A Journey Thru The Bible's First Book

[Beetow]

• Gen 17:9b . . you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My
covenant.

The word "keep" is from shamar (shaw-mar') which means, properly: to hedge
about (as with thorns), i.e. guard, to protect, attend to. The general meaning in
this particular instance is: to preserve.

• Gen 17:10 . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring
to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.

Circumcision didn't begin with Abraham. It was practiced in Egypt as early as 2400
BC.

Circumcision doesn't serve to improve a man's physical appearance. Men were
created whole; and after God finished the six days of creation, He inspected
everything and graded it all very good. So circumcision doesn't correct design
errors; but actually mars a man's natural appearance. It renders him somewhat
disfigured so that he no longer bears a precise resemblance to his ancestor Adam--
nor will he ever again. A circumcised man is still a human being; just altered
somewhat.

The surgery doesn't impair sexual function so we can rule out the possibility that
God imposed circumcision on Abraham and his male progeny for the purpose of
discouraging romance. After all if a man's genital nerves were to be disabled, it
would be very difficult for men to procreate-- and that would conflict with God's
promise to Abraham that he would be fruitful and become very numerous.

• Gen 17:11 . .You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the
sign of the covenant between Me and you.

The word for "sign" is from 'owth (oth). It's the very same word for the mark upon
Cain, and the rainbow of Noah's covenant. An 'owth not only labels things, but also
serves as a memory preserver; like the Viet Nam war memorial. Abraham's
circumcision, like rainbows and war memorials, is one of those "lest we forget"
reminders of important events.

note: The "covenant between Me and you" isn't the covenant between God and
the Jews as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's an important
distinction.

• Gen 17:12-13a . . And throughout the generations, every male among you shall
be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the home-born slave and the one
bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised,
home-born, and purchased alike.

Home-born slaves were those born while Abraham owned its parents. The
classification was reckoned Abraham's offspring; viz: his sons; thus indicating that
the Hebrew word zera' is ambiguous and doesn't always identify one's biological
progeny.

The Bible doesn't call ritual circumcision a baptism but it sure looks like a species of
baptism to me. Take for example the crossing of the Red Sea. The New Testament
calls it a baptism (1Cor 10:2) yet none of the people under Moses' command got
wet; they never even got damp. So baptisms come in a variety of modes, and for a
variety of purposes.

The implication is obvious: all males in Abraham's community (viz: his kingdom)
have to resemble Abraham in order to be bona fide registered members; which
means that a male Jew's genetics alone are not an eo ipso connection to Abraham.
He has to undergo the surgery too.

• Gen 17:13b-14 . .Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an
everlasting pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh
of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My
covenant.

The "kin" in this regard is primarily Abraham but in later years came to include
one's tribal identity. Say a man's biological father was a biological member of the
tribe of Issachar, and for one reason or another never got around to circumcising
his son.

Well; until the son submits to the ritual, he cannot be counted among Issachar's
progeny. In point of fact, he cannot be counted as anybody's progeny; not even
Abraham's though Abraham is his biological ancestor.

This may seem a petty issue but in matters of inheritance, can have very serious
repercussions for the un-circumcised man. He's not only cut off from his kin, but
also from Abraham's covenant guaranteeing his posterity ownership of Palestine
and points beyond to the north, the south, the east, and the west. The little piece
of turf now occupied by the State of Israel is but a parking lot in comparison to
what God promised Abraham back in Gen 13:14-15.

Also included in the "covenant between Me and You" is the promise to always be
the god of Abraham's posterity. Well; until the uncircumcised son undergoes
circumcision, Yhvh is not his god.

To give an idea of just how serious God is about this ritual: After Moses was
commissioned to represent God in the Exodus; Yhvh rendezvoused with him and
came within an inch of taking his life over this very issue.

"Now it came about at an inn on the way that Yhvh met him and sought to put him
to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at
Moses' feet, and she said: You are indeed a bloody bridegroom to me. So He let
him alone." (Ex 4:24-26)

That should be a sobering warning that anyone representing God is supposed to set
the example in all things. It's not do as I say, nor even do as I do; but do as I have
done.

Anyway, non-circumcised Jewish males aren't counted among Abraham's
community; and that was a law way before it was incorporated into the Jews'
covenanted law as per Ex 12:48-49 and Lev 12:2-3.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 17:15 . . And God said to Abraham: As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call
her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.

Sarah's original name was Saray (saw-rah'-ee) which means: dominative.

Webster's defines "dominative" as: to exert the supreme determining or guiding
influence on-- in other words: bossy. Dominative isn't a desirable female
personality; assertive and controlling isn't something for a truly spiritual woman to
be proud of.

Sarah (saw-raw') means: a female noble; such as a Lady, a Princess, or a Queen.
It's much preferable for a woman to be known as a lady or a princess than as a
dominatrix.

Changing Sarai's name didn't actually change her personality; but it certainly
reflected her new God-given purpose. It was like a promotion to knighthood. The
child she would produce for Abraham became a very important, world-renowned
human being out of whom came kings and statesmen; and ultimately the savior of
the world.

If I were required to pick just one woman in the Bible to venerate, it wouldn't be
Christ's mom; no, it would be Isaac's mom. Sarah is the supreme matriarch over
every one of the Messianic mothers who came after her.

• Gen 17:16 . . I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her
so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.

Sarah now had a calling from God just like her slavette Hagar; who herself was
given a calling from God on the road to Shur. Sarah's calling was not much of a
calling. She wasn't called to go off to some foreign country as a missionary, nor to
open and operate hostels and orphanages in impoverished lands, nor head up a
local chapter of the March Of Dimes, nor muster an army like a Joan of Arc. All in
the world Sarah had to do for God was just be Isaac's mom.

I once heard a story about a lady who summarily announced to her pastor that God
called her to preach. The pastor thought for a second and then inquired: Do you
have any children? She answered: Yes. So he said: My; isn't that wonderful? God
called you to preach and already gave you a congregation.

Motherhood isn't a marginal calling. It is a serious calling that carries tremendous
responsibility, because the hands that rock the cradles quite literally do rule the
world. A mother can either ruin a child's potential or enhance it; she can raise a
decent human being, or raise a sociopathic monster.

The media typically focuses on physical child abuse while usually overlooking the
kind caused by mental cruelty. There are children out there whose self esteem and
sense of worth are in the toilet just by being in the home of a thoughtless mother.

One child can enrich the lives of millions of people, and it's the moms who bring
them into the world, pick their boogers, change their dydees, teach them how to
brush their teeth and say their prayers, stay up late with their fevers, get them in
for their shots, pack them off to school, take them to the park, drive them to
ToysRus a thousand times, and cry at their weddings.

The dads have it easy. It's the moms who really pay the price for a child's future.
But a mom can just as easily destroy her child's future by abuse and neglect. There
are moms who have about as much love for their children as a dirty sock or a
broken dish; and regard them just as expendable.

But Sarah won't be like that. When she gets done with Isaac, he will be a well
adjusted grown-up having a genuine bond of love and trust with his mom and zero
gender issues with women. Isaac will see in Sarah the very kind of girl he would
like to marry; and when that one does come along, he won't let her get away.

• Gen 17:17 . . Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to
himself: Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a
child at ninety?

God had previously promised Abraham an heir but this is the first time He actually
specified who the biological mother would be. Was Abraham skeptical? Not this
time. No; he just thought it was hilarious for two old sag-bottomed, bloated cod
fish gasbags like he and Sarah to have children. In other words: You've gotta be
kidding!

"Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as
dead-- since he was about a hundred years old --and that Sarah's womb was also
dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was
strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had
power to do what he had promised." (Rom 4:19-21)

Faith is sometimes defined as believing something you don't know for sure is so.
Well; that probably doesn't apply to Abraham because the Bible says he was
"persuaded" which is quite a bit different than faith in something for which you
have no good reason to believe is true.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 17:18 . . And Abraham said to God: O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!

Ishmael is sometimes thought of as a sort of red-headed step child, but I tend to
think that Abraham really did love the boy. I can see that love at work here when
Abraham requested God's providence for him lest he become marginalized and
forgotten.

