01-59 Fire & Brimstone, Part 2
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Genesis 19:12-29
Genesis 19:12-29
Fire can be a scary thing. I have an early memory as a child, living in Lincoln, NE. I woke up when my brother came into the room and said I needed to look outside the window. Across the street, a house was on fire with flames shooting out of the garage. Apparently the car which had been running, started on fire—though the house didn’t burn down, it was a moment of fear, watching the activity from my room. I don’t know what it is, even though fire can invoke fear—it is also something about it that brings out “pyromaniac” in me (anyone else have this problem?). That is the Gk word pur—meaning “fire.” Even our word “pure, purity” are derived from the term.
In Scripture fire can be a symbol of God’s presence (smoking oven, flaming torch (Gen 15:17). God also appears to Moses in burning bush (Ex 3:2), spoke to Moses on top of Mt Sinai thru fire giving him the Law (Ex 24:7), He led Israel thru wilderness as pillar of fire by night (Dt 1:32-33).
Fire is also the symbol of divine judgment. The sons of Aaron (Nadab & Abihu) burned strange fire before the Lord and the Lord judged them:
2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Another occasion:
1 Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
Ahaziah had sent soldiers to seize Elijah the prophet:
12 Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
The judgment and condemnation of eternal punishment is described:
Matthew 5:22 (NASB95)
fiery hell.
40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Fire plays an important part in the narrative of God’s judgment against sin and sinners. This is evident from His judgment of S & G. Before we continue our study—brief review...
I. The Arrival (1-3)
Reintroduced to Lot who is now living in Sodom and a prominent figure in this city (sitting in the gate). He has 2 angelic visitors (same 2 with YHWH) who are determined to spend the night in the city square. Lot knows the evil that goes on there at night (he knows the sins of Sodom) and not wanting the visitors to be subjected to it he strongly insists that they stay under the protection of his own home. A bit of back and forth and the angels consent.
There’s an interesting dynamic at play in Lot—he has actively taken the downward slide into embracing the wicked city of Sodom yet Peter reminds us that Lot is a righteous man at this time and that his righteous soul kept on being tormented by the evil and perverted Sodomites.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.
II. The Assault (4-11)
The city of Sodom was wicked to its core. The evil and immorality was so pervasive that it was multigenerational and crossed social barriers. Truly there was not 1 righteous person in the city (Abraham’s prayer) except righteous Lot. Their sin on this occasion was clearly sexual in nature—the intent to have homosexual relations with the city’s visitors. God say multiple times in His Word that this is an abomination and that homosexuals cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Not that they’re beyond God’s grace, but practicing this perversion is an indication that there is no life, no regeneration and the need for repentance remains.
The men of Sodom nearly break the door down and Lot, in an effort to calm the chaos does the unthinkable—offers his 2 virgin daughters to the mob that they would do to them whatever they like and spare the visitors (horrible parenting—in case you needed to be told).
The men persisted in their aggression, began to attack Lot when the angles opened the door, rescued Lot and struck all those in the mob with blindness. That did nothing to cool their lustful passions b/c they continued looking for the door.
III. The Announcement
III. The Announcement
vv 12-15
2 men—angels “whom else have you here?” Angels are not omniscient. They know nothing of Lot’s family and inquire who the members of his house are. They bring this announcement: vs 13 “we are about to destroy b/c...” This was a confirmation of what YHWH already knew and it was confirmed in the mob attack on Lot’s house. The men of the city were indeed “exceedingly wicked” and the angels were sent to destroy it.
Now, Lot believes the angels so he does what any loving father would do—he went to warn his pledged sons-in-law (Sodomites who were legally betrothed to his daughters). Notice first where his sons-in-law were. They were outside with the others—probably b/c they too had joined the mob and were intent on committing the abominations that were in the hearts of all the others.
But notice also their response: “appeared to be jesting.” They were so desensitized to sin that they think their future father in law is playing around—making a joke. They had no concern about divine judgment. Homosexuality has become the normal way of life for Sodom’s citizens. It think there is much to be said about our own nation’s acceptance of LGBTQ+—clearly an abomination b/c this is a perversion of what God has created for good.
We must be very careful not to become desensitized ourselves to the sin of the culture around us. People are just like these sons-in-law who think nothing about their sin or the certainty of God’s wrath against such unrighteousness.
5 Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the Lord understand all things.
They do not understand justice, wrath, that sin demands judgment and that they are storing up for themselves wrath in the day of that judgment. God is the God of vengeance and He will “repay”—that is to give to each one what they deserve. Our response must be like Lot—pleading with the unrighteous to flee immorality and escape the judgment of God.
vs 15—angels urged lot “Up...” There was a brief respite before judgment fell—this was the time Lot needed to take his wife and 2 daughters and bring them to safety.
