Genesis 19: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

【Sermon Introduction】 

Good morning, everyone.

I will review the previous session. We learned what kind of town Sodom was. 

The Bible text says a “outcry” had gone up (18:20), but it was “institutionalized cruelty.” 

Prohibition of Charity: Under Sodom’s laws, giving food to the poor was punishable by death. 

The Identity of the “Outcry”: According to the Midrash, one of Lot’s daughters was discovered hiding bread to give to a poor person, and the people of Sodom tried to burn her to death. 

It is said that her death agony cry reached heaven, and God’s judgment was determined. 

Sodom was the ultimate extreme of “prosperity without love.” 

Their sin was the social structure itself that trampled on the weak.

This morning’s Genesis chapter 19 is a very heavy chapter within the Bible. 

Just hearing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah brings up images of judgment, anger, and destruction.

The current age, like Sodom, is rampant with moral decay, violence, and self-centeredness. However, the core of this story is not a simple morality tale of “a bad town getting destroyed.” 

It is a “Chapter of Grace and Mercy” about “how one believer, deeply immersed in sin, was rescued.” And, God’s amazing “reversal of grace” is hidden within it.

In the center is a figure named Lot. He is by no means perfect. 

He has weaknesses and errors in judgment. 

However, Lot had a “one point of righteousness” that he never threw away, even in the darkness. 

And God remembered that one point.

The structure of the text is the following 4 items:

• Verses 1-9: Lot welcoming the travelers (angels) and the extreme wickedness of the men of the town.
• Verses 10-23: The evacuation of Lot’s family by the angels and Lot’s “hesitation.”
• Verses 24-29: The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s wife becoming a pillar of salt.
• Verses 30-38: The actions of Lot and his daughters in the cave, and the origins of the Moabites and Ammonites.

Today, let us savor Genesis chapter 19 as a whole chapter and receive God’s message that resonates with our lives.

• Verses 1-9: The Angels and Lot in Sodom 

Background of the text: In chapter 18, three angels visited Abraham, but here only two come to Sodom. 

The Rabbis teach a principle that “one angel does not perform two missions.” 

The two who came to Sodom were Gabriel and Michael; Michael also bore the mission of rescuing Lot. 

This can be confirmed by the fact that in chapter 19 verse 22, “I cannot do anything” is spoken in the singular form.

“Lot sitting in the gateway”: A man who looked for light in the darkness (Verse 1) 

In 19:1, they are explicitly called “angels” for the first time. However, this is an explanation for the reader; whether Lot himself knew they were angels is another matter. He likely recognized them as noble travelers.

And it says, “Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city.” 

According to the Midrash, “sitting in the gateway” is not merely a position but indicates social status. 

Lot had become one of the judges or elders of Sodom. 

However, this implies that he had been completely taken in by Sodom’s values. 

In Sodom, harboring guests was forbidden. 

It is told that those who helped travelers were punished. 

Sitting at the gate of such a town, Lot was looking for travelers, fully aware of the danger. 

He was a person who chose light in the darkness. 

This is Lot’s “one point of righteousness.” A light that was faint, but never extinguished.

“My lords, please turn aside”: Hospitality at the risk of his life (Verse 2) 

Lot says to the angels: “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house…” 

The term “My lords” here appears for the first time in the Bible, and only here, this once. 

He simply addressed them as “Adonai (My lords)” as a courtesy to travelers. (Referencing materials) 

As Abraham’s nephew, Lot had learned the custom of entertaining guests, so he recommends they stay.

However, when the angels say they will “spend the night in the square,” Lot panics. 

Because it was common knowledge in Sodom that travelers staying in the square would certainly be abused.

So Lot insists frantically, almost dragging them by the arm to his house. 

Goodness sometimes takes the form of courage. He chose goodness amidst danger. 

Lot is not perfect. But he had not thrown it away. 

The “heart of hospitality” inherited from Abraham.

Lot’s hospitality: “Bread without yeast” (Verse 3) 

Why Matzah (unleavened bread)? 

It is not written in the Bible text, but according to the traditional interpretation of Jewish sages, the Midrash:

Precursor to Passover: According to chronological calculations, it was the 15th of Nisan, and they interpret that it was the night of the Passover feast (Pesach). 

