feet, and she said: You are indeed a bloody bridegroom to me. So He let
him alone." (Ex 4:24-26)

That should be a sobering warning that anyone representing God is supposed to set
the example in all things. It's not do as I say, nor even do as I do; but do as I have
done.

Anyway, non-circumcised Jewish males aren't counted among Abraham's
community; and that was a law way before it was incorporated into the Jews'
covenanted law per Ex 12:48-49 and Lev 12:2-3.

NOTE: There exists some disagreement as regards the proper interpretation of Ex
4:24-26. One side suggests it was Moses whom God sought to slay, whereas the
other side suggests it was Moses' son. Apparently the language and grammar of
that passage is somewhat vague.
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● Gen 17:15 . . And God said to Abraham: As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call
her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.

Sarah's original name was Saray (saw-rah'-ee) which means: dominative.

Webster's defines "dominative" as: to exert the supreme determining or guiding
influence on-- in other words: bossy. Dominative isn't a desirable female
personality; assertive and controlling isn't something for a truly spiritual woman to
be proud of.

Sarah (saw-raw') means: a female noble, e.g. a Lady, a Princess, or a Queen. It's
much preferable for a woman to be known as a lady or a princess than as a
dominatrix.

Changing Sarai's name didn't actually change her personality; but it certainly
reflected her new God-given purpose. It was like a promotion to knighthood. The
child she would produce for Abraham became a very important, world-renowned
human being out of whom came kings and statesmen; and ultimately the savior of
the world.

If I were required to pick just one woman in the Bible to venerate, it wouldn't be
Jesus' mom; no, it would be Isaac's mom. Sarah is the supreme matriarch; superior
to every one of the Messianic mothers who came after her.

● Gen 17:16 . . I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her
so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.

Sarah now had a calling from God just like her slavette Hagar; who herself was
given a calling from God on the road to Shur. Sarah's calling was not much of a
calling. She wasn't called to go off to some foreign country as a missionary, nor to
open and operate hostels and orphanages in impoverished lands, nor head up a
local chapter of the March Of Dimes, nor muster an army like a Joan of Arc. All in
the world Sarah had to do for God was just be Isaac's mom.

I once heard a story about a lady who summarily announced to her pastor that God
called her to preach. The pastor thought for a second and then inquired: Do you
have any children? She answered: Yes. So he said: My; isn't that wonderful? God
called you to preach and already gave you a congregation.

Motherhood isn't a marginal calling. It is a serious calling that carries tremendous
responsibility, because the hands that rock the cradles quite literally do rule the
world. A mother can either ruin a child's potential or enhance it; she can raise a
decent human being, or raise a sociopathic monster.

The media typically focuses on physical child abuse while usually overlooking the
kind caused by mental cruelty. There are children out there whose self esteem and
sense of worth are in the toilet just by being in the home of a thoughtless mother.

One child can enrich the lives of millions of people, and it's the moms who bring
them into the world, pick their boogers, change their dydees, teach them how to
brush their teeth and say their prayers, stay up late with their fevers, get them in
for their shots, pack them off to school, take them to the park, drive them to
ToysRus a thousand times, and cry at their weddings.

The dads have it easy. It's the moms who really pay the price for a child's future.
But a mom can just as easily destroy her child's future by abuse and neglect. There
are moms who have about as much love for their children as a dirty sock or a
broken dish; and regard them just as expendable.

But Sarah won't be like that. When she gets done with Isaac, he will be a well
adjusted grown-up having a genuine bond of love and trust with his mom and zero
gender issues with women. Isaac will see in Sarah the very kind of girl he would
like to marry; and when that one does come along, he won't let her get away.

● Gen 17:17 . . Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to
himself: Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a
child at ninety?

God had previously promised Abraham an heir but this is the first time He actually
specified who the biological mother would be. Was Abraham skeptical? Not this
time. No; he just thought it was hilarious for two old sag-bottomed, bloated cod
fish gasbags like he and Sarah to have children. In other words: You've gotta be
kidding! (Sarah will later express the very same degree of astonishment at Gen
18:12)
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● Gen 17:18 . . And Abraham said to God: O that Ishmael might live before you!

Ishmael is sometimes thought of as a sort of red-headed step child, but I tend to
think that Abraham really did love the boy. I can see that love at work here when
Abraham requested God's providence for him lest the boy become marginalized and
forgotten.

● Gen 17:19a . . God said: Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son,

God had nothing personal against Ishmael (at least not then) but the lad wasn't
quite what The Lord had in mind for the covenant's future. The one to perpetuate it
had to be special; viz: he couldn't be a "wild-burro of a man" nor "his hand against
every man's hand". In other words: God much preferred a peaceable chap.

● Gen 17:19b . . and you shall name him Isaac;

Isaac's name is Yitschaq (yits-khawk') which means: laughter or mirth; sometimes
in a bad way such as mockery. In other places in the Old Testament, he goes by
the name of Yischaq (yis-khawk') which means: he will laugh, or, he thinks it's
funny. (perhaps as a memorial to Abraham's mirth at hearing the news of Sarah's
imminent pregnancy.)

● Gen 17:19c . . and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting
covenant for his offspring to come.

* The Hebrew word translated "everlasting" doesn't always indicate back in time
indefinite, but always indicates forward in time indefinite. In other words: the "My
covenant" with Isaac would be in perpetuity, i.e. permanent; generation to
generation.

Much of the covenant is of little interest to the average Gentile; but one portion of it
is very significant. It's this:

"And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen 22:18)

That promise is very definitely related to Messiah's entry into world affairs.

