(6) Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah

 

(6) Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 19:1-3 『Now the two angels (Malach) came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When he saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. He said, “My lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, then get up early and go on your way.” But they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the street.” So Lot urged them. Then they turned and came into the house. He prepared a table for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.』

The phrase "evening" signifies a state of spiritual darkness, that judgment has come.

Malach means God's messenger, an angel. However, Adonai (the basic form is Adon) is translated as "Lord." "Lord" refers to Christ. The word "Adonai" is plural, but grammatically it is treated as singular. "Lord" is one, not plural. For example, "Elohim" (God) is also plural, but grammatically it is not plural, but rather one God.

The English Bible translates Adonai as "lords," and the expression "they" appears. Judging by the context, the English translation translates Adonai as "lords" in light of the two angels, and uses the expression "they" to grammatically align with the plural form.

Psalm 110:1 "The Lord (Yahweh) said to my Lord (Adonai: basic form: Adonai), 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.'" The Greek word for Lord (Adonai) is curius. However, the English Bible translates Jehovah as The LORD.

Mark 12:36 "David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, 'The Lord (curius) said to my Lord (curios), 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" The English Bible translates both the Lord, which corresponds to Jehovah, and my Lord as The Lord.

Genesis 4:26 states, "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." The Hebrew name for Jehovah is Yahweh. Here, too, the English translation (NIV, KJV) translates Jehovah as "The LORD" with capital letters. In the English Bible, Jehovah is capitalized as "The LORD," and Christ is written with lowercase letters as "The Lord."

The reason I say this is because I cannot help but say that both the English translations are incomplete translations.

Examining the relationship between Adonai and Yahweh, the Jews referred to Adonai when copying the Old Testament, but left it blank when writing it. However, when they created the Septuagint, they wrote it with the sacred tetragrammaton YHWH. However, the Diaspora Jews, centered around Alexandria, began to call it Yahweh by adding the vowels a and ai from Adonai to YHWH, making it YHaWHai. Therefore, Adonai appeared in the Bible before Yahweh.

It will be important to clarify the relationship between the two angels (Malach) and the Lord (Adonai).

"Now Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When he saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground." The two angels have human form, just as Jesus is both the Son of Man and the Son of God.

In Genesis 18:1-2, we see that the Lord appeared to Abraham, and in verse 2 of chapter 18, he is described as three men: "When he lifted up his eyes and looked, there before him were three men standing opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed down to the ground."

In Genesis 18:9-10, "They said to Abraham, 'Where is Sarah your wife?' He said, 'Behold, in the tent.' He said, 'I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.' Sarah heard this at the tent door behind them." The relationship between them and him is ambiguous. They represent three people (Jehovah and two angels), but he can be seen as representing Jehovah.

Jehovah tells Abraham, who is 99 years old, that Sarah will give birth to a son next year (when he is 100 years old) and that Jehovah will judge Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 18:20-22 “Then the LORD said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grievous. I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me.’ So the men turned from there and headed toward Sodom. But Abraham still stood before the LORD.”

Ultimately, Jehovah continued his conversation with Abraham, and the two men (angels) went to Sodom. Abraham asked Jehovah if he could stop the judgment, and he said he would stop it if ten righteous people were found. However, there were no ten righteous people.

It became clear that the two men who descended into Sodom were two angels. Who were these two angels, and who was Adonai? Yahweh, whom Abraham met, and Adonai, whom Lot met, represent Christ. God is a spirit, and the one who appeared to the world in flesh is Christ.

How did Lot realize they were Christ and angels? While he describes it as if he recognized them immediately upon seeing them at the city gate, this can be understood through his relationship with Jesus and the Pharisees.

As Jesus walked the temple, he offered countless people opportunities for repentance, healing the demon-possessed, the lepers, and the lame. While some may have recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Pharisees and scribes were completely unaware. Lot was called righteous because he recognized and knew that they were Christ through Christ's actions. However, countless people in Sodom sought to kill Christ for blasphemy.

"Come into the servant's house, wash your feet, spend the night, and then rise early and go your way." Washing feet symbolizes water baptism, that is, death. Therefore, it means going to sleep. Rising early and going your way means going through the fire baptism of the Holy Spirit.

"No," they said, "we will spend the night in the street." Jesus knew he would endure the suffering of the dark night before his death on the cross. However, through the Last Supper, Jesus established a new covenant. He spoke of the meaning of breaking bread and pouring a cup. This promised judgment and resurrection through death on the cross. "Lot prepared a table for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate."

Genesis 19:4-5 “But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, young and old, all the people from near and far, surrounded the house. They called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came in to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them.’”

The people surrounding Lot's house perceived Christ and the angels in Lot's house as people trampling on their idols. This was probably because the people of Sodom were captivated by those who performed amazing miracles at the city gate.

Before his death on the cross, Jesus faced all manner of criticism from the people. They demanded he be crucified. Jesus performed countless miracles and even raised the dead, yet why did the people turn their backs on him? It was because they viewed him as a powerful ruler who ruled the world.

Genesis 19:6-7 "Lot went out to the crowd and shut the door behind him. He said, 'Please, my brothers, do not do so wickedly.'" Wickedness is not welcoming Christ. The people of Sodom did not know Christ and sought to kill him.

Genesis 19:8 "I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever is best for you. But to these men, do nothing; for they have come under my roof."

This means that a daughter who has not been intimate with a man is not spiritually perfect. A literal interpretation might suggest a sexual issue, but this is not a sexual issue between a man and a woman. Rather, it points out and accuses the spiritual condition of the people of Sodom. Just as the Sodomites treated Lot's righteous daughter, they are demanding a spiritual repentance and refrain from crucifying Christ.

Genesis 19:9 "They said, 'Get out!' And they said, 'This fellow came in and sojourned as a judge; now we will do worse to you than to them.' So they pushed Lot aside and came near to break down the door." A judge is a leader. The Jews did not regard Jesus as a king, but rather acted wrongly by trying to kill him.

Genesis 19:10-11: "Then they reached out and pulled Lot into the house and shut the door. They struck the people outside, both small and great, with blindness, while they wandered about trying to find the door." Here, the people are Christ and angels. The righteous are distinguished from those who deserve judgment. This depicts God's judgment during the Exodus, distinguishing between houses that had been painted with the blood of the sacrificial lamb and those that had not.

Genesis 19:12-13 “Do you have anyone else besides these? Your sons-in-law, your sons and your daughters, and everyone you own in the city. Bring them out of the city. We will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has become too great before the LORD.

This story evokes the circumstances of the Exodus. The Israelites were enslaved by Pharaoh, subjected to oppression and hard labor. Similarly, Lot's family suffered similar hardships. Some Israelites during the Exodus attempted to return to Egypt, and just as God judged them, Lot's wife also exhibits the same pattern.

During the Exodus, Pharaoh of Egypt was judged by the ten plagues and allowed his people to leave after the death of his firstborn son. Lot and his family were forced out of Sodom by the angels and destroyed by fire.

The sacrificial lamb of the Exodus became a symbol of Christ, and the angel's command not to look back at the judgment of Sodom became a symbol of Christ. Faith is Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ is the death and resurrection of the cross. We must believe that what God promised in the covenant will surely come true. Jesus also said not to look back. Those who look to the kingdom of God should not look to the world.