One biblical passage that may puzzle readers at first is Gen 18:20-21, where God says, "How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know."
At this point in the narrative, God has just demonstrated his omniscience by reading Sarah's mind (vv 12-15), so there is no question that he knows what is going on in Sodom and Gomorrah. But it seems that he wants to model, for Abraham and all his descendants (vv 17-19), how to conduct a proper judicial proceeding, with a public trial based on the eyewitness testimony of multiple witnesses. (One scholar who has explored this approach to Gen 18-19 is James Bruckner.) Conducting such a trial also gives the people of Sodom and Gomorrah one more opportunity to repent.
The evidence is presented in Gen 19, when two angels arrive in Sodom. The first person to be examined is Lot, who shows great hospitality to his guests (vv 1-3), much as Abraham had in Gen 18.
However, that night an angry mob came to Lot's house, demanding that Lot surrender his guests to them. Lot could not dissuade the mob from its evil intentions, and the angels finally immobilized them by striking them blind.(vv 4-11).
At this point the evidence was in, and the cities of the plain were destroyed after Lot and his two daughters escaped to safety.
As readers we struggle to make a fair evaluation of Lot. Lot initially settled at Sodom because of the wealth in that region (Gen 13:10-13). Was he wrongly valuing wealth and ignoring the spiritual problems there? The fact that he offers his virgin daughters to the mob (Gen 19:8) suggests that his own morality has been compromised by his time in Sodom.
The Genesis narrative implicitly compares Lot to Abraham in a number of places, and the comparisons tend to be unfavorable to Lot. For example, while Abraham is a father of many nations (Gen 17:4-6), Lot is the father of two, and they both begin with acts of incest (Gen 19:30-38). Lot is saved from the cataclysm partly for Abraham's sake (v 29). He seems to be an example of 1 Cor 3:15, someone who is saved but whose work does not survive the fire.
On the other hand, Lot can be seen as a kind of Noah figure, maintaining a righteous witness before a corrupt society. The apostle Peter later described Lot as "a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless" (2 Peter 2:7).
Rob Wilson shared further reflections on Lot, Christian witness, and "radical hospitality" in a sermon on Seder 17 given on July 11, 2020.
Showing posts with label Lot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lot. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Seder 12: Gen 14---Abram Rescues Lot
In Gen 13:14-18, God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abram and his descendants. But no one had yet informed the four Mesopotamian rulers who would invade sometime later (Gen 14:1-12).
Those rulers had been requiring the five cities of the plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar) to pay them an annual tribute. When those five towns decided they were tired of paying, their overlords determined to make the trip of several hundred miles and collect the tribute personally.
The invaders came south through what is now Jordan on the road called the King's Highway, subduing all the peoples they passed on the way (and perhaps collecting additional tribute). Later, in the fortieth year of the Exodus, the Israelites would come north on that road and claim these areas for Israel (Num 21). Perhaps those Israelites were encouraged by the exploits of Abram recorded in Gen 14.
After trouncing the cities of the plain in a one-sided battle, the army from Mesopotamia left with a substantial amount of booty, including Abram's nephew Lot. Taking someone from Abram's family proved to be a crucial error on their part. When Abram heard what had happened, he set out in pursuit with "his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them" (v 14).
The size of Abram's party is the only such figure given in the chapter, so it is not so easy to put into historical context. What we know about populations at that time suggests that 318 was a pretty respectable number, showing how much Abram had been blessed. Abram's army was probably comparable in size to those of the five cities of the plain, so Abram was in some sense a "king" himself.
On the other hand, Gen 14:1-12 emphasizes the strength of the invading force, which was probably substantially larger than Abram's forces.
The 318 is also an unusually precise figure, so there has been some speculation about its significance. An article published in 1969 (S. Gevirtz, "Abram's 318", Israel Exploration Journal, Vol 19, No. 2, pp 110-113) points out that 318 is the sum of all the prime numbers between seven and seven times seven (7+11+13+17+19+23+29+31+37+41+43+47 = 318). This is a fun fact but probably not relevant.
One midrash observes that 318 is the total of the numbers associated with the Hebrew letters in the name of Abram's chief servant, Eliezer (Gen 15:2) and suggests that Abram and Eliezer pursued Lot's abductors all by themselves, just the two of them. There is no hint of this in Gen 14, but the midrash does underline an important truth: It does not matter how small Abram's army is. What matters is that God is with Abram.
Abram and his trained group of 318 caught the Mesopotamians by surprise and recovered what the invaders had seized, including Lot. When Abram returned victorious, he established himself as a regional power. Would be now require tribute from the cities of the plain? No, he decided that he would steer clear of local power politics and make clear that he placed all his trust in the true God to provide for him (vv 21-24).
In his EBC commentary on Genesis, John Sailhamer notes that Abram could be said to have followed the principles for warfare against distant nations later laid out in Deut 20. He had
Those rulers had been requiring the five cities of the plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar) to pay them an annual tribute. When those five towns decided they were tired of paying, their overlords determined to make the trip of several hundred miles and collect the tribute personally.
The invaders came south through what is now Jordan on the road called the King's Highway, subduing all the peoples they passed on the way (and perhaps collecting additional tribute). Later, in the fortieth year of the Exodus, the Israelites would come north on that road and claim these areas for Israel (Num 21). Perhaps those Israelites were encouraged by the exploits of Abram recorded in Gen 14.
After trouncing the cities of the plain in a one-sided battle, the army from Mesopotamia left with a substantial amount of booty, including Abram's nephew Lot. Taking someone from Abram's family proved to be a crucial error on their part. When Abram heard what had happened, he set out in pursuit with "his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them" (v 14).