"In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him, for the land where he lives will be a glorious place. In
that day the Lord will bring back a remnant of his people for the second time,
returning them to the land of Israel from Assyria, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt,
Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands." (Isa 11:10-11)

"And now The Lord speaks-- he who formed me in my mother's womb to be his
servant, who commissioned me to bring his people of Israel back to him. The Lord
has honored me, and my God has given me strength. He says: You will do more
than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and
you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isa 49:5-6)

● Gen 17:20 . . As for Ishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make
him fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.

That quite literally came true. Ishmael really did engender twelve chieftains. (Gen
25:12-16)

I don't know why so many people seem to think that Ishmael was only so much
trash to throw out and discard, like as if he were second-hand dish water or
something. No one should ever forget that he was Abraham's flesh and blood; his
first son and Abraham really loved that boy. God blessed him too; and took care of
him. He was circumcised in Abraham's home, which made him a permanent
member of Abraham's community; so modern Arabs do have a legitimate claim to
Abraham as their patriarch; but of course they have no such claim upon Isaac, or
upon Isaac's blessings.

● Gen 17:21 . . But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear
to you at this season next year.

Looks like the Abrahams will be going shopping for a crib, a stroller, and a car seat;
so to speak.

● Gen 17:22 . . And when He was done speaking with him, God was gone from
Abraham.

Don't you just hate it when a supervisor lays down the law and then turns on their
heel and leaves the room? It immediately tells everyone that their boss' agenda
isn't open to discussion.
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● Gen 17:23 . .Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his home-born slaves
and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham's household, and he
circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him.

That was well over 300 grown men; not counting boys. (Gen 14:14)

● Gen 17:24-27 . . Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the
flesh of his foreskin, and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were
circumcised on that very day; and all his household, his home-born slaves and
those that had been bought from outsiders, were circumcised with him.

Abraham was typically very prompt and did things in a timely manner. Trouble is;
every male in camp was disabled all at once. Thank goodness nobody attacked right
then or the PowerPuff Girls would've been needed to man the guns; so to speak.

NOTE: Ishmael was thirteen when he was circumcised. It would be another year
before Isaac was born, and possibly three after that before Isaac was weaned;
making Ishmael at least seventeen or eighteen when Abraham emancipated his
mom in chapter 21.
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● Gen 18:1a . .The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre;

The Hebrew word for "appeared" doesn't necessarily indicate a visible apparition.
The word is really ambiguous. It has several meanings; one of which simply
indicates a meeting. It's certain that Jehovah was present during this meeting but
uncertain whether more than His voice was present; though not impossible. (cf. Ex
24:9-11)

The three men upon whom we are about to eavesdrop are said by some to be
angels; but the Hebrew word for angel is nowhere in the entire narrative.

This visit occurred very shortly after the last one because Isaac wasn't born yet and
his birth had been predicted in 17:21 to be little more than a year away.

Mamre's terebinths were a grove of oak trees situated near modern day Hebron
about 20 miles south of Jerusalem at an elevation of 3,050 feet above sea level.

● Gen 18:1b-2a . . he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing near him.

It wouldn't be accurate to think of Abraham's tent as something akin to a
hiker/camper's basic portable shelter. Bedouin sheiks lived in pavilions, since they
served as the family's home.

The entrance of the tent likely had a large canopy over it like a roofed porch so that
Abraham wasn't sitting out in the sun, but rather in the shade. Poor guy's heart
must have stopped when he looked up at these three guys just standing there
saying nothing. I'm not sure if Abraham was aware at this point that one of those
men was The Lord (i.e. Jehovah). So his next reactions are very interesting. They
reveal just how hospitable this rich and famous sheik was to total strangers.

● Gen 18:2b-3a . . As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to
greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said: My lords,

Abraham was 99 so I don't think he actually sprinted. The word ruwts (roots) can
mean either to run or just simply to hurry.

The Hebrew word for "lords" is based upon 'adown (aw-done') which means
sovereign (human or divine). 'Adown is a versatile word often used as a courteous
title of respect for elders and or superiors; for example Sarah spoke the very same
word of her husband at Gen 18:12, Rachel addressed her dad by it at Gen 31:5,
and Jacob addressed his brother Esau by 'adown at Gen 33:8.

● Gen 18:3b-5a . . if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water
be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel
of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on-- seeing that you have come
your servant's way.

There was a custom in the Olde American West that when travelers came by your
spread, it was considered neighborly to offer them a meal and some tobacco, along
with water and provender for their horses. This sometimes was the only means of
support for off-season, unemployed cowboys known as drifters and saddle bums;
but what the hey, you took the good with the bad; no questions asked.

Traveling was neither a tourist's vacation nor a Sunday drive in Abraham's day. No
cushy motels, no gas stations or convenience stores. It was very far in between
communities and few people along the way so a camp like Abraham's was a
welcome sight in that day.

You can imagine how refreshing it would be on a hot day to soak your feet in a tub
of cool water and recline in the shade of a big oak tree. In an era without
refrigeration, electric fans, and/or air conditioning, that was just about the best
there was to offer. Anyway it all just goes to show that Abraham was a very
hospitable man, and really knew how to make people feel at home.

● Gen 18:5b . .They replied: Do as you have said.

There is something here important to note. Although the text says "they" replied, it
doesn't mean all three men spoke at once, nor spoke in turn. If only one in a group
speaks, and the others are silent, it's understood to mean the others are
consensual; and that the one speaks for all if no one objects or has anything to
add.
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● Gen 18:6-8a . . Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and
said: Quickly, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes! Then Abraham
hurried to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy,
who hastened to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf that had been
prepared and set these before them;

The Hebrew word for "calf" basically means beef cattle, or an animal of the ox
family; of either gender.

