Sodom and Gomorrah - Part 1 (Gen 18:1-21)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please turn it to Genesis 18:1-21.

You’ll notice that the title for this sermon is Sodom and Gomorrah - Part 1. This is part 1 of 4 concerning Sodom and Gomorrah because it is an historical narrative—so, it stretches over multiple chapters. Today’s chapter is a little different in that it doesn’t start with the issue of Sodom and Gomorrah, but rather, it ends with the issue of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Now, let me encourage you to look at all this with fresh eyes—sometimes, when we come to a passage or an idea that’s mostly familiar to us, we allow our familiarity to cloud what the text actually says. And, of course, we want to be led and directed by God’s Word, not our own preconceived notions.

Let’s read Genesis 18:1-21 together and then I’ll explain how we’ll break the text up.

Genesis 18:1–21 ESV

1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” 16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

As we study this passage, we’re going to break it into two parts: (1) God, Abraham, and Sarah (1-15), which shows us this scenario between Abraham, Sarah, and God—it’s a unique situation in which Abraham and Sarah speak with both God and angelic beings. Then (2) God, Sodom, and Gomorrah (16-21), which concludes the chapter by turning our direction towards Sodom and Gomorrah. In many ways, Genesis 18:1-21 acts as a transition from focusing on the covenant made between God and Abraham to (1) continuing the narrative, but also (2) showing us God’s dealing with sin in a grand way. What today’s message will do is show us the contrast between how God deals with His people and how God deals with people who refuse to repent and become His people. Really, because of how we’ve seen how foolish Abraham and Sarah can be, what this passage shows us is God’s willingness to forgive if people genuinely repent; and, it shows us that eventually God does judge sin.

Prayer for Illumination

God, Abraham, and Sarah (1-15)

So, our text starts and in a sense it’s a rather quick change from dealing with the reaffirmation of the covenant and what it required in Genesis 17 to the historical narrative in Genesis 18.

We aren’t given any details about what happened, but judging by the fact that the LORD says that in a year’s time in v. 10, Sarah will have a son, we can assume that this is probably 3-4 months after ch. 17.

Which brings up a question—why didn’t Abraham tell Sarah about the promise of Isaac before this point?

Even if there weren’t a three-month period between the reaffirmation of the covenant and Genesis 18, why didn’t Abraham immediately tell Sarah about what God had said?

Unfortunately, we’re not given the reasoning for him not telling Sarah, but we could maybe provide some guesses:

Maybe he was still struggling with doubt; and thus, he doesn’t say anything about it.

Maybe he did tell Sarah, but Sarah didn’t necessarily believe and so she responds in doubt.

Regardless, shortly after the events of Genesis 17, we see Abraham at home by the oaks of Mamre sitting by the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

And as he’s sitting by the door of his tent in the heat of the day, he looks up and sees three men in front of him.

And he responds with respect and hospitality:

We see the respect in that he runs to meet them and bows himself to the earth—in their culture, you wouldn’t necessarily bow down to everyone, you would bow down to those who are royalty or leadership of some sort.

This gives us the impression that Abraham knows who these people are—or at least one of them.

And whether because Abraham’s just a hospitable person or because he recognizes at least one of them, he implores them to come and rest, be fed, and fellowship with him.

As part of this hospitality, he brings them bread to eat, water to drink and refresh themselves, and then he asks Sarah to make cakes and has a servant prepare a calf.

And if you’re thinking in terms of the effort that he’s making for these people—again, it tells us that he understands this to be someone special, and really, what we see is that he understands at least one of these people to be God, Himself.

So, he takes the best of the best of what he has to offer to these people, and he goes through a great length to prepare the finest food to feed these people.

It’s a great showing of respect for the travelers, humility on behalf of Abraham, and his willingness to serve them.

So, Abraham provides all this and in v. 8, the Bible says that “he stood by them under the tree while they ate” when they, in vv. 9-10 start a conversation about Sarah.

