One of the more famous stories in Genesis must be the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in chapter 19. But before we can get into what this story is about, it is important to eliminate what it is not about.
This story has nothing to do with homosexuality as it is understood in our modern world. Whatever one may feel about same sex relationships, this is not the text to consult regarding this topic. What (nearly) happens in Genesis 19 is basically gang rape, resulting not from same sex attraction or desire, but from exploitation, domination, and humiliation. The closest modern analogue would be something like gang rape in prison.
What this Text is About
Connected to chapter 18 before it, this text describes how Lot is rescued through his uncle's intercession on his behalf. Though Abraham only features in a limited sense at the end of the story, this text is all about him and how he is becoming a blessing, not only to his extended family, but in a sense to other (and eventually all) nations.
The gist of the story consists of the two angels who had accompanied YHWH in their visit of Abraham and his wife Sarah in chapter 18, arriving in Sodom in chapter 19. The two angels, who in appearance look just like two ordinary men, plan to sleep in the town square. Lot comes upon the two men and urges them to stay with him instead. Lot knows that outsiders are treated with contempt by the locals. Even though the angels oblige, word soon spreads that two outsiders have arrived, so the men of the city surround Lot's home in order to gang rape the visitors. Again, we must stress, this is about humiliating and dominating the outsiders.
Lot offers his two daughters as substitutes - a strange thing for a father to do - but the men of the city are not interested in sex, rather they are interested in exploitation and degradation of foreigners. They even label Lot with the "alien" slur. Though the men of Sodom were inhospitable in the most inhumane ways to these two men, Lot has welcomed them into his home. The contrast between the two receptions could not be more stark. A lesson for our modern world to grasp - God always is concerned with the outsider and the alien, and so should we be. Through the intervention of the angels, Lot is spared the wrath of the Sodomites, and the local men are struck with blindness.
Lot's guests inform him that YHWH is about to bring judgement on the city and he warns him that his family's only hope is to flee. Lot agrees with the two men, but is unable to convince his two sons-in-law to join the escape. As the sun rises, Lot and his family linger, but are "forced out" by the angels and head towards Zoar. Lot, and his two daughters survive, but his wife is unwilling to give up her urban life in Sodom and is destroyed, just as Sodom is. And so, due to the faithful intervention of his uncle, Lot and his two daughters are spared the grizzly fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Lord Remembers Abraham
In verse 27 we read that Abraham goes out early in the morning to the place where he had negotiated with the Lord. All he can see is the smoke rising from the destruction of the cities of the plain. But then we are told in verse 29 that God remembered Abraham when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham probably does not know it, but his intercession saves his nephew.
The Origins of the Moabites and the Ammonites
The end of Genesis chapter 19 serves as an origin story for the people of Moab and Ammon. Lot decides against settling in Zoar, and with him and his daughters holed up in a cave in the hills, the young ladies assume that they are the only people left on earth. Rather than let humanity die out, on two separate evenings they get their father drunk and then sleep with him. The result of these illicit encounters are the progenitors of the Moabites and Ammonites. Not the most glorious of origin stories, but interestingly, just as Lot is blessed by his uncle Abraham, so his descendants will find blessings through God's people in the centuries to come, despite being regional enemies of Israel.
And so at this juncture in our story, more and more God's promises to Abraham are coming true. But there's more to come. - Shay
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