The size of Abram's party is the only such figure given in the chapter, so it is not so easy to put into historical context. What we know about populations at that time suggests that 318 was a pretty respectable number, showing how much Abram had been blessed. Abram's army was probably comparable in size to those of the five cities of the plain, so Abram was in some sense a "king" himself.
On the other hand, Gen 14:1-12 emphasizes the strength of the invading force, which was probably substantially larger than Abram's forces.
The 318 is also an unusually precise figure, so there has been some speculation about its significance. An article published in 1969 (S. Gevirtz, "Abram's 318", Israel Exploration Journal, Vol 19, No. 2, pp 110-113) points out that 318 is the sum of all the prime numbers between seven and seven times seven (7+11+13+17+19+23+29+31+37+41+43+47 = 318). This is a fun fact but probably not relevant.
One midrash observes that 318 is the total of the numbers associated with the Hebrew letters in the name of Abram's chief servant, Eliezer (Gen 15:2) and suggests that Abram and Eliezer pursued Lot's abductors all by themselves, just the two of them. There is no hint of this in Gen 14, but the midrash does underline an important truth: It does not matter how small Abram's army is. What matters is that God is with Abram.
Abram and his trained group of 318 caught the Mesopotamians by surprise and recovered what the invaders had seized, including Lot. When Abram returned victorious, he established himself as a regional power. Would be now require tribute from the cities of the plain? No, he decided that he would steer clear of local power politics and make clear that he placed all his trust in the true God to provide for him (vv 21-24).
In his EBC commentary on Genesis, John Sailhamer notes that Abram could be said to have followed the principles for warfare against distant nations later laid out in Deut 20. He had
- not been afraid of a larger army (Deut 20:1).
- taken only trained men ready for battle (Deut 20:5-9)
- taken spoil from the distant nations (Deut 20:14).
- not taken spoil from peoples in the promised land and stayed separate from them (20:16).
Monday, May 25, 2020
Seder 11: Gen 12-13--The Promise in Peril
At some point after Abram and Sarai arrived in the land of Canaan, they left during a time of severe famine and sought refuge in Egypt. Fearing that the Pharaoh would have him killed in order to add Sarai to the royal harem, Abram pretended that Sarai was just his sister, not his wife. Pharaoh then proceeded to add Sarai to his harem (Gen 12:10-16)
Abram's deception put his wife in great danger and jeopardized the future of his family. But God intervened, striking Pharaoh with plagues because he had abducted Sarai. Pharaoh then reprimanded Abram and threw them out of Egypt (vv 17-20).
In this episode we see an example of how God would deal with people according to their treatment of Abram's family. Pharaoh threatened that family and suffered as a result. We also see that God's promise to Abram depends upon his grace, not upon Abram's goodness.
This passage in Gen 12-13 also foreshadows the later Exodus. Abram and Sarai travel to Egypt during a time of famine, as Jacob would later. They are in danger there, as the Israelites would later be enslaved. Pharaoh suffers plagues, as Egypt would later. Abram and his family are thrown out of Egypt with great wealth (12:16; 13:2), as the Israelites would be later. And Abram then journeys by stages (13:3), as the Israelites would on the Exodus (Num 33:1). The repetition of exodus themes in the Bible sends the message that God is consistent. As he has acted in the past, so he will act again in the future.
Back in the land of Canaan with increased wealth, Abram and Lot needed to spread out to provide more room for their flocks. The strife among their herdsmen (13:7) foreshadowed later strife between Israelites and Moabites. Lot chose to go east to a fertile area near Sodom and Gomorrah, a move that looked good at the time. But as has been the case so far in the book of Genesis, people run into trouble when they head east in a direction away from the Promised Land.
Abram's deception put his wife in great danger and jeopardized the future of his family. But God intervened, striking Pharaoh with plagues because he had abducted Sarai. Pharaoh then reprimanded Abram and threw them out of Egypt (vv 17-20).
In this episode we see an example of how God would deal with people according to their treatment of Abram's family. Pharaoh threatened that family and suffered as a result. We also see that God's promise to Abram depends upon his grace, not upon Abram's goodness.
This passage in Gen 12-13 also foreshadows the later Exodus. Abram and Sarai travel to Egypt during a time of famine, as Jacob would later. They are in danger there, as the Israelites would later be enslaved. Pharaoh suffers plagues, as Egypt would later. Abram and his family are thrown out of Egypt with great wealth (12:16; 13:2), as the Israelites would be later. And Abram then journeys by stages (13:3), as the Israelites would on the Exodus (Num 33:1). The repetition of exodus themes in the Bible sends the message that God is consistent. As he has acted in the past, so he will act again in the future.
Back in the land of Canaan with increased wealth, Abram and Lot needed to spread out to provide more room for their flocks. The strife among their herdsmen (13:7) foreshadowed later strife between Israelites and Moabites. Lot chose to go east to a fertile area near Sodom and Gomorrah, a move that looked good at the time. But as has been the case so far in the book of Genesis, people run into trouble when they head east in a direction away from the Promised Land.
Here some have seen an analogy between Gen 13:10 and Gen 3:6. In Genesis 3:6, Eve saw that the forbidden fruit looked good and gave it a try. In Genesis 13:10, Lot saw that the Jordan Valley looked good and decided to go there.
Abram acts as peacemaker, reminding us of Matt 5:9.
After Abram and Lot parted ways, God reaffirmed the promise of the land (13:14-17).
Abram acts as peacemaker, reminding us of Matt 5:9.
After Abram and Lot parted ways, God reaffirmed the promise of the land (13:14-17).
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