It's interesting that Abraham served beef. In the early days of olde California; the
Spanish Franciscans raised cows primarily for their hides and tallow; and found a
ready market for those products in the east. Tallow of course was used for candles,
soap, and lubricants; and the hides for leather goods like shoes, gloves, saddles,
reins, and hats. In those days, pork and fowl were the preferred table meats. It was
actually the change-over from pork to relatively cheap Texas longhorn beef that
fueled the cattle baron era of the 1800's.

The word for "curds" basically means curdled milk, or cheese. Later to come Kosher
laws would forbid serving dairy and meat together; but in Abraham's day it didn't
matter.

The only ingredient listed for the cakes (which probably resembled English muffins,
or possibly Navajo fry bread) is choice flour, viz: no leavening was added. That was
of course an expedient to get the bread prepared as quickly as possible.

With a little imagination, one could confect a pretty decent deli sandwich from what
Abraham put on their plates. Anyway, all this took an appreciable amount of time;
like preparing a thanksgiving dinner from scratch; including butchering the turkey.
Plus, they cooked in those days by means of open flame and/or wood-fired ovens
so it's not like Abraham served the men packaged meals warmed up in a
microwave.

Poor Sarah; she must have been stressed due to the unexpected guests messing up
her daily routine. She probably hadn't planned to do any serious cooking that day
till later on towards evening when it was cooler.

NOTE: Abraham employed quite a few servants. It's likely that Sarah's role in the
cooking was supervision rather than the actual labor.

● Gen 18:8b . . and he waited on them under the tree as they
ate.

Targum authors-- convinced the men were celestial beings --couldn't believe they
would actually partake of food. According to them, the foods were set before them,
but they didn't actually eat it.

T. and [Abraham] served before them, and they sat under the tree; and he quieted
himself to see whether they would eat. (Targum Jonathan)

In major English versions of the Hebrew Bible-- e.g. The JPS and the Stone --Gen
18:8 is translated "they ate". It isn't translated that Abraham stood by to see if
they would eat, nor is it translated they pretended to eat, nor that they appeared to
eat. Genesis says the men actually dined on the food that Abraham set before
them. (cf. Chabad.org)

● Gen 18:9a . .They said to him: Where is your wife Sarah?

So far, Sarah has been hearing about her impending child only from her husband.
But now, the speaker is intent that she should hear the news from somebody a little
higher up the food chain.

● Gen 18:9b . . And he replied: There, in the tent.

At this point, the speaker no doubt intentionally raised his voice a bit to ensure little
Miss Eavesdropper would hear what he had to say.

● Gen 18:10 . .Then one said: I will return to you next year, and
your wife Sarah shall have a son.

NOTE: Some versions of the Bible are not purely translations. They're actually
amalgams of translation + interpretation. For example some versions of 18:10
read: "The Lord said" instead of "one said". But the word for Jehovah is nowhere in
the Hebrew of that verse. Caveat Lector.

So on the face of it, the stranger is making two predictions. 1) he'll be back around
again, and 2) Sarah is going to have a son.
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● Gen 18:11 . . Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind
him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped
having the periods of women.

Some things can't be postponed indefinitely.

"To everything there is a season: a time for every purpose under heaven" (Ecc 3:1)

There is a time in life for children: if it's missed, there's no going back and making
up for lost time. Many an independent woman has been painfully awakened by her
biological clock-- putting off children to get ahead in her career, and then one day;
it's either too late, too inconvenient, or too difficult.

Some things wait for no man. Sunset is one of those things. Relentlessly, hour upon
hour, the sun moves across the sky towards its inevitable rendezvous with the
western horizon. Our lives are just like that. Sunrise - Sunset. Game over.

● Gen 18:12a . . And Sarah laughed to herself, saying: Now that I am withered, am
I to have enjoyment

Sarah was no doubt thinking to herself that if this stranger knew how old she was;
he wouldn't be making such a ridiculous prediction.

● Gen 18:12b . . with my lord so old?

Abraham was well past his prime. (Rom 4:19, Heb 11:12)

"my lord" a level of respect not often seen in today's world of feminism and
misandry.

● Gen 18:13-14 . .Then The Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sarah mock, saying;
Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am? Is anything too wondrous for The Lord? I
will return to you at the time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.

Jehovah didn't quote Sarah verbatim-- He actually paraphrased her words to say
what she meant; rather than what she spoke. That's important to note; and tells
me that it really isn't all that important to quote Scripture precisely so long as you
don't lose, or change, its meanings. There's a lot of that in the New Testament; and
certainly in the Targums too.

It isn't said exactly from whence the voice of The Lord came: whether it was one of
the men speaking or a voice in the air. However, Jehovah did show up and do "as
He had spoken." (Gen 21:1)

● Gen 18:15a . . Sarah lied, saying; "I didn't laugh" for she was frightened.

Sarah hadn't actually laughed out loud, but "to herself". When she realized that one
of the men could read her thoughts, she became nervous: and who wouldn't?

● Gen 18:15b . . But He replied: You did laugh.

Most men would have jumped right to their wife's defense. Abraham had at least
300 armed men in his camp who would do anything he asked; but knowing by now
exactly who these men really were, Abraham remained composed.

The word used to describe Abraham's visitors is 'iysh (eesh) which is a gender
specific word that means: a man as an individual or a male person. It is also the
word used to specify the male gender among the animals taken aboard the Ark.
(Gen 7:2)

This chapter strongly suggests that Abraham and Sarah saw Jehovah as a fully
functioning man. As to whether the person they saw was an actual human being or
a human avatar; I don't know and I'm afraid to even hazard a guess. But when He
said "Is anything to wondrous for The Lord" it's my guess that taking a human form
would be on His list of the unbelievable feats He's able to perform. (cf. Gen 32:24
30 & Ex 24:9-11)
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● Gen 18:16 . .The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom,
Abraham walking with them to see them off.

