The Judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah

If you were with us last week, we were in the first book of the Bible, working through the second half of Genesis, chapter 18. And in our text, we saw that God spoke to a man of faith named Abraham, and told him about his imminent plan to destroy two cities – Sodom and Gomorrah – on account of their wickedness. You may remember, though, Abraham’s nephew Lot had moved to Sodom several years before. And Abraham prayed and asked God to spare the city if he were to find a number of God-fearing, righteous people in Sodom – at least 10 people like Lot. And at the end of last week’s passage, God confirmed that in his mercy, he would be willing to spare the Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous people could be found there.

And this morning, we’ll consider what happens next, as two angels from God come to Sodom in the form of men, and see evidence of the great wickedness there. So if you haven’t already, please turn with me to Genesis, Chapter 19. If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find the text on page 12. I’ll be reading Genesis 19 – the whole chapter. But before I read our text, please pray with me:

[Pray and Read Text]

There’s a lot of content to work through, here. So keep your Bibles open. And I want to help you see from the text that we are more endangered by evil than we realize, and more needy for God’s grace to help us and our families than we think.

We’ll consider our text under four headings this morning. First, in verses 1 through 11, we’ll seek to delineate and understand what the corruption of Sodom consisted of. This will be my longest point. Second, we’ll consider the compromises of Lot in verses 12 through 29 – the various ways that his faith wavered. Third, we’ll see the kindness of God, in the way that Lot was rescued from Sodom (in the same span of verses). And then fourth, we’ll see the consequences of Compromise – the long-term effects that Lot’s compromises had on his own spiritual vitality, as well as on his wife and children. So again, these will be my four points: The Corruption of Sodom, The Compromises of Lot, the Kindness of God, and the Consequences of Compromise.

The Corruption of Sodom

Let’s turn our attention first to the corruption of Sodom. Verse 1 tells us that the two angels of the Lord came to Sodom in the evening, and [that] Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Usually the area around the gate of a city was the main public space of the city, for open air markets and legal transactions. [cf. Ruth 4]. And since Lot was seated in that gate area, it suggests that he had been accepted into the cultural and social life of the city.

And yet, Lot was still different from residents of Sodom in his own private convictions and customs. We can see this in the sharp contrast that’s made between how Lot righteously welcomed these strangers and the wicked way in which the men of Sodom wanted to abuse them. Because when Lot sees these men, in verse 1, he rises to meet them, and bows himself with his face to the earth. He respectfully refers to them as his lords – as masters, as a way of offering them his service and hospitality. And even when they refused, and said they’d be content to fend for themselves in the town square, Lot insisted on providing for them from the plenty and protection of his home. So they agreed, and Lot brought them to his house and prepared a feast for them.

But the men of Sodom are totally different in their approach. While Lot and his guests are still awake, they hear shouting from outside. Verse 4 says that “the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.” And the crowd demanded, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”

The men of Sodom aren’t just saying that they want to gain more knowledge about these men. But they’re asking to physically exploit these men. The men of Sodom want to lie with these two travelers in the same way that a husband lies with his wife. And after Lot steps outside, and closes the door behind him, he pleads with the crowd outside his house in verse 7: “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

Now I’m fully aware, here, that the alternative that Lot suggests here probably doesn’t seem like much of a solution. How could a father offer to give up his own daughters to a crowd like this? Maybe there was some strategy to it. Since his two virgin daughters were betrothed to two men of Sodom, as we see in verse 14, maybe Lot thought that if he got his daughters involved, those two men would change course and help him dissuade the crowd. Or perhaps Lot made this offer because he was distressed that these men wanted to be physically intimate with men. Offering his daughters might have been a way to try to redirect their passions – which may be why Lot didn’t offer himself as a substitute for his two guests. These things are possible.

But the context suggests the main thing driving Lot in this moment was his commitment to protect and provide for his guests. He pleads, “do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” By agreeing to host these travelers, Lot considered that he and his whole household together bore the moral responsibility to care for them. We may still disagree with Lot’s decision to offer his daughters to the crowd – and that’s fine. The text doesn’t make any claims that Lot’s suggestion here was free of problems. But Lot makes it clear here that he was a man of word. He was going to keep his pledge and figure out a way to protect his guests, even if it hurt.

And, in fact, Lot comes very close to being hurt – because the crowd of men – they have no interest in Lot’s daughters. In fact, they’re angry with his response. And they press in to attack Lot, as he continues to stand in the way, to bar their entry into the house. But before the mob can harm him, the angels quickly grab Lot from behind, pull him inside, and secure the door. And they strike the men of Sodom with blindness, which eventually forces the crowd to disperse.

