Answers for a study in the book of Genesis: Chapters 18-19

“Answers for a study in the book of Genesis” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

Note: Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for Discussion or Going Deeper questions. If you use these kinds of sources share them with your group.

 1.  Review of Class Topic:  Before getting into the Bible study questions, discuss today’s class presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting or asking any questions.

Answers will vary…

Read Genesis Chapters 18-19:29 then, to the best of your ability, answer these questions:

2.  (Genesis 18:1-15) Who appeared to Abraham while he was sitting by the oaks of Mamre?

Research: What is a Theophany or Christophany? Discuss: How did Sarah respond to what God said would happen, and would we have responded differently?

18 Now the Lord appeared to him by the ^[a]oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. ² When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, ³ and said, “^[b]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not ^[c]pass Your servant by. ⁴ Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and ^[d]rest yourselves under the tree; ⁵ and I will ^[e]bring a piece of bread, that you may ^[f]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have ^[g]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” ⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “^[h]Quickly, prepare three ^[i]measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” ⁷ Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and ^[j]choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree ^[k]as they ate. ⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” ¹⁰ He said, “I will surely return to you ^[l]at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past ^[m]childbearing. ¹² Sarah laughed ^[n]to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” ¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed ^[o]bear a child, when I am so old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too ^[p]difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, ^[q]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁵ Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

• The LORD God appeared to Abraham with two Angels. This appearance is known as a Christophany/Theophany.

(From our study last week – question 6d on Theophanies/Christophanies)

• Anthropomorphism = God taking human form
• Theophany = A visible manifestation to humankind of God or a god
• Christophany = A preincarnate appearance of Jesus – usually in the form of the “Angel of the LORD”
• The term “Angel of the LORD” appears some 58 times in Scripture
• When the word “Angel” is combined with LORD (YHWH) it always refers to the second person in the Godhead = Jesus
• In understanding the persons of the Trinity, their individuality and roles, we will always see that Jesus is the one who shows us God in human form as no one can see God in His full glory and live (Exodus 33:20; 1 John 4:12)
• When Theophanies/Christophanies happen there is always a first-person pronoun like “I or Me” used.
• Other signs include giving praise or glory, bowing, praying to or referencing as LORD

Additionally clues that tell us this is an appearance of the LORD (usually only found in word for word versions like NASB or KJV):

• In verse 2 Abraham bowed, and no one told him to get up – for example, in Revelation 22:8-9 it says: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.””
• In verse 10 one of them said “I will surely return to you at this time next year…” First person “I” is used in vs. 14, 17, 19, 21, 26, 30, 31, 32
• “LORD” is used (YHWH) in vs. 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26, 33
• Capital “He” is used in vs. 15, 19, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
• Verse 21 capital “Me” is used
• Capital “You” is used in vs. 23, 24,25, 28
• In verse 25 Abraham calls Him: “the Judge of all the earth”

Discussion:

• Sarah “laughed to herself” (v. 12) which apparently was a doubtful laugh because God called her out on it – (probably being surprised He knew she laughed) she denied it, which shows her guilty conscious.
• Thought: This is probably a different laugh than Abraham’s earlier – his was a laughter of joy and unbelief at what WOULD happen ie. “I can’t believe this could actually happen”.
• God made an important statement here for all of us to remember in verse 14: “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? And, of course it happened just the way God said it would.

3.  (Genesis 18:16-33) In this part of the story the LORD (YHWH) stays behind to talk with Abraham while the other two men (Angels) head for Sodom. What did Abraham ask for and how did God respond? Discuss: Why do you think God entertained Abraham’s questions/requests, and do you think it is right for us to inquire of God like that too?

¹⁶ Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. ¹⁷ The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will surely become a great and ^[r]mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? ¹⁹ For I have ^[s]chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. ²¹ I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” ²² Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ²³ Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ^[t]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do ^[u]such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth ^[v]deal justly?” ²⁶ So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ^[w]spare the whole place on their account.” ²⁷ And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ^[x]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Now behold, I have ^[y]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” ³² Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” ³³ As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

• In a sequence of questions Abraham goes from asking God to save the city if there were 50 righteous, eventually down to, and stopping at, 10. God agreed each time (knowing that there ultimately would not be that many).