• Gen 17:19a . . God said: Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son,

God had nothing personal against Ishmael; but he was not quite what The Lord had
in mind for the covenant's future. The one to perpetuate it had to be special; viz:
he couldn't be a "wild-burro of a man" nor "his hand against every man's hand". In
other words: God much preferred a peaceable man.

• Gen 17:19b . . and you shall name him Isaac;

Isaac's name is Yitschaq (yits-khawk') which means: laughter or mirth; sometimes
in a bad way such as mockery. In other places in the Old Testament, he goes by
the name of Yischaq (yis-khawk') which means: he will laugh, or, he thinks it's
funny. (perhaps as a memorial to Abraham's mirth at hearing the news of Sarah's
imminent pregnancy.)

• Gen 17:19c . . and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting
covenant for his offspring to come.

Much of the covenant is of little interest to the average Gentile; but one portion of it
is very significant. It's this:

"And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen 22:18)

The blessing is generally related to the people of Israel.

"Salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22)

And specifically related to Christ.

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins
of the whole world." (1John 2:2)

• Gen 17:20 . . As for Ishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make
him fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.

That quite literally came true. Ishmael really did engender twelve chieftains. (Gen
25:12-16)

I don't know why so many people seem to think that Ishmael was only so much
trash to throw out and discard, like as if he were second-hand dish water or
something. No one should ever forget that he was Abraham's flesh and blood; his
first son and Abraham really loved that boy. God blessed him too; and took care of
him. He was circumcised in Abraham's home, which made him a permanent
member of Abraham's community; so modern Arabs do have a legitimate claim to
Abraham as their patriarch; but of course they have no such claim upon Isaac, or
upon Isaac's blessings.

• Gen 17:21a . . But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear
to you at this season next year.

Looks like the Abrahams will be going shopping for a crib, a stroller, and a car seat.
Nothing like news of a baby to make the daddies start looking at their budgets.

• Gen 17:22 . . And when He was done speaking with him, God was gone from
Abraham.

Don't you just hate it when a supervisor lays down the law and then turns on their
heel and leaves the room? It immediately tells everyone that their boss's agenda is
not open to discussion.

• Gen 17:23 . .Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his home-born slaves
and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham's household, and he
circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him.

That was well over 300 grown men; not counting boys. (Gen 14:14)

• Gen 17:24-27 . . Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the
flesh of his foreskin, and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were
circumcised on that very day; and all his household, his home-born slaves and
those that had been bought from outsiders, were circumcised with him.

Abraham was typically very prompt and did things in a timely manner. Trouble is;
every male in camp was disabled all at once. Thank goodness nobody attacked right
then or the PowerPuff Girls would have been forced to man the guns.

note: Ishmael was thirteen when he was circumcised. It would be another year
before Isaac was born, and possibly three after that before Isaac was weaned;
making Ishmael at least seventeen or eighteen when Abraham emancipated his
mom.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:1a . .The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre;

The Hebrew word for "appeared" is ra'ah (raw-aw') which doesn't necessarily
indicate a visible apparition. The word is really ambiguous. It has several meanings;
one of which simply indicates a meeting. It's certain that Jehovah was present
during this meeting but uncertain whether more than His voice was present; though
not impossible. (cf. Ex 24:9-11)

The three men upon whom we are about to eavesdrop are said by some to be
angels; but the Hebrew word for angel is nowhere in the entire narrative.

This visit occurred very shortly after the last one because Isaac wasn't born yet and
his birth had been predicted in 17:21 to be little more than a year away.

Mamre's terebinths were a grove of oak trees situated near modern day Hebron
about 20 miles south of Jerusalem at an elevation of 3,050 feet above sea level.

• Gen 18:1b-2a . . he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing near him.

It wouldn't be accurate to think of Abraham's tent as something akin to a
hiker/camper's basic portable shelter. Bedouin sheiks lived in pavilions, since they
served as the family's home.

The entrance of the tent likely had a large canopy over it like a roofed porch so that
Abraham wasn't sitting out in the sun, but rather in the shade. Poor guy's heart
must have stopped when he looked up at these three guys just standing there
saying nothing. I'm not sure if Abraham was aware at this point that one of those
men was Yhvh. So his next reactions are very interesting. They reveal just how
hospitable this rich and famous sheik was to total strangers.

• Gen 18:2b-3a . . As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to
greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said: My lords,

Abraham was 99 so I don't think he actually sprinted. The word ruwts (roots) can
mean either to run or just simply to hurry.

The word for "lords" is from 'adown (aw-done') and/or the shortened 'adon (aw
done') which mean: sovereign (human or divine. 'Adown is a versatile word often
used as a courteous title of respect for elders and or superiors; for example Sarah
spoke the very same word of her husband at Gen 18:12, Rachel addressed her dad
by it at Gen 31:5, and Jacob addressed his brother Esau by 'adown at Gen 33:8.

• Gen 18:3b-5a . . if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water
be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel
of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on-- seeing that you have come
your servant's way.

There was a custom in the Olde American West that when travelers came by your
spread, it was considered neighborly to offer them a meal and some tobacco, along
with water and provender for their horses. This sometimes was the only means of
support for off-season, unemployed cowboys known as drifters and saddle bums;
but what the hey, you took the good with the bad; no questions asked.

Traveling was neither a tourist's vacation nor a Sunday drive in Abraham's day. No
cushy motels, no gas stations or convenience stores. It was very far in between
communities and few people along the way so a camp like Abraham's was a
welcome sight in that day.

You can imagine how refreshing it would be on a hot day to soak your feet in a tub
of cool water and recline in the shade of a big oak tree. In an era without
refrigeration, electric fans, and/or air conditioning, that was just about the best
there was to offer. Anyway it all just goes to show that Abraham was a very
hospitable man, and really knew how to make people feel at home.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:5b . .They replied: Do as you have said.

There is something here important to note. Although the text says "they" replied, it
doesn't mean all three men spoke at once, nor spoke in turn. If only one in a group
speaks, and the others are silent, it's understood to mean the others are
consensual; and that the one speaks for all if no one objects or has anything to
add.

• Gen 18:6-8a . . Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said: Quickly,
three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes! Then Abraham hurried to the
herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to
prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set
these before them;

The word for "calf" is from baqar (baw-kawr') which means: beef cattle or an
animal of the ox family; of either gender.

It's interesting that Abraham served beef. In the early days of olde California; the
Spanish Franciscans raised cows primarily for their hides and tallow; and found a
ready market for those products in the east. Tallow of course was used for candles,
soap, and lubricants; and the hides for leather goods like shoes, gloves, saddles,
reins, and hats. In those days, pork and fowl were the preferred table meats. It was
actually the change-over from pork to relatively cheap Texas longhorn beef that
fueled the cattle baron era of the 1800's.

The word for "curds" is from chem'ah (khem-aw') which means: curdled milk, or
cheese. Later to come Kosher laws would forbid serving dairy and meat together;
but in Abraham's day it didn't matter.

The only ingredient listed for the cakes (which probably resembled English muffins,
or possibly Navajo fry bread) is choice flour, viz: no leavening was added. That was
of course an expedient to get the bread prepared as quickly as possible.

With a little imagination, one could confect a pretty decent deli sandwich from what
Abraham put on their plates. Anyway, all this took an appreciable amount of time;
like preparing a thanksgiving dinner from scratch; including butchering the turkey.
Plus, they cooked in those days by means of open flame and/or wood-fired ovens
so it's not like Abraham served the men packaged meals warmed up in a
microwave.

Poor Sarah; she must have been stressed due to the unexpected guests messing up
her daily routine. She probably hadn't planned to do any serious cooking that day
till later on towards evening when it was cooler.

note: Abraham employed quite a few servants. It's likely that Sarah's role in the
cooking was supervision rather than the actual labor.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:8b . . and he waited on them under the tree as they ate.

Targum authors-- convinced the men were celestial beings --couldn't believe they
would actually partake of food. According to them, the foods were before them, but
they didn't actually eat it.

T. and [Abraham] served before them, and they sat under the tree; and he quieted
himself to see whether they would eat. (Targum Jonathan)

In major English versions of the Hebrew Bible-- e.g. The JPS and the Stone --Gen
18:8 is translated "they ate". It isn't translated that Abraham stood by to see if
they would eat, nor is it translated they pretended to eat, nor that they appeared to
eat. Genesis is quite clear: the men actually dined on the food that Abraham set
before them. (cf. Chabad.org)

• Gen 18:9a . .They said to him: Where is your wife Sarah?