Now, from this basic overview of the text, I think it’s clear that the men of Sodom are generally wicked. But since the text points out specific evils, to show us the severity and extent of Sodom’s corruption, it’s right that we would take some time to identify what those evils were.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is the matter of homosexuality: men being physically interested and involved with other men – or women with women. This is something that the men of Sodom were clearly active in, based on our text. And this isn’t held up to our attention as something morally neutral, or morally acceptable – but it’s presented here as a demonstration of Sodom’s rebellion against God. For the vast majority of the history of Christianity and Biblical interpretation, there has been broad consensus that God has defined homosexuality – and the desires belonging to it – as sin.

And God’s own Word gives us many reasons why this has been the consensus. In God’s law, forms of sexual immorality like this were explicitly forbidden. In Leviticus 18:22, the men of Israel were taught, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” This command is reiterated in Leviticus 20:13, and a serious penalty is associated with it: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

This moral prohibition also shows up in the commands of the New Testament. In Romans 1:26 and 27, God’s Word reaffirms that homosexual passions and practices are dishonorable, contrary to nature, and deserving of punishment. In 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10, we’re told, “…Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” And 1 Timothy 1:10 further lists out a number of immoral things that are contrary to sound teaching, and that list includes homosexuality. This form of sexual immorality is in no way compatible with sound Biblical teaching. God himself has said so.

Yet there are a number of Christians who don’t realize this. They’ve been led to believe, either that the Bible doesn’t speak clearly on this issue, or that the Bible actually encourages the LGBTQ movement. So I want to briefly consider a few arguments that Christians can sometimes fall victim to, so you can grow in your own discernment, and so you can patiently help brothers or sisters in Christ who are confused about these things.

First, some people will argue that they didn’t choose to have homosexual desires – and since those desires are natural to them, therefore they can’t be morally wrong. But whenever you and I have any wrong desire or inclination that goes against God’s Word – whether you chose it or not, it’s still sin. When we have sinful desires rising out of our hearts uninvited and unwanted, it doesn’t make those desires okay. Instead, it proves that our hearts aren’t okay, and that we need God’s saving grace to forgive us, and to transform us. These desires shouldn’t define our identity. The truth God has revealed from heaven should.

Other Christians, though, have been misled by a second type of argument. Some people claim that God’s command to love others means that Christians need to affirm homosexuality. They argue that calling homosexuality a sin is hateful and bigoted. But Christians need to make sure that they’re learning what it means to love from God, and not from a cultural or man-made opinion. If we’re going to truly love, as God loves – and who’s more loving than God, right? God is love! – if we’re going to follow his own example, then we will identify sin as sin. That’s how God himself speaks in his Word. In the same way that our society is careful to have labels on food products, to warn against fatal allergens, and just as we label chemicals to warn against how hazardous they are – it’s good and loving to label sin as sin, for the spiritual and social well-being of our neighbor.

There’s a third argument out there. Some Christians have been led to believe that God’s ethical standards for marriage changes as culture changes. But God has a timeless design for marriage and physical intimacy – between one husband and one wife – that’s laid out in Genesis, Chapter 2. And we know that Genesis 2 is intended to be normative and authoritative for ethics in human relationships, because that’s where Jesus Christ himself turns to in Matthew 19, when he gives moral teaching on marriage and divorce. The morality of these things culture-dependent. It’s consistent.

But occasionally you may find someone who makes a fourth type of argument, from Ezekiel 16:49, to say that Sodom’s sin wasn’t homosexuality, but was instead lack of hospitality. Because this verse says, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom; she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them when I saw it.” These people will point out that Ezekiel 16 says nothing directly about homosexuality, and so it must not have been a problem.

Certainly, it’s helpful to notice from Ezekiel 16 that in God’s eyes, Sodom’s corruption went further than their homosexuality. We’ll consider that briefly in a moment. But Ezekiel 16 does nothing to suggest that homosexuality is acceptable. For one thing, when verse 50 there speaks of the abomination Sodom committed, that may very well be speaking about their sexual immorality. And even if Ezekiel 16 doesn’t explicitly mention the grievousness of their sexual sin, there are other parts of the Bible that do. 2 Peter 2:7 affirms that righteous Lot was distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked. And Jude verse 7 tells us that the punishment of these two cities was related to their indulgence in sexual immorality and their pursuit of unnatural desire. God intends that we would understand, from Genesis 19, that the wickedness of the men of Sodom included their homosexual attractions and actions.

But there are two other aspects of Sodom’s sin that I want to point out briefly, that we just saw mentioned in Ezekiel 16: their refusal to help the poor, and their pride.

In Genesis 19, Sodom’s disregard for the poor appears in the way that treat Lot’s guests. None of the men of Sodom invite them home – Lot’s the only one who does that. And instead of sharing their resources to care for Lot’s guests, the men of Sodom simply want to exploit and extract as much as they can from these two men. And it’s implied from this that Sodom’s oppression of the poor extended much further, which is why a great outcry against the city has risen to heaven.

