Author: Beth Duncan

Genesis 19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 

Lot, what are you doing? Can you not be bothered to go farther to save your own life?!? The angels of the Lord have personally saved you TWICE. Why can you not take advantage of this gift you have been given?

Genesis 19:19a Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. 

But even as I type those words, I know I am just as guilty as Lot of not always taking advantage of the opportunities God provides, of dragging my feet when I am perfectly happy with the status quo and don’t want to make a change. Jesus, help me.

Genesis 19:19b But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I act like Lot in situations where You have provided me an out that I need but don’t want to take. Help me to be so aligned to You, so deeply rooted in You that Your will is my will. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 19:20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, 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.

I wonder what Lot saw in this place, why he stayed so long and worked to become an elder of the town. Based on the angels’ declaration that they are destroying Sodom, it’s not a friendly little place full of welcoming people. In the next verse, his sons-in-law scoff at him. I’d love to know the backstory.

Genesis 19:10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 

I’ve talked before about my dislike of change, so I could see Lot becoming comfortable because he knows the people, their faults. Maybe it’s not so much that he actively strove to stay and become a part of the town as he didn’t disrupt the status quo and therefore made a place for himself even though he had no great love of the place or people.

Genesis 19:11 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.

Precious Savior, Forgive me for my dislike of change, especially when it leads me to compromise instead of doing things differently. Help me not to become complacent in my life. Help me not to stay in a situation that isn’t right for me because I don’t want to change. Help me to live intentionally and for You alone. Amen.

Genesis 19:12-13 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:5 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.”

The hierarchy as I live it is God first, then family, then others. There’s a hierarchy in the others, too, friends, acquaintances, strangers, etc. Lot is clearly acting from a different hierarchy, and his behavior seems beyond appalling.

Genesis 19:6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 

Sometimes it is hard to put God above family. That feels heretical to say, but if you’ll be honest, I suspect you understand. Our family is here. We know them well and love them deeply. But God has to come first because He knows our hearts, He loves us (and our families) deeply. He knows that we are human and fragile and ephemeral. He knows we need our roots sunk deeply in Him to hold on through the chaos and heartache of life.

Genesis 19:7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the knowledge that You must come first in my life, that I must sink my roots, my heart, my being, so deeply in You that I can survive the maelstroms of life without losing You or myself. Help me to put You first. Always. Help me to love my family, my friends, and all others through and with and in my fierce love of You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 19:8 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.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 

Commentary says that the fact that Lot was by the city gate indicates that he is a city leader of some sort. The fact that he “insisted so strongly” that the visitors stay with him instead of in the square indicates that he understood what would happen to them if they slept in the square. The fact that Lot is a righteous man who holds some position of power in Sodom indicates the questionable choices he has made of late.

Genesis 19:2 “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.”

I wonder if Lot was fully aware of how far he had allowed his personal moral code to slip. He “insisted so strongly” that the visitors stay with him, which seems to indicate that he knew they would be accosted if they stayed in the town square. So why did Lot stay? Why did he become a city leader in a place that would accost strangers in the town square? Did he realize the choice he was making by not making other choices?

Genesis 19:3 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. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for this eye-opening look at Lot’s behavior. Help us to make intentional choices that draw us closer to You, that preserve the well-being and dignity of those around us, that lift others up instead of tearing them down. Help us, Lord. Amen.

Genesis 19:4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 18:26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Commentary says this section of scripture is about asking specifically in prayer, and while I get that, I think there should also be a caution. Yes, it’s good to pray specifically, but God isn’t cruel. I just do not believe that He would not come through with miracles because of the lack of numbers or specificity.

Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 

“If only I had had more people praying, God would have saved my loved one.” “If only I had been more specific in my request, God would have granted that request.” Again I say, God is not cruel. He doesn’t sit in heaven with a magic prayer meter. “Oh, so sorry, you were two praying people shy of the number needed to grant your request. Too bad.” That’s not who He is.

Genesis 18:28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for the understanding that we do need to be specific in prayer, and we do need to ask others to join us in prayer as we lift our hearts up to You. Thank You also for the knowledge that You aren’t sitting in Heaven only looking at numbers and specificity. You know our hearts. You love us fiercely. You hear our prayers. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 18:29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 18:20-21Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

I find Abraham’s audacity pretty interesting in today’s scripture. Here we have the man who can’t quite wrap his head around God’s promise to make him the father of nations, yet he is standing up to God and asking Him to question His course of action. Commentary talks about what God wants to accomplish through Abraham, the fact that He needs to help grow Abraham’s character so that he is prepared for his future role. I find that interesting, too.

Genesis 18:22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 

I do not think God intentionally brings bad things, losses, into our lives. I do not believe in a cruel God. Mine is a God of fierce love and abundant compassion. But I do think that He knows our hearts, knows our faults, knows how we need to grow in our faith journey. I think He uses “all things for the good of those who love Him.” He uses all things to allow us to strengthen our relationship with Him, so that He becomes our home, our shelter, our safety.

Genesis 18:23-24 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your overwhelming love and compassion for Your people. Thank You that You know our hearts and You want us to make our home in You. Thank You that You work all things together for our good, allowing us to grow closer to You always. Give us strength and hope as we grow. Amen.

Genesis 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 18:16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 

Commentary says of verse 16 that it was customary at the time for a good host to walk a ways with departing guests. That comment puts me in mind of the Ram Dass quote I talked about earlier: We are all just walking each other home. In this case, the walking is quite literal.

Genesis 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 

We all have our strengths when it comes to walking each other home. My husband does a tremendous job making people feel welcome, cooking for them, supplying any need that he knows of that he can supply. It’s a beautiful gift, but it is absolutely not my gift. I think I am much better at encouraging folks along the way, though it is easy to negate my gift because it doesn’t feel as useful, as important as my husband’s in the realm of walking each other home.

Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 

Precious Savior, You have gifted each of us in different ways, equipping us to support each other as we walk each other home. Thank You for the beautiful variety of Your gifts to us. Help us not to discount our own gifts just because they are different from others. Help us each to use the gifts You’ve given us to help each other and shine Your light. Amen.

Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

Have a blessed day.