So far, Sarah has been hearing about her impending child only from her husband.
But now, the speaker is intent that she should hear the news from somebody a little
higher up the food chain.

• Gen 18:9b . . And he replied: There, in the tent.

At this point, the speaker no doubt intentionally raised his voice a bit to ensure little
Miss Eavesdropper would hear what he had to say.

• Gen 18:10 . .Then one said: I will return to you next year, and your wife Sarah
shall have a son!

note: Some versions of the Bible are not purely translations. They're actually
amalgams of translation + interpretation. For example some versions of 18:10
read: "The Lord said" instead of "one said". But the word for Jehovah is nowhere in
the Hebrew of that verse. Caveat Lector.

So on the face of it, the stranger is making two predictions. 1) He'll be back around
again, and 2) Sarah is going to have a son.

• Gen 18:11 . . Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind
him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped
having the periods of women.

Some things can't be postponed indefinitely.

"To everything there is a season: a time for every purpose under heaven" (Ecc 3:1)

There is a time in life for children: if it's missed, there's no going back and making
up for lost time. Many an independent woman has been painfully awakened by her
biological clock-- putting off children to get ahead in her career, and then one day;
it's either too late, too inconvenient, or too difficult.

Let's say that a girl puts off conception until she's, say; 32-34. Think about that. By
the time her first child is ready for kindergarten, she'll be pushing 40. Mothers that
old could actually be classified as late bloomers because the average age of first
time mothers, depending upon where they live, is around 20-24; and in many
cultures; it's a lots earlier than that. Let me tell you something that should go
without saying: it's much easier to be a young mother than an old one.

And age makes a difference for the children too. As women age, their minds mature
bringing them ever closer to that dreaded generation gap; viz: it is much easier for
a young mother to relate to her young children than an older woman; who
oftentimes can no longer hear the bell, if you know what I mean.

Some things wait for no man. Sunset is one of those things. Relentlessly, hour upon
hour, the sun moves across the sky towards its inevitable rendezvous with the
western horizon. Our lives are just like that. Sunrise - Sunset. Game over.

• Gen 18:12a . . And Sarah laughed to herself, saying: Now that I am withered, am
I to have enjoyment

Sarah was no doubt thinking to herself that if this stranger knew how old she was;
he wouldn't be making such a ridiculous prediction.

• Gen 18:12b . . with my lord so old?

Now there's a level of respect not often seen in today's world of feminism and
misandry.

"Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her daughters if
you do what is right." (1Pet 3:6)

Actually, at this time in his life; Abraham himself had some problems and probably
could benefit from a little Viagra; if you know what I mean. (cf. Rom 4:19, Heb
11:12)

There's another problem associated with the aging process that doesn't get a lot of
press these days in an era of older parents. Men aren't born with all their *****
cells at once the way women are born with all their eggs at once. The men's little
guys are manufactured fresh on a daily basis, so as men age, their ***** cells are
progressively of a lower quality than the previous batch because the men's bodies
are deteriorating with age; subsequently there's a higher risk of birth defects in
children fathered by aging men.

There's also the reality of a progressively decreasing sprm count in aging men so
that even if their little guys are viable, it's increasingly difficult to put enough
soldiers on the front lines to win the battle. But even that's only if elderly men's
wells haven't run dry; if you know what I mean. The people in Sarah's day probably
knew all this by practical life-experience rather than by scientific study and
discovery.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:13-14 . .Then Yhvh said to Abraham: Why did Sarah laugh, saying; Shall
I in truth bear a child, old as I am? Is anything too wondrous for Yhvh? I will return
to you at the time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.

Yhvh didn't quote Sarah verbatim-- He actually paraphrased her words to say what
she meant; rather than what she spoke. That's important to note; and tells me that
it really isn't all that important to quote Scripture precisely so long as you don't
lose, or change, its meanings. There's a lot of that in the New Testament; and
certainly in the Targums too.

It isn't said exactly from whence the voice of Yhvh came: whether it was one of the
men speaking or a voice in the air. However, Yhvh did show up and do "as He had
spoken." (Gen 21:1)

• Gen 18:15a . . Sarah lied, saying; "I didn't laugh" for she was frightened.

Sarah hadn't actually laughed out loud, but "to herself". When she realized that one
of the men could read her thoughts, she became nervous: and who wouldn't?

• Gen 18:15b . . But He replied: You did laugh.

Most men would have jumped right to their wife's defense. Abraham had at least
300 armed men in his camp who would do anything he asked; but knowing by now
exactly who these men really were, Abraham kept his cool.

The word used to describe Abraham's visitors is 'iysh (eesh) which is a gender
specific word that means: a man as an individual or a male person. It is also the
word used to specify the male gender among the animals taken aboard the Ark.
(Gen 7:2)

This passage strongly suggests that Abraham and Sarah saw Yhvh as a fully
functioning man. As to whether the person they saw was an actual human being or
a human avatar; I don't know and I'm afraid to even hazard a guess.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:16 . .The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom,
Abraham walking with them to see them off.

Looking down towards Sodom is probably just another way to say aiming for
Sodom.

Many of us just see our visitors out the front door. But, you know, it wouldn't hurt
to see them out to their cars too. Maybe even carry a few things for them.

The site of Sodom has never been found. Some believe it was at the south end of
the Dead Sea; but that's really only a guess. The destruction was so severe and so
complete that it's just impossible now to tell where it was.

• Gen 18:17 . . Now the Lord had said: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about
to do,

Now there's a pretty good yardstick of your standing with God. Do you know what
is on His agenda for tomorrow? Me neither. God doesn't confide in me for the
slightest thing. I don't even know what brand of toothpaste He uses in the morning
let alone His daily schedule.

• Gen 18:18 . . since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the
nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him?

Divine purposes for Abraham elevated him to a very high degree of importance
above ordinary human beings; and God regarded the old boy not as a servant, but
as a member of Yhvh's inner circle of confidants. In point of fact; one of His buddies
(Isa 41:8). That is amazing.

• Gen 18:19 . . For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his
progeny to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that
the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.

In order for Yhvh's statement to be meaningful it has to imply that Abraham
possessed a knowledge of what is just and right in harmony with what Yhvh feels is
just and right rather than a humanistic knowledge. The US Supreme Court's
justices obviously don't have a knowledge of what is just and right in harmony with
Yhvh's because they seldom agree on anything and their rulings are opinions rather
than absolutes.

Getting all of Abraham's progeny to do what is just and right has been a bit of a
challenge for Yhvh down through the centuries. Some have; but typically not all.

note: Yhvh's prediction no doubt included Ishmael, so I wouldn't be surprised if by
the time Abraham emancipated his mom, the boy had more of "the way of the
Lord" under his belt than quite a few modern pew warmers.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:20 . .Then the Lord said: The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave!

It's true that the people of Sodom indulged in sexual impurity; but that's not the
only thing about their manner of life that chafed God.

They weren't just your every-day, average garden variety of sinners. According to
Gen 13:13, they were not only very wicked sinners; but very wicked sinners
"against The Lord"; in other words: they were insolent; which Webster's defines as:
exhibiting boldness or effrontery; viz: impudence.

People like that are defiant to the bone-- they make a point of standing up to
others and asserting their independence and they don't care whose feelings get
hurt by it.

Some of The Lord's statements, spoken to shame His people, shed additional light
on the nature of Sodom's wickedness.

"For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their
actions are against The Lord, to rebel against His glorious presence. The expression
of their faces bears witness against them, and they display their sin like Sodom;
they do not even conceal it." (Isa 3:8-9)

"What I see in the prophets of Jerusalem is something horrifying: adultery and false
dealing. They encourage evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness.
To Me they are all like Sodom, and [all] its inhabitants like Gomorrah." (Jer 23:14)

"Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had
plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility; yet she did not support the poor and the
needy. In their haughtiness, they committed abomination before Me; and so I
removed them, as you saw." (Ezk 16:49-50)

Sodom is widely reputed for its carnal depravity. but as you can see from those
passages above, they were a whole lot more unrighteous than that. One of the
most interesting of their sins was that they did nothing to discourage wickedness.
They actually applauded evildoers and encouraged them to keep it up. Added to
that was arrogance, and a lack of charity-- indifference to the plight of the poor -
and haughtiness, dishonesty, partiality, insulting the glory and dignity of God, and
bragging about all of it.

