Genesis 19:1

Genesis 19:1 says, And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;  When two angels came to Sodom, Lot was sitting at the gate and saw them and bowed down to them.  I am not sure that he recognized them as angels or just as strangers.  Verse two states, And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.  Lot invited them to stay at his house overnight, but they said that they would stay in the street.  Lot was offering them his hospitality, which was expected, especially of those who are God's servants.  We today should do all that we can to help strangers who may be in need.  Verse three says, And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.  Lot convinced them to come in for the night and fed them.  We should always be willing to do a little extra help others.  Verse four declares, But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:  Then verse five adds, And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.  All the men of the city surrounded Lot's house and demanded that Lot send the two men out so they could know them.  This does not mean get acquainted with them, but means to have sex with them.  Verse six states,  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,  Lot went out to face the men, shutting the angels inside.  He at least faced those that at that time were his enemies.  We must be willing to stand firm in the face of our enemies, no matter how out numbered we may be.  Verse seven declares, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.  Lot first attempted to reason with the men of the city.  He said they were about to do something that was very evil.  We should first attempt to reason with those who are about to commit an evil act, but we must call sin for what it is when we do.  Verse eight adds,. 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.  Lot offered the men a compromise.  He said he would give his two daughters to the men of Sodom instead of the two men under his protection.  I am not sure how his daughters felt about this, but I imagine that it would have caused them to lose respect for Lot, if they didn't hate him.  We cannot compromise by offering one sin in place of another.  Verse nine declares, 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.  The men of Sodom said Lot was a sojourner and was attempting to judge them, and that they would treat him even worse than the two strangers.  People intent on doing evil will quite often treat those who attempt to stop them very badly.  Verse ten states, But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.  The men inside Lot's house pulled him back inside.  It is always good when we have someone to back us up in times of trouble.  Verse eleven declares, And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.  The angels caused the men outside to go blind, and they couldn't even find Lot's door.  Though it was good that Lot attempted to protect them, they really didn't need his protection.  Verse twelve adds, And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:  The angels ended up protecting Lot and his family and told them to flee the city.  Sometimes, removing ourselves from evil situations is the best thing we can do.  I say sometimes because at times God may send us into an evil environment to share the gospel, but we need to make sure that is what He is leading us to do.  Verse thirteen concludes, For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.  This is further proof that the angels did not need Lot's protection.  God had sent them to destroy Sodom.  Sometimes, we just have to get out of the way and let God deal with a situation.  One thing more to note is that we never see Lot seeking God's guidance during this time.  When we are confronted with evil, the first thing we must do is seek God's guidance.