Lot entertaineth two angels. CHRIST 1898. CHAP. XVIII, XIX. The wickedness of the Sodomites. CHRIST 1898. Before as soon as he had left communing servant's house, and tarry all night, Before with Abraham and Abraham returned unto his place. CHAP. XIX. 1 Lot entertaineth two angels. 4 The vicious AND there came two angels to and a wash your feet, and ye shall 3 And he pressed upon them greatly; 4 ¶ But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: Sodom at even; and Lot sat in unto with all perseverance;" without fainting indeed but "with all humility of mind." Though Abraham did not succeed for the guilty Sodom, his intercession was powerful to save Lot, and the righteous part of his family. And one of the five cities, Zoar, as appears from the next chapter, was saved by the sole intercession of Lot; and by a gracious impossibility, Sodom itself, the largest and the guiltiest, could not be destroyed, while one righteous person remained therein. These are remarkable and comfortable instances of the mighty efficacy of intercession before the throne of grace. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," not only for himself, but for his family and friends, and for his country, and even for strangers. While the destruction of Sodom, because there were not ten righteous found therein, furnishes a most awful and awakening example, that every obstinate and incorrigible sinner is not only an enemy to himself, but an enemy to his family and to his country, by contributing to swell the tide of national guilt, which will not fail to end in national calamity, whenever the measure of the iniquity of the individuals that compose the community, shall come to the full. Dr. Hales. In this chapter we find the holy Patriarch Abraham interceding with the Lord for sinful Sodom: and we find, such is the amazing extent of Divine mercy, that had there been only ten righteous persons in the city, the rest would have been spared for their sakes. But the corruption was universal; and Abraham himself could interfere no longer. "The Lord left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.' Bp. Horne. a Chap. 18. 4. many hundred years have past, since that astonishing catastrophe took place, yet the history should answer the same purpose now, that the event itself was designed to do then. No time can destroy the efficacy of this salutary medicine for the disorders of the world. Virtue and vice are not changeable things: they continue still the same, and there is no alteration in the Divine decrees concerning them. Sooner or later, in this life or in the next, a deliverance similar to that of Lot will be granted to the righteous: a destruction, answering to that of Sodom, will be the portion of the wicked. For, as St. Peter argues on the subject, “If God turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:-the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." Bp. Horne. Ver. 1.- Lot sat in the gate of Sodom:] People might sit in the gate anciently for conversation and diversion, as they do now among the Arabs, in markets and fairs. Lot seems to have placed himself in the gate after this manner, for amusement and society. Harmer. 2.-turn in, I pray you, &c.] In the Eastern countries of late some few caravansaries have been set up, but in Lot's time there were no inns for the accommodation of strangers; so that travellers, unless invited to a private house, were forced to lie all night in the streets. It was customary therefore for those of the better sort to receive travellers, whether or not they knew them, into their houses, and entertain them with great civility. For this reason we meet, both in sacred Chap. XIX. Extraordinary interpositions of Provi- and profane authors, with such large commendations of dence demand extraordinary attention. If God speaks, this act of hospitality; and particularly in the Epistle it is but reasonable that man should hear. And when to the Hebrews, chap. xiii. 2, we have a precept to this He executed the vengeance recorded in this chapter, effect, alluding to this very history: "Be not forgetful He certainly spake in an audible voice to the hopes and to entertain strangers; for thereby some have enterfears of all the dwellers upon earth. By the deliver-tained angels unawares." Stackhouse. ance vouchsafed to His righteous servant, He encou- 3.—unleavened bread,] Because it would be soonest raged the hopes of such as, like him, preserved their integrity in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; while by the unparalleled destruction of the cities of the plain, He alarmed the fears of those, who resembled them in impiety and iniquity. And though so ready. 5. - that we may know them.] This vile sin, so hateful to God, and repugnant to human nature, continued among the Gentiles till the Apostles' time, as may be gathered from Rom. i. 27, and 1 Cor. vi. 9. It was Lot and his family Before CHRIST 1898. b Wisd. 19. 