Since God had not yet proclaimed any official laws specifically prohibiting the
Sodomites' conduct, then He really couldn't prosecute them in that respect. So
then, what was His justification for nailing them? It was for the very same attitude
that nails everybody; both pre Flood and post-Flood.

"This is the condemnation: that the light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing
evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be
exposed." (John 3:18-21)

So then, the Sodomites were not only indifferent to God's wishes; but they
deliberately avoided knowing them just as Moses' people themselves did in later
years to come.

"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their
ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone,
lest they should hear the law and the words which The Lord of hosts hath sent in
His spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from The Lord of
hosts." (Zech 7:11-12)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:21 . . I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according
to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.

The word for "outcry" is from tsa'aqah (tsah-ak-aw') which is the same word
for the cry of Moses' people under the heel of Egyptian slavery. (Ex 3:7-9)

The Bible says that Abraham's nephew Lot was distressed by the community's way of
life in Sodom (2Pet 2:7-8) so it's very likely that he was the source of the outcry.

That verse presents an interesting theological problem. Wouldn't it make better
sense by saying Jehovah looked down, instead of saying He "came" down? Why
bother to come down? Doesn't the Bible's God see all and know all? Isn't God
omniscient and isn't His spirit omnipresent? Can't He see everything from right
where He is?

Well; fact of the matter is, yes, Jehovah could see and hear from Heaven
everything he needed to know about the city, but He wasn't satisfied. He had to
investigate, and establish the truth of every fact for Himself in person and on-site
as an eye witness, before moving against Sodom.

In future, should someone challenge the Lord by saying: How do you know Sodom
was bad? Were you there; did you actually see it yourself? Well; yes, He was there
and did actually see its bad for Himself.

• Gen 18:22 . .The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained
standing before The Lord.

A plausible scenario is that all three men began walking towards Sodom, and then
one (earlier identified as Yhvh) stayed behind to conduct a private meeting with
Abraham.

The Targums say Abraham interceded for his nephew, but it would appear from the
Scripture that he interceded not just for Lot, but also for the citizens of Sodom too.
And that's to be expected. After all, Abraham was their savior; the one who rescued
them all from that awful Chedorlaomer back in chapter fourteen. He couldn't just sit
on his hands now and let them all die without making any effort to save them from
the wrath of God.

This is somewhat ironic. It's as if Abraham saved the people from El Ched only to
be barbecued in Sodom; viz: sort of like the cops shooting a felon during his arrest,
taking him to the hospital to save his life, then hauling him into court after he's well
enough to stand trial so he can be given the gas chamber.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 18:23a . . Abraham came forward

Abraham "came forward" in that he became somewhat assertive in this next scene.
He was sort of like a godfather to the Sodomites, in spite of their decadence. That
is amazing; yet, is so typical of the really holy men in the Bible to intercede for
people who certainly didn't deserve it. (e.g. Ex 32:30-35)

There's nothing intrinsically wrong in taking the initiative to speak with God. After
all, if people always waited for God to speak first before they ever said a word in
prayer, hardly anybody would talk to God at all. Not that God is shy, it's just that
He rarely ever says anything out loud, so a normal person would tend to think The
Almighty was indifferent to His creations. But that just isn't true. We know from the
Bible that God desires a rapport with everyone.

Some people wait until they're desperate and out of options before turning to God.
But it is so insulting to treat God like a spare tire or a First Aid kit. It's better to
begin a rapport with Him early, now, before a crisis occurs. (cf. Prov 1:24-33)

• Gen 18:23b . . and said: Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?

The answer to that is of course a resounding YES!

"I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me." (Deut
5:9)

faq: How is that fair: holding children responsible for what their parents do?

a: Ex 20:5-- along with Ex 34:7, Num 14:18, and Deut 5:9 --is often construed to
mean that children are held responsible for their parents' sins; but that isn't it.
What we're looking at here is collateral damage. It is apparently God's prerogative
to get back at people by going after their posterity and/or the people they govern.

There's a horrific example of collateral damage located at Num 16:25-34. Another
is the Flood. No doubt quite a few underage children drowned in that event due to
their parents' wickedness. The same no doubt happened to the children in Sodom
and Gomorrah. Ham's punishment for humiliating Noah was a curse upon his son
Canaan. And during Moses' face-off with Pharaoh, God moved against the man's
firstborn son along with all those of his subjects.

There are times when God chooses to punish people by going after not only
themselves; but also the things that pertain to them; including, but not limited to,
their progeny. I don't quite understand the logic of that kind of justice; but then
again: I don't try; I just go along with it; primarily because it's futile to find fault
with God; plus, handicapped with the fallen conscience that Adam gave me due to
the forbidden-fruit incident, I'd never understand anyway.

Although Lot was living in a very bad environment, and among very bad people
who caused him much mental and emotional stress (2Pet 2:4-9) it didn't eo ipso
make Lot himself a bad man. In the final analysis, when it was time to make an end
of Sodom, God made a difference between Lot and Sodom and got him out before it
was too late. It's horrible to contemplate that some civilizations are so far gone that
it's necessary to nuke 'em from orbit and start all over from scratch.

• Gen 18:24-25 . . What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You
then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are
in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well
as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the
Judge of all the earth deal justly?

I think Abraham's question was more rhetorical than anything else. Of course the
Judge of all the earth deals justly; no true man of faith would ever seriously
question his maker's integrity.

• Gen 18:26-33 . . And the Lord answered: If I find within the city of Sodom fifty
innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake. Abraham spoke up,
saying: Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: What if
the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the
five? And He answered: I will not destroy if I find forty-five there. But he spoke to
Him again, and said: What if forty should be found there? And He answered: I will
not do it, for the sake of the forty.

. . . And he said: Let not my Lord be angry if I go on; what if thirty should be found
there? And He answered: I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said: I venture
again to speak to my Lord; what if twenty should be found there? And He
answered: I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty. And he said: Let not my
Lord be angry if I speak but this last time; what if ten should be found there? And
He answered: I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten. When the Lord had finished
speaking to Abraham, He departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

I'm guessing Abraham stopped at ten because he assumed there had to be at least
that many righteous in Sodom who didn't deserve to die; but according to Peter; he
was wrong. There was only one: and that's all there was in Noah's day too. (Gen
7:1)
_

 

[TheWaytoGo]

Hello;

Back around 2000 or 2001; I got the daring idea to begin composing a daily, bite
size commentary on the book of Genesis; verse by verse beginning with the
creation of the cosmos to Joseph's coffin in Egypt.

It was a clumsy effort at first but I stuck with it and as time went by, it got pretty
good. On some forums where I've survived opposition long enough to complete the
whole fifty chapters, Genesis has attracted several thousand views.

As of today's date, I'm 76 years old; and an on-going student of the Bible since
1968 via sermons, seminars, lectures, Sunday school classes, radio Bible programs,
and various authors of a number of Bible-related books. Fifty-two years of Bible
under my belt hasn't made me an authority; but they've at least made me
competent enough to tackle Genesis.

Barring emergencies, accidents, vacations, unforeseen circumstances, and/or
insurmountable distractions, database errors, pandemic shut-downs, computer
crashes, black outs, brown outs, deaths in the family, Wall Street Armageddon,
thread hijackers, the dog ate my homework, visiting relatives, ISIS, car repairs,
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, violent political activism, Carrington events, gasoline
prices, medical issues, and/or hard luck and the forces of nature; I'm making an
effort to post something every day including Sundays and holidays.

Some really good stuff is in Genesis: the origin of the cosmos, Adam and Eve, Cain
and Abel, the Flood, tower of Babel, and the origin of the Jews.

Big-name celebrities like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Ishmael, Rebecca,
Jacob and Esau, and Joseph are here.

Not here are Moses vs. Pharaoh and the parting of the Red Sea. That story is in
Exodus; Samson and Delilah are in Judges, David and Goliath are in 1Samuel; and
Ruth and Esther are in books of the Bible named after them.

