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Alpharic Research Institute

Centre for Research in Philosophy, Theology and
Ethics
Email: alpharicinstitute@gmail.com
+2349066927954

EXISTENTIAL EXEGETICAL STUDY OF GENESIS 19:12-26

(APPLIED TO CLERGY, SEMINARIANS AND THE CHURCH IN GENERAL)
BY
GODSWILL OME UFERE
Email: uferegodswillmatthias@gmail.com, godswillmatthias99@gmail.com; __GSM: +2347045155575
MARCH, 2021

BACKGROUND OF THE TEXT: specific details about lineage (Assohotto and

GENESIS 19:12-26 Ngewa 9).

Genesis is a book of the Hebrew Bible (the
Tanakh) and the Old Testamment. Oral
tradition credits Moses as the author of
Genesis (Henry 12). It is a book about
“beginnings.” It tells of such things as the
beginning of creation, of languages and of a
chosen nation. Commencing with the creation
of the heaven and the earth, and concluding
with the death of the patriarchs Jacob and
Joseph, this book supplies us with information
with regard not only to the first beginnings
and earlier stages of the world and of the
human race, but also to those of the divine
institutions which laid the foundation for the
kingdom of God (Keil and Delitzsch 127). It
also gives us an account of the generations
before and after the flood, together with
The book of Genesis is split into two unequal
parts. Chapters 1-11, the proto-history, focus
on the origins of the human race, and chapters
12-50, the period of the patriarchs, focus on
the origin of Israel. The much greater attention
devoted to the patriarchs shows what was the
chief concern of the author (Carson et al 55).
Genesis can be described as a book about
relationships. It shows the relationships such
as those between Adam and Eve, Cain and
Abel, Seth’s descendants and those of Cain,
Abraham and Lot, Sarah and Hagar, Jacob and
Esau, and Joseph and his brothers. Thus, the
book centers on the covenants linking God to
His chosen people and the people of the
Promised Land (Henry 12). But above all,
Genesis is a book about God: creating (all
things), saving (Noah, his family, and certain

animals and birds), destroying (with water in
Noah’s time, with fire at Sodom and
Gomorrah), choosing (Abraham), making
covenants (with Noah and Abraham),
forgiving (Jacob) and protecting (Joseph)
(Assohotto and Ngewa 9).
Our text has its leading chapters from chapters
11:10-25:18 which centers on Abraham and
his descendants. It discusses Abraham’s
movement from Ur to the land of Haran. He
moved out with his nephew but later separated
in chapter 13, his intervention on behalf of Lot
in chapter 14 and his pleading in chapter
18:16-33 (Assohotto and Ngewa 9-10).
Chapter 19 where we are taking for exegesis
this morning talks about the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah, wherein angels of the
Lord stayed in the house of Lot over the night.
And the next day, they helped to rescue Lot
and his family from the destruction that was to
come upon Sodom; though Lot and his family
failed to appreciate the urgency of the
situation, the angels dragged them outside of
the city (Carson, et al 75). They left the city
having been given instructions by the angels
but the wife of Lot never adhered to the
instruction and such resulted to her turning to
a pillar of salt.
EXEGESIS
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1. The Messenger’s Instructions (Gen.
19:17)
2. Lot’s Request (Gen. 19:18-22)
3. Destroyed by Distraction (Gen. 19:24-
26)
1. The Messenger’s Instructions (Gen.
19:12-17)
Now, the sin of Sodom had now become
manifest, for it is said before this verse that
their sin outcry to heaven. Lot's guests, made
themselves known to him as the messengers of
judgment sent by Jehovah, and ordered him to
remove any one that belonged to him out of
the city (Keil and Delitzsch 135). Through the
messengers, notice is given him of the
approach of Sodom’s ruin: We will destroy
this place, v. 13. The holy angels are
ministers of God’s wrath for the destruction of
sinners, as well as of his mercy for the
preservation and deliverance of his people.
Lot was directed to give notice to his friends
and relations, that they, if they would, might
be saved with him (v. 12): "Hast thou here any
besides, that thou art concerned for? If thou
hast, go tell them what is coming." This
implies, that the command of a great duty,
which was to do all he could for the salvation
of those about him, to snatch them as brands
out of the fire. Also, the offer of great favour.
They did not ask whether he knew any

