Social injustice and sexual immorality in Sodom
Often someone with a brain injury has no outward physical signs of injury, and may have trouble convincing others that they do have a disability. It’s common for family, employers and friends to not understand there are problems when they can’t see any physical evidence. They don’t believe that there is a brain injury and think it’s a weak excuse for inappropriate behavior. Some people also doubt God’s judgment. They don’t believe that it will ever happen and think that hell is an imaginary place. But an incident in the Bible shows that God does indeed judge the ungodly.
Lot’s bad decision
Lot was Abram’s nephew who travelled with him to live in Canaan about 3,900 years ago (Gen. 12:4-5). After there was conflict between their herders, Abram suggested that they live in separate places and he let Lot choose first. Lot decided to live near the city of Sodom on the well-watered plain near the Dead Sea, while Abram lived as a nomad in the hills of Canaan (Gen. 13:10-13).
This turned out to be a bad choice by Lot. We have a foretaste of this as we are told “Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord” (Gen. 13:13NIV).
Temptation from Sodom
Later there was a war and Lot and his possessions were captured and taken northwards towards Damascus (Gen. 14:1-24). When Abram heard about this he took a band of men and rescued Lot and his possessions. When they returned the king of Sodom said that Abram could keep the possessions he had recovered as a reward. But Abram resisted this temptation.
Abram pleads for Sodom
When Abraham was told that God was going to destroy Sodom because of their wickedness and sinfulness, Abraham negotiated with God, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:23-25). God responded, “If I find 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake”. Then Abram said what about 45 righteous people? Then he progressively reduced the number to 40, 30, 20, and finally 10. And God said, “For the sake of 10 (righteous people), I will not destroy it (Sodom)” (Gen. 18:26-32).
But the next morning, Abram looked down from the hills towards Sodom “and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace” (Gen. 19:27-28). This means that there had been less than ten righteous people in the city of Sodom.
Destruction of Sodom
When Lot was told to escape from Sodom with his family because God was going to destroy the city, he told his sons in law, but they thought he was joking. So they perished in the disaster. Only Lot and his two daughters reached safety in Zoar. Like in the global flood, only one family escaped the disaster. And the town of Zoar was spared from the disaster because of Lot’s request to God.
“So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived” (Gen. 19:29). God remembered Abram’s plea for Sodom. God destroyed it because there were less than 10 righteous people. But He answered Abraham’s prayer by rescuing Lot. Only three people escaped from Sodom.
The destruction was so complete that there is considerable doubt today as to the exact location of the ancient city of Sodom.
Sodom’s sins
When God gave the reasons for His judgement of Jerusalem, He said that they were worse than those living in Sodom who “were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me” (Ezek. 16:49-50). The Sodomites were guilty of social injustice and sexual immorality, such as practicing homosexuality (Jude 7). And they were proud of their behavior (Isa. 3:9)! These actions were the results of their rejection of God.
The sins of Sodom are still prevalent today. This shows that human nature hasn’t changed over the past 3,900 years! We’re not evolving into better people even though we have improved technology! And their sins were more serious than a lack of hospitality, which is the interpretation often given today.
Lessons for us
What can we learn from what happened at Sodom?
First, God judges the ungodly. This is a solemn lesson. The Bible says that Sodom is “an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly” (2 Pt. 2:6). It’s “an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7). Sodom was burnt to ashes. It shows how the Lord “holds the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment” (2 Pt. 2:9). As judgment day came for Sodom, it will come to all who reject God’s revelation to them. The wicked will be punished in hell. Few people believe this message from the Bible. Few people will read or “Like” this blogpost.
It also shows that God is a fair judge. He told Abram about His plan. And He was willing to mitigate the judgement based on Abram’s request. God is a just judge. The wickedness of Sodom had become so great that it would have been unjust of God not to judge it. And God is a merciful judge. He rescued three people from the judgment. He discriminated between the guilty and the innocent.
Jesus said that His second coming to judge unbelievers will be like what happened at Sodom, “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all” (Lk. 17:28-29). So the destruction of Sodom is a foretaste of a day when all rebellion against God will be judged and destroyed.
