Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Genesis 19 - The Big Apple



art


Gen 19:1 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
;

Lot recognizes the Holy agents, and was
probably expecting them, because he is
standing by the gate of the city. Their
arrival was mediated by Uncle Abraham.

Lot conducts himself with worship, bowing
himself, with his face toward the ground.
He beckons them to stay with his family.

This is a noble gesture, considering
how unsafe, Sodom was. Then again, a man
of faith would not challenge their ability
to defend themselves, they were ANGELS!

The Angels didn't need defending. It was
a humanistic effort, which turned out
cartoonishly horrific.

The 2 angels arrive in the evening.
Evening-
Hebrew for 06153
ereb {eh'reb}
` even 72, evening 47, night 4, mingled 2, people 2, eventide 2,
eveningtide + 06256 2, Arabia 1, days 1, even + 0996 1,
evening + 03117 1, evening + 06256 1, eventide + 06256 1; 137

Why does God's DAY begin at sunset?
Why does He mark every Holy Day
by the same order of evening/sunset
as the morning/sunrise?

The Angels arrive in Sodom at sunset.
This marks a new day.

Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness
he called Night. And the evening and the morning were
the first day.


Gen 8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth [was] an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

_____________________________________


Gen 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you,
into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash
your feet
, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your
ways.
And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the
street all night.


Lot's offer was outwardly gracious, "wash your
feet" (refresh yourselves)...

The angels respond in a slightly humorous way,
telling him that they'd prefer to stay out all
night. This was Mesopotamia's equivalent
to Las Vegas. They may have been there to
rescue others, too, but, Lot prevented that,
by locking out the trespassers, while he was
saved.

Gen 19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him,
and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did baked
unleavened bread, and they did eat.


Lot emulates the graciousness of his uncle Abraham.
This is a show of respect. It's through others that we
also learn our standards of behavior. He bakes a
quickcake and feast for them to eat, like Abraham
and Sarah did.

Lot is between two worlds, like the contemporary
man in the 21st Century. He makes a good living in
Sodom, but, he is losing the spark. He reacts in ritual,
not true solemnity, and heartfelt joy at these angels.

Of course, they were also agents of doom. Notice how
he wants them to spend the night and then get on their
way quickly.

He knows they are here for destruction, and he'd
prefer not having his business and home obliterated
by a holy holocaust. Maybe the angels were on their
way to Ninevah, again?

Gen 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city
[even] the men of Sodom, compassed the
house round, both old and young,
all the people from every quarter.

"The men of Sodom" have come to define "sodomites,"
based on an assumption that they practiced this sex
act, and were intent on having sexual knowledge of
the angels.

Sodom was equivalent to our modern cities.
The men of Sodom saw Lot escort these angels
from the gate, and both young and old men
wanted to see the angels for themselves.

They may have well come to see them, and
who knows if they may have repented and
be saved? Lot never gave them the chance.

Gen 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where [are]
the men which came in to thee this night? bring
them out unto us, that we may
know them.

"...that we may know them."
[03045]Yaw-dah
This verse has always been interpretted as their
pleas for knowledge of a sexual nature, but, that's
not how it's written.

There were words to use for sexual immorality,
but, the word Joshua used in transcribing Genesis,
is "know" of a general sense. It was Lot, who assumes
that they wished to "sodomize" the angels. Why would
young men, as boys, be at the door to sodomize the
glorious angels? Are the children of sinners not loved
by God? Don't depraved people need God? Don't
sinners long for knowledge of good?


Gen 19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door
after him,

Gen 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

[07489]wicked=ra'a' ra`a`


Gen 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not
known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto
you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only
these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the
shadow of my roof.


Oh great. This time he not only assumes they're there to
sexually assault the angels, but, he's willing to give rapists
his two virgin daughters, to rape and kill. Oh well. They're
only girls.

(It's not like the angels couldn't have kicked Sodomite
butt if they laid a finger on them. They were there to destroy
the town... D'oh)

Living in the proximity of corruption, Lot, an otherwise
good man, has become jaded and perverse. As we'll see
with his wife, she had an even harder time leaving
the Big Apple...

Who knows what Lot was thinking, but, it was
in the strength of a carnal mind.