The conversation is actually rather short, but it involves some important ideas:

First, they ask him where his wife Sarah is and his response is that she’s in the tent.

Second, God tells Abraham that by the time of oHis return next year, Sarah will have a son—this is a reiteration of the promise given to Abraham.

And again, I’m not entirely sure why Sarah responds the way that she does—as if Abraham hadn’t told her this part of the promise, and yet, that is how she responds in vv. 10-12, Sarah’s listening to the conversation, she recognizes that she’s physically too old to have children, and she laughs to herself.

Sarah makes the statement, “After I am worn out, and my lord [meaning Abraham] is old, shall I have pleasure?”

The wording might seem a little unusual, but when you consider the culture—that leaving behind an heir or a legacy was a major part of their culture, and Sarah had no child of her own—you can see why she talks about having a child as having pleasure.

In their culture, not having a child was often seen as a negative—even to the extent that some might assume that you didn’t have a child because God was punishing you for something you might have done.

So Sarah makes that statement and then she laughs, and, of course, because this is God in the flesh, God knows that Sarah laughed and essentially calls her out on it in vv. 13-15, “The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time . . . and Sarah shall have a son,’ But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh,’ for she was afraid.”

God calls Sarah out with the question, “Why did Sarah laugh” and really, the question is concerned with why Sarah would doubt what He had said.

Of course, this is God—thus, He already knows why she doubts—because He already knows what exactly caused her to laugh and question what He said, it’s that idea, “how shall I bear a child, now that I am old?”

And the response from God is “is anything too hard for the LORD?” Scripture repeats that idea frequently, that by man alone, a lot is impossible, but with God, nothing is impossible.

The reality is, that Sarah ought to have believed what God had said concerning Isaac’s conception simply because it was a promise from God; and yet, in her humanity, she doesn’t think that it’s possible.

I do find it interesting that she tries to deny that she laughed despite the fact that God just repeated her exact sentence to them; if He heard the sentence that she spoke to herself (I imagine maybe under her breath)—surely, He knows that she laughed.

And yet, the Bible says—in fear, she lies and says that she didn’t.

Now, truthfully, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that there’s a clear understanding of who these people are and there’s a clear understanding from the fact that He knew what she had said; and yet, she still tries to lie.

But, I do think that it speaks of the significance of fear in our lives—that fear can cause us to say and do foolish things.

God’s confrontation of Sarah ends with Him say, “No, but you did laugh.”

Which again, highlights His omniscience, He knew exactly what she said and what she did.

Now, the fact that God is omniscient and knows all things then plays a significant role in vv. 16-21 as the Bible shifts from Abraham and Sarah to the issue of Sodom and Gomorrah. Keep this in mind as we re-read those verses:

God, Sodom, and Gomorrah (16-21)

Genesis 18:16–21 ESV

16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

In vv. 16-19, we see an interesting concept concerning the relationship between God and His people—in particular, Abraham and Sarah. And what we’re really seeing is God’s commitment to His people.

As they start in the direction of Sodom, there is a question that God poses (I’m assuming to the other two beings with Him):

In v. 17, God asks, “Shall i hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”

And in vv. 18-19, He gives two reasons as to why He even asks this question, v. 18 reminds us of the covenant that God made with Abraham and v. 19 reminds us that God had chosen Abraham for a specific purpose.

Or, in other words, God is thinking on His covenant relationship with Abraham as a reason for letting Abraham in on what is about to happen concerning Sodom and Gomorrah.

In reality, what we’re seeing is that when someone is chosen by God and becomes a partaker of the covenant with Him, their relationship changes.

You’ll notice that He isn’t offering to share His plans with anyone else—He doesn’t offer to give His plans to the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah (however, we could probably assume that in His mercy, they probably had received warnings that their sins would be judged (like how the Ninevites had received warnings and like how the Bible points out the various warnings given to multiple people groups before judgment comes).