17. c Chap. 18. 20. GENESIS. 6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. 8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. 9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. 11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. 12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-inlaw, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. expressly forbidden by the law of Moses, Levit. xviii. 22, and thereby made capital, chap. xx. 13, as it is also by our English laws. Stackhouse. 7.- do not so wickedly.] As to break the rights of hospitality, and violate the laws of nature. Bp. Patrick. 8.- Behold now, I have two daughters &c.] If we may not do any evil, to procure a positive good, certainly much less may we do one evil, to avoid or prevent another. Lot should have resolved, rather to suffer any evil, than to do any. He should rather have adventured his own life, and their's too, in protecting the chastity of his daughters, and the safety of his guests, than have offered the exposal of his daughters to the lusts of the Sodomites, though it were to redeem his guests from the abuse of fouler and more abominable filthiness. There is no perplexity, no necessity, no obligation, no expediency, which should either enforce or persuade us to any sin. The resolution, "Let us do evil, that good may come," is pronounced by an Apostle to be worthy of condemnation. Bp. Sanderson. 14.—which married his daughters,] Or, were to marry that is, were betrothed or espoused to his daughters. Bp. Wilson. But he seemed as one that mocked] Lot warns his sons-in-law like a prophet, and advises them like a are sent out of Sodom. 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-inlaw. Before CHRIST 1898. 15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou + Heb. are be consumed in the || iniquity of the || Or, punishcity. found. ment. 16 And while he lingered, the d Wisd. 10. 6. men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. 17 ¶ And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20 Behold now, this city is near to father; but both in vain: he seems to them as if he mocked, and they do more than seem to mock him again. "Why should to morrow differ from other days? Who ever saw it rain fire? Or whence should that brimstone come? Or if such showers must fall, how shall nothing burn but this valley?" So to carnal men preaching is foolishness, devotion idleness, the Prophets madmen, Paul a babbler: these men's incredulity is as worthy of the fire, as the others' uncleanness. "He that believeth not, is condemned already." Bp. Hall. 16.-while he lingered,] It is observable that Lot, though he fully believed there should be a performance of the things which were told him, yet made not that haste to get out of the city, which the case required. How apt is the sinner to linger and to put off his repentance! How often is God forced, as it were, to arrest him by sickness or some grievous calamity, and so to drag him from perdition! And O! how merciful is the Lord to that man, whom by any means, however painful and afflicting, He bringeth forth into safety, and setteth him without the city! Let such an one hear the voice of his gracious Deliverer, saying to him in the person of Lot, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee; neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed."-Escape, O sinner, for thine eternal life : look not behind thee on the pleasures thou hast left, neither let thine affections stay upon the earth; escape to the holy mountain, lest thou be consumed with the world. Bp. Horne. 22.-I cannot do any thing &c.] Having made thee this promise, I must defer the vengeance till thou art safe there. Bp. Patrick. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.] Signifying "little" for the name of it was Bela before, chap. xiv. 2. Bp. Wilson. In times of publick calamity, there is often some little Zoar provided for them that love God, where they are wonderfully preserved from the judgments that fall on their country and their kindred. The Roman armies, which surrounded Jerusalem, to execute on it the vengeance predicted, drew off in an unaccountable manner, as if their design had been to give the Christians contained within its walls an opportunity of withdrawing to a little adjoining city called Pella, which proved a Zoar to them: from whence they beheld the Roman eagles fly again to devour their destined prey. And what is the Church upon earth, but a Zoar, a little city, (is it not a little one?) spared at the intercession of its Lord? Here the penitent, not yet strong enough to escape to the heavenly mountain, findeth rest and refreshment, and is strengthened to pursue his journey. Hither let him escape, and his soul shall live. Bp. Horne. 24 Then the LORD rained upon CHRIST Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim- 1898. stone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 ¶ And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: e Deut. 29.23. Jer. 50. 