Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

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LOT’S LAST DAYS 19: 1-3 8
There are three summarizations of Lot’s acts and their
motivations which are worthy of being presented here to
bring to a close this phase of our subject. The first is by
Whitelaw (PCG, 2 5 3 ) : “The usual apologies-that in
sacrificing his daughters to the Sodomites instead of giving
up his guests to their unnatural lust, Lot (1) selected the
lesser of two sins (Amhose); (2) thereby protected his
guests and discharged the duties of hospitality incumbent
on him (Chrysostom) ; (3) believed his daughters would
not be desired by the Sodomites, either because of their
well-known betrothal (Rosenmuller) , or because of the
unnatural lust of the Sodomites (Lange) ; (4) acted ‘rough
mental perturbation’ (Augustine) -are insufficient to ex-
cuse the wickedness of one who in attempting to prevent
one sin was himself guilty of another (Delitzsch), who in
seeking to be a faithful friend forgot to be an affectionate
father (Kalisch), and who, though bound to defend his
guests at the risk of his own life, was not at liberty to
purchase their safety by the sacrifice of his daughters
(‘Speaker’s Commentary’) .”
A second excellent summarization is that of Speiser
(ABG, 143): “Lot is dutiful in his hospitality. His man-
ner with the visitors, however, appears servile (‘with his
face to the ground,’ vs. 1)’ as contrasted with the simple
dignity of Abraham (18:2), and both his invitation and
nt preparations lack his uncle’s spontaneity. But
the unwritten code, Lot will stop at nothing in
order to protect his guests. Presently, the identity of the
visitors is revealed in a flash of supernatural light (v. 11).
The angels’ intercession serves to bring out the latent
weaknesses in Lot’s character. He is undecided, flustered,
ineffectual. His own sons-in-law refuse to take him
seriously (14). He hesitates to turn his back on his
possessions, and has to be led to safety by the hand (16),
a child-an ironic sidelight on a man who a moment
earlier tried to protect his celestial guests (von Rad).
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