Later, when the people of Israel went out of Egypt in haste, it was also unleavened bread. (Exodus 12) 

This escape from Sodom was also a situation requiring haste. So, because there was no time, it was unleavened bread. 

Also, when Lot asked for salt for the guests, his wife Edith (a native of Sodom) opposed it, saying, 

“Do you intend to introduce this evil custom here?” 

She said there was no salt in the house and went around the neighborhood asking for salt, and in the process, let everyone know that Lot had invited travelers. 

This became the trigger for the crowd to gather at Lot’s house. 

The Midrash interprets this as one of the reasons she later became a pillar of salt: 

“She sinned with salt, and was judged by salt.” 

Furthermore, the Midrash compares the hospitality of Abraham and Lot. 

・Abraham “ran” to meet them. 

・Lot “got up” to meet them. 

It interprets that “Lot’s righteousness was not as great as Abraham’s, but it was still righteousness.” 

This is a great comfort. What God seeks is not perfect righteousness, but righteousness that has not been let go of. 

We are the same. Not perfect. But there is a light that does not go out, and we must not extinguish that light.

The wickedness of the Sodomites: When sin becomes “culture” (Verses 4–9) 

“All the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old” (Verse 4) 

The men of Sodom surrounded the house and demanded he bring out the guests. 

The Midrash (Sanhedrin 109a) says this: 

“In Sodom, those who helped the weak were punished.” 

Sin was not an individual failure but had become a mechanism of society. 

That is why Lot’s single point of righteousness shines even brighter. The deeper the darkness, the stronger the light. 

Although Lot is called a “righteous man” in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:7) 

“and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless,” 

he lived adapting to and compromising with the sinful environment. 

Lot shuts the door behind him and says something quite unbelievable. The abnormal proposal to offer his daughters to the mob (Verse 8) suggests that his ethical sense had been warped by Sodom’s influence. 

Lot possessed righteousness, but pushed by culture and fear, his priority of values had become distorted.

This is a weakness found in us as well. Desiring good, yet making the wrong judgment. 

Having faith, yet losing to fear. Nevertheless, God did not abandon Lot.

• Verses 10–23: Angelic Intervention: God Protecting Weak Righteousness 

When Lot was cornered, the angels reached out from inside the house and pulled Lot in. 

The “hands” of angels stretch infinitely, don’t they? 

This symbol is that God’s saving hand reaches anywhere. 

And, they strike the men outside with blindness, making them blind. 

Hebrew: סַנְוֵרִים (Sanverim). This is a different word from normal “blindness.” 

In the Bible, it is used only here and in 2 Kings 6:18 (Elisha’s miracle). 

“As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, ‘Strike this army with blindness.’ So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.”

“The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great” (Verse 13) What outcry is this? It is the cry that reached heaven when Lot’s daughter gave bread to a poor person, was discovered by the Sodomites, and was executed and died.

“Flee”: Salvation requires a “decision to leave” (Verses 14–22) 

The angels say, 

“Flee for your lives! Don’t look back.” 

Even though told this, Lot’s wife did not seem to have ears to hear. 

Salvation is not complete unless both “God leading out” and “the person letting go” align. 

Even if God leads, if the heart is clutching the past, one cannot move forward. 

“When he hesitated… because the mercy of the Lord was on him” Verse 16 

The reason for Lot’s hesitation? There was attachment to the home he lived in for years, the wealth he built, and his social status. 

The importance of “because the mercy of the Lord was on him” is that the description of the angels literally “grasping his hand and leading him out” represents God’s active work of salvation. 

Lot’s plea and Zoar (Verses 18-23) 

Lot fears and pleads for refuge in a “small town (מִצְעָר Mizar), Zoar (צוֹעַר).” 

God has mercy and allows this.

• Verses 24-29: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s Wife’s Pillar of Salt 

Verse 24 “Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.” This is not a natural phenomenon; the expression “from the Lord, to the Lord [sic: likely means ‘from the Lord out of the heavens’]” indicates direct divine judgment. Thorough judgment was executed. 

This shows the seriousness of the consequences of sin. 