The author of Genesis is currently unknown; but commonly attributed to Moses.
Seeing as he penned Exodus (Mark 12:26) it's conceivable that Moses also penned
Genesis; but in reality, nobody really knows for sure.

Scholars have estimated the date of its writing at around 1450-1410 BC; a mere
3,400± years ago, which is pretty recent in the grand scheme of Earth's geological
history.

Genesis may in fact be the result of several contributors beginning as far back as
Adam himself; who would certainly know more about the creation than anybody,
and who entertained no doubts whatsoever about the existence of an intelligent
designer since he knew the creator Himself like a next door neighbor.

As time went by, others like Seth and Noah would add their own experiences to the
record, and then Abraham his, Isaac his, Jacob his, and finally Judah or one of his
descendants completing the record with Joseph's burial.

Genesis is quoted more than sixty times in the New Testament; and Christ
authenticated its Divine inspiration by referring to it in his own teachings. (e.g. Matt
19:4-6, Matt 24:37-39, Mk 10:4-9, Luke 11:49-51, Luke 17:26 29 & 32, John
7:21-23, John 8:44 and John 8:56)

BUEN CAMINO
(Pleasant Journey)
_

Although Genesis appears first in the O.T., Job was the first book of the Bible to be written - about 400 years before. Any thoughts on why God chose Job to be first?

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:1a . . And there came two angels to Sodom

The Hebrew word for "angels" is from mal'ak (mal-awk') from a root meaning to
dispatch as a deputy; viz: a messenger; specifically of God, i.e. an angel and/or a
prophet, priest or teacher-- someone who speaks for and/or represents another.

Mal'ak doesn't eo ipso indicate a celestial being; because the word is focused more
on an office or a function rather than a person. According to verse 3, these angels
were capable of consuming food the same as were Abraham's human guests up in
Hebron. According to verse 10, they were gender specific; viz: males. So from all
outward appearances, these particular mal'aks were normal, fully functioning
human beings.

• Gen 19:1b . . in the evening,

The word for "evening" is 'ereb (eh'-reb) which technically means dusk; defined by
Webster's defines as: the darker part of twilight after sundown. It's the same word
as the evenings of Gen 1:5-31.

'ereb is a bit ambiguous. In spite of its technical meaning; 'ereb doesn't eo ipso
indicate twilight. It can also indicate any daytime hour between high noon and
sunset e.g. Sam 17:16 where Goliath taunted Israel twice a Day-- once in the
morning, and once in the afternoon.

On the surface, the two men appear to be ordinary travelers pulling into town for
the night after a day's journey. That's a sensible choice. Sodom was walled, and
much safer than camping out in the field where they would be vulnerable to
brigands and/or wild animals. In those days, the Jordan valley had lions in it and
Canaan was still pretty much out on the lawless frontier.

note: Apparently no one yet has been able to precisely pin point the era in which
Abraham lived. If you'd like to say 2000 BC that would be as good a guess as any.

• Gen 19:1c . . as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.

It's believed by some that "sitting in the gate" indicates Lot was a member of the
town council. Whether that's true is debatable; but for sure his primary occupation
was ranching.

In those days the gate vicinity was an important civic location where people could
pick up the latest news and conduct public business like elections, marriages,
notary public, municipal court, rallies, and soap-box speeches. It was in the gate of
Bethlehem where Ruth's husband Boaz defended her cause and claimed the woman
of Moab for his wife. (Ruth 4)

Lot probably wrapped up every one of his days at the gate before going on home;
kind of like an ancient Miller time. Even today, either a newspaper or a television
news program caps the day for many men in America.

• Gen 19:1d . .When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them

Don't miss this man's courteous manners. Even living amongst the wickedest
people in the whole region, Lot still practiced his uncle's brand of hospitality. No
doubt a result of the years he spent under Abraham's wing. Actually Lot was a very
good man in spite of his town's reputation. He stood out like a carnation blooming
in a landfill.

• Gen 19:1e-2a . . bowing low with his face to the ground, he said: Please, my
lords, turn aside to your servant's house to spend the night, and bathe your feet;
then you may be on your way early.

Bowing low is both an act of worship and/or deference to one's superiors. The word
is shachah (shaw-khaw') the same word used at Gen 22:5 for Abraham's worship
during the course of offering his son Isaac as a burnt offering; and during
Abraham's bargaining with Heth's kin at Gen 23:7.

The word for "lords" that Genesis' author chose for the messengers is 'adown (aw
done') which is a nondescript title of respect and can apply to ordinary human
beings like as in Rachel's respect for her father Laban in Gen 32:35.

Coupled with hospitality, was no doubt Lot's fear for these stranger's safety. Lot
knew Sodom, and knew what might happen to those men if they stayed anywhere
else but in his home and behind his walls.

Exactly why Lot took an interest in these men's safety isn't stated. It could be that
they were gentle and unarmed; thus, by all appearances, easy prey for the town's
rather undignified forms of entertainment.

• Gen 19:2b . . But they said: No, we will spend the night in the square.

Their response was most likely a customary refusal, with the intention of accepting
Lot's hospitality only after some polite resistance to test the sincerity of his offer.
Their response to Lot is somewhat different than the response of the men who
visited Abraham. Those accepted Abraham's offer immediately, and without
resistance.

• Gen 19:3 . . But he insisted, so they turned his way and entered his house. He
prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

The Hebrew word for "unleavened" is matstsah (mats-tsaw') which essentially
refers to an unfermented cake or loaf; in other words: bread made with sweet
dough rather than sour.

In this day and age of cultured yeast it's not easy to explain what the Bible means
by leavened and unleavened. Well; the primary difference between the two terms
isn't ingredients; rather, the primary difference is age; for example:

"Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven" (1Cor 5:8)

If there is an old leaven, then there must be a new leaven; just as there is an old
wine and a new wine.

Given time, dough will sour on its own without the addition of yeast because all
flour, no matter how carefully it's milled and packaged, contains a percentage of
naturally-occurring fungi. New leaven, then, would refer to a time in the life of the
dough before the flour's naturally-occurring fungi has time to spoil the product; for
example:

"So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls
bound up in the clothes on their shoulders." (Ex 12:34)

That gives an idea of how quickly God moved the people out of Egypt after slaying
all the firstborn. They had made bread with unfermented dough for that night's
meal in accord with the law of the Passover instituted in the 12th chapter of
Exodus.

Anyway, point being; Lot served his guests fresh bread made with fresh dough
rather than day-old bread or bread made with dough that's been sitting around for
a while. Bread made with sour dough is reasonably safe to eat, we know that, so
serving his guests bread made with aged dough wouldn't have been a health issue.

However, bread made with fresh dough is a practicality. It can be baked right away
whereas blended with starter dough it has to be given time to rise; so leavened is not
a good choice if you're in a hurry and/or time is a factor.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:4 . .They had not yet lain down, when the townspeople, the men of
Sodom, young and old-- all the people to the last man --gathered about the house.

The word for "men" is from 'enowsh (en-oshe') : an ambiguous word that means: a
mortal; a human being in general (singly or collectively). It can also mean:
husband, person, and people.

So it wasn't just the males; it was everybody, young and old, gathered around Lot's
door. All of the women, all of the kids, and all of the men. The entire town. It was
an event, and nobody wanted to miss it.

• Gen 19:5a . . And they shouted to Lot and said to him: Where are the men who
came to you tonight?

Everyone was bellowing and clamoring; like impatient fans at wrestling matches,
cage fights, and Roman coliseums; demanding their pound of flesh and pools of
blood.

• Gen 19:5b . . Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.

Since all the people of Sodom were in on this-- men, women, children, old and
young alike --it becomes frightfully obvious the townsfolk desired far more than
just stimulating gratification. They were looking for entertainment of the vilest sort
imaginable-- quite possibly a filthy stage show of unspeakable acts; maybe
including bestiality and bondage.

Exactly what the people of Sodom intended to do with the messengers is not said;
but Jude 1:7 states that the people were accustomed to "strange flesh" which
suggests that they used men and women's bodies for rather perverse purposes.

Other than Jude's information, the Bible is silent on this matter. It's as if the author
drew a curtain over Sodom and said: This is just too shocking. I'm not going to
spell out what the people of Sodom wanted to do with the two men under Lot's
roof. You will just have to use your imagination.