Looking down towards Sodom is probably just another way to say aiming for
Sodom.

Many of us just see our visitors out the front door. But, you know, it wouldn't hurt
to see them out to their cars too. Maybe even carry a few things for them.

The site of Sodom has never been found. Some believe it was at the south end of
the Dead Sea; but that's really only a guess. The destruction was so severe and so
complete that it's just impossible now to tell where it was.

● Gen 18:17 . . Now the Lord had said: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about
to do,

Now there's a pretty good yardstick of your standing with God. Do you know what
is on His agenda for tomorrow? Me neither. God doesn't confide in me for the
slightest thing. I don't even know what brand of toothpaste He uses in the morning
let alone His daily schedule.

● Gen 18:18 . . since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the
nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him?

Divine purposes for Abraham elevated him to a very high degree of importance
above ordinary human beings; and God regarded the old boy not as a servant, but
as a member of God's inner circle of confidants. In point of fact; one of His buddies
(Isa 41:8). That is amazing.

● Gen 18:19 . . For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his
progeny to keep the way of The Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that
The Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.

In order for The Lord's statement to be meaningful it has to imply that Abraham
possessed a knowledge of what is just and right in harmony with what God feels is
just and right rather than a humanistic knowledge. The US Supreme Court's
justices obviously don't have a knowledge of what is just and right in harmony with
God because they seldom agree on anything and their rulings are opinions rather
than absolutes.

Getting all of Abraham's posterity to do what is just and right has been a bit of a
challenge for God down through the centuries. Some have; but typically not all.

NOTE: The Lord's prediction no doubt included Ishmael, so I wouldn't be surprised
if by the time Abraham emancipated his mom, the boy had more of "the way of the
Lord" under his belt than quite a few modern pew warmers.
_

 

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~
● Gen 18:20 . .Then the Lord said: The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so
great, and their sin so grave!

It's true that the people of Sodom indulged in sexual impurity; but that's not the
only thing about their manner of life that chafed God.

They weren't just your every-day, average garden variety of sinners. According to
Gen 13:13, they were not only very wicked sinners; but very wicked sinners
"against The Lord"; in other words: they were insolent; which Webster's defines as:
exhibiting boldness or effrontery; viz: impudence.

People like that are defiant to the bone-- they make a point of standing up to
others and asserting their independence and they don't care whose feelings get
hurt by it.

Some of The Lord's statements, spoken to shame His people, shed additional light
on the nature of Sodom's wickedness.

"For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their
actions are against The Lord, to rebel against His glorious presence. The expression
of their faces bears witness against them, and they display their sin like Sodom;
they do not even conceal it." (Isa 3:8-9)

"What I see in the prophets of Jerusalem is something horrifying: adultery and false
dealing. They encourage evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness."
(Jer 23:14)

"Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had
plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility; yet she did not support the poor and the
needy. In their haughtiness, they committed abomination before Me; and so I
removed them, as you saw." (Ezek 16:49-50)

Sodom is widely reputed for its carnal depravity. but as you can see from those
passages above, they were a whole lot more unrighteous than that. One of the
most interesting of their sins was that they did nothing to discourage wickedness.
They actually applauded evildoers and encouraged them to keep it up. Added to
that was arrogance, and a lack of charity-- indifference to the plight of the poor -
and haughtiness, dishonesty, partiality, insulting the glory and dignity of God, and
bragging about all of it.

Since God had not yet proclaimed any official laws specifically prohibiting the
Sodomites' conduct, then He really couldn't prosecute them in that respect. So
then, what was His justification for nailing them? It was for the very same attitude
that nails everybody; both pre Flood and post-Flood.

"This is the condemnation: that the light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing
evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be
exposed." (John 3:18-21)

So then, the Sodomites were not only indifferent to God's wishes; but they
deliberately avoided knowing them just as Moses' people themselves did in later
years to come.

"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their
ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone,
lest they should hear the law and the words which The Lord of hosts hath sent in
His spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from The Lord of
hosts." (Zech 7:11-12)
_

 

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~
● Gen 18:21 . . I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according
to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.

** The Hebrew word for "outcry" is the same word for the cry of Moses' people under
the heel of Egyptian slavery. (Ex 3:7-9)

The Bible says that Abraham's nephew Lot was distressed by the community's way
of life in Sodom (2Pet 2:7-8) so it's very likely that he was the source of the outcry.

Why bother to go down? Doesn't the Bible's God see all and know all? Isn't God
omniscient and isn't His spirit omnipresent? Can't He see everything from right
where He is?

Well yes; Jehovah could see and hear from Heaven everything he needed to know
about the city, but He wasn't satisfied. He had to investigate, and establish the
truth of every fact for Himself in person as on-site eye witness, before moving
against Sodom.

In future, should someone challenge The Lord by saying: How do you know Sodom
was bad? Were you there; did you actually see it yourself? Well; yes, as a matter of
fact: He was there and did actually see their bad for Himself.

● Gen 18:22 . .The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained
standing before The Lord.

A plausible scenario is that all three men began walking towards Sodom, and then
one (earlier identified as Yhvh) stayed behind to conduct a private meeting with
Abraham.

The Targums say Abraham interceded for his nephew, but it would appear from the
Scripture that he interceded not just for Lot, but also for the citizens of Sodom too.
And that's to be expected. After all, Abraham was their savior; the one who rescued
them all from that awful Chedorlaomer back in chapter fourteen. He couldn't just sit
on his hands now and let them all die without making any effort to save them from
the wrath of God.