righteous ones in the city fit to be spared: no,
they knew there were none; but they ask what
relations he had there, that, whether righteous
or unrighteous, they might be saved with him
(Henry, n.pg).
The visitors took steps for the deliverance of
Lot and his kindred before the destruction of
the cities. All that were related to him were
included in the offer of deliverance. There is a
blessing in being connected with the
righteous, if men will avail themselves of it
(Barnes 79). As soon as it was dawn, the
angels urged Lot to hasten away with his
family; and when he still delayed, his heart
evidently clinging to the earthly home and
possessions which he was obliged to leave,
they laid hold of him, with his wife and his
two daughters, “by virtue of the sparing mercy
of Jehovah (which operated) upon him," and
led him out of the city (Keil and Delitzsch
135). The fair warning that Lot gave them:
Up, get you out of this place. This manner of
expression is startling and quickening. It was
no time to trifle when the destruction was just
at the door. They had not forty days to repent
in, as the Ninevites had. Now or never they
must make their escape. At midnight this cry
was made. Such as this is our call to the
unconverted, to turn and live. They thought,
perhaps, that the assault which the Sodomites
had just now made upon his house had
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disturbed his head, and put him into such a
fright that he knew not what he said; or they
thought that he was not in earnest with them.
Those who lived a merry life, and made a jest
of everything, made a jest of this warning, and
so they perished in the overthrow. Thus many
who are warned of the misery and danger they
are in by sin make a light matter of it, and
think their ministers do but jest with them;
such will perish with their blood upon their
own heads (Henry, n.pg).
Lot seemed bewildered by the contemptuous
refusal of his desire to leave the place. His
early choice and his growing habits have
attached him to the place, notwithstanding its
temptations. His married daughters, or at least
the intended husbands of the two who were at
home ("who are here"), were to be left behind.
Though these thoughts make him linger, the
mercy of the Lord prevails. The angels use a
little violence to hasten their escape. The
mountain was preserved by its elevation from
the flood of rain, sulphur, and fire which
descended on the low ground on which the
cities were built. Lot begged for a small town
to which he may retreat, as he shrinks from
the perils of a mountain dwelling, and his
request was mercifully granted (Barnes 79-
80). With what a gracious violence Lot was
brought out of Sodom, v. 16. It seems, he did
not make a jest of the warning given, as his

sons-in-law did, yet he did not make so much
haste as the case required.
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Verse 17 of our text starts with an instruction
from the men (the angels). It reads, And it
came to pass, when they had brought them
forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy
life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou
in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed. When they left him there,
the Lord commanded him, for the sake of his
life, not to look behind him, and not to stand
still in all the plain, but to flee to the
mountains. In v. 17 we are struck by the
change from the plural to the singular: "when
they brought them forth, he said." To think of
one of the two angels-the one, for example,
who led the conversation-seems out of place,
not only because Lot addressed him by the
name of God, "Adonai" (v. 18), but also
because the speaker attributed to himself the
judgment upon the cities (vv. 21, 22), which is
described in v. 24 as executed by Jehovah. Yet
there is nothing to indicate that Jehovah
suddenly joined the angels. The only
supposition that remains, therefore, is that Lot
recognised in the two angels a manifestation
of God, and so addressed them (v. 18) as
Adonai (my Lord), and that the angel who
spoke addressed him as the messenger of
Jehovah in the name of God, without its
following from this, that Jehovah was present
in the two angels (Keil and Delitzsch 136).

People of God, to each of us are instructions
given by God which will help us to run our
ministries and live our lives according to His
will, but the question to us this morning is, are
we adhering to those instructions?, are we
following the commands of God? Many us
will discard any command God gave to us
when we check it to see if it will be to our
favour. But let me tell us this morning that,
whatsoever command God give to us is for
our good, for he declared in the Bible that the
thought he has for us is the thought of good
and not of evil, to give us an expected end.
Any expected end from God must come with
specific instructions which will help us to
achieve His will in our lives to the fullest.
Nothing is as precious as obeying the
commands of God. God delights in anyone
who obeys his voice and does His will. May
the Lord help us to stick to and obey his
instructions over our lives in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
2. Lot’s Request (Gen. 19:18-22)
At this point Lot began to fix for a place of
refuge for himself. Lot, instead of cheerfully
obeying the commandment of the Lord,
appealed to the great mercy shown to him in
the preservation of his life, and to the
impossibility of his escaping to the mountains,
without the evil overtaking him, and entreated
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therefore that he might be allowed to take
refuge in the small and neighbouring city,
which received the name of Zoar (Gen 14:2)
on account of Lot's calling it little (Keil and
Delitzsch 135).
The mountain was first appointed for him to
flee to, but, he begged for a city of refuge,
one of the five that lay together. It was Lot’s
weakness to think a city of his own choice is
safer than the mountain of God’s appointing.
And he argued against himself when he
pleaded, Thou hast magnified thy mercy in
saving my life, and I cannot escape to the
mountain; for could not he that plucked him
out of Sodom, when he lingered, carry him
safely to the mountain, though he began to
tire? Could not he that saved him from greater
evils save him from the less? He insists much
in his petition upon the smallness of the place:
It is a little one, therefore, it was to be hoped,
not so bad as the rest. This gave a new name
to the place; it was called Zoar, a little one.
Intercessions for little ones are worthy to be
remembered. In his persistence, God granted
him his request, though there was much
infirmity in it; Zoar was spared, to gratify him.
Though his intercession for it was not, as
Abraham’s for Sodom, from a principle of
generous charity, but merely from self-
interest, yet God granted him his request, to
show how much the fervent prayer of a

