Protection

DEVOTION

GENESIS

PROTECTION

Gen 19:1-3

19:1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." 3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

NIV

Before we get into the details of the situation that happens in this city between Lot and the men, the angels and the men, the angels and Lot and then of course his wife and daughters, we need to set the stage so to speak. Here we have Lot sitting in the gateway of the city. This would imply he had some form of prominence in the city. The gateway was the place a magistrate sits in judgement of civil disputes as well as a place to conduct business. From the exchange of the men of the city screaming at Lot about wanting to play judge, it may be that he was not a magistrate but he may well have been a successful business man. We know he was wealthy when he lived with Abraham, so much so they had to part company. We were told he pitched his tent near Sodom. He was living a nomadic life, living in tents, with flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, many men under his employ. Now he is living within the city, in a home, but not just any city, Sodom, a city filled with such grievous sin the Lord plans to destroy it. Why is Lot living in such a place? Was he attempting to bring some knowledge of the Lord God Most High to this city? We know he kept himself from indulging in their activities of sin. Although, as we will see, he did call them friends. We are not entirely sure just what Lot’s relationship was with the people of this city. But we do know that when he saw these two strangers approaching the city gateway he greeted them with the customary greeting of bowing down before them. We do not know if he knew of their divine nature. Yet he knew strangers would not be safe in this city during the night hours. He also, in his invitation to spend the night in his home, made sure they knew he expected them to be on their way early in the morning. He did not want these men spending any more time Sodom then they had to. He knew what would happen to them if they stayed in the square. Again we could focus on hospitality, but there is more than that here. Lot was being protective of strangers he knew nothing about. Surely if he did know they were of divine nature, angels, he would not have felt the need to protect them from the activities of darkness. It would seem the city was rather normal during the day light, business being conducted as any city would be, people shopping for the daily meals, vendors selling wears, buying and selling, disputes being brought to the magistrate within the gateway, and all the general life of a city. But at night, in the darkness, this city must have been filled with sin. This is why Lot did not want these strangers staying in the square. We see this truth with the New Testament.

John 3:19-21

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

NIV

This must have been the way it was in Sodom. For Lot could not see these strangers being victims of the evil deeds played out in the night hours under the cover of darkness.  Because Lot had some sort of relationship with the Lord he felt the need to protect these strangers. This might serve as a lesson. Should we not also feel a sense of protection toward those who might wander into a sinful situation, becoming the victim of the prince of darkness? How can we protect them? Lot offered his home as a refuge from what would happen to them in the square. He offered what he knew would be a safe haven, although it appears it might not have been that safe as we see from the rest of the narrative. Yet we have a safe haven we can offer all strangers who come into our gateway. We sit at the gateway of the city of Light, the paradise of God. Many strangers pass our way, and we have the opportunity to approach them, greet them and invite them into our home, the paradise of God. There they can find comfort, provisions and a safe place from the prince of darkness and the sin that lurks in the dark places to ensnare and entrap its victims. The reason we can sit in this gateway is we hold a prominent place in the city. We are co-heirs with Christ, We are the children of God, but we are also his ambassadors in a strange land. We serve as his ambassadors, we speak for our Sovereign Lord. But that also means we have diplomatic immunity. We are not under the authority of the prince of darkness. So let us sit in the gateway, as ambassadors of Christ, inviting strangers into the protection of our eternal home, the city of Light.