This is somewhat ironic. It's as if Abraham saved the people from El Ched only to
be barbecued in Sodom; viz: sort of like the cops shooting a felon during his arrest,
taking him to the hospital to save his life, then hauling him into court after he's well
enough to stand trial so he can be given the gas chamber.

● Gen 18:23a . . Abraham came forward

Abraham "came forward" in that he became somewhat assertive in this next scene.
He was sort of like a godfather to the Sodomites, in spite of their decadence. That
is amazing; yet, is so typical of the really holy men in the Bible to intercede for
people who certainly didn't deserve it. (e.g. Ex 32:30-35)

There's nothing intrinsically wrong in taking the initiative to speak with God. After
all, if people always waited for God to speak first before they ever said a word in
prayer, hardly anybody would talk to God at all. Not that God is shy, it's just that
He rarely ever says anything out loud, so a normal person would tend to think The
Almighty was indifferent to His creations. But that just isn't true. We know from the
Bible that God desires a rapport with everyone.

Some people wait until they're desperate and out of options before turning to God.
But it is so insulting to treat God like a spare tire or a First Aid kit. It's better to
begin a rapport with Him early, now, before a crisis occurs. (cf. Prov 1:24-33)
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 18:23b . . and said: Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?

The answer to that is of course a resounding YES!

"I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me." (Deut
5:9)

FAQ: How is that fair: holding children responsible for what their parents do?

REPLY: Ex 20:5-- along with Ex 34:7, Num 14:18, and Deut 5:9 --is often
construed to mean that children are held responsible for their parents' sins; but
that isn't it. What we're looking at here is collateral damage. It is apparently God's
prerogative to get back at offenders by going after their posterity and/or the people
they govern.

There's a horrific example of collateral damage located at Num 16:25-34. Another
is the Flood. No doubt quite a few underage children drowned in that event due to
their parents' wickedness. The same no doubt happened to the children in Sodom
and Gomorrah. Ham's punishment for humiliating Noah was a curse upon his son
Canaan. And during Moses' face-off with Pharaoh, God moved against the man's
firstborn son along with all those of his subjects.

There are times when God chooses to punish people by going after not only
themselves; but also the things that pertain to them; including, but not limited to,
their progeny. I don't quite understand the logic of that kind of justice; but then
again: I don't try; I just go along with it; primarily because it's futile to find fault
with God; plus, handicapped with the unreliable conscience that Adam gave me due
to the forbidden-fruit incident, I'd never understand anyway.

Although Lot was living in a very bad environment, and among very bad people
who caused him much mental and emotional stress (2Pet 2:4-9) it didn't eo ipso
make Lot himself a bad man. In the final analysis, when it was time to make an end
of Sodom, God made a difference between Lot and Sodom and got him out before it
was too late. It's horrible to contemplate that some civilizations are so far gone that
it's necessary to nuke 'em from orbit and start all over from scratch.

● Gen 18:24-25 . . What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You
then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are
in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well
as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the
Judge of all the earth deal justly?

I think Abraham's question was more rhetorical than anything else. Of course the
Judge of all the earth deals justly; no true man of faith would ever seriously
question his maker's integrity.

● Gen 18:26-33 . . And The Lord answered: If I find within the city of Sodom fifty
innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake. Abraham spoke up,
saying: Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: what if
the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the
five? And He answered: I will not destroy if I find forty-five there. But he spoke to
Him again, and said: What if forty should be found there? And He answered: I will
not do it, for the sake of the forty.

. . . And he said: Let not my Lord be angry if I go on; what if thirty should be found
there? And He answered: I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said: I venture
again to speak to my Lord; what if twenty should be found there? And He
answered: I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty. And he said: Let not my
Lord be angry if I speak but this last time; what if ten should be found there? And
He answered: I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten. When The Lord had
finished speaking to Abraham, He departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

I'm guessing Abraham stopped at ten because he assumed there had to be at least
that many righteous in Sodom who didn't deserve to die; but according to Peter; he
was wrong. There was only one: and that's all there was in Noah's day too. (Gen 7:1)
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 19:1a . . And there came two angels to Sodom

The word for "angels" doesn't necessarily indicate celestial beings; because the
word is focused more on an office or a function rather than a person. According to
verse 3, these angels were capable of consuming food the same as were Abraham's
human guests up in Hebron. According to verse 10, they were gender specific; viz:
males. So from all outward appearances, these particular messengers were normal,
fully functioning human beings.

● Gen 19:1b . . in the evening,

The Hebrew word for "evening" technically means dusk; defined by Webster's as:
the darker part of twilight after sundown. It's the same word as the evenings of Gen
1:5-31.

The word is a bit ambiguous. In spite of its technical meaning; the word doesn't
always indicate sundown and/or twilight. It can also indicate the latter part of a
day, i.e. any daytime hour between high noon and sunset e.g. Sam 17:16 where
Goliath taunted Israel twice a Day-- once in the morning, and once in the
afternoon.

On the surface, the two men appear to be ordinary travelers pulling into town for
the night after a day's journey. That's a sensible choice. Sodom was walled, and
much safer than camping out in the field where they would be vulnerable to
brigands and/or wild animals. In those days, the Jordan valley had lions in it and
Canaan was still pretty much out on the lawless frontier.

NOTE: Apparently no one yet has been able to precisely pin-point the era in which
Abraham lived. If you'd like to say 2000 BC that would be as good a guess as any.

● Gen 19:1c . . as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.

It's believed by some that "sitting in the gate" indicates Lot was a member of the
town's council. Whether that's true is debatable; but for sure his primary
occupation was ranching.

