Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Genesis
Book: Genesis
Chapter: 19
Overview:
The
Destruction of
Sodom, and the deliverance of
Lot.
(1-29)
The
Sin and disgrace of
Lot.
(30-38)
1-29 Lot was good, but there was not one more of the same
character in the
City. All the people of
Sodom were very wicked
and vile. Care was therefore taken for saving
Lot and his
family.
Lot lingered; he trifled. Thus many who are under
convictions about their spiritual state, and the necessity of a
change, defer that needful work. The
Salvation of the most
righteous men is of
God's
Mercy, not
By their own merit. We are
saved
By Grace.
God's power also must be acknowledged in
bringing souls out of a sinful state If
God had not been
merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin.
Lot must flee
for his
Life. He must not hanker after
Sodom. Such commands as
these are given to those who, through
Grace, are delivered out
of a sinful state and condition. Return not to
Sin and
Satan.
Rest not in self and the world. Reach toward
Christ and
Heaven,
for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not
stop. Concerning this
Destruction, observe that it is a
Revelation of the wrath of
God against
Sin and sinners of all
ages. Let us learn from hence the evil of
Sin, and its hurtful
nature; it leads to ruin.
30-38 See the peril of security.
Lot, who kept chaste in
Sodom,
and was a mourner for the wickedness of the place, and a
Witness
against it, when in the mountain, alone, and, as he thought, out
of the way of
Temptation, is shamefully overtaken. Let him that
thinks he stands high, and stands firm, take heed lest he fall.
See the peril of drunkenness; it is not only a great
Sin itself,
but lets in many sins, which bring a lasting wound and
dishonour. Many a
Man does that, when he is
Drunk, which, when
he is sober, he could not think of without horror. See also the
peril of
Temptation, even from relations and friends, whom we
Love and esteem, and expect kindness from. We must dread a
Snare, wherever we are, and be always upon our
Guard.
No excuse
can be made for the daughters, nor for
Lot. Scarcely any account
can be given of the affair but this, The
Heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? From
the silence of the
Scripture concerning
Lot henceforward, learn
that drunkenness, as it makes men forgetful,
So it makes them to
be forgotten.