40. Jude 7. it was afterwards overflowed by the waters of the Jordan, which diffused itself there, and formed "the Dead sea," or "Lake of Sodom," called also "the Lake Asphaltites," because of the asphaltus or bitumen, with which it abounded; and "the Salt sea," because the Hebrews call nitre and bitumen salt. The Prophets speak often of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and say that these places shall be desert, dried up, and uninhabited; covered with briers and brambles; a land of salt and sulphur, where there can be neither planting nor sowing. Josephus says, that round about the Lake of Sodom, and about the cities heretofore destroyed by fire from heaven, the land is all burnt up, and there are still to be seen the dismal effects of this terrible burning, and the remains of those unfortunate cities. Heathen writers give accounts much to the same effect: especially Tacitus, who says that these cities were burnt by the stroke of thunderbolts from heaven; and that vestiges of that destruction remained, the earth itself being in appearance burnt up, and having lost its prolifick power: and the air being infected with the same noisome qualities. Modern travellers speak in like manner of the saltness of the water; of the unwholesomeness of the air; of the bitumen, gathered on the neighbouring mountains, and covering the stones on the side of the lake; and of a sort of black sulphureous stones, abounding on the shores of the lake and on the neighbouring hills, which being held in the flame of a candle soon burn, and yield a smoke of an intolerable stench. Calmet, Bps. Patrick and Pococke, Maundrell. 24. Then the Lord rained- from the Lord] In the account of the overthrow of Sodom, there is a distinction of persons in the Godhead: "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven." The former was the 26. But his wife looked back &c.] There are in Lot's risible LORD, “the image," or representative, "of the story two very notable memorials of God's judgment, invisible," whom "no man hath seen at any time, nor The Lake of Sodom, and Lot's wife's pillar. The one, can see; nor ever saw his shape, nor heard his voice;" the punishment of resolute sin; the other, of faint as we learn from the former; who only could expound virtue. For the Sodomites are an example of impenito mortals the nature and the will of the Father: for tent wilful sinners: and Lot's wife, of unpersevering "no man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to and relapsing righteous persons. So that there are two whomsoever the Son will reveal him." Compare Col. sorts of men, to whom these particulars are fitted. To i. 15; John i. 18; v. 37; 1 Tim. vi. 16; Matt. xi. 27. those in a state of sin, the Lake of Sodom: to those in That the visible LORD was the Son of God, was the doc- a state of grace, Lot's wife's pillar. To the first, in a trine of the primitive Church: Tertullian says, "It is state of sin, Moses proposeth "the vine of Sodom," and the Son, who has executed judgment from the begin- the grapes of Gomorrah, which, if you but touch them, ring: overthrowing the proud tower of Babel, and conturn to ashes. To the others, in a state of grace, Christ founding men's languages; punishing the whole world proposeth the pillar of salt: "Remember Lot's wife." by the violence of waters; raining upon Sodom and Go-To the one Jeremiah crieth, that when they have morrah fire and brimstone, the LORD FROM THE LORD." "fallen," they should "arise again" to the others St. Dr. Hales. Paul saith, "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah] And the neigh-heed lest he fall:" Deut. xxxii. 32; Luke xvii. 32; Jer. bouring cities, Admah and Zeboim; as appears from viii. 4; 1 Cor. x. 12. Bp. Andrewes. Deut. xxix. 23. Bp. Patrick. brimstone and fire] The plain where these cities stood, which had been pleasant and fruitful, like an earthly Paradise, was first inflamed by lightning, which set fire to the bitumen, with which it was replete; and — a pillar of salt.] It is probable that some of the dreadful shower, which destroyed the cities of the plain, overtook her; and falling upon her, wrapped her body in a sheet of nitro-sulphureous matter; which congealed into a crust as hard as stone, and made her appear like Lot dwelleth in a cave. Before CHRIST 1898. GENESIS. Before CHRIST 1898. The origin of Moab and Ammon. 28 And he looked toward Sodom | morrow, that the firstborn said unto and Gomorrah, and toward all the the younger, Behold, I lay yesterland of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, night with my father: let us make the smoke of the country went up as him drink wine this night also; and the smoke of a furnace. go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. 30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she laid down, nor when she arose. