Abraham, Issac, and Jacob- Genesis 19
To me verse 8 really shows the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was one of the more upstanding citizens in the community, as God showed mercy to him, yet he willingly offers him daughters to barbaric men for them to "do as they wish". They other thing this chapter makes me wonder about is the two future sons-in-law. They were told directly that they were going to die if they didn't leave. Wouldn't they want to leave just in case? Even if they didn't believe their land was going to be destroyed? Lot was a well respected man in the community. Wouldn't they take his word for it? It seems like this is how some people view the afterlife. Rather than finding assurance through God they reject every idea of Him they hear. Wouldn't they want to be sure?
Somewhat unrelated but still interesting, my bible says this to say about the passage:
This chapter shows what Abraham confronts in his efforts to found a new and godly nation. His own nephew lives in the city of Sodom, a sordid place that looks on visiting strangers- angels, as it turns out- as prime targets for gang rape. Sexual violence is just one of Sodom's problems. Ezekiel 16:49 describes the people of Sodom as "arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they [did] not help the poor and needy."
Despite Sodom's woeful condition, God agrees to spare the city if he could find a mere ten righteous people there. But where God ends his negotiation with Abraham, God steps in with direct punishment- not to destroy the whole world, but to wipe out two centers of evil.
Should a catastrophe be read as a punishment from God? Do floods, famines and earthquakes comes as a result of God's anger? The Bible's answer: Sometimes, and sometimes not. In Genesis, some catastrophes seem to "just happen"- they are neither punishments nor warnings, though God uses them to advance His plans. These included several famines (such as the one that brought Joseph to power on chapter 41), a war (chapter 14) and a rape (chapter 34).
A few catastrophes, however, God takes full credit form such as the one at Sodom and Gomorrah. As usual, the Bible provides very few scientific facts about the destruction. Was it a volcanic eruption? The Bible doesn't say, and the area, now apparently at the bottom of the Dead Sea., does not lend itself to archaeological investigation. The book of Genesis stresses not how it happened, but why.
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.
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