Unveiling Lot: Escalation

We last left Lot outside his house, having closed the door behind him, facing a crowd of men of unspecified number who are intent on sexually assaulting the visitors he has inside. These men are ranging in age from young to old and in status in society from every quarter. Let’s pick up from there.

Gene 19:7  And (Lot) said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. 
One of the things that is good to practice when we read the stories of the Old Testament is to try and imagine what was happening in that moment. Don’t treat them just as stories, God forbid, mythology. If the Bible is true, then these stories are true and the people in them are real people like you and me. In relaying the facts of an event, often the Bible’s narrative is remarkably short and succinct. It doesn’t tell you how big Lot’s house was, what it looked like, the action of closing the door, or any of those things. We have to infer such details. This becomes incredibly important to understand the character of Lot in light of what we already know about his character from Scripture (Lot is regarded as righteous) as well as his actions.
Let’s set the stage: Lot has just emerged from his house and closed the door behind him when he addresses the crowd that has gathered and is now clamoring for him to bring out the men. In the previous verse, it tells us that they called out to him. I would suppose that was a pretty ‘aggressive’ calling. It wasn’t a gentleman knocking on the door to politely ask. It’s important to understand this to help us imagine what emotions would have confronted Lot. Fear perhaps? Most likely. It’s also important to note that there is NO evidence in the text that Lot is aware at this point of the true identity of his visitors.
It’s been seconds from when Lot first is made aware of the grave danger to his guests and himself. His initial reaction is to step outside, closing the door behind him, and face the crowd to say, “Don’t do this wickedness!”
That takes some real courage there. No doubt filled with trepidation and knowing full well the threat in front of him, Lot’s first recourse of action is to attempt to dissuade them plainly.

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 unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. 

Now here is a place where Lot catches a lot of flak. And I mean, a lot! How little faith Lot has! How dare he be willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests! How could he treat his daughters as a battering chip! We could go on and on. I think perhaps it’s best if I were to simply make some observations from my extended thoughts on this incident.

• Firstly, of all the moments in Lot’s life, this one is by far the one I find Lot in a most questionable situation. Whether what he said in that moment was the right thing is something I can’t say for certain. There are many factors, some of which I will mention in a moment, but even if what Lot offered was not correct, that does not take away from the fact his final record is that Lot is righteous. (2Pe2:7). To regard Lot as the villain that many have made him out to be is equivalent to disregarding all the good character that David showed simply because he committed adultery and murdered his close friend. We understand that David fell. Perhaps Lot fell here, as he certainly had made mistakes and sinned in his life. We can’t say for certain, but even if you choose to look at it in that light, it doesn’t discount him being righteous in the end and certainly shouldn’t stop one from admiring the Christlike character that you can see in him and emulating such character. As Paul said, Follow me as I follow Christ.
• As is seen previously when Lot closes the door behind him, and as we will see in the response of the crowd, Lot doesn’t back down. When he offers his daughters instead, it does not appear to be him taking a coward’s route. He’s putting himself and his family on the line for the strangers. In the upcoming verses, we find Lot is pressed upon by the mob. You don’t read of him backing down at any time during that, but rather, the angels pull him inside. It definitely appears that Lot was prepared to die to protect them. In context then, Lot’s offering his daughters to the crowd would be an extension, as the family unit operates as one. Lot is prepared to sacrifice all that he is, including his family, to protect his guests. That’s some hardcore dedication.
• Something to keep in mind during all this is the timing. Lot isn’t left with any time to consider what to do. For all we know, this all happens in the matter of seconds. Put yourself in his shoes. How would you respond? Facing a crowd that can easily overwhelm you, how would you attempt to stop them?

The more I’ve thought about this offer, what it entailed, as well as Lot’s behavior overall, I can’t help but be impressed by the dedication to doing right. Lot refuses to give over the men, in essence, betray them, so the crowd can do evil to them. He’s prepared to offer up himself and his family instead. That’s some deep conviction there. Was it the right thing to say? I don’t know, but I think it’s safe to say that his heart was in the right place and shows a strength of character in the face of imminent danger that is commendable.

