Sodom and Gomorrah

Bottom line

Beware of the traps of wealth and pleasure

Opening Line

Have you ever heard a story so many times that when you hear it being told, you instantaneously tune it out.

Introduction

I have such a story. When I was a teenager, our youth group went to Lloydminster for a youth retreat. When we arrived that night, the weather was clear. When we woke up the next morning, there was snow on the ground. I can’t remember what time of year it was, but I know there wasn’t supposed to be snow because I remember it being soft enough to instigate a snow ball fight. As teenage boys do, we were pelting each other with snow balls, eagerly waiting for our youth leader to come out of the church so we could go swimming.

As it would have it, just as I had formed the perfect snow ball, our leader came out of the church and wanted to go. Without thinking about, I launched this snowball towards the street. As my luck would have it, I nailed this blue Corvette. Upon impact, the driver slammed on the breaks and jumped out of the car. As the immensely brave boys we were, we all piled into the van and slammed the door behind us, hoping he didn’t us. He did. He proceeded to open the door and chew us out, informing us that there could’ve been a rock in that snowball and it could’ve scratched the paint. He then proceeded to scream at our poor youth leader, who had no idea what had happened and just happened to be the poor sap standing outside in yelling range.

I wish I could tell you that was the end of the story, but it was not. On that trip were a couple of twins whose dad was a pastor. For the next 15 years, every time I crossed paths with either of the boys or their dad, they would bring up the story, trying to insight a reaction. After the first five, I stopped caring. After the next five, I stopped listening. And after the final five of avoiding them, they got the picture that maybe it was time to drop it. All it took was two words, “Blue Corvette” and I would immediately tune them out.

Main Point

I wonder if this happens with next story we are going to look at this morning. As we read through Jude, it starts with the Exodus story, which we unpacked last week. Then Jude mentions the angels that are chained and awaiting judgment. We’ll talk about angels later on in the series. Then we get to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah is a story that get referred to often, both by the prophets, but also the New Testament authors and Jesus Himself. It is always mentioned with some assumption that the reader knows what the author is referring to.

Why it matters

Yet I wonder how well you actually know the story. What sets this particular story apart from all the other stories when God judged a city and destroyed it? Why do the prophets and apostles circle back to this particular one? What does this story have for us today? There is more going on here then meets the eye, and I would that Jude’s reasoning for highlighting this story really needs to be highlighted.

So let’s start with what Jude says

Scripture

Jude 7 NLT

And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.

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Sodom and Gomorrah were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. They were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. If you know the story, this is a pretty fantastic cliff notes version of it. It highlights all the major parts. But let’s get into the meat of it.

You find the entirety of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 13 and following. I will highlight key passages in the story and fill in the blanks with my shortened version of the details.

In Genesis 13, Abram, who would become Abraham and the forefather of Israel, is traveling with his nephew Lot and they have become so wealthy that they cannot stay together. So Abraham offers the land to Lot; if you go left, I’ll go right, and vice versa. This is what we read.

Genesis 13:10–13 NLT

Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.

I’m going to leave that verse up. Lot chooses the settle in the better land, and plants his tent near Sodom, which is full of wicked people. Good land, bad neighbours. What could possibly go wrong?

I want to pause here and remind you of the trap that wealth can be. Lot, led by selfish ambition, chooses to overlook the corruptness of the people in order to benefit the bottom line. Lot is reminder that money and wealth are really bad reasons to make life decisions, especially in light of what is about to happen. Jump ahead to Genesis 18. Abraham is walking with God towards Sodom and the LORD says this to Abraham.

Genesis 18:20–21 NLT

So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

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The LORD is on His way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. It says He is on His way to investigate, but does God really need to investigate anything? He is the all-knowing God of creation, He doesn’t have to investigate. He is on His way to show mercy before judgment falls.

Genesis 19:1–5 NLT

That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.” But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

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What was Jude’s summary of the Sodom and Gomorrah? They were full of immorality and every sexual perversion. The men of the city, young and old, demand that Lot hand over his guests so that they can have sex with them. This is literally where we get the term sodomy from. The people of the city are so fallen that they march up the Lot’s house and demand these guests be handed over to satisfy their sinful desires. Welcome to Sodom, prepare to be gang raped. This is the city Lot chose to live next to.