IV. The Assistance
IV. The Assistance
vv 16-17
“Lot hesitated” means to delay or linger. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency in Lot’s response. He warned his sons-in-law but he himself is pictured as sort of dragging his feet. We don’t really know why Lot hesitated. You would think that after what he had just encountered the night before as the men surrounded his house He’d been on the 1st flight out of Sodom (OK I know there weren’t planes). Any one of us would be more than happy to leave if that had been us. But Lot—perhaps he was afraid to leave the security of his house. One commentator notes: “Lot’s dallying is not so much an indication of his character as a description of the city dwellers’ way of life; they feel more secure in the city.”
Maybe Lot really is clinging to city life in Sodom and resisting the angelic prompting to leave quickly. Because he hesitated—he’s going to get some supernatural assistance—some persuasion if you will—Angels “seized” his hand. That word means to be strong, to prevail over—take hold of with strength. They also take the hands of his wife and daughters—and for what reason?
“the compassion of YHWH upon them.” The angels using force was actually an act of mercy. Lot was delivered by the divine exercise of grace and had nothing to do with anything in himself. I mean—he’s almost pulling at the door having to be forced out of the city. Lot’s deliverance from Sodom was all about grace—the compassion, the mercy of YHWH. The loving goodness of God couldn’t be more apparent than in the deliverance of Lot. The city is about to be consumed by divine anger and wrath and at the same time—the display of lovingkindness and grace to deliver from the coming wrath. What a testimony of God’s character who does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked—but that he should turn from his ways and live” (Ezek 18:23).
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
But His patience has a limit—something Sodom will quickly find out. The angels understand the urgency so they said:
vs 17… Three direct imperatives to Lot (and his family):
do not look behind you—having nothing to do with Sodom. This was instruction to be sure to cut ties with the city entirely. You can’t even turn around to see if parts of the city might have escaped. This was a call to burn the bridges, to sever every relationship, to cut off the hold Sodom had on them—to remove it so far from their minds that they don’t even think about Sodom again.
do not stay anywhere in the valley (lit in all the circle)—If you think back to ch 14—there were 5 cities in this valley (the 5 who rebelled against Chedorlaomer). The valley was at the southern edge of the Dead Sea. The instruction of the angels was not to stay (take one’s stand) in any part of the valley (for it is about to be destroyed—meaning all the cities would face the same destruction as S & G (Dt 29:23). The only pace to find safety from the coming wrath was:
escape to the mountains…Sodom was in the lowlands and Lot and his family would have to travel up to higher ground in order to escape.
Very clear commands that required immediate obedience if they wanted their life spared.
V. The Aversion
V. The Aversion
18-22
“But Lot…” When it comes to obedience the Lord doesn’t want any “buts.” We see again the conflict that Lot is going thru. He has an aversion to escaping to the mountains—maybe he thought he was too old to make that journey—but I think its something else). Lot is not opposed to God’s judgment upon Sodom—but his disinclination is b/c he still prefers city-life. He doesn’t want to be consigned to living the rural, nomadic, bedouin life that he had known before. The city drew him in, and that’s where he wanted to stay. So his request is that he be allowed to stay in one of the other cities of the valley—Zoar (term that means small—maybe one of the reasons Lot chose this place b/c of its smallness).
Zoar was previously known as Bela. Some have said Zoar is a mini-Sodom. Lot didn’t ask about going to Zoar b/c it was a pure town. It was filled with sin, all kinds of immorality, including homosexuality—it too would have been destroyed along with the other 4 cities in this valley.
You can see the desperation in Lot’s voice… “please...”
Remarkably the angels consent to allow Lot to go to Zoar—In the goodness of God, they vowed not to destroy the city b/c Lot was there. Go back to Abraham’s prayer—on account of 1 righteous man the Lord would spare that city—what depth of mercy God has shown.
Lot keeps running farther from God’s grace and goodness but God keeps directing his steps.
9 The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
God continues to direct Lot and so the angels (the mouthpieces of God) instruct Lot to “hurry...” (vs 22). Judgment was imminent. It was going to happen at lit. the next moment—but it was withheld until Lot found safety in the town the Lord would spare.
Moses makes one more comment about this town—from here on it would be known as Zoar. Not Bela—that was the former name. That term meant “to swallow” and it was a figure of speech for the city or nation that was consumed by another. That was the fate of Bela for generations—not a free city-state, perhaps b/c of its size. God spared that little town. And He did it on account of 1 man. It is good not to presume on the Lord’s mercy and patience b/c He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness.
Our nation has presumed (for a long time) on God’s patience and kindness. He has mercifully withheld judgment (maybe on account of the righteous in the nation) but there is a limit to His patience and one has to wonder how much longer He will forebear.
VI. The Annihilation
VI. The Annihilation
vv 23-29
The sun has risen—its mid day when Lot arrives in Zoar and at this point, the anger and wrath of God against these cities will be unleashed. There was no warning. There was no prophecy. There are similarities to the flood in Noah’s day—LJC explains:
26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
People are just going about their normal routines. They had no qualms about the lustful passions of the mob and even the men who were struck with blindness (might have been temporary) gave no thought to the events of the prior evening. Lot left Sodom in the morning—by mid day he arrives in Zoar and fire & brimstone rain down on Sodom and the 3 other cities of the valley.