righteous man avails. Sodom’s ruin was
suspended till he was safe, for the messenger
said, I cannot do anything till thou shalt
have come thither. This implies that the very
presence of good men in a place helps to keep
off judgments. However, this shows what care
God takes for the preservation of his people
(Henry, n.pg).
Pastors and pastors in training, can we
remember those times we tried to make
decisions for God. Can we remember those
times we lost sight of God’s Sovereign will
and do what we think is the best for us? Can
we remember those times we do not allow
God to choose our lot for us and we struggled
to help ourselves, even when we knew that
without God we can do nothing. I know that
there have been times we tried to help God
help us and we see it as nothing. Sometimes,
w are being distracted by the good things of
the world which are temporal. At other times
we are distracted by the love of things in the
world. We see the case of Lot, who instead of
trusting in God’s providence started to
negotiate the best place for him to live with
his household.
Child of God, we must learn to trust God at all
times; he who has called us is faithful. Don’t
be distracted by anything. Look up to him, he
has all it takes to see you through. Let us stop
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helping God. We only need to obey his
command and he will do the rest for us. We
wish that we will take our livs in the lines of
this hymn, RCH 553, Thy way not mine, Oh
Lord, However dark it be, lead me by Thine
own hand; Choose out the path for me. May
the Lord help us to declare thus in our lives in
Jesus name. Amen.
3. Destroyed by Distraction (Gen.
19:24-26)
According to the word of the messengers sof
God, when Lot had got safely into Zoar, the
ruin came; for good men are taken away from
the evil to come. Then, when the sun had risen
bright and clear, promising a fair day, then
this storm arose, to show that it was not from
natural causes. Concerning this destruction, it
is clear that God was the immediate author of
it. It was destruction from the Almighty: The
Lord rained—from the Lord (v. 24), that is,
God from himself, by his own immediate
power, and not in the common course of
nature. the punishment of Sodom was a
strange punishment. Never was the like before
nor since. Hell was rained from heaven upon
them. Fire, and brimstone, and a horrible
tempest, were the portion of their cup; not a
flash of lightning, which is destructive enough
when God gives it commission, but a shower
of lightning. Brimstone was scattered upon

their habitation, and then the fire soon
fastened upon them. God could have drowned
them, as he did the old world; but he would
show that he has many arrows in his quiver,
fire as well as water. Again, it was a
judgment that laid all waste: It overthrew the
cities, and destroyed all the inhabitants of
them, the plain, and all that grew upon the
ground, v. 25. It was an utter ruin, and
irreparable (Henry, n.pg).
Verse 25 points to the overthrow of the cities.
"The Lord rained brimstone and fire from
the Lord from the skies." Here the Lord is
represented as present in the skies, whence the
storm of desolation comes, and on the earth
where it falls.From the injunction to Lot to
"flee to the mountain," as well as from the
nature of the soil, we may infer that at the
same time with the awful conflagration there
was a subsidence of the ground, so that the
waters of the upper and original lake flowed in
upon the former fertile and populous dale, and
formed the shallow southern part of the
present Salt Sea. In this pool of melting
asphalt and sweltering, seething waters, the
cities seem to have sunk forever, and left
behind them no vestiges of their existence
(Henry, n.pg).
Most painful was the case of Lot’s wife, who
after had been saved from the ruin of Sodom
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disobeyed the command of God and brought
ruin upon herself. Verse 26 of our text reads,
"She became a pillar of salt ..." It is a
mistranslation to make this read, "She was
changed into a pillar of salt." Such a rendition
turns the event into a vengeful retribution
executed upon this poor woman, but it was no
such thing. God was doing everything He
could to save her, even sending angels to take
her by the hand and lead her out of the place.
The awful destruction, having already been
commanded and in progress, was not sent
upon Lot and his wife, but upon Sodom. Lot's
wife entered the disaster zone contrary to the
will of God and against His specific
commandments. Thus, God did not "change
her" into a pillar of salt, as in some magical
tale; "she became a pillar of salt," as a result
of her own rash decision to enter the disaster
zone. This means that "Lot's wife, having been
killed by the fiery and sulfurous vapour with
which the air was filled, was afterward
encrusted with salt, resembling an actual
statue of salt; just as, even now, from the
saline exhalation of the Dead Sea, objects near
it are quickly covered with a crust of salt (Keil
and Delitzsch 137).
Lot's wife lingering behind her husband, and
looking back, contrary to the express
command of the Lord, is caught in the
sweeping tempest, and becomes a pillar of