In those days the gate vicinity was an important civic location-- i.e. a sort of town
square --where people could pick up the latest news and conduct public business
like elections, marriages, notary public, municipal court, rallies, and soap-box
speeches. It was in the gate of Bethlehem where Ruth's husband Boaz defended
her cause and claimed the woman of Moab for his wife. (Ruth 4)

Lot probably wrapped up every one of his days at the gate before going on home;
kind of like an ancient Miller time. Even today, either a newspaper or a television
news program caps the day for many men in America.

● Gen 19:1d . .When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them

Don't miss this man's courteous manners. Even living amongst the wickedest
people in the whole region, Lot still practiced his uncle's brand of hospitality. No
doubt a result of the years he spent under Abraham's wing. Actually Lot was a very
good man in spite of his town's reputation. He stood out like a carnation blooming
in a landfill.

● Gen 19:1e-2a . . bowing low with his face to the ground, he said: Please, my
lords, turn aside to your servant's house to spend the night, and bathe your feet;
then you may be on your way early.

Bowing low is an act of worship, courtesy, and/or deference to one's superiors. The
word is shachah (shaw-khaw') the same word used at Gen 22:5 for Abraham's
worship during the course of offering his son Isaac as a burnt offering; and during
Abraham's bargaining with Heth's kin at Gen 23:7.

The word for "lords" that Genesis' author chose for the messengers is 'adown (aw
done') which is a nondescript title of respect and can apply to ordinary human
beings like as in Rachel's respect for her father Laban in Gen 32:35.

Coupled with hospitality, was no doubt Lot's fear for these stranger's safety. Lot
knew Sodom, and knew what might happen to those men if they stayed anywhere
else but in his home and behind his walls.

Exactly why Lot took an interest in these men's safety isn't stated. It could be that
they were gentle and unarmed; thus, by all appearances, easy prey for the town's
rather undignified forms of entertainment.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 19:2b . . But they said: No, we will spend the night in the square.

Their response was most likely a customary refusal, with the intention of accepting
Lot's hospitality only after some polite resistance to test the sincerity of his offer.
Their response to Lot is somewhat different than the response of the men who
visited Abraham. Those accepted Abraham's offer immediately, and without
resistance.

● Gen 19:3 . . But he insisted, so they turned his way and entered his house. He
prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

The Hebrew word for "unleavened" basically refers to an unfermented cake or loaf;
in other words: bread made with sweet dough rather than sour.

In this day and age of cultured yeast it's not easy to explain what the Bible means
by leavened and unleavened. Well; the primary difference between the two terms
isn't ingredients; rather, the primary difference is age. Given time, dough will sour
on its own without the addition of yeast because all flour, no matter how carefully
it's milled and packaged, contains a percentage of naturally-occurring fungi; for
example:

Passover is supposed to be eaten with bread made from fresh dough rather than
dough that's given time to sit around long enough to spoil. Sourdough bread is safe
for human consumption, but it doesn't convey a spirit of urgency like when you're
in a hurry and/or time is a factor, for example:

"This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on
your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste" (Ex 12:11)

"And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very
large number of livestock. And they baked the dough which they had brought out of
Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they
were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions
for themselves." (Ex 12:38-39)

● Gen 19:4 . .They had not yet lain down, when the townspeople, the men of
Sodom, young and old-- all the people to the last man --gathered about the house.

The word for "men" is somewhat ambiguous that basically means: a mortal, i.e. a
human being in general (singly or collectively). So it wasn't only the males; it was
everybody, young and old, gathered around Lot's door. All of the women, all of the
kids, and all of the men. The entire town. It was an event,

● Gen 19:5a . . And they shouted to Lot and said to him: Where are the men who
came to you tonight?

Everyone was bellowing and clamoring; like impatient fans at wrestling matches,
cage fights, and Roman coliseums; demanding their pound of flesh and pools of
blood.

● Gen 19:5b . . Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.

Since all the people of Sodom were in on this-- men, women, children, old and
young alike --it becomes frightfully obvious the townsfolk desired far more than
just stimulating gratification. They were looking for entertainment of the vilest sort
imaginable. Jude 1:7 states that the people were accustomed to "strange flesh" which suggests bestiality.

Other than Jude's information, the Bible is silent on this matter. It's as if the author
drew a curtain over Sodom and said: This is just too shocking. I'm not going to
spell out what the people of Sodom wanted to do with the two men under Lot's
roof. You will just have to use your imagination.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 19:6-7 . . So Lot went out to them to the entrance, shut the door behind
him, and said: I beg you, my friends, do not commit such a wrong.

No doubt those people interpreted Lot's comment that they were "wrong" as
judgmental. It was certain to provoke a hostile response in the typically indignant
manner in which evil people can be expected to act when somebody criticizes their
conduct.

● Gen 19:8 . . Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me
bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please; but do not do
anything to these men, since they have come under the shelter of my roof.

A culture that would sacrifice its own family members to protect the guests under
its roof is difficult for westerners to understand; for example pashtunwali, the
culture of the Pashtun people of Afghanistan. One of its principles-- nanawatai
(asylum) --refers to the protection given to a person against his or her enemies.
People are protected at all costs; even those running from the law must be given
refuge until the situation can be clarified. This was demonstrated when Osama bin
Laden was provided special protection by a group of Pashtuns in Abbottabad.

Nanawatai can also be applied when the vanquished party in a dispute is prepared
to go in to the house of the victors and ask for their forgiveness. (It is a peculiar
form of chivalrous surrender, in which an enemy seeks sanctuary at his enemy's
house). A notable example is that of Navy Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell,
the sole survivor of a US Navy SEAL team ambushed by Taliban fighters. Wounded,
he evaded the enemy and was aided by members of the Sabray tribe who took him
to their village. The tribal chief protected him, fending off attacking tribes until word
was sent to nearby US forces.