Genesis 19:6–8 NLT

So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

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Now Lot takes a lot of grief for that little exchange, but there is something going on that often gets missed. Ancient hospitality customs dictated that Lot was responsible for the safety of his guests, no matter the cost. Even though Lot offering his daughters in place of his guests seems cowardice, this was actually Lot taking the safety of his guests very seriously. There is a good chance he knew this wouldn’t work, but he had to try.

Genesis 19:9–11 NLT

“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door. But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

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The men are so corrupted, so broken, they instead would prefer to molest Lot rather then his daughters. They are going to teach him a lesson in the most grotesque way.

Fortunately, the angels step in and blind the men. The angels then proceed to tell Lot they are going to destroy the city and he needs to get his family and any extended family out of the city. When he tries to tell his sons-in-law that they need to leave, they laugh at him, thinking he’s joking.

Genesis 19:15–17 NLT

At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

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In the midst of judgment and destruction, God still shows mercy. Was Lot sinless? No, no one is. Was he righteous? Scripture tells us that without Jesus, no one is righteous. Yet God, because of His love and relationship with Abraham, saves Lot and his family from the destruction. God still shows mercy on whomever He chooses. In the midst of everything going on, don’t miss the clear display of God’s love and mercy.

Genesis 19:23–26 NLT

Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

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Question: What happens when you put a large quantity of salt into the soil? It kills everything and it takes a long time for the soil to recover.

When the question is asked, where were Sodom and Gomorrah, there is not a lot of consensus. We know they were by the Jordan, but were they north or south? Well, if you look at the area around the Dead Sea, it looks an awful lot an area that was hammered by sulfur. Nothing grows in the area. Recently, scientists were able to make a sub that would actually submerge in the Dead Sea. Something that was once thought impossible was achieved. Do you know what they found down there? Something that looked an awful lot like structure that had been destroyed by something. This once rich land had been reduced to rubble at the bottom of what is now the Dead Sea.

Transition to Application

So what was Sodom and Gomorrah really guilty of? Ezekiel 16:49-50

Ezekiel 16:49–50 NLT

Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.

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What caused Sodom and Gomorrah to be proud? They lived in a luscious, prosperous area. They were wealthy, and the wealth can lead to all kinds of problem, not least of which thinking you are a self-made person. Wealth can feed into all the things listed, not least of which is a lack of generosity. The more you have, the less likely you will want to part with it.

Jude uses Sodom and Gomorrah as a warning about sexual immorality and how it opens a person up to judgment. However, I want to close this morning by looking at how Jesus uses this story.

Main To Do

Matthew 11:23–24 NLT

“And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.”

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What were the miracles that were done in Capernaum you ask?

Jesus healed Jairus’s daugher

Jesus healed the woman with the blood issue

He fed the 5,000

He healed the demon possessed man

Healed the paralytic

Healed the centurion’s daughter

Healed Peter’s mother in law

Pretty significant miracles, yet Capernaum as a city was unchanged. What else do we know about Capernaum? It was a centre of commerce, with fishing and trade being important, and a major tax polling station. In other words, though Capernaum was not large, it was wealthy. Like Sodom before it, it had become numb to sin and the things of God.

This morning I want to ask: What have you become numb to? In our sexually charged world, have you become numb and tolerant of things that once bothered you? Maybe debt has made you numb to a believer’s responsibility to be generous? Maybe work has numbed your conviction of the language you use? Has complaining numbed your ability to see the ways God is working in your life?

The cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Capernaum didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to be evil; it was a slow rot that took place over time. Jude and Jesus use these cities as a warning to the church, to be aware of the sin you tolerate in your life and remove it. If God judged Sodom and Gomorrah for the things they did, why do you believe you will escape judgment if you do the same things?

As a believer, you have been set free from sin. So live as people who are free from it, not still enslaved to it. Be holy, because God is holy. You are meant to be a reflection of Jesus to the world, not a reflection of the world to Jesus.

So what do you do? Well self-reflection won’t work because you have developed a tolerance to these things and won’t recognize them for the problem that they are. What you need to do is allow the Spirit of God to illuminate the areas that need work. It will require the humility to accept that the things the Holy Spirit points out are a bigger problem then you might think or want to admit.

Why it matters

In order to prevent the slow rot that Sodom and Gomorrah experienced, you need to practice this Holy Spirit reflection, to be aware of the things that slip into your life and rob you of the life you were meant to live.

Closing Line

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

If pride was such a problem in Sodom and Gomorrah, how can you practice humility in your life?

Pray for the Holy Spirit to point out areas in your life you have allowed sin to remain. What does He reveal? What are you going to do about it?