Genesis 19:10-11 First recorded physical blindness!

Genesis 19:10-11: But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

Just in time, my favorite sentence-starting word in the Bible appears – “But”. This time the text does not say “But God” but the reference to “the men” is indeed to the two angels which were referred to in verse one of chapter nineteen. Clearly these were men completely under the control of God, bidding his business and doing his works. They were focused on Him in such a way that they saw things the way God sees them and thus were totally inclined to do as He said.

Attending Beach Church, Myrtle Beach, while visiting my daughter and family, I heard Pastor Dan Grider speak on being “totally engaged to the point of being fully captivated by God”. He said, when that happens we end up “seeing things the way God sees them and thus are inclined to do as He says.” What a goal for a believer! In my opinion, these men, God’s angels, already exhibited that incredible asset.

They reached out their hands (and we assume while the door was still open so all in the house could have heard the conversation Lot was having with the men of Sodom) and brought Lot back into the house with them, and they shut the door. I love that verse. It paints a picture that I believe is akin to how God standing beside us, hears and understands all that is happening to us, and if we let Him, He can and will “pull us back out” of whatever trouble, concern, worry, or mire of sin we may be in. And then He shuts the door on it. Whatever it is that is going on cannot have a permanent negative impact on us. It’s a done deal. The door is shut.

Scripture tells us that God’s men then went on to strike “the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness”. Given the order of the two sentences, I have to assume that this was done from inside the house with the door closed. This was indeed a God thing. Can you imagine what the men outside felt as all of a sudden they were unable to see? Here was recorded the first case of physical blindness in the Scripture. All of them were struck, both small and great, and they became unable to find the doorway. The text implies that they kept trying, even in their blindness, to achieve their own evil intention of harming Lot and the immorality they wished to take part in with those they thought were mere men.

I believe God is prepared to do the same for each and every one of us, if we let Him. When we’ve wandered out into the night, He’ll come and stand with you, then pull you back into His safety at just the right moment. Then He’ll do whatever is necessary to protect you from the situation you were in. Don’t you just love it when God inserts the word “But” in your life. Oh, that we would allow Him to do so more often.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.