Genesis 19:4 - Meaning and Application

Now it was plain, beyond doubt, that Sodom’s outcry was fully deserved. This one night showed that they had filled up the measure of their guilt. We see here that all of them were wicked, (Genesis 19:4). Their sin had become general, and they all joined together in one evil plan. Old and young were involved, from every part of the city, and the older people were not beyond it while the younger had quickly learned it.

Either they had no rulers to keep order and protect the innocent, or their rulers were helping the crime. When sin spreads through a whole people, it can ruin a place completely (Isaiah 1:5-7).

They had also reached the highest level of evil. They were “sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13). First, this was a most unnatural and shameful sin, the one that still bears their name, called sodomy. They had given themselves over to vile passions (Romans 1:26-27), worse than animals and a lasting disgrace to human nature. Anyone with even a small sense of right and wrong should feel horror at it. Those who allow themselves in unnatural uncleanness are marked for the punishment of eternal fire. See (Jude 1:7).

Second, they were not ashamed to admit it and to push their plan by force. The sin would have been bad enough if it had been done in secret through deceit or pressure. Instead, they openly declared war on purity and challenged it in public. That is why bold sinners are said to “declare their sin as Sodom” (Isaiah 3:9). People who grow shameless in sin usually become stubborn against repentance, and that will destroy them. Hearts are truly hard when people sin openly and defiantly (Jeremiah 6:15).

Third, when Lot stepped in with all possible gentleness to stop the violence of their lust, they answered him with open insult and abuse. He put himself among them (Jeremiah 6:6). He spoke politely, called them brothers (Genesis 19:7), and begged them not to do such evil. In his alarm, he also wrongly offered his two daughters to them (Genesis 19:8). It is true that when two evils are before us, we should choose the lesser one. But when two sins are before us, we must choose neither, and never do wrong so that good may come.

Lot reasoned with them and pleaded for hospitality and the safety of his house, which his guests deserved. But it was as useless as reasoning with a roaring lion or a wild bear. These stubborn sinners were ruled only by lust and passion. His words only made them more angry, and they went further in their wickedness until they had filled up their guilt. First, they mocked him and mocked his claim to be a judge, since he was not even a citizen of their city (Genesis 19:9). It is common for those who rebuke sin to be wrongly accused of being pushy, as if speaking with reason meant taking too much authority. Yet offering the kindness of a friend is often treated as if it were the power of a judge.

Then they threatened him and laid hands on him, and the good man was in danger of being torn apart by the angry crowd. Those who hate reform hate the people who warn them, even when the warning is given gently. People who are stubborn in sin often deal with their own consciences the way the Sodomites dealt with Lot. They push away every warning, silence every accusation, and press hard against all restraint until their consciences are hardened and quiet. Then they are ready for ruin.

Mistreating God’s messengers and faithful rebukers quickly fills up a people’s guilt and brings destruction that cannot be healed. See (Proverbs 29:1) and (2 Chronicles 36:16). If warnings do not lead to change, there is no remedy. See (2 Chronicles 25:16).

Nothing less than the power of an angel could save a good man from such wicked hands. By now it was beyond question what kind of place Sodom was, and what must happen to it. So the angels at once gave a sign of what they would do next. They rescued Lot, (2 Chronicles 25:10). The one who gives help will also receive help. Lot had tried to protect them, and now they took care to protect him in return for his kindness.

Angels are sent especially to guard those who put themselves in danger by doing good. At death, the saints are brought out like Lot into a place of perfect safety, with the door shut forever against those who chase them.

The angels also punished the boldness of the Sodomites: they struck them blind (Genesis 19:11). This was meant, first, to stop their attack and keep them from carrying it out. Those who had been deaf to reason were rightly struck blind. Violent persecutors are often left confused, so they cannot carry out their evil plans against God’s messengers (Job 5:14-15). Even after being struck blind, the Sodomites kept groping for the door and trying to break it down until they were worn out. No judgment, by itself, can change the corrupt nature and purpose of wicked people. If their minds had not been blinded as well as their eyes, they would have said, as the magicians did, “This is the finger of God,” and they would have submitted.

Second, this blindness was a sign of their coming destruction the next day. When God blinds people in righteous judgment, their case is already desperate (Romans 11:8-9).