According to Genesis 19:12-14, the "angels" told Lot to take his wife, sons,
daughters, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law out of: the town with all speed, for,
they warned him, it would be destroyed very soon. The family was unwilling to
believe this strange warning and took the whole thing for one of father Lot's
bad jokes. And Genesis continues:
"And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take
thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the
iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand,
and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord
being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the
city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he
said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in the plain;
escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. ... Haste thee, escape thither;
for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither."
According to this report, there is no doubt that the two strangers, the
"angels," possessed a power unknown to the Inhabitants. The suggestive urgency,
the speed with which they drove the Lot family on, also makes us think. When
father Lot tarried, they pulled him along by the hands. They had to get away in a
matter of minutes. Lot, they ordered, must go into the mountains and he must not
turn around. Nevertheless, Lot does not seem to have had unlimited respect for
the "angels," because he keeps on making objections: ". . . I cannot escape to
the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die." A little later the angels say
that they cannot do anything for him if he does not go with them.
What actually happened at Sodom? We cannot imagine that almighty
God is tied
down to a timetable. Then why were his "angels" in such a hurry? Or was the
destruction of the city by some power or other fixed to the very minute? Had the
countdown already begun and did the "angels" know about it? In that case the
moment of destruction would obviously have been imminent. Was there no simpler
method of bringing the Lot family to safety? Why did they have to go into the
mountains at all costs? And why on earth should they be forbidden to look around
again?