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. CHAP. XX. 1 Abraham sojourneth at Gerar, 2 denieth his wife, and loseth her. 3 Abimelech is reproved for her in a dream. 9 He rebuketh Abraham, 14 restoreth Sarah, 16 and reproveth her. 17 He is healed by Abraham's prayer. 1897. 34 And it came to pass on the AND Abraham journeyed from about 1898. a pillar of salt, her body being, as it were, candied with it. Josephus says, that the pillar was remaining in his time. Bps. Patrick and Wilson. 66 28.- and, lo, the smoke of the country went up &c.] "As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man :" when that last morning shall dawn, and the Sun of Righteousness shall arise in glorious majesty upon the earth. No sooner shall He make His appearance, than the heavens, being on fire at His presence, shall be dissolved, and pass away with a great noise: the earth also, with the works that are therein, shall be burned up. Then shall be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Psalmist in terms evidently borrowed from the history before us: Upon the ungodly He shall rain fire and brimstone, storm and tempest: this shall be their portion." What Sodom was, the world shall be: and at the last day, when we shall arise and look towards the place, where its pleasures and delights, its beauties and glories once existed, as "Abraham arose in the morning, and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the cities of the plain," we shall behold a sight like that which presented itself to the Patriarch," the smoke of the country going up, as the smoke of a furnace." But the same all-gracious and merciful God, who, "when He destroyed the cities of the plain, remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow;" when He shall destroy this place wherein we dwell, will remember the true Abraham, the Father of us all, our dear Redeemer and Intercessor: and for His sake, if we now repent and believe in Him, will save us in that day from the ruins of a burning world, and from those fires which are never to be extinguished. Bp. Horne. thence toward the south country, 33. And they made their father drink wine] We must be convinced of the frailty of nature, without the grace of God, when we read the account of Lot's intemperance after so great a deliverance; and if we have any concern for our salvation, we shall dread a vice, which will lead a man to the greatest crimes. Bp. Wilson. 36. Thus were both the daughters of Lot &c.] One circumstance must be remembered by those, who would understand the scope and design of the sacred writer, in furnishing us with particular relations contained in this book; which is, that he always kept in mind the promise of the Messiah, and was desirous of shewing, that the expectation of this great object of the Jewish hopes was predominant in all times, and influenced the opinions and manners of every generation. The recollection of this will furnish the reason of many particulars mentioned in the book, which might otherwise appear extraordinary and exceptionable. It will perhaps serve to explain the conduct of Lot's daughters; the violent desire of Sarah for a son; the solicitude of Isaac to remove the barrenness of Rebekah; and the contention between the wives of Jacob. In conformity with this design also Moses relates the jealousies between Ishmael and Isaac; and between Esau and Jacob; and many other minute and singular particulars, which an historian of his dignity would not have condescended to describe, but with a view to illustrate the general persuasion of, and gradual preparation for, the coming of the Messiah. Dr. Gray. Chap. XX. ver. 1.—journeyed from thence] That is, from Mamre, probably to avoid the stench of the vale of Siddim, and on occasion of the destruction of Sodom, of which he was an eye-witness. Stackhouse, Bp. Kidder. Abraham denieth his wife. CHRIST CHAP. XX. Before and dwelled between Kadesh and about 1995. Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. + Heb. married to an husband. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. 4 But Abimelech had not come near her and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? toward the south country,] Towards Egypt. Bp. Patrick. Gerar.] Gerar was a regal city situated not far from the angle, where the south and west sides of Palestine meet and the country, to which it gave the name, extended itself pretty far into Arabia Petrea. Beer-sheba signifies the well of the oath, because here Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, king of Gerar, concerning a well which he had digged hard by: here he likewise planted a grove, and instituted an oratory, or place of divine worship; and here in process of time was a city or considerable town built, taken notice of by heathen authors under the name of Berzimma, or Bersabe. Kadesh was a city, lying on the edge of the land of Canaan, to the south of Hebron. Shur was the name of that part of Arabia Petrea, which joins Egypt and the Red Sea; and somewhere between these two was the well, near which Abraham, when he left Mamre, fixed his habitation. Stackhouse. 