• Gen 19:6-7 . . So Lot went out to them to the entrance, shut the door behind
him, and said: I beg you, my friends, do not commit such a wrong.

No doubt those people interpreted Lot's comment that they were "wrong" as
judgmental. It was certain to provoke a hostile response in the typically indignant
manner in which evil people can be expected to act when somebody criticizes their
conduct.

• Gen 19:8 . . Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me
bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please; but do not do
anything to these men, since they have come under the shelter of my roof.

A culture that would sacrifice its own family members to protect the guests under
its roof is difficult for westerners to understand; for example pashtunwali, the
culture of the Pashtun people of Afghanistan. One of its principles-- nanawatai
(asylum) --refers to the protection given to a person against his or her enemies.
People are protected at all costs; even those running from the law must be given
refuge until the situation can be clarified. This was demonstrated when Osama bin
Laden was provided special protection by a group of Pashtuns in Abbottabad.

Nanawatai can also be applied when the vanquished party in a dispute is prepared
to go in to the house of the victors and ask for their forgiveness. (It is a peculiar
form of "chivalrous" surrender, in which an enemy seeks "sanctuary" at his enemy's
house). A notable example is that of Navy Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell,
the sole survivor of a US Navy SEAL team ambushed by Taliban fighters. Wounded,
he evaded the enemy and was aided by members of the Sabray tribe who took him
to their village. The tribal chief protected him, fending off attacking tribes until word
was sent to nearby US forces.

• Gen 19:9a . . But they said: Step aside! This fellow; they said; came here as an
alien, and already he acts the judge!

People like the Sodomites instinctively know that what they're doing is wrong, but
God pity the soul that dares to tell them so because their kind's feelings don't get
hurt by criticism; instead, they get angry.

Lot called them friends, but when push came to shove, they regarded him as an
outsider. And one thing you just don't do as an outsider is impose either your
values or your beliefs upon others. They will deeply resent you for it-- whether you
are right or wrong has nothing to do with it.

• Gen 19:9a . . Now we will deal worse with you than with them. And they pressed
hard against the person of Lot, and moved forward to break the door.

Talk about a thoughtless lynch mob! Those people totally forgot that not that long
ago Lot's uncle saved them all from slavery in a foreign land-- and this is how they
reciprocate Abraham's kindness; by assaulting his nephew?

• Gen 19:9b-11 . . But the men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the
house with them, and shut the door. And the people who were at the entrance of
the house, young and old, they struck with blinding light, so that they were helpless
to find the entrance.

(chuckle) That'll learn em' to keep one eye shut when somebody trips a flare. The
flash was totally unexpected and must have startled Lot right out of his socks. Up
to now, he was given no hint that the two men under his roof were anything but
ordinary travelers. "Jiminy! Where did all that light come from? There was no
thunder. Was it some sort of stealth lightening? How'd you guys do that anyway? Is
it patented?"

Normally it takes about twenty minutes for visual purple in the human eye to adjust
to darkness after a sudden burst of bright light. The flash didn't actually damage
anyone's eyesight so that they went blind. It just made their surroundings difficult
to see, like when someone pops your photo in dim light with a camera.

The situation now takes on a desperate atmosphere of survival. The crowd has
turned into an ugly mob; and it's fight or flight-- no other options. The Lord's
messengers chose flight because their purpose was not to remain in Sodom, but to
leave it in ashes.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:12-13 . .Then the men said to Lot: Whom else have you here? Sons-in
law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city— bring
them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry
against them before The Lord has become so great that the Lord has sent us to
destroy it.

Lot was like Noah in that his kin, no matter whether they were pious or impious,
had the option of going out with him to safety if they wanted.

Lot's head must have been reeling. Only just a few hours ago he was laid back,
catching up on all the latest news and gossip at the gate; and on the way home to
eat dinner with his family at the end of another routine day. In a succession of
rapidly developing events beyond his control; within 24 hours, before the next
sunrise, he would lose his home, his way of life, all his friends, his career, and all
the wealth and possessions and property and livestock the Lots had accumulated in
the 24 years they had lived in the land of Canaan.

My gosh! He is so caught off guard and must have been terribly shocked at the tone
of those two men. The awful realization of who they were and why they came to
Sodom slowly began to gel in his befuddled mind.

I feel so sorry for him and his family. Calamity, like a 9.0 earthquake right out of
the blue, pounced on them, and came to ruin their life. They will take nothing with
them but some suit cases, the clothes on their backs, and the breath in their lungs.
Lot was a well-to-do cattle baron; but he is just a few hours away from poverty and
losing his entire life's work in a fiery inferno. (cf. 1Cor 3:11-15)

• Gen 19:14a . . So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his
daughters,

It's been questioned that in a town famous for its gay men; what's with these
marriages? Well; Genesis doesn't really say that Sodom's men were gay. Stay with
me on this because it requires an explanation.

"Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these,
having given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set
forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (Jude 1:7)

The Greek word for "fornication" in Jude's statement is ekporneuo (ek-porn-yoo'-o)
which means: to be utterly unchaste.

A complete lack of chastity is exemplified by any number of immoral activities
including, but not limited to immodesty, indecency, public exposure, nudity,
adultery, incest, living together, casual sex, swinger sex, wife swapping, sex
between consenting adults, sex between consenting minors, sex between teachers
and consenting students, sex with a sex toy, sex with a mannequin and/or sex with
an inflatable doll, male and/or female prostitution, LGBT, suggestive postures, etc.

To be "utterly" unchaste implies not just a preference for those kinds of carnal
gratifications, but an addiction to them.

The word for "strange" is heteros (het'-er-os) which means: other or different. That
could be taken to indicate bestiality but I think what it really refers to is unnatural
sex; in other words: men sleeping with women isn't strange but rather quite the
norm. But men sleeping with men is rather strange; viz: queer; which Webster's
defines as: unconventional; in other words out of the ordinary.

Now, maybe the men of Sodom weren't gay; but their preference for the males
under Lot's roof instead of the females strongly suggests they were at least flexible.
A man, or a woman, need not be psychologically gay to fall under the
condemnation of going after strange flesh just so long as they go after it.

Sons-in-law and daughters are plural. So Lot had at least two more daughters living
outside the home with husbands. They will stay behind; and burn to death; and so
will Lot's grandchildren, if any.

Where were the sons-in-law when the flash went off back in verse 11? Didn't it
effect them? The flash actually only effected those who tried to break down the
door. Lot's sons-in-law were out in the streets that night along with everyone else
because Genesis said in verse 4 that everyone in Sodom to the last man was
present. Apparently, after the mob's attempt to lay hands on the angels proved
unsuccessful, Lot's sons-in-law remained nearby to see what would happen next.

• Gen 19:14b . . and said: Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy
the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a jester.

Lot's daughters had married Sodom men, with very sorrowful results. Lot's in-laws
didn't share his religious principles, and had no interest whatsoever in his god. The
husbands were counted among Sodom's citizens who were "very wicked sinners
against the Lord."

Sodom was not only a bad environment for a man of God to build a life and a
career, but it was also a very bad place to raise a family. Lot gave his daughters in
matrimony to unholy men and now the girls are going to die right along with the
rest of Sodom; and possibly some of Lot's grandchildren burned to death too.
That's an awful high price to pay to achieve one's personal ambition.

But after watching a number of documentaries on NetFlix; I'm convinced that there
are capitalists, Wall Street traders, lobbyists, sweat shop managers, and influence
peddlers capable of walking over the bones of their own children in order to
succeed and/or survive in the worlds of finance, apparel, textiles, and politics.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:15-16a . . As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying: Up, take your
wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the
iniquity of the city. Still he delayed.

The word for "delayed" is mahahh (maw-hah') which means: to question or
hesitate, i.e. (by implication) to be reluctant; viz: hang back.

I can best picture this with a scene from John Steinbeck's novel: The Grapes Of
Wrath. When the day came for the Joad clan to move out of their shack from the
impoverished Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California during the economic depression of
the 1930s, Ma Joad spent a few last minutes alone inside going through a box of
mementos.