salt: so narrow was the escape of Lot. The
dashing spray of the salt sulphurous rain
seems to have suffocated her, and then
encrusted her whole body. She may have
burned to a cinder in the furious conflagration.
She is a memorable example
indignation and wrath that overtakes the
halting and the backsliding (Henry, n.pg).
All kinds of reasons are alleged for the action
of Lot's wife here, and even what she did is
grossly misunderstood. God's command to
"look not behind thee" is not to be understood
as any prohibition whatever against merely
"glancing backward." It referred
purposeful "returning back" to the doomed
city. This is perfectly clear from the use that
Jesus made of this episode in the passages
quoted at the head of the chapter (Burton 19).
The sin of Lot’s wife was that she looked back
from behind him. This seemed a small thing,
but we are sure, by the punishment of it, that it
was a great sin, and exceedingly sinful. First,
she disobeyed an express command, and so
sinned after the similitude of
transgression, which ruined all mankind
(Henry, n.pg).It is the business of principle to
obey the right and the rule. It does not matter
what the law prescribes, for the majesty which
invests the government of God descends on all
the acts of His legislation; and it is not for us
to question their greater or less magnitude, or
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their superior or subordinate authority. He
shows us what He wills, and it is our part to
obey. In the case before us there was to be no
idolatry of home--no favourite objects to
preserve and bring away. They were to come
of the out quickly and unburdened. The general
command was to disregard all; and even the
particular precept could not be more distinct:
“Escape for thy life! Look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain! Escape thou
to the mountain, lest thou be consumed”
(Genesis 19:17)! Then commenced a struggle
in her mind. Here was her disobedience. Only
obey the voice of God, and it shall be well; but
to a
if thou disobey, ruin will be the result (Excell
n.pg)..
Secondly, she had unbelief at the bottom of it;
she questioned whether Sodom would be
destroyed, and thought she might still have
been safe in it. again, she was ungrateful.
Ingratitude. It was not ordinary kindness, but
particular and pre-eminent that was shown to
her husband, herself, and her household.
“Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do
Adam’s
anything till thou become thither” Genesis
19:22). As if His fury were stayed till the
complete deliverance of these, His favourite
charge (Guzik, n.pg).
Third, she looked back upon her neighbours
whom she had left behind with more concern

than was fit, now that their day of grace was
over, and divine justice was glorifying itself in
their ruin. Hers was an averted countenance.
Are we surprised at this? Think of the awe--
the panic--the agitation! Think of the natural
instinct which attached her to home. Was it
that her heart grudged to leave behind some
favourite whose misery excited her pity and
commiseration? None of these feelings are
manifested. But there is a wistful and
hankering look. Her eye seems enamored of
what she must abandon; the objects of vanity--
her companionships--whatever she coveted--
her pursuits—herfriends--her abode--her
flocks--all that she was leaving; and though
she saved what was of greater value, her heart
went after her covetousness Ezekiel 33:31);
and it was all concentrated in that look
(Excell, n.pg).
Also, she hankered after her house and goods
in Sodom, and was loth to leave them. Christ
intimates this to be her sin in Luke 17:31, 32;
she too much regarded her stuff. So, her
looking back evinced an inclination to go
back; and therefore our Saviour uses it as a
warning against apostasy from Christian
profession. So, referring again to the use Jesus
made of this episode (Luke 17:31,32), our
Lord mentioned the conduct of Lot's wife as
an example of what not to do, having just
admonished his hearers, "He that shall be on
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the housetop, and his goods in the house, let
him not go down to take them away." The
inference is clear enough that the "looking
back" done by Lot's wife was that of
interrupting her flight long enough to return to
their house in order to remove something she
had left behind. It was a fatal mistake. The
terrible destruction of the cities fell upon her
also (Coffman 21).
As a result of her disobedience, she was struck
dead in the place; yet her body did not fall
down, but stood fixed and erect like a pillar, or
monument, not liable to waste nor decay, as
human bodies exposed to the air are, but
metamorphosed into a metallic substance
which would last perpetually. Just as we see in
our New Testament text, how Ananias and
Sapphira the wife dropped dead when they
disobeyed the Lord. They lied against the
Holy Spirit. They were distracted by trying to
keep a part of the proceedings of the land they
sold and they were destroyed because of this
deed of theirs. Lot’s wife, though she was
nearly related to a righteous man, though
better than her neighbours, and though a
monument of distinguishing mercy in her
deliverance out of Sodom, yet God did not
connive at her disobedience; this points to the
fact that great privileges will not secure us
from the wrath of God if we do not carefully
and faithfully improve them.