The angels assured Lot they could do nothing until Lot was safely in Zoar. But Moses also is clear that the destruction comes directly from the Lord… “the Lord rained” (vs 24) “from the Lord”, “He overthrew” (25). God’s wrath ignites and He causes heaven to open and out from it comes brimstone and fire. Some commentators (even translations) put those 2 terms together “burning sulfur.” There is a sulphur like mineral found in large quantities around the Dead Sea.
The destruction has been explained by natural phenomena—volcano or earthquake releasing gases that ignited and setting the sulphur on fire. Moses clearly tells us that the brimstone and fire came from heaven. This is a divine judgment. There may have been earthquakes and volcanos that were also part of this but it was supernatural, catastrophic destruction.
6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;
Nothing was left…it was a scorched grave yard. Buildings were decimated, city walls crumbled and the citizens of the 4 cities were incinerated in a moment.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. 6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
Now, what happened to all those people who were consumed by the fires of S & G? They entered into eternity and since there were none who were found to be righteous—they are consigned to the eternal flames, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth and where the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever. The physical judgment of S & G, as bad as it seems, was nothing compared to an eternity of suffering.
This is a solemn reminder that there are 2 destinies after life on this earth: Heaven and Hell. That’s it. There’s only 2—nothing in b/t. And the only thing that determines your destiny today is what you do with LJC. Have you trusted in Him, His finished work of redemption on the cross, His victory over sin thru resurrection—If you do not believe that God’s wrath is satisfied in the death of His Son, and you reject the offer of His grace, you will encounter that wrath—poured out on yourself forever and ever—that’s a long time:
Thomas Watson gives a helpful analogy of eternity:
Eternity! Who can fathom it? Mariners have their plummets to measure the depths of the sea; but what line or plummet shall we use to fathom the depth of eternity? The breath of the Lord kindles the infernal lake (Isa 30:33), and where shall we have engines or buckets to quench that fire? O eternity! If all the body of the earth and sea were turned to sand, and all the air up to the starry heaven were nothing but sand, and a little bird should come every thousand years, and fetch away in her bill but the tenth part of a grain of all that heap of sand, what numberless years would be spent before that vast heap of sand would be fetched away! Yet, if at the end of all that time, the sinner might come out of hell, there would be some hope; but that word “Forever” breaks the heart. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.” What a terror is this to the wicked, enough to put them into a cold sweat, to think, as long as God is eternal, He lives forever to be avenged upon them!
vs 26—much has been said and imagined about Lot’s wife. The image I grew up with is that as the family was running for safety, she glanced backward and became this pillar of salt.
Remember, the destruction did not begin until Lot (and daughters) was safely in Zoar. Lot’s wife—according to the text was behind him as they left Sodom (that’s a point Moses makes). She is behind him. And she looks back. This is another imperfect verb in Heb—kept looking back. Evidently she lingered behind, desperately trying to hold on to what she was leaving.
Why was she looking back? family, pleasure, delights? Jesus gives us a better understanding in His instruction to be prepare for the coming of the Son of Man:
31 “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. 32 “Remember Lot’s wife.
Lot’s wife had trouble letting go of the world’s goods. The coming of the Son of Man will reveal what people love. Lot’s wife loved this world and in disobedience to the warning of the angels, she turned back. Tragic illustration of someone who was so near to salvation but missed it.
And she “became a pillar of salt.” What did that look like? Was she frozen as a sodium chloride monument for all to see? Josephus says “Lot’s wife … changed into a pillar of salt; for I have seen it and it remains at this day.”
More likely, she succumbed to the gases and as she collapsed, she was encrusted in salt and other debris. What ever that meant—what a tragic end to a lover of this world—and example to those who would likewise forfeit eternal life.
Now, the next day, Abraham rose up and saw the destruction—smoke ascending…Picture of divine judgment. But its not just written as a good story. It serves as a testimony of God’s attitude toward sin, ungodliness, unrighteousness evil wickedness…contrary to His nature—He abhors it.
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.
We grieve the parallels of our own country and the sexual perversions that are being embraced by so many people—and overlooked by many more. Jesus tells us that there is a sin worse than homosexuality, immorality, worldliness—one that will never be forgiven (those can be)—blasphemy against the HS. For the HS who brings conviction of your sin and brings understanding of the gospel of God’s grace—if you continue to reject that grace, and die in this condition, you will enter eternity where you will bear the brunt of God’s wrath and anger kindled against you—suffer in hell forever. And there is no escape. Fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God.
But God has demonstrated His love toward you in sending His righteous Son to die, to take that wrath upon himself as He bore the sins of the world. In Him wrath is satisfied and you can receive life by putting faith in Him. Don’t leave here today without receiving grace.