Gen 19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said [again], This one
[fellow] came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge:
now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they
pressed sore upon the man, [even] Lot, and came near to break
the door.

The angels must have been very perturbed.
Lot is puffing his feathers, as a dangerous
show and game of chicken.


Gen 19:10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into
the house to them, and shut the door.


Lot is about to get himself killed. I wonder if
Lot looked like "Homer Simpson" to the angels?

The angels were there to shephard Lot, and his
family, because God had promised Abraham
to attend to them.

Gen 19:11 And they smote the men that [were] at the door
of the house with blindness, both small and great:
so that they wearied themselves to find the door.


While Lot was tinkering and being argumentative
with the crowd of men, the Angels had no difficulty
in dealing with the mob.

Gen 19:12 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:

Gen 19:13 For we will destroy 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.


Gen 19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which
married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of
this place; the the LORD will destroy this city.
But he seemed as one that mocked unto his
sons in law.


He withers, the weight of the
world on top of his shoulders.


Lot runs out of steam after his son-in-laws
laughed at him. His machismo was wounded.
Instead of fleeing, taking his two daughters
and wife, he collapses and does nothing until
the morning. There was no real concern for the
safety of his wife and daughters.

He withers, the weight of the
world on top of his shoulders


The angels had to rouse and literally
"short-rope" these people, and get them
to git going.


This region, on the hills near the salt sea, or Dead Sea,
known as the Valley of Shittim: Click on map for closer
look at the region where Sodom and Gomorrah was,
as well as where Abraham was, in Mamre, in Hebron.

Gen 14:3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim,
'which is the salt sea.

The salt sea corresponds with the composition of
the town's bedrocks and chemical composition.
The region now shows high levels of sulfur-
BRIMSTONE.


Gen 19:15 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.


Gen 19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon
his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD
being merciful unto him: and they brought him
forth, and set him without the city.


Gen 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth
abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not
behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain;
escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed.


Gen 19:18 And Lot said unto them, Oh no, not so, my Lord:

Lot has a hard time comprehending. He's
hypnotized by the life he had been living.
He's arguing with the angels, there to
save him.

Gen 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and
thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto
me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain,
lest some evil take me and I die
:

Gen 19:20 Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little
one: Oh, let me escape thither, ([is] it not a little one?) and
my soul shall live.

Gen 19:21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning
this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which
thou hast spoken.

Gen 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till
thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was
called Zoar.

A desirable place to live, so Lot beseeches the angels
to let them stay there, and sparing the city.


Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain'
of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the
LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden
of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Gen 14:2 [That these] made war with Bera king of Sodom, and
with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber
king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

Gen 14:8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of
Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and
the king of Bela (the same [is] Zoar;) and they joined battle with
them in the vale of Siddim;


Gen 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
fire and brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;


Gen 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all
the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon
the ground.


Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became
a pillar of salt.


Pillar-

Hebrew for 05333
PILLAR
n@tsiyb {nets-eeb'} or n@tsib {nets-eeb}

1) set over, something placed, pillar, prefect, garrison, post

a) pillar

b) prefect, deputy
garrison 9, officer 1, pillar 1, variant 1; 12

Pillar - Netseeb- is used as a standard, to stand
for something, or as a defense, as in it's use
to describe garrisons.

Lot's wife is vaporized, with the crust of the
dead salt sea, encapsulating her dust and
congealing into a sign of wonder. She was
frozen to the spot, as a pillar, and as a
sign of the heavenly event that transpired.

Salt Sea=Dead Sea=Vale of Shittim=Sodom and
Gomorrah, Zoar, were all prospering cities in
the salt sea region.

Gen 14:3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim,
which is the salt sea.

The word "salt" occurs 41 times in 35 verses:

Lev 2:13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou
season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the
covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering:
with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.

In Leviticus, salt is required by God, so the
Priests load on the NaCl. Salt preserves, and
improves the flavor of meats. Salt also was
life-giving, especially in desert climates,
where minerals are depleted by sweating and
drinking larger quantities of fluids.

Salt, and minerals from the Dead sea, are still a
luxury commodity. Back then, I'm sure the salt
mine workers were valuable in producing salt,
which was life and death to desert dwelling
nomads.

