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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Genesis 19:1-3 wherein we observe the righteous act of hospitality and what it ended up meaning for the man Lot.
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
In 2 Peter 2:7, Lot is called a righteous man who was disturbed by the immorality of the people of his city. But “righteous Lot” simply isn’t the description that you would think of for this man in reading the account of his life. Actually, the text at hand is about the only good thing that we find out about him. Elsewhere, we see him being selfish, reluctant to obey, offering his daughters in a moment of desperation to a group of perverts, and impregnating those same daughters (tricksters that they were) while half passed out in a drunken state. What we must believe is that we’re presented with the worst about this guy who had true faith in the Lord and other redeeming qualities, one of which we see in his act of concern and hospitality for these angels disguised as ordinary men.
Lot knew the wickedness of the city, its homosexual obsessions and unwelcoming spirit, and refused to let some new visitors experience Sodom’s nightlife out in the open. Notice how he greets these strangers with great humility and a readiness to serve them. It may have been that he knew there was something special or important about these “men,” but had he known that they were actually mighty angels, he would not have feared for their lives. He treated them with warmth and concern, knowing that the men of the city had likely seen them enter and would be making plans to come after them (which indeed they did). He in this manner puts himself in harms way by granting them entrance into his house.
From the perspective of the angels, they might have very well thought that their best way to assess the extent of the wickedness in the city would be to hang out in the square over night, but because of the urgings of someone showing genuine concern for them, they decided to turn inside–a decision that actually led to the ultimate rescue of Lot and his family.
What we see in the hospitality of Lot is something we should all seek to emulate. He stands among those who have entertained angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2) because he was faithful to put into practice what all who follow the Lord are called to do. Are there those around you that need a welcoming, people whom you could bless by reaching out to? It might be that other things in your life aren’t in order the way that they ought to be, but this is the state that all of us are in; it was certainly the case with Lot. Jesus told us that our reaching out to others is actually a reaching out to Him. Let us practice the righteousness of imperfect Lot today.
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