Daily Devotions
Genesis
"For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more." Psalm 37:10
Text: Genesis 19:1-38
THE RANK WICKEDNESS OF SODOM
Few things could rankle the heart more than this text that described the terrible wickedness of the denizens of Sodom.
“Now before they lay down, the men of the city,
the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people
from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called
to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you
tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”GENESIS 19:4-5
With great brazenness, the perverted populace turned up in alarming force to demand the release of the angelic visitors so that they may “know them carnally”. (The root of the term “sodomy” may be traced all the way back to the wicked city of Sodom)! The Sodomites were planning to gang rape the angelic visitors if they could but lay hands on them. Who were these perpetrators? With a great sense of candor, the text described “both old and young, all the people, from every quarter, surrounded the house”!
LOT’S PLEA TO THE CITIZENS OF SODOM
Lot showed great courage as he stepped out of his house to address the restive crowd. Perhaps he counted on his standing in the community to cool the rabble.
“So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door
behind him, and said, ‘Please, my brethren, do not do
so wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not
known a man; please, let me bring them out to you,
and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing
to these men, since this is the reason they have come under
the shadow of my roof.”GENESIS 19:6-8
1. A vain plea
Lot put everything he had in his plea to the Sodomites! The men had come under his roof. Custom dictated that they would be under his protection. Lot felt honour-bound to protect them in every way possible! How effective would that plea be to people who were so degenerated they planned to gang rape the two angelic visitors!
2. An astonishing bargain
Lot offered his two virgin daughters to the men of Sodom, if they would just drop their demand concerning the two men he had taken into his house! What could Lot be thinking of when he said, “You may do with them as you wish?” How could he make such an offer – even if he wanted to protect his angelic guests?
Had his years of dwelling among the wicked affected him so much that he was willing to risk ruining the lives of his own daughters?