● Gen 19:9a . . But they said: Step aside! This fellow; they said; came here as an
alien, and already he acts the judge!

People like the Sodomites instinctively know that what they're doing is bad, but
God pity the soul that dares to tell them so because their kind's feelings don't get
hurt by criticism; instead, they get angry.

Lot called them friends, but when push came to shove, they regarded him as an
outsider. And one thing you just don't do as an outsider is impose either your
values or your beliefs upon others. They will deeply resent you for it-- whether you
are right or wrong has nothing to do with it.

● Gen 19:9a . . Now we will deal worse with you than with them. And they pressed
hard against the person of Lot, and moved forward to break the door.

Talk about a thoughtless lynch mob! Those people totally forgot that not that long
ago Lot's uncle saved them all from slavery in a foreign land-- and this is how they
reciprocate Abraham's kindness; by assaulting his nephew?

● Gen 19:9b-11 . . But the men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the
house with them, and shut the door. And the people who were at the entrance of
the house, young and old, they struck with blinding light, so that they were helpless
to find the entrance.

(chuckle) That'll learn em' to keep one eye shut when somebody trips a flare. The
flash was totally unexpected and must have startled Lot right out of his socks. Up
to now, he was given no hint that the two men under his roof were anything but
ordinary travelers. "Jiminy! Where did all that light come from? There was no
thunder. Was it some sort of stealth lightening? How'd you guys do that anyway? Is
it patented?"

Normally it takes about twenty minutes for visual purple in the human eye to adjust
to darkness after a sudden burst of bright light. The flash didn't actually damage
anyone's eyesight so that they weren't blind. It just made their surroundings difficult
to see, like when someone pops your photo in dim light with a camera.

The situation now takes on a desperate atmosphere of survival. The crowd has
turned into an ugly mob; and it's fight or flight-- no other options. The Lord's
messengers chose flight because their purpose was not to remain in Sodom, but to
leave it in ashes.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 19:12-13 . .Then the men said to Lot: Whom else have you here? Sons-in
law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city-- bring them
out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against
them before The Lord has become so great that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.

Lot's head must have been reeling. Only just a few hours ago he was laid back,
catching up on all the latest news and gossip at the gate; and on the way home to
eat dinner with his family at the end of another routine day. In a succession of
rapidly developing events beyond his control; within 24 hours, before the next
sunrise, he would lose his home, his way of life, all his friends, his career, and all
the wealth and possessions and property and livestock the Lots had accumulated in
the 24 years they had lived in the land of Canaan.

My gosh! He is so caught off guard and must have been terribly shocked at the tone
of those two men. The awful realization of who they were and why they came to
Sodom slowly began to gel in his befuddled mind.

I feel so sorry for him and his family. Calamity, like a 9.0 earthquake right out of
the blue, pounced on them, and came to ruin their life. They will take nothing with
them but some suit cases, the clothes on their backs, and the breath in their lungs.
Lot was a well-to-do cattle baron; but he is just a few hours away from poverty and
losing his entire life's work in a fiery inferno. (cf. 1Cor 3:11-15)

** Lot's kin were given the same opportunity as Noah's in that no matter whether
they were pious or impious, deserving or undeserving, they had the option of going
out with Lot to safety if they wanted.

● Gen 19:14a . . So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his
daughters,

It's been questioned that in a town famous for its gay men; what's with these
marriages? Well; Genesis doesn't really say that Sodom's men were strictly gay.
It's far more likely their sexual mores were liberal to the Nth degree.

"Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these,
having given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set
forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (Jude 1:7)

The Greek word for "fornication" in Jude's statement is ekporneuo (ek-porn-yoo'-o)
which means: to be utterly unchaste.

A complete lack of chastity is exemplified by any number of immoral activities
including, but not limited to immodesty, indecency, public exposure, nudity,
adultery, incest, living together, casual sex, swinger sex, wife swapping, sex
between consenting adults, sex between consenting minors, sex between teachers
and consenting students, sex with a sex toy, sex with a mannequin and/or sex with
an inflatable doll, male and/or female prostitution, LGBT, suggestive postures, etc.

To be "utterly" unchaste implies not just a preference for those kinds of carnal
gratifications, but an addiction to them.

** I'm guessing the town's interest in Lot's guests probably had less to do with their
gender and mostly to do with their being new in town, i.e. "fresh meat" so to
speak.

Sons-in-law and daughters are plural. So Lot had at least two more daughters living
outside the home with husbands. They will stay behind; and burn to death; and so
will Lot's grandchildren, if any.

Where were the sons-in-law when the flash went off back in verse 11? Didn't it
affect them? The flash actually only effected those who tried to break down the
door. Lot's sons-in-law were out in the streets that night along with everyone else
because Genesis said in verse 4 that everyone in Sodom to the last man was
present. Apparently, after the mob's attempt to lay hands on the angels proved
unsuccessful, Lot's sons-in-law remained nearby to see what would happen next.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 19:14b . . and said: Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy
the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a jester.

In other words: they regarded Lot's alarm as that of a religious crackpot sort of
similar to the ones in our day whose doom's day predictions have yet proven worth
taking seriously.

Lot's daughters had married Sodom men, with very sorrowful results. His in-laws
didn't share his religious principles, and they had no interest whatsoever in his god.
The husbands were counted among Sodom's citizens who were "very wicked
sinners against the Lord."

Sodom was not only a bad environment for a man of God to build a life and a
career, but it was also a very bad place to raise a family. Lot gave his daughters in
matrimony to unholy men and now the girls are going to die right along with the
rest of Sodom; and possibly some of Lot's grandchildren burned to death too. The
loss of one's family is a high price to pay to achieve one's personal ambitions.