She had lived in Oklahoma many years, since she was a young bride-- raised her
family there and enjoyed the company of her kin. As she held up an old pair of
earrings, looking at herself in a mirror, it pierced her heart to see etched in her face
the many years that she had lived as a hard-scrabble sharecropper; and that it was
all now coming to naught. Her clapboard home was soon to be flattened by a
bulldozer.

I can imagine that the Lots walked through the rooms in their house, reminiscing all
the things that took place in their home over the years. As the girls grew up,
maturing into young women, they made marks each year on a doorjamb to record
their height. They looked at the beds where each girl slept for so many nights from
their youth; and Mrs. Lot thought back to the days when she gave homebirth to
each one in turn, read bedtime stories, and rocked them all to sleep accompanied
by soft lullabies.

Leaving a home of many years rends the soul; most especially if kids grew up there
too. When I was about eleven, my parents sold the place where I had lived since
toddlerhood. I had a life there out in nature with boyhood pals: fishing and hunting
and exploring. It was so idyllic. Then we moved.

I was never the same after that. My heart was in that first home and never left it.
Subsequently, I became withdrawn, introverted, and disconnected; never really
succeeding in replacing my boyhood pals with new friends who could give me a
sense of belonging.

When ol' Harry Truman perished in the Mount Ste. Helens blast back in 1980, I
totally understood why he chose to remain instead of fleeing to safety. That
mountain, and his lodge, had been an integral part of Harry's life for just too many
years. Mr. Truman felt that if that mountain went, then life wouldn't be worth living
any more. He decided to go with the mountain rather than see it go and leave him
behind to live without it.

• Gen 19:16b . . So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two
daughters-- in the Lord's mercy on him-- and brought him out and left him outside
the city.

The word for "mercy" in that verse is from chemlah (khem-law') which means:
commiseration; which Webster's defines as: feeling sympathy for and/or feeling
sorrow or compassion for. Unless one's feelings are in the mix, their commiseration
is merely polite.

Does anybody out there reading this feel the plight of Lot's family? Can you feel any
of their pain? Can you feel their sorrow? Do you feel any sympathy for them at all?
None? Well . . anyway; God did. Yes, He was going to burn their home down and
kill the daughters who stayed behind. But God took no pleasure in it whatsoever.

"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering
like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that The Lord brought on me in the day
of his fierce anger?" (Lam 1:12)

Is the Lot family's fate nothing to you-- all you online who journey with me today
through the 19th chapter of Genesis? Just another Bible story? Well . . those were
real people you know.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:17 . .When they had brought them outside, one said: Flee for your life!
Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in The Plain; flee to the hills, lest you
be swept away.

The messengers won't be going along. They're to stay behind to supervise the
holocaust.

Up till now, it appeared that God intended to destroy only Sodom. But now His
complete plan is unveiled. The whole plain was doomed-- all five cities of the
Siddim confederation, and all of their agriculture to boot --including the livestock
and all the wildlife and all the pets; plus the children, and all the adults. A total
civil, cultural, environmental, and economic melt-down.

Compare that to Rev 18:2-24 where it appears that the global economy is left a
complete collapse just as rapidly as the twin towers of the World Trade Center were
brought down.

• Gen 19:18 . . But Lot said to them: Oh not so, my Lord!

The word Lot used for "Lord" is 'Adonay (ad-o-noy') which is a proper name of God
only; in comparison to the word 'adown (aw-done'); which is a lesser-ranking lord
than Yhvh. When the men first arrived in Sodom, Lot addressed them as 'adown
because he wasn't aware as yet that they were of Divine origin.

It's significant that the men didn't scold Lot for calling them 'Adonay. So then,
speaking with those messengers was all the same as speaking with God, and that,
it seems, is exactly how Lot now perceived them.

Lot was a righteous man (2Pet 2:8) but lacked commitment. He never really grew
in grace and the knowledge of God. Abraham's nephew was no more spiritually
mature at this point than when he left his mentor and relocated to the Jordan
Valley.

God instructed Abraham to walk before Him and to be perfect (Gen 17:1). But
when Lot moved out, he apparently never really took up a walk with God; but
instead found a home for his family among impious pagans; who would certainly
discourage Lot from getting too serious about his religion.

"Do not be misled; bad company corrupts good character." (1Cor 15:33)

"good character" in this instance is related to Lot's association with God. Watch how
he resists God's leading.

• Gen 19:19 . .You have been so gracious to your servant, and have already shown
me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the
disaster overtake me and I die.

Listen to this man! He calls himself "your servant" yet opposes his master's wishes.
Next, he expresses gratitude for the successful rescue, yet implies his rescuer
doesn't know what He's doing by sending him into the hills. Why on earth would
God send Lot to the hills if the disaster was headed that way too? Lot isn't being
rational and objective; no, he's being emotional and reactive; which people under
stress usually are.

• Gen 19:20 . . Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is such a little
place! Let me flee there-- it is such a little place --and let my life be spared.

Lot surely must have known that town was just as wicked as Sodom but he still
wanted to live there anyway as if his future was any more secure in that town than
the one he was just leaving. And why he thought a "little place" was a good place to
live is a mystery. But then such is the human mind. Little country towns seem more
cozy and wholesome than the big city to some of us. But all towns are populated
with human beings; and human beings are human everywhere.

• Gen 19:21-22 . . He replied: Very well, I will grant you this favor too, and I will
not annihilate the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do
anything until you arrive there. Hence the town came to be called Zoar.

Zoar is from Tso' ar (tso'ar) which means little. So maybe we could nick-name it
Smallville?
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:23-25 . . As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, the Lord
rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from the Lord out of heaven. He
annihilated those cities and the entire Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and
the vegetation of the ground.

What a sight that must have been. The people in Smallville probably thought the
world was coming to an end! Fiery hail fell out of nowhere. Everything all around
them ignited and went up in flame and heat with a suffocating, smelly pall filling the
whole valley like a nuclear winter. Talk about scorched earth!

Jude 1:7 says the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was an "eternal"
variety of fire. The Greek word is aionios (ahee-o'-nee-os) which means unending;
viz: perpetual.

Opponents contend that if the fire really was unending then it would still be out
there. But it's far more likely that "eternal" refers not to the fire's characteristics;
but to its source-- the smoldering impoundment depicted at Isa 66:22-24 and Rev
20:10-11.

• Gen 19:26 . . Lot's wife looked back, and she thereupon turned into a pillar of
salt.

If the chronology of the text is strict, then Lot's wife was turned into salt after their
arrival in Zoar rather than along the way. I can only imagine how the sudden death
of his wife-- so soon after the destruction of their home --must have effected Lot's
will to go on.

The Hebrew word translated "pillar" rarely refers to monuments. It mostly refers to
remote outposts, viz: garrisons (e.g. 2Sam 8:6) suggesting that Mrs. Lot's pillar
was isolated and stood out in that region like a wart on the end of your nose.

Her "looking back" was obviously more than just a curious gaze. Lot's wife was no
doubt thinking of returning; and hoping against hope that enough of Sodom would
survive the incendiary attack so they could search the ruins for their daughters'
remains; and perhaps even rebuild their previous life there.

It's tragic, but Mrs. Lot had to die; it was likely a preventative measure. Were she
allowed return to Sodom, no doubt Lot would have followed her back there like
a sheep to the slaughter just like when Adam tasted the forbidden fruit when his
wife offered him some; knowing he wasn't supposed to.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:27-28 . . Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood
before the Lord, and, looking down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of
the Plain, he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a kiln.

Poor guy. Now he began the very same vigil that so many relatives of airline
crashes suffer, waiting for some news, hoping against hope, that their loved ones
somehow survived. And if they didn't, were their bodies recovered? Abraham really
did love his nephew. I think it saddened the old boy's heart when Lot went off on
his own down into the valley. If only he had stayed in the place of blessing, up in
the highlands, this wouldn't have happened. And you know what goes through your
mind at a time like that? "Would of - Should of - Could of". Sort of like closing the
gate after the horses are already out.

• Gen 19:29 . .Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain and
annihilated the cities where Lot dwelt, God was mindful of Abraham and removed
Lot from the midst of the upheaval.

Lot was very fortunate to have an uncle like Abraham. Funny though, I don't
remember Abraham praying specifically for Lot. In fact Abraham's intercession was
generic, targeting only the citizens of Sodom in general, rather than Lot in
particular.

