After a tornado destroyed a trailer park in our community on highway 84 outside of Axtell and Mart, we offered to leave the front door of the parsonage unlocked, so that our neighbors could find safety in our home if they felt threatened by the weather. One morning, I walked into the living room and found people on pallets all over the floor. We were glad to help, but looking back, I'm not sure the model was sustainable.
Who answers the door in your family? Suppose a salesman came to your door to sell you something you didn't want; would you answer the door? Would you invite them into your home and show them hospitality? In many places, hospitality is a sacred obligation. Later the law would require the people of God to care for the guests in their gates. Our story today reveals Lot's good intentions and the people of Sodom's bad intentions.
In Sodom, Lot apparently served as chairman of the hospitality committee. He had moved toward Sodom and now lived in the city. Lot was not just loitering. Sitting in the gateway signified his leadership in the city. When the angels arrived, he was ready to welcome them. To discern the spiritual state of the city, the angels planned to stay outside. But Lot prevailed upon them to come into his house. The men of the city heard of Lot's guests and intended to harm them. Knowing the sinful nature of his city, Lot wanted to protect the men.
In recent days, some have seen this story exclusively as a breach of hospitality. According to this teaching, the point is not that the men wanted to commit sexual sin with other men (angels in disguise in this case), but that the men of Sodom were not hospitable. This is not an either/or choice. The people of Sodom failed to provide hospitality. But they were also notorious for homosexuality. Scripturally, both the omission of hospitality and commission of homosexuality are both regarded as wrong. The New Testament also addresses the sin of sexuality outside of God's design which is heterosexual marriage. Their actions revealed the utter brokenness of morality in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