What kind of people deserve to be destroyed like this? When Jesus sent out His disciples to announce the kingdom of God, if a town rejected this message then “it will be more bearable on that day (of judgment) for Sodom than for that town” (Lk. 10:12). They will be judged more severely than the city of Sodom. What kind of people deserve to be destroyed in this way? Those who have rejected God. Those who have rejected the message about Jesus in the Bible. Until we trust in what God did through Jesus Christ, we all deserve to be judged.
If you don’t trust in Jesus, then you are like those who lived in Sodom. The Bible says, “how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?” (Heb. 2:3).
Second, the godly receive God’s mercy. As God rescued Lot from Sodom, He “knows how to rescue the godly from trials” (2 Pt. 2:9). For those who love and trust Him, no matter how undeserving they are, God will do everything necessary to spare them from judgement. Believers can look forward to the inheritance of heaven (1 Pt. 1:4-5).
Third, our choices have consequences. Lot was a believer who wouldn’t separate from the sinful world (2 Pt. 2:7-8). He was a backslider who adjusted to the evils of Sodom and compromised his morals. Even his sons in law didn’t believe him. Consequently, he lost his wife, his sons-in-law, his friends, and his possessions.
Fourth, God answers our prayers. Abram was a believer who prayed for Lot. God answered this prayer by rescuing Lot before the city was destroyed. Do we pray for others? Do we realize that Jesus intercedes (prays) for us (Heb. 7:25)?
Fifth, God has revealed Himself to humanity. Abraham learnt about what God was like because God choose to reveal Himself to Abraham. We might have some ideas about what God is like, but the only way we can truly know Him is if He reveals Himself to us. Only in the Bible can we find out what God is really like.
Don’t be like Lot’s sons-in-law and his wife who didn’t escape from Sodom. Lot’s sons-in-law didn’t believe that they were accountable to God. And Lot’s wife was too attached to the sinful world.
Lot did escape from Sodom although he was reluctant. Don’t leave it too late to trust in God’s salvation through Jesus.
Let’s be like Abraham and pray for our communities, because God answers our prayers.
Appendix: How was Sodom destroyed?
It is clear that the Biblical account of Sodom in Genesis is derived from sources that pre-date the destruction of Sodom. It says that “the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)” (Gen. 13:10). At that time the valley was fertile and supported a large population. But after the disaster, it became a barren place.
The Bible says, “Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah” (Gen 19:24NLT). And Moses “looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace” (Gen. 19:28NLT).
As Sodom was located near the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley, it may have been destroyed by an earthquake that unleashed showers of streaming tar. The Bible says that at that time the Dead Sea Valley “was full of tar pits” (Gen. 14:10). This bitumen contains a high percentage of sulfur. It has been suggested that pressure from an earthquake could have caused the bitumen deposits to be forced out of the earth through a fault line. As it gushed out of the earth it could have been ignited by a spark or surface fire. It would then fall to Earth as a burning, fiery mass.
Written, March 2018
Also see other articles on places in the Bible:
Bethlehem, God’s solution to our crises
Gehenna – Where’s hell?
Where’s Zion?
Babylon, center of humanism and materialism
Lessons from Egypt
Massacres and miracles in Jericho
Rebellion and deception at Samaria
Nineveh experienced God’s mercy and justice
Worshipping God and idols at Bethel
Many battles at Megiddo
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Choices and Consequences
About 4,000 years ago a man made some choices that had catastrophic effects on his family. His name was Lot and the important events of his life are recorded for you to read in Genesis 13, 14 and 19.
Lot’s Choice
Lot was a nomadic herdsman who lived in the Middle East and moved around the country with his uncle Abraham. They were both successful, each having many animals and employees. This led to conflict between the employees of the two men because they were competing for the use of the same pasture land.
Abraham was wise. He knew there was plenty of land for both families, so he suggested that they separate and move to different parts of the country. Out of kindness, he gave Lot the first choice of where to move and graze his herds.
So Lot had to make a decision. He chose the plain of Jordan because there was plenty of water and pasture land for his animals. He thought this would be the best for his business. He also chose to live near the city of Sodom, which had a reputation of being evil. Maybe he was thinking of pleasure and his social status. In the meantime, Abraham continued to live in the mountains and to worship God.
Lot’s Consequences
The Bible records the consequences of Lot’s choice in Genesis 14. In those days there were wars between the leaders of the different cities. In one of the battles, Lot and his family and all their possessions were captured by the enemy and taken away. Fortunately, when Abraham heard about this he came down from the hills and rescued Lot and his household from the enemy.