2. And Abraham said of Sarah &c.] See the note on chap. xii. 13. It is still more extraordinary, that Abraham failed under the same trial twenty-three years after his former failure: when he again denied his wife to Abimelech, whose character and that of his people was the reverse of that of the Egyptian court; for he took her" in the integrity of his heart," and his nation was then "righteous." God therefore dealt more gently with him than with the Egyptians; and removed the plague of barrenness from him and his household, on Abraham's intercession. Dr. Hales. Abimelech] The name of all the kings of Palestine, as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egypt. Bp. Patrick. 3.-in a dream] God revealed Himself and His will frequently in old times, especially before the sealing of the Scripture-canon, in sundry manners: as by visions, prophecies, ecstasies, oracles, and other supernatural means; among the rest by dreams. By such supernatural revelations He imparted His will, not only to the godly and faithful, though more frequently and especially to them; but sometimes also to hypocrites within the church, as to Saul and others; and sometimes even to heathens out of the church, as to Pharaoh, Balaam, Nebuchadnezzar, &c. and here to Abimelech. But since the writings of the Prophets and Apostles were made up, the Scripture-canon sealed, and the Christian church by the preaching of the Gospel became universal; dreams, and other supernatural revelations, as also other things of like nature, as miracles, and all the more immediate and extraordinary manifestations of the will and power of God, have ceased to be of ordinary and familiar use: so that now, we ought rather to suspect delusion in them, than to expect direction from them. Bp. Sanderson. Abimelech is reproved for her. Before 5 Said he not unto me, She is my CHRIST sister? and she, even she herself said, about 1898. He is my brother: in the integrity || Or, of my heart and innocency of my simplicity, or, hands have I done this. 6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt sincerity. thou art but a dead man,] That is, thou shalt certainly die. But then there is a condition implied in this as in other threats; namely, " If he did not restore Abraham his wife." See Jonah iii. 4; Ezek. xxxiii. 14, 15. Besides, the words imply what punishment adultery deserves in God's account. Bp. Kidder. 5. Said he not unto me, She is my sister?] Abimelech, an heathen man, who had not the knowledge of the true God of heaven to direct him in the right way; and withal a King, who had therefore none upon earth above him, to controul him if he should transgress; would yet have abhorred to have defiled himself knowingly by adultery with another man's wife, although the man were but a stranger, and the woman exceeding beautiful. Certainly Abimelech shall one day rise up in judgment, and condemn thy filthiness and injustice, whosoever thou art, that committest, or causest another to commit, adultery: "who knowing the judgment of God, that they which do such things are worthy of death, either dost the same thyself, or hast pleasure in them that do them;" or being in place and office to punish incontinent persons, dost at once both criminate thy own conscience, and embolden the adulterer to commit that sin again without fear, from which he hath once escaped without shame. Bp. Sanderson. - in the integrity of my heart] Not with any intention to defile her, but to make her my wife: and innocency of my hands; I did not take her by violence from Abraham, but he and she consented to it. Bp. Patrick. 6. — I also withheld thee from sinning] It was God's great mercy to all the three parties, that He did not suffer this evil to be done: for by this means He graciously preserved Abimelech from the sin, Abraham from the wrong, and Sarah from both. And it is to be acknowledged the great mercy of God, when at any time He doth (and He doth often more or less) by His gracious and powerful restraint withhold any man from running into those extremities of sin and mischief, whereinto his own corruption would carry him headlong, especially when it is inflamed by the cunning persuasions of Satan, and the manifold temptations that are in the world through lust. Bp. Sanderson. 7.— he is a prophet,] This is the first time we meet with the word Prophet; and Abraham is the first that is honoured with this name. It signifies one admitted to a nearer intercourse with God; so as to be allowed to consult Him, and to declare His mind and will to others; and also to prevail with Him by prayer to confer blessings upon them. Bp. Patrick. See note on Numb. xi. 25. he shall pray for thee,] Though God can give His blessing without the intercession of any of His servants, yet it is plain that He has otherwise ordered it. |