Verse 26 “But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” 

Reasons for becoming a pillar of salt:

• Sin by salt: She refused to ask for salt for the guests and by gossiping to the neighborhood exposed her husband’s guests to danger.
• Disobedience: She disobeyed a clear command of God.
• Attachment to the past: She regretted leaving her life, house, and assets in Sodom.
• Sodomite values: She was from Sodom and could not separate from its values. 

The principle of “Sinned by salt, judged by salt.” Jesus’ warning: 

When speaking about the last days, Jesus said, 

“Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32). (Luke 17:28-33) 

Even if the body is heading toward the place of salvation, if the heart remains in this world (Sodom), it leads to destruction.

Climax: God remembered the “One Point of Righteousness” (Verse 29) 

Verse 29 is important: “So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe” 

This single verse is the key to the entire 19th chapter of Genesis. 

It teaches that Abraham’s intercessory prayer (Chapter 18) was not forgotten, and how powerful the prayer of a righteous man is. 

God is not looking for saints and sages, but for the light that was not extinguished in the darkness. 

God remembers the one point of righteousness that remains within you too.

• Second Half Verses 30–38: Actions of Lot and His Daughters in the Cave, Origins of Moabites and Ammonites 

The final section is a very heavy scene, but the Bible records it without hiding it. 

・Lot and his family feared even in Zoar, so they fled to the mountains and lived in a cave. 

・The daughters genuinely thought the whole world had been destroyed by fire (a fire version of Noah’s Flood). 

It seems they genuinely believed that only they and their father Lot survived. 

Having lost everything, seeing no future. 

The daughters think: “Our family line will be cut off,” and out of fear, they make their father drunk and sleep with him. 

The daughters’ motivation and actions were not because they were lewd, but out of a desperate (though mistaken) sense of mission to not let their lineage/humanity die out.

The most debated passage Verse 31 says “our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth.” 

“Custom of the earth” refers to: Habits, customs, and rules that have been passed down for a long time within a society or community, taken for granted. 

For us Christians, there are the Ten Commandments of Moses which are also an ethical foundation (Exodus 20), and generally, commandments 5 through 10 regarding horizontal relationships (person to person) and loving one’s neighbor are social ethics. 

“Honor your father and your mother. 

You shall not murder. 

You shall not commit adultery. 

You shall not steal. 

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house (wife, property, etc.).” 

However, the “world” they knew was only Sodom. 

Their “custom” was the “custom” of Sodom. 

What was Sodom’s “custom”? 

Ezekiel defines the fundamental sin (custom) of Sodom this way: 

“‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.'” (Ezekiel 16:49) 

Sodom was not merely a “town of sexual disorder,” but a “self-centered society that thoroughly excluded the weak and created cruel laws to protect their own wealth.”

Verses 32, 34 The words “preserve our family line (Zera) through our father”: 

The word “offspring” (Zera זָרַע) is used instead of “son” (Ben בֵּן). 

This is because God’s intention was related to the Messiah (Savior). 

“Let’s get our father to drink wine” and “lie with him” are euphemisms in the original Bible text. 

Nuance of Hebrew: The Bible avoids explicit expressions. However, the act is clear. 

It says Lot “was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up,” but everyone suspects, is this true? 

“Did not know” means literally did not know. On the other hand, it means “pretended not to know.” Only God knows this truth.

The Birth of Moab and Ammon (Verses 36-38) 

“So,” it is written in verse 36. 

The Bible records the facts dispassionately. This means God remains silent regarding this event. There is no scene where a voice from heaven judges, “That is a sin!” 

However, silence is not approval. 

He does not add an explicit moral judgment. The fact is He neither praises nor condemns. 

Looking at the evaluation in the New Testament, there is a reference to Lot in 2 Peter 2:6-8. 

“2:6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 

2:7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 

2:8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—” 

Peter calls Lot a “righteous man” twice (original Greek: Dikaios δικαιος). 

However, he does not touch upon the events of chapter 19:30-38 at all. 

Lot’s “righteous man/righteousness” is based on his attitude in Sodom, and the event with the daughters is not included in the evaluation of his “righteousness.” 

