Caller: Yesterday my friend and I were riding to Spokane to see Wintley Phipps and she was talking about Lot gave his daughters over to these men—remember they came to the city?—and she said ‘Why did Lot give his daughters over? And that they had killed them brutally. And I didn’t know what to answer her so could you shed some light, because I really don’t understand.
Pastor Doug: Okay, well this story takes place in Genesis 19 where the angels come to Sodom—and these are angels. Lot invited them into his home. It was a middle eastern custom that when you invited someone to your home, you would lay down your life and surrender all of your goods, and your whole family would die before you would allow them to be harmed. In other words, you agreed to put your life on the line to protect people that were within your home.
You notice, not only did it happen here in Genesis, you read the book of Judges and some men surrounded a home in the tribe of Benjamin and they sent out the wife rather than surrender the guest. And so for us it may seem strange. Incidentally, Lot did not give his daughters to the men of the city. He offered, but the angels ended up striking them with blindness and Lot’s daughters were spared and delivered from the city when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Okay?
Caller: Thank you.