Sodom sounds like the goldmine towns that
sprung up in California, in 1849. Salt was
almost as good as gold, to the desert bedoin,
whose lives were improved by salt.

The cross-section of salt-mine workers,
merchants, food, beverage, and other
commodities created a flourishing community,
although crude, like the wild, wild west.

Without refrigeration, having proximity to
a vibrant modern city, built from the labor
of the salt mines, enhanced Lot's wealth and
helped preserve the meat he raised.

His affluence meant much to him, and it
was hard to leave that behind, even at the
cost of his life. As it was, his wife, and his
daughter's husbands all perished.

Lot's wife was flash fried, and left encrusted
with the valuable salts and minerals that
built their affluent lives in the rowdy life in
Sodom.

We can't judge Lot, because he reacts like the
average homosapien, with his logic misguided,
but, his priorities are different than those
of his Uncle Abraham's. We all are tested, and
Lot showed many lapses of good reasoning.
While he was considered a good man, what
is acceptable to man, and what is acceptable
to God, are two different things.

We all need to pray for the will to become
positive pillars to those around us, not pillars
of shame, like Lot's wife. We need to establish
the LORD as our focal point, and not take our
eyes off of HIM. Lot's wife was preserved, like
the meat preserved in salt. It was a gruesome,
gastly and ironic sign.

Gen 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the
place where he stood before the LORD:




Abraham had beseeched the LORD to save Lot
and his kin. God is true to his promises. Lot
had to be pulled along, almost in a daze,
not recognizing the strength of the angels
sent there to protect him, and destroy the
two cities.

Gen 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah,
and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld,
and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the
smoke of a furnace.

Gen 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities
of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and
sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he
overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.




Gen 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain,
and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in
Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

Even knowing the promise to Abraham, Lot is fearful,
and not able to trust in the LORD. He is looking for
Abraham to come out in battle-gear to save him,
without understanding how God saves our souls, but,
our material lives are left behind.

Gen 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father [is] old,
and [there is] not a man in the earth to come in unto us after
the manner of all the earth:

Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with
him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

Gen 19:33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the
firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived
not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

Gen 19:34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said
unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father:
let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in,
[and] lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

Gen 19:35 And they made their father drink wine that night also:
and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived
not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

Gen 19:36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

Gen 19:37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name
Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto
this day.


MOAB-
Hebrew for 04124
Mow'ab {mo-awb}
Moab 166, Moabites 15; 181

The region that Moabites dwelled, is in modern "Karrak,"
east of Dead Sea, vale of Shittim, and across from Jericho.

Moab has had an intricately laced relationship with the
Abrahamic tribes, as it was documented through the sojourn
of the Hebrews, behind Moses, Aaron and Miriam, through
the wilderness and towards the Promised Land. They were
alternately blessed and cursed.

Ruth, from "Book of Ruth" was the only non-Hebrew born
hero of the Bible. She was the grandmother of King David,
and she was a Moabitis. She represents complete salvation
in grace, as she is also the ancestor of Jesus Christ.

The measure of God's standard of mercy, is determined by
how the sons of Abraham treat their brothers. That applies
to the great nephews, as well.

Exd 15:15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty
men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants
of Canaan shall melt away.

Num 21:11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at
Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which [is] before Moab, toward
the sunrising.

Num 22:1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched
in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan [by] Jericho.

Num 22:3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because
they [were] many: and Moab was distressed because of the
children of Israel.


After Israel was established, Moab greatly influenced
the Israeli culture, and the Jews adopted many of their
gods and goddesses, of the great Jealousy, regarding
the prevalent Mesopotamian religion and idols.

This brings doom to both Moab and Jerusalem. The
Prophets have many sections of specific curses and
events involving the Moabites, Ammonites and the
Hebrews.


Isaiah 25:10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest,
and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is
trodden down for the dunghill.

Jeremiah 9:26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon,
and Moab, and all [that are] in the utmost corners, that dwell in
the wilderness: for all [these] nations [are] uncircumcised, and all
the house of Israel [are] uncircumcised in the heart.

Jer 25:21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,

Jer 27:3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the
king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to
the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand
of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto
Zedekiah king of Judah;


Gen 19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name
Benammi: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon
unto this day.

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