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.

Something that I find particularly interesting in this verse is the repetition of what they say.

And they said, ‘Stand back’

And they said again, “This fellow . . . .”

Why does the text repeat, ‘And they said’?
We can’t say for certain, but it’s almost as if there was an interruption between the two statements. Let me explain what I mean:
In every story, there’s always the question of what is happening that is not recorded. For example, Lot goes outside. How long passes between Lot coming outside and him speaking? Is there one spokesperson for the group? Or is it a motley crew yelling out in no particular order? When they speak, ‘Stand back!’ and then they speak again . . . did something happen in between?

It’s an interesting possibility, for as we see at the end of the verse, the crowd is literally pushing against Lot in an attempt to break down the door. There’s a strong implication that Lot is actively resisting them. Perhaps it went something like this:

They say, “Stand back!”
Lot doesn’t retreat, but stands his ground. Perhaps he makes further comment on their behavior. Perhaps it’s a simple, ‘No.’

They then say, “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.”

If you look at the escalation, it really seems like Lot has done something else that displeases them to the point that they decide they’re going to do something to him as well.
Here’s the escalation: first they ask Lot to bring out the strangers. He rebuffs them. They respond by telling him to back down. They then say he’s a good-for-nothing stranger who they are going to do far worse to him than they were in raping the strangers. That’s an escalation right there, and it seems plausible that Lot rebuffed them more than once to get such a violent response.

It’s also in this verse that we have the interesting statement, “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge“. We’ve already observed the likelihood that Lot held a position as a judge/elder in the city, this statement being a primary piece of evidence. The fact that this is given in a very heated statement as well as how quickly the situation escalates seems to indicate that Lot has been in the business of calling his ‘countrymen’ to repentance. They resent him, and have little patience left for his ‘antics’.

The idea of Lot being a ‘preacher’ is further supported by the fact he’s paralleled with Noah by Jesus. Noah being held up as a preacher to the antediluvian world, it adds yet another indicator that Lot in some measure was calling his countrymen to repentance. As we will soon see, this night would be the climax of his ‘ministry’ as he attempts to save people.

It’s of note that Lot is still seen as a stranger, despite having lived in Sodom for over a decade. If Lot had been corrupted by Sodom as some commentators have said, it seems a bit strange that he was marked out as a stranger. Apparently, if there had been any corruption on Lot, it was so insignificant that he was not regarded as ‘one of them’.

Finally, we come to the escalation from threats to actual violence. The men who have surrounded the house now press upon Lot in an attempt to break the door down. As we will note in the next verse, Lot is still in front of the door when the angels pull him in. It seems to be that Lot is not attempting to get inside, rather, he’s actively resisting the attempts to open the door.

After all the times I’ve read over this story over the years, I’m surprised at how much I’ve missed regarding the events and Lot’s own character. When Lot steps out and reprimands a boisterous mob, that takes courage. When he offers his daughters to the mob, he’s offering what was probably most precious to him, and for all intents and purposes, he’s not giving one inch of ground willingly to the crowd, even if it cost him his life. And for what reason? To protect two strangers who had come into the city who he had insisted come to his place for lodging instead of staying in the street. He refused to participate in the sin of Sodom. He refused to even aid them one bit. Instead he fought them every inch of the way. He was prepared for all intents and purposes to die there. That’s courage.

I hope that if the day comes that I am challenged on my beliefs and doing righteousness before God, I will be prepared to offer all that I have, am, and my life for such a cause. That I might emulate the courage of Lot!

As we shall soon see, what Lot probably thought was the end for him, was the moment when God intervened. If you stand for righteousness, God is never far away. His eyes are looking throughout the earth for those who are striving to do right!