Lady GaGa once sang that a boy she liked couldn't read her poker face. Well, God
looks on the heart instead of one's face. He saw through Abraham's silence,
detected the old man's real concerns, and commiserated with him. That's why
believers should always be candid with God in their prayers. He will find out what's
really on our minds no matter; so we might just as well get down to business and
spell it out to begin with. (cf. Heb 4:16)

• Gen 19:30a . . Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the hill country with his two
daughters

Apparently Zoar didn't turn out to be the Pleasantville Lot hoped it might be.

The word for "hill country" is har (har) which means: a mountain or range of hills.
It's the very same word used to describe the kind of terrain where Noah's ark came
to rest in Gen 8:4, except there it's plural.

Why Lot didn't move back on up to his uncle's ranch is uncertain. You know, that
kind of makes me wonder why Lot stayed in Sodom after his uncle rescued him
from the clutches of El Ched. Surely they must have talked about Lot returning to
the highlands with Abraham where he and his family would be safer.

Genesis doesn't specify just exactly which direction Lot went. Both the east and the
west from the Jordan valley are hilly. But it was most likely the eastern side, that
is: if a later mention of Lot's domain is any indicator.

"When all the warriors among the people had died off, the Lord spoke to me,
saying: You are now passing through the territory of Moab, through Ar. You will
then be close to the Ammonites; do not harass them or start a fight with them. For
I will not give any part of the land of the Ammonites to you as a possession; I have
assigned it as a possession to the descendants of Lot." (Deut 2:16-19)

Moab was a district east of the Dead Sea, extending from a point some distance
north of it and down to its southern end and is today part of the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan. Its eastern boundary was indefinite, being the border of the
desert; which is irregular. The length of the territory was about 50 miles and the
average width about 30. It's a high tableland, averaging some 3,000 ft. above the
level of the Mediterranean and 4,300 ft. above that of the Dead Sea.

The aspect of the land, looking at it from the western side of the Dead Sea, is that
of a range of mountains whose western side plummets very abruptly down to the
Jordan valley. Deep chasms lead down from the tableland to the Dead Sea shore,
the principal one being the gorge of the river Arnon, right across from the kibbutz
at En Gedi.

Ruth was from Moab, and it was also where Naomi lost her husband. The Moabites
were Abraham's kin because they're the progeny of not only his nephew Lot; but
also of his dad Terah (Gen 11:27). Unfortunately, there has been some bad blood
over the years between Lot's family and the people of Israel. The most notable
incident being when King Balak hired that wicked prophet for profit Balaam to curse
Israel as they traveled past his country prior to entering the promised land after
their exodus from Egypt. (Num 22-24)

• Gen 19:30b . . for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar;

Well I can believe that just from media reports about Haiti's earthquake. Large
scale disasters just seem to breed looting, theft, vandalism, and violence. That
entire region around Sodom was in utter chaos and the local farms and ranches
were destroyed so that fresh food was scarce. And if Zoar's morals were anything
like Sodom's then Lot probably figured it would be next on God's hit list.

Imagine the situation if all of a sudden supermarkets had nothing to sell you. No
meat, no produce, no milk, no cereal, no rice, no pasta, no yogurt, no eggs, no
bottled water, no batteries, no bathroom tissue, no soap, no nothing. Whatever
people have, they'll hoard. And the have-nots would then begin to take it away
from those who have. In Lot's day, there was no such thing as FEMA, the National
Guard, the Red Cross, nor any other kinds of relief organizations. When the
ancients were beset by droughts and famines; the poor often had no choice but to
migrate to new diggings, indenture themselves, or turn to robbery and theft.

• Gen 19:30c . . and he and his two daughters lived in a cave.

It's really not too bad to start out in a cave-- kind of like being born in a barn --but
it's sad to end up in one at the end of your days with nothing to show for all of the
years of your life. My own dad was a case in point. He chased the brass ring all his
life, and ended up dying penniless on welfare. Lot and the girls became homeless
drifters.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 19:31 . . And the older one said to the younger: Our father is old, and there
is not a man on earth to consort with us in the way of all the world.

It's doubtful the girls meant the whole planet was void of men; probably just the
region where their cave was. It was isolated and lonely; and the nearest cities
where they might have met men were either now gone or simply unsuitable for
polite society. The girls became concerned that their dad would pass away with no
heir to carry on his name. I haven't a clue why they'd be concerned about that
because to be honest, there was certainly no advantage to being related to Lot
right then; he was flat broke with no estate to bequeath whatsoever.

Poor things. With no television, or radio, or newspapers, they had no way of
knowing what was going on elsewhere in the world or where to go for help.
Ironically; hardly fifty miles from there, right across the valley, was Abraham's
camp. He had at least four hundred men mature enough to go to war-- and
certainly many more than that who would just love to meet Lot's girls. But for some
reason the lasses didn't think of them.

Some people have assumed that Lots daughters were very young because Lot had
said back in Gen 19:8 that they had not known a man. Duh. Look where they lived.
Sodom. Those girls were at risk of becoming old maids in that city. Other of Lots
daughters were married, but apparently, there just wasn't enough normal men to
go around.

It's interesting that the girls seemed to think that oedipal relations weren't a bad
thing, which is no doubt because of their upbringing in a society that apparently
thought nothing of it.

• Gen 19:32 . . Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him,
that we may maintain life through our father.

It's certainly to Lot's credit that he would never approve of their plan while sober.
We might wonder what they were doing with wine. Of all the things to take with
them, why that? Well; it was part of their first-aid kit. In those days, wine was an
essential; and not just for boozing it up. (e.g. Luke 10:34, and 1Tim 5:23)

It's amazing that some people have actually accused recently-widowed Lot of
raping his own daughters. Webster's defines rape as: forceful sexual intercourse
with a woman by a man without her consent. The element of force is missing in this
event; and the girls were certainly consenting since the whole sordid affair was
their own idea. You know whose consent is missing? Lot's. This is clearly a case of
male rape if ever there was one.

Then there are others who attempt to invalidate the truthfulness of the narrative by
claiming a man Lot's age couldn't possibly breed two nights in a row. Maybe in our
own day that might be true for some men, but in Lot's day men were a lot more
virile than they are now. Jacob had to accommodate four women in his home, often
on consecutive nights; and he was well over seventy-five years old at the time.

• Gen 19:33 . .That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one
went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she
rose.

Well now; there's something about the birds and bees that isn't widely taught in
high school Health classes. It's actually possible for women to rape men because
the male reproductive system can be stimulated to function even when men don't
even think about it. Those parts of a man's body pretty much have a mind of their
own, so to speak, and it's not impossible for even men with no feelings below the
neck to father children. Apparently, the male reproductive system has a back-up
control center separate from the brain down low on the spine somewhere. I recall
reading about that in either Discover or Scientific American, but can't remember the
specifics.

• Gen 19:34-38 . .The next day the older one said to the younger: See, I lay with
Father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go and lie with
him, that we may maintain life through our father. That night also they made their
father drink wine, and the younger one went and lay with him; he did not know
when she lay down or when she rose.

. . .Thus the two daughters of Lot came to be with child by their father. The older
one bore a son and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. And
the younger also bore a son, and she called him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the
Ammonites of today.

The Ammonites' and the Moabites' land overlapped somewhat. Ammon's land was
more or less between the Arnon and the Jabbok rivers. The center of it would be
just about where the modern cities of Madaba and 'Amman exist today.

At this point, Lot's life disappears from the pages of Bible history. His death and
burial aren't recorded; nor any more of his exploits. The lives of Lot's daughters
disappear from the pages of Scripture too. Just think. They came from a wealthy,
privileged family and ended up foraging and surviving practically like human wildlife
all because their dad and mom just had to live in Sodom; a place whose morals
totally vexed Lot, yet he chose to raise his family there anyway (2Pet 2:6-8).

Christ's grandmother Ruth was a Moabite woman; ergo: Christ was biologically
related to Abraham's nephew just as much as he was related to Abraham. However,
in the Bible, the fathers determine a male child's tribal identity rather than the
mothers so you won't find Lot in Christ's genealogies because the official line to
Jesus is through Abraham's son Isaac rather than his nephew Lot.
_