So, He doesn’t share HIs plans with the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, and yet, He does share His plan with Abraham—who has now been made part of His people.

Or, in other words, God, in His covenant-loyalty towards Abraham sees a level of commitment towards Abraham that might not have existed prior to this point; and in His commitment towards Abraham, He discusses the issue of Sodom and Gomorrah with him.

In v. 20-21, God tells Abraham what He intends to do, which reveals the need of judgment for sin. God says, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

At this point, we don’t have a solid idea of what exactly Sodom and Gomorrah did, but we do know that they were known for their wickedness.

If you think all the way back to Genesis 14 when Abraham brings his army to rescue Lot from the kings of men, the king of Sodom is also there—and it’s very clear that the city of Sodom was known for wickedness.

So much so, that when it comes to the spoils of war, Abraham refuses to split the spoils of war with the king of Sodom lest others assume that Abraham was only wealthy because of his temporary partnership with the wicked king of Sodom.

Think of Genesis 13:13 “13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.”

And, I’d encourage you to not assume that the men of Sodom were only guilty of one sin—as is often how people view the situation.

While the historical narrative deals with one particular group of sins, it’s not typical for someone to immediately jump into that type of sinful behavior unless there was already a pattern of sinful behavior prior to that point.

Or, in other words, though the passages at hand only show us one instance of their sin, their sin is far greater than just that one particular sin—though, we’ll get to that in a few weeks.

God says that their sin is very great and the “outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great.”

The concept there could either refer to their sinful behavior itself crying out to God or it could be the victims of their sinful behavior crying out to God.

My thinking concerning that statement is that the outcry from victims of Sodom and Gomorrah was great and I derive that idea from how the Bible tells us that Cain’s sin caused the blood of Abel to cry out from the ground—the wording is very similar here when the Bible talks about Sodom and Gomorrah.

Their sin is so great that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great.

And then in v. 21, we read a statement that is a little confusing, “I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

The confusion has to do with the way this sentence is worded in English and what exactly it means for God’s omniscience.

We recognize that God is omniscient and He already knows that the cry from Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Likewise, Abraham had to have known that the cry of sin from Sodom and Gomorrah was great as the Bible has repeatedly pointed out their wickedness and Sodom was a city known by everyone.

This means, that what the Bible says is God going to inspect the cities isn’t based on His need to make a determination, but rather this is an anthropomorphic way for us to understand what He’s doing.

It’s actually similar to when God comes down after Adam and Eve sins and it’s similar to when God comes down to the Tower of Babel to “investigate.” God already knows the heart of every man; and yet, for our own benefit, the Bible speaks about God coming down in this sense to “investigate.”

And, truthfully, if you really think about this whole situation—it’s all for our benefit. Does God need to eat and rest as He heads down to Sodom and Gomorrah? No. Does God need to walk with Abraham and talk with Him about what is about to happen? No. Does God need to go down to investigate Sodom and Gomorrah? No.

And yet, the Bible speaks of God acting this way and thinking this way and speaking this way for us to better understand what He’s doing and thinking and saying.

The reality is that as the Bible transitions to focusing on Abraham and Sarah to Sodom and Gomorrah, what we’re seeing is two-fold—we’re seeing God’s commitment to His covenant people; and His need to judge the sins of those who refuse to repent and believe. And its this juxtaposition between how He responds to His own people and how He responds to those who refuse to be His people that our application derives.

So, let’s think about that in our last few minutes:

Application

What we see in Genesis 18:1-21 is a contrast between how God handles the sins of people who refuse to repent and His own people. Despite the sins that Abraham and Sarah struggled with (even to the extent that Sarah lies in this passage), God is still gracious to them and treats them as His own. Contrast with how God responds towards the sin of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. What we then learn is two-fold based on whether you believe or not—if you are His, He treats you as His; if you aren’t His, He treats you as people who aren’t His. So, let’s think that through a bit.