Some say this was an early warning for Lot to move from the evil city of Sodom. Eventually, a stronger warning was given because as a result of the great evil in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God had decided to destroy them.
In Genesis 19, we are told that God sent two angels as messengers to help Lot and his family escape the coming disaster, although they were not eager to leave. Then there was a volcanic eruption and the cities in the valley were destroyed. Sadly, Lot’s wife disobeyed the warning of the angels not to look back and died in the catastrophe.
As a result, Lot was left without a wife, or any possessions. He moved to the hill country and lived in a cave with his two daughters. He had lost nearly everything as a result of his choices.
Our Lesson
What a contrast between Abraham and Lot! Even though Lot is described as righteous (2 Pet. 2:7-8), he apparently left God out of the picture when deciding where he and his family would live. Instead, he seemed to be driven by his love of business, pleasure and social status. The result was much trouble for him and his family, and little usefulness for God. Also, his descendants became the enemies of God’s people (Ps. 83:1-8). On the other hand, Abraham, also referred to as righteous, made wise choices, became known as the friend of God and was called the father of many nations (Jas. 2:21-23; Gen. 17:4-5).
This reminds me of the choices we all make during life, and the law of cause and effect. Many of the situations in our life are caused by our decisions. We should recognize that all of our choices have consequences.
Our Choices
We make decisions every day of our lives. These can be visualized as a series of forks or crossroads in the journey of life. For instance, as individuals we need to decide the following: Who will be our friends? What employment will we seek? Whom will we marry? How will we spend our recreation time? What kind of attitudes are we developing? How often will we read the Bible and pray? How often and where will we fellowship with other believers?
Parents need to make decisions such as the following: Where will we live? How many children will we have? What kind of education will our children receive? How much of the information available to us – from such sources as cable television and the global internet – will we allow ourselves and our family to take in, realizing that there is a huge amount of false information out there that can lead us astray?
All of the choices we make have consequences for us, for our family, for our friends and for our community. They result in behavior patterns and habits that lead to various events, situations and outcomes. If we realized ahead of time the consequences of our choices, we would surely be more careful to look to and trust God when making them. If Lot knew beforehand the consequences of his choices, don’t you think he would have re-thought those choices? Each choice we make either moves us towards God or away from Him and His will for us.
The Bible gives two graphic illustrations that are relevant to the subject of choices and consequences. These are a farmer who plants seeds (Gal. 6:7-9), and the builder who constructs a building (1 Cor. 3:10-15).
Planting
The first teaches us that we harvest whatever we plant. If we follow selfish desires, we will harvest destruction, but if we follow the Spirit, we will harvest eternal life. The farmer plants the seeds, which then grow. When they are full- grown the crop is harvested.
The crop may be vegetables, cereal grain, or fruit. But what actually grows depends on the seeds sown. If you sow corn seeds you will get corn, not cucumbers. If we sow weeds, we should expect only weeds as our crop.
Imagine you are planting a seed each time you make a choice, and that together these are growing into a crop. The principle is that we harvest what we plant. The question is: What kind of harvest can we expect from the choices we have made?
Building
In the second illustration, our life’s activities are likened to the construction of a building. We are warned to make wise choices and be careful how we build, because whatever we build will be tested by fire on the day of judgment. Those whose buildings survive will be rewarded.
In a period of 70 years, the average length of life according to Psalm 90:10, there are 25,567 days. A lifetime can be visualized as a building, such as a house, that is constructed by putting one brick in place each day. The challenge is whether your “building” (or those of your family members) will survive or be destroyed when tested?
Don’t be like Lot who thought, “What is good for my business is good for me and my family as well.” He harvested destruction, and all that he had built collapsed. His family life and business were devastated, although he survived “as one escaping through the flames” (1 Cor. 3:15 NIV).
Seek His Help
What we selfishly think is best may turn out for the worst and result in lots of trouble. How can we avoid such catastrophe? By being less like Lot and more like Abraham who, when faced with a choice, asked for God’s help. He was productive for God. Of course, God knows everything and can guide us through the Bible, through answered prayer, through the counsel of Christian friends and through our consciences. The question is: Are we seeking His help and listening to His advice?
In many ways, we end up harvesting what we plant and living with what we build. Remember, your choices have important consequences. They affect your life both now and later.
Published, November 1997
George's Journal 
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