The act of Lot and his daughters was morally problematic, but God remained silent, and later in the Law (Leviticus 18, Deuteronomy 27) it was clearly defined as sin. The Bible records this event as a warning, but at the same time shows God’s redeeming power. 

God spins the history of salvation even from the darkest human failures.

From the daughters were born two sons; 

the older sister’s child was Moab (מוֹאָב) and 

the younger sister’s child was Ben-Ammi (בֶּן־עַמִּי) (Ammon), and they became the ancestors of nations. 

The meanings of their names are: Moab (מוֹאָב) means “from father (Me-Av מֵאָב).” She did not hide the shame. 

She publicly stated, “This child was born from my father.” She indicates who the father is and does not hide the fact of incest. 

In contrast to the older sister, the younger sister’s child is Ben-Ammi (בֶּן־עַמִּי), meaning “son of my people.” 

It is a euphemism for “son of my kin,” a somewhat roundabout expression that does not explicitly state the father. 

They became like “thorns” to the nation of Israel later on. 

Moabites and Ammonites became enemy nations tormenting Israel throughout history and sources of temptation for idolatry. 

Deuteronomy 23:3 states, “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.” 

In other words, history proves that “bitter fruit grows from the seed of sin.”

Hidden within this dark story is God’s amazing “reversal of grace.” 

Human sin is terrible, and Lot’s family collapsed ethically inside the cave. 

From the lineage of the “Moabites” born of this abominable incest, eventually, one woman appears. 

That is Ruth. Ruth (a Moabitess): She was a Gentile and of a people of cursed origin, but she believed in God and was grafted into the people of Israel. 

Ruth’s great-grandson is King David. And from that lineage, it connects to the genealogy of the Savior Jesus Christ (Matthew 1). 

This is the Gospel. 

God’s grace is deeper than human sin. 

God sanctified even the worst stain created by humans (a lineage from incest) and incorporated it into His own plan of salvation (the genealogy of the Messiah). 

On the other hand, the Ammonites, who started from Ben-Ammi, were protected for about 1500 years because of their blood relation to Lot, but due to continuous sin and atrocities, they eventually disappeared as a nation. 

However, even in judgment, God promised mercy and restoration, showing His sovereign rule 

(“‘Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 49:6). 

Their capital name “Amman” is in Israel’s neighboring country and remains to this day as a memorial of God’s historical intervention. 

I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel and Jordan in 2004. 

My accommodation in Jordan was the Amman Hotel in the capital, Amman. 

I have a memory that it was a huge nuisance and disturbance to our sleep because the Adhan was played at high volume before dawn from the tower of a mosque in the town of Amman.

【Conclusion: God Remembers Your One Point of Righteousness】 

Beloved everyone, and those participating online, 

today we have looked at the events of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the rescue of Lot from Genesis 19. 

This entire chapter is not a story of fearful judgment, but a story of God’s mercy working in the midst of weakness. 

Lot was not perfect. The daughters also made wrong judgments. 

The family was scattered, and hope was lost. 

But God’s salvation connects from Lot’s one point of righteousness, 

from the desperate thoughts of the daughters, and through the subsequent history of pain, 

ultimately to the Savior Jesus Christ. 

In your life too, there may be “weakness like Lot’s,” “errors like the daughters’,” or 

“loneliness like being in a cave.” 

But God’s grace works deeper than your weakness and stronger than your failures. 

And God is speaking to you today. “I will not forget your one point of righteousness.” 

Because that small light becomes the entrance through which God leads you to salvation. 

Jesus came to this world to save you from destruction. 

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) 

And He died on the cross. For your sins. 

For all the sins that separated you from God. 

He rose again on the third day. He triumphed over death. 

And He is alive today, speaking to you, 

“Come to me. I will save you.” 

Jesus is that light. Let us walk by surrendering ourselves to the Lord’s mercy.

・Let us pray. 

Heavenly Father God, 

thank You for speaking to us through Your Word today. 

Just as You rescued Lot through mercy, 

each one of us here today needs Your mercy. 

Please, take our hands and rescue us from destruction. 

Give us the power to cut off attachments to the past. 

Give us the courage to walk with faith on the new path You prepare. 

Please strengthen those who have decided to believe in You today. 

Please never let them go. Guide those who already believe in You to a holy life. 

We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.