Genesis 19:2 Commentary and Bible Study

Lot sat in the gate where he could view visitors coming into the city. He is a magistrate, but the city is vile; he has no moral influence in the city. What is the point of being a magistrate? He had splendid robes on and felt very good, but what a joke: to be a magistrate in a place where there was no law! That was the state he had got into. He was rich in terms of property and possessions, but viewed spiritually he was poverty stricken. He had put the wrong thing first in his life. Lot, seeing them rose, up to meet them and bowed himself, and called them to accept hospitality and stay the night. But he is unaware: he does not realise that they are angels, he thinks they are men, and he knows what will happen to them – they will be assaulted and abused. He does not tell them why it is so vital that they come into his house, but he is insistent. The two angels at first decline his hospitality, even though they know God has ordained that they will lodge with him for the night. They carry out their task to the letter. Lot is to be tested to see how he will respond. Calvin says that the angels act as if they believe they will receive the kind of hospitality that ought to be afforded to strangers visiting any city. They say they will abide in the street all night, the broad street says the Hebrew. That is probably within the entrance to the city where the market tents were usually pitched and the stalls, and where very often the poor travellers would stay for the night. All this detail is given to us lest we should imagine this place is only a little bit depraved.