Discussion:

• We can see that God knew Abraham’s heart wanting to save Lot (again), and God honored that request by taking Lot and his daughters out (unfortunately not his wife).
• Many different answers have been given as to why Abraham stopped at 10 – It is speculation at best since the text does not tell us (It might be he thought that was how many people in Lot’s family, or there had to be at least that many righteous in the city). In reality, there were only 3, and maybe only 1 (Lot himself).
• Abraham had to have a comfortable relationship with God to be able to ask at this depth – and God obviously loved Abraham (hesed) to entertain his questions at this level.
• Abraham may have never understood how God answered him, since he saw from the mountain top the burning of the cities below, but God did answer his heart by saving Lot from the destruction of the wicked. (Note: The Bible does not tell us Abraham and Lot ever saw each other again)

Application:

• We can ask God anything with a true heart – He may not always answer the way we want, but He does answer, and He does promise to be with us always.
• Sometimes God says yes, sometimes no, and sometimes He says you’ve got to be kidding! And, actually a lot of the time He says wait. God’s timing is not our timing and He knows what is best for us in the long run… we don’t. 

4.  (Genesis 19:1-29) Summarize: What happened when the two men (Angels) went down to Lot’s house in Sodom, and what was the outcome? Discuss: Why do you think Lot’s family did not take the Angels’ warning seriously, and do we see this attitude toward God’s warnings (from His Word) in people today?

Cross-referencing: Was Lot considered to be a righteous man? Read 2 Peter 2:6-8

19 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and ^[a]bowed down with his face to the ground. ² And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” ³ Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴ Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people ^[b]from every quarter; ⁵ and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may ^[c]have relations with them.” ⁶ But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. ⁸ Now behold, I have two daughters who have not ^[d]had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them ^[e]whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the ^[f]shelter of my roof.” ⁹ But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in ^[g]as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against ^[h]Lot and came near to break the door. ¹⁰ But the men reached out their ^[i]hands and brought Lot into the house ^[j]with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ They ^[k]struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. ¹² Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; ¹³ for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who ^[l]were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law ^[m]to be jesting. ¹⁵ When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the ^[n]punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the ^[o]hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. ¹⁷ When they had brought them outside, ^[p]one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay ^[q]anywhere in the valley; escape to the ^[r]mountains, or you will be swept away.” ¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! ¹⁹ Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the ^[s]mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; ²⁰ now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) ^[t]that my life may be saved.” ²¹ He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this ^[u]request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called ^[v]Zoar. ²³ The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, ²⁵ and He overthrew those cities, and all the ^[w]valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶ But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. ²⁷ Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; ²⁸ and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the ^[x]valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a ^[y]furnace. ²⁹ Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the ^[z]valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

The Angels, upon entering the city, were met by Lot who bowed down in reverent respect, but the men of the city were depraved and Lot took the men into his own home. When the men of the city demanded Lot to give them up, Lot offers his daughters. The Angels struck the men with blindness (yet they still tried to get to them). Lot tried to warn others, like his son-in-laws, but they would not listen. The Angels then took Lot, his wife and two daughters out of the city. Even though they were told not to look back, Lot’s wife did, and she died (turned into a pillar of salt).

• The depravity was apparent right away
• Lot’s family did not seem to take him seriously – that goes to his character and reputation – they thought he was joking, or did not know what he was saying, and either ignored him (like the son-in-laws) or were slow in response. His wife eventually looked back (it seemed she longed for what she was leaving more than her relationship with her family and/or God).
• Lot even offered up his daughters to stop the men of the city, and though we don’t understand that, culturally speaking, it was probably very normal for that day and especially in that city.

Application:

• It is important to understand that we, like Lot, set a reputation for ourselves. Many Christians profess Christianity, but then live in complete opposition and instead embrace the culture of the day with its desires and ideologies.
• As Christians, the Bible shows us that God is true to His Word, He will never fail, and we can take confidence in that fact, especially when we have doubts, hardships and trials.
• When push comes to shove, and tragedy hits, do our friends and loved ones come to us for prayer and comfort, or believe us when we suddenly speak about the things of God? Or, do they laugh at as and think we’re kidding because we’ve never acted serious about it before?

Was Lot a righteous man?

On face value, and examination of Lot’s life, we might say no, he was not a righteous man, but, Peter tells us differently in 2 Peter 2:6-8:

“and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,””

• Only God knows our heart, and He knew Lot’s – but remember how our lives can affect others outwardly (and their chance at salvation). It has been said: “The only Bible many will ever read, is the one they see in us,” or “the only Jesus they will ever know is the one they know through us.”

Please join us each week as we continue our case for the Old Testament!

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

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Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15