An Unlikely Prayer Warrior: Sodom and Gomorrah pt. 2

We just recently took a look at Sodom and Gomorrah and some of the things to be learned from them.  But, as I reread this story to write the post on it, several new things jumped out at me.

We all know this story.  Whether we learned it in Sunday school or have just heard the cultural references to these cities, we know the story.  God destroys the 'Cities of the Plain' because of their wickedness.  But, as I said, I had missed something I caught in the re-read, something important and I alluded to it in the other post. Remember when I said it looked like someone was praying against the sin of Sodom and I wanted to revisit it? Well, this is that re-visitation.

The Bible says in Genesis 18:20-2,

"And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

I really try to separate what I think the Bible says from what it obviously says; so, just let me say, this is what I think.  I think this verse indicates that someone was praying against the sin of Sodom and I think the person doing the praying was none other than, Lot.

Most of time we hear of the questionable things about Lot like, he pitched his tent toward Sodom or, "Why, he was sitting at the very gates of Sodom!"  And, the coup de gras that the unbelievers never let us forget,  Lot offered his virgin daughters to the angry mob to be abused.

We often forget that 2 Peter 2:6-8 says, 

"And 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: (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;"

Peter calls Lot a righteous man.

Let's see if we can figure this out.  Genesis 19:1 says,

"And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground."

Most every time someone points to this, they say Lot had become corrupted by Sodom because to sit at the gate means you have gained influence. They say a godly man wouldn't have been able to gain influence in a place like Sodom.

Could be...maybe even likely.  But, just what if he was sitting in the gate to be a warning to unwary travelers, hmm?  He did jump up pretty quickly when he saw the angels.  Just another point of view to think about.

Another thing I have had to rethink is the whole 'Lot's daughters' thing.  I did it myself in my post on Sodom and Gomorrah. I assumed Lot's daughters were virgins because that's what Lot told the mob.  I assumed that when the Bible called Lot's sons-in-law by that term, they were actually just betrothed.

Why would I assume that, when the Bible says 'married' it actually means engaged? Because that is what I've always heard.

But, what if Lot was just stalling?  He had watched Abraham lie about Sarah in Egypt, calling her his sister instead of his wife (Genesis 12:11-13).  Abraham ended up doing this again later, by the way (Genesis 20).  This family trait was carried on by Isaac who lied about Rebekah.  

Lot may have just been following Abraham's pattern as Isaac did.  The lie bought Abraham time. He feared for his life.  It may not have been God's perfect will but, whoever said Abraham was perfect? 

I bet Lot was afraid, even up to being afraid for his life. 

So, why would I think it could be that Lot's daughters were actually married and not virgins at all?  It is true that betrothal in ancient cultures was as good as married but there had been no consummation yet.  Betrothal was a legal, binding contract. So, it really could mean Lot's daughters were virgins. Everyone thinks that's what it means.  And, in fairness, some translations say 'pledged to marry' or 'engaged'. But others, including the Tanakh, say "whom they had married."

The King James Bible says,

"And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of 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. 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 in law.  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot saying, Arise, take they wife, and thy two daughters, which are here lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city," Genesis 19:12-15.

Again, I'm just thinking through possibilities here.  Could it be, based on this reading, that Lot's daughters were with their husbands when Lot went to convince them to leave the city and the sons-in-law didn't come, but the daughters did?  Could it be that Lot's daughters weren't even at his house when he made his offer to the mob?

I think it's a possibility.  The angels basically said, "Lot! Sons, daughters, whoever you have in the city, go get them!"

Then we get to the story of Lot's daughters in the cave.  Folks, you are going to have to read this one for yourself. Obviously, Sodom had rubbed off on them or they wouldn't have done what they did.
But, what if they were already pregnant with children of Sodom and didn't know it?  

The Bible does indicate that the children were Lot's but even if they weren't pregnant when they left Sodom, if his daughters were actually married, Lot wouldn't have thought anything about their pregnancies. He would never have known the children were his at all without his daughters making it known.  Again, just throwing out possibilities here.

We know Lot made some mistakes, starting with the mob scene. Either he did offer his virgin daughters or he lied to buy time. I mean he had the destroying angels of the Lord right there in his house. He had options.  Either way...mistake. 

Sodom and Gomorrah were the major cities of the plain but there were smaller ones round about, too.  It looks like all those villages were to be destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah, but the angels spared one of them, Zoar.  They spared it at Lot's request because he wanted to go there, Genesis 19:20-22.  That was another mistake. Zoar wasn't God's choice for Lot; it was Lot's and God allowed it.

The Bible says Lot fled Zoar because he was afraid.  It doesn't say what he was afraid of but, we can assume Zoar had a sin problem as well, and Lot had run directly to what God had just judged.  He was probably afraid God would send the fire from Heaven again.

Lot fled Zoar and ended up in the dark, in a cave, drunk by his own daughters. Huge, glaring mistake!

So Lot wasn't perfect but, back to our original premise.  The passage 2 Peter 2:7-8 says Lot was 'vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked', and that he was righteous.  The Bible says in Romans 4:3, Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness.  Peter calls Lot righteous.  We can assume Lot believed God.

Now, if you were in Lot's shoes, (and you are, just look around) what would you do?  You would pray!  You would cry out that God would move on your city. You would beg God for protection on your daughters, virgin or not. And, you would say, "Thy will be done. If  my city is beyond saving, spare the rest of the world from it. Thy kingdom Come!"

I'll end by saying that everything I said about Lot's daughters is speculation, just my mind just wandering into alternate possibilities.  Remember when I said, "I think."  

But, I truly believe the outcry against Sodom that God was answering when He stopped to visit Abraham, was Lot's.  I'll be sure to ask him when I get there.