The Wickedness of Sodom (Gen 19:1-11)

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting at the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” “Get out of our way,” they replied. And they said, “This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

1.      Lot knew the wickedness of the people of Sodom. This is why he insisted that the two visitors stay at his house instead of the town square. What might have been some reasons that Lot chose to live in Sodom even though he knew the people were wicked?   (Ezek 16:49-50)

2.      The men of Sodom gathered outside the house of Lot and wanted to have sex with the two visitors. Lot tried to persuade them to have sex with his two virgin daughters instead but they refused. What does this say about the depravity of the people?  Why do evil tendencies in society tend to grow and become acceptable? How do laws, customs and traditions help to control these evil tendencies?

3.      The two visitors, who were angels, rescued Lot by striking the men with blindness “so they could not find the door.” It seems that the men were so inflamed with lust that they continued to search for the door to find the two visitors. The blindness should have served as a warning, but they ignored it. What kinds of lusts drive people to destructive behaviors?