What we see in Genesis 18 as God heads towards Sodom and Gomorrah and He stops to speak to Abraham is this idea that God is loyal to His people and He acts towards His people with that commitment in mind.

Or, in other words, because of the covenant that God makes with His people, He treats His people with love and kindness.

I can’t help but to think of Romans 8:28–30, which emphasizes the fact that all things in life are utilized by God for a specific purpose “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

It is in His love and in His kindness that He utilizes all things in your life for your good, which He defines as your sanctification. Likewise, we consider how God disciplines His people not out of hatred, but rather because He loves His own people and treats us as His sons and daughters.

Or, in other words, what I’m getting at is that when you become part of the family of God through repentance and belief—God treats you as one of His own.

And, as seen in Genesis 18, that implies His desire to commune or fellowship with us, it shows us His care for us, and His want for us to trust Him.

Which is in contrast to those who aren’t His people—God does not fellowship with unbelievers in the way that He fellowships with believers; He does not care for unbelievers in the same way that He cares for believers; He doesn’t treat unbelievers in the same way that He treats believers.

We see it even in the way that He deals with the sins of His people and the sins of unbelievers—for people who are His, He might still require of them to face discipline for their sins on this side of eternity, but that discipline is not an eternal judgment for sin. For those who refuse to repent and believe, He might still require of them to face discipline on this side of eternity, but that discipline isn’t nearly what they’ll experience for the eternal judgment of their sin.

Or, in other words, because Jesus takes the judgment for your sins on the cross, any discipline you face as a believer for your sins is temporal because He treats you as part of His people.

That brings us to our first application, you can trust Him to not only keep His covenant with you, but to treat you as part of His people.

With that in mind, what that means is that God wants to commune with you and fellowship with you; He loves you and He cares for you; and He is using everything in your life to shape you into the image of Jesus Christ.

That means that even when life feels or seems out of control, if you are His, you can trust Him to have your best interest at heart. It also means that if you feel far from Him, it’s only because you’ve distanced yourself from Him.

Psalm 145:18–20 “18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. 20 The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.”

So, first and foremost, if you are His, trust Him to keep His covenant and expect Him to treat you as His own.

Second, what we see concerning Sodom and Gomorrah is that God is just when it comes to the matter of sin and because He is good, he must judge all sin.

If you’re a believer, your sin has been judged on the cross as Jesus paid the penalty for your sin.

So, you need to give Him thanks, worship Him, and praise Him for being your substitute.

Often, we take what Jesus has done for us for granted—and yet, apart from His work on the cross for our sins, we would be just like those in Sodom and Gomorrah facing the consequences for our sins through the judgment of the Lord.

With that in mind, it also ought to cause you to reconsider when you’re tempted to continue in sin—Jesus has taken your punishment, what are you essentially saying when you choose to indulge in sin anyway?

Now, for those that might not believe, if you’re an unbeliever, what the Bible shows us about Sodom and Gomorrah is that your sin does have consequences.

You might think that you’ve gotten away with it (like the poeple of Sodom and Gomorrah did)—you might not be experiencing temporal consequences for your sins now, but there is judgment coming.

You might not face that judgment today, but you will face judgment for your sin when you enter into eternity—the Bible is abundantly clear on this aspect.

The only way of salvation from the consequences of your sin is Jesus Christ—and it is far better to meet Jesus today than to chance meeting Him only in eternity.

Really, what we see in Genesis 18:1-21 is that all sin has consequences and those consequences come in the form of judgment. If you’re a believer, be thankful that God sees you as His own and that He treats you according to His covenant with you. If you’re an unbeliever, now is the time to repent of your sins, call on the name of Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Sin deserves judgment and judgment is coming.

If you’d like to talk more about the issue of sin, judgment, and salvation, please don’t hesitate to speak with me or Josh about it before you leave this morning—we want you to know Jesus and we’re willing to stick around as long as you need us to for you to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have your questions answered.

Pastoral Prayer