● Gen 19:15-16a . . As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying: Up, take your
wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the
iniquity of the city. Still he delayed.

The Hebrew word for "delayed" basically means: to question or hesitate, i.e. (by
implication) to be reluctant; viz: hang back.

I can best picture this with a scene from John Steinbeck's novel: The Grapes Of
Wrath. When the day came for the Joad clan to move out of their shack from the
impoverished Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California during the economic depression of
the 1930s, Ma Joad spent a few last minutes alone inside going through a box of
mementos.

She had lived in Oklahoma many years, since she was a young bride-- raised her
family there and enjoyed the company of her kin. As she held up an old pair of
earrings, looking at herself in a mirror, it pierced her heart to see etched in her face
the many years that she had lived as a hard-scrabble sharecropper; and that it was
all now coming to naught. Her clapboard home was soon to be flattened by a
bulldozer.

I can imagine that the Lots walked through the rooms in their house, reminiscing all
the things that took place in their home over the years. As the girls grew up,
maturing into young women, they made marks each year on a doorjamb to record
their height. They looked at the beds where each girl slept for so many nights from
their youth; and Mrs. Lot thought back to the days when she gave homebirth to
each one in turn, read bedtime stories, and rocked them all to sleep accompanied
by soft lullabies.

Leaving a home of many years rends the soul; most especially if kids grew up there
too. When I was about eleven, my parents sold the place where I had lived since
toddlerhood. I had a life there out in nature with boyhood pals: fishing and hunting
and exploring. It was so idyllic. Then we moved.

I was never the same after that. My heart was in that first home and never left it.
Subsequently, I became withdrawn, introverted, and disconnected; never really
succeeding in replacing my boyhood pals with new friends who could give me a
sense of belonging.

When ol' Harry Truman perished in the Mount Ste. Helens blast back in 1980, I
totally understood why he chose to remain instead of fleeing to safety. That
mountain, and his lodge, had been an integral part of Harry's life for just too many
years. Mr. Truman felt that if that mountain went, then life wouldn't be worth living
any more. He decided to go with the mountain rather than see it go and leave him
behind to live without it.

● Gen 19:14b . . and said: Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy
the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a jester.

In other words: they regarded Lot's alarm as that of a religious crackpot sort of
similar to the ones in our day whose doom's day predictions have yet proven worth
taking seriously.

Lot's daughters had married Sodom men, with very sorrowful results. His in-laws
didn't share his religious principles, and they had no interest whatsoever in his god.
The husbands were counted among Sodom's citizens who were "very wicked
sinners against the Lord."

Sodom was not only a bad environment for a man of God to build a life and a
career, but it was also a very bad place to raise a family. Lot gave his daughters in
matrimony to unholy men and now the girls are going to die right along with the
rest of Sodom; and possibly some of Lot's grandchildren burned to death too. The
loss of one's family is a high price to pay to achieve one's personal ambitions.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● Gen 19:16b . . So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two
daughters-- in the Lord's mercy on him-- and brought him out and left him outside
the city.

The Hebrew word for "mercy" in that verse basically means: commiseration; which
Webster's defines as: feeling sympathy for and/or feeling sorrow or compassion for.
Unless one's feelings are in the mix, their commiseration is merely polite.

Does anybody out there reading this feel the plight of Lot's family? Can you feel any
of their pain? Can you feel their sorrow? Do you feel any sympathy for them at all?
None? Well . . anyway; God did. Yes, He was going to burn their home down and
kill the daughters who stayed behind. But God took no pleasure in it whatsoever.

"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering
like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that The Lord brought on me in the day
of his fierce anger?" (Lam 1:12)

Is the Lot family's fate nothing to you-- all you online who journey with me today
through the 19th chapter of Genesis? Just another Bible story? Well . . those were
real people you know.

● 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.
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)

"good character" in this instance is related to Lot's association with God. Watch now
as he resists God's leading.

● 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 opposes his master's
instructions. Next, he expresses gratitude for the successful rescue, yet implies his
rescuer doesn't know what He's doing by sending him 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.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
● 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 spared.

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.

The Hebrew word for Zoar basically 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 basically means unending; viz: perpetual.

Opponents contend that if the fire really was unending then 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 was turned into salt after their
arrival in Zoar rather than along the way. I can only imagine how the sudden death
of his wife-- so soon after the destruction of their home --must have effected Lot's
will to go on.

The Hebrew word translated "pillar" rarely refers to monuments. It mostly refers to
remote outposts, viz: garrisons (e.g. 2Sam 8:6) suggesting that Mrs. Lot's pillar
was isolated and stood out in that region like a wart on the end of your nose.

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; and perhaps even rebuild their previous life there.

It's tragic, but Mrs. Lot had to die; it was likely a preventative measure. Were she
allowed to go back to Sodom, no doubt Lot would have followed her back there like
a sheep to the slaughter just like when Adam tasted the forbidden fruit when his
wife offered him some; knowing he wasn't supposed to.

● Gen 19:27-28 . . Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood
before the Lord, and, looking down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of
the Plain, he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a kiln.

Poor guy. Now he began the very same vigil that so many relatives of airline
crashes suffer, waiting for some news, hoping against hope, that their loved ones
somehow survived. And if they didn't, were their bodies recovered? Abraham really
did love his nephew. I think it saddened the old boy's heart when Lot went off on
his own down into the valley. If only he had stayed in the place of blessing, up in
the highlands, this wouldn't have happened. And you know what goes through your
mind at a time like that? "Would of - Should of - Could of". Sort of like closing the
gate after the horses are already out.
_