Brethren, since it is such a dangerous thing to
look back, let us always press forward without
looking back. We are not to face destruction
as Lot’s wife faced because of
disobedience. She was distracted, not minding
the marvelous works God had already
wrought in her eyes, not minding the thus far
God had led her and her household out of the
land of ruin. We should not question what
God can do or think so much about what is
behind us. The Bible admonishes us to press
on towards the mark that is before us leaving
all that is behind that will distract us.
What is it that wants to distract us from
fulfilling our God ordained ministry? What
are those things that want to make shame of us
even while we declare that we are free from
sin and its entanglements? Is it relationship,
money, friendship, worries of
associations, and so on? Remember that Lot’s
wife did not have the opportunity to retrace
her footstep but suffered destruction. Those
distraction could lead to our failures in
ministry and life. There could lead to years of
disappointment. We must not have the lot of
Ananias and the wife. We must try as much as
possible to remain truthful and obedient to
God, else the destruction that came upon them
may be our lot. When we try to hide certain
things from God, it is a form of distraction,
when we give another place to God rather than
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the right place, it is a form of distraction. The
rule is resist distraction and suffer no
destruction,. May the Lord help us in Jesus
her name. Amen.
Brethren, some of the things that can distract
us from God or His commandment are friends,
social media, hobbies, music, our
smartphones, everyday worries, hectic
routines and commitments. We need to realize
that these things distract us from God and His
laws. We need to keep them in check because
when we allow these things to overly distract
and preoccupy with other things our ears will
not hear Jesus’ call to walk with Him.
CONCLUSION
Pastors and pastors in training, all we have to
do to escape this destruction that comes from
life, distractions is to look up to Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith. We are to see him as
the answer to all our questions. Obedience to
his commands are necessary in our lives and
ministries. We must desist from the character
of Lot who tried to make decisions for himself
without considering the will of God. We must
not follow the way of Lot’s wife, who
disobeyed the command of the Lord and
turned back. Obeying the commands of God is
one of the vital instruments we have to face
the world and the vices in it. Anything could
be a distraction to us, members, money,
 11

relationship, popularity, cares of lives, but Coffman, James Burton. Coffman

today the Lord is telling us that these are Commentaries. Abilene, Texas: Abilene
distractions that will only land us into Christian University Press, 1983. Print.
destruction of different kinds. It is my prayer Exell, Joseph S. The Biblical Illustrator.
today that God will give us the grace to live a London: Oxford University Press, 2006.
life of obedience that will anchor on God and Electronic Database.
may God’s grace help us not to be distracted
Guzik, David. Study Guide for Galatians.
in our lives and ministries in the name of
Michigan: Blue Letter Bible Ministry, 2001.
Jesus. Amen.
Electronic Database.

Henry Matthew. Matthew Henry Commentary

WORKS CITED on the Whole Bible. New York: Hendrickson

Publishers, 1994. Electronic Database.
Barnabe, Assohoto and Ngewa, Samuel.
“Genesis.” Africa Bible Commentary. Ed. The Church Hymnary (Revised Edition).

Adeyemo, Tokunboh. Nairobi: WordAlive London: Oxford University Press, 1927. Print.

Publishers, 2006. Print. The Holy Bible. King James Version. Apapa,

Barnes, Albert. Barnes Notes on the Old Lagos: Bible Society of Nigeria, 2004. Print.

Testament. London: Blackie and Son, 1890. ____________. Revised Standard Version.
Print. Britain: British and Foreign Bible Society,

Burton, L. New American Commentary. 1987. Print.

Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002. Print.

Carson, D. A.The Pillar New Testament

Commentary. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
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