But it’s also important to point out the pride of the men of Sodom. Because even though our temptation here may be to focus on homosexuality or the oppression of the poor, and to consider one or both of these crimes to be Sodom’s biggest problem, there’s an extent to which both of those things are just symptoms of a greater disease. The soul of Sodom had been given over to an intense arrogance and pride, which becomes visible in verse 9. Lot has just spoken to the crowd, and has pleaded with them, out of general decency, to allow these two guests to remain in his house, unabused. But the crowd is offended by this, and (in verse 9) they say, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.”

The men of Sodom don’t want to listen to Lot, and so they accuse him of being judgmental. It sounds a lot like 21^st century America, doesn’t it? In pride, they don’t want to be under anyone’s authority. They’re violently opposed to taking correction. They’re not even willing to submit to a standard of general decency. But in their pride – all they want is to do what they want, to be their own master, to be their own god. And this type of heart attitude – a heart of pride is what prompts people into sexual immorality and exploration. That’s what produces violence, and selfishness, and oppression of the poor. Pride is the root cause of all manner of sins, that prompts us to plug our ears, and to harden our hearts against God’s Word, just as the men of Sodom did. And so yes, be wary of sexual immorality, and of the oppression of the poor. But even more foundationally, be on guard against the deceitfulness of pride. We all struggle with it. We all need God to deliver us from it.

The Compromises of Lot

And though it’s easy, in this passage, to focus on the badness of the unbelievers from Sodom and Gomorrah – the text also has warnings for believers, too, as it draws our attention to the Compromises of Lot. This is my second point. The Compromises of Lot. (And don’t worry – my last three points will be much more brief.)

Though Lot is a man of some faith, here, verses 12 through 22 show us that living in a city of sin, surrounded by ungodly influences, has taken a toll on his spiritual discernment and vitality. After the angels pull Lot to safety, inside the house, they explain that they’re about to destroy the city, and they urge Lot to go to whoever he knows, and to urge them to flee from Sodom with him. And so in verse 14, Lot goes to the two young men that his daughters were engaged to be married to – the text refers to them as sons-in-law. And he tries to warn them, but they don’t take him seriously.

But we should understand, here, we shouldn’t see it as a good thing that Lot was preparing to have his daughters intermarry with the men of Sodom. Because they weren’t men of faith – they didn’t fear God. And by giving his daughters, to the care of such men, Lot was compromising the spiritual well-being of his daughters, and his grandchildren. It’s possible that there were factors that made marriage seem like a good idea. Maybe there was money involved, or social status. Maybe it was motivated by strong romantic attraction. Maybe Lot simply decided that although these sons-in-laws were bad, they weren’t quite as bad as the others. But in whatever case, Lot compromised, and he didn’t make it a priority to encourage his daughters to take a God-fearing spouse. By surrounding himself with the worldly influences of Sodom, Lot lost track of his priorities, and neglected to give spiritual direction to his family.

Notice Lot’s spiritual numbness, also, in verse 15: “As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” Then verse 16: “But he lingered!” It may seem unbelievable to us, that Lot would drag his feet. But it shouldn’t surprise us at all! Because when the Word of God calls to us – and urges us to run from our sin, and its destructiveness, how do we often respond? We procrastinate. We hesitate. We linger. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll start praying for my family and friends. Maybe tomorrow I’ll stop peeking at those images. Maybe tomorrow I’ll confess my sin and call upon Jesus, as my Lord.” Friends, we are urged to leave those things behind today – and to run to safety.

But Lot’s spiritual laziness and compromise is exhibited one more time in our passage. Because in verse 17, the angels say, “Escape for your life! Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” And in verse 18, Lot has the audacity to say, “Oh, no, my Lords.” And then he proposes another option, to escape to a smaller city nearby. When God asks him to do something that requires effort – that sounds difficult – Lot doesn’t obey in faith. But he says no thanks, and he asks for a bunny-hill option instead. The whole ordeal makes it apparent that the worldly influence of Sodom has had a harmful affect on Lot’s faith.

And this means that you and I need to give careful attention, as we consider who our closest influences are. Is our idea of normal being shaped by social media, TV, and the internet? Are we alone too often, and are we just being shaped by our own desires for self-indulgence and our grievances against the world? Are we keeping close company with friends who are enticing us away from our walk with Christ?

The Kindness of God

And yet, seeing Lot’s compromises here make God’s kindness even more remarkable. This brings us to my third point, regarding the kindness of God. Even when Lot isn’t paying attention to the angels warnings – even when he’s lingering in the city – notice what happens in verse 16. Though Lot lingered, “… the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.”

If Lot had been left to himself, he would have stayed in the city and died, like everyone else. In the weakness of Lot’s faith, he didn’t have the will-power to leave the relationships, and to let go of the worldly possessions he had, and to give up the life he had made for himself in Sin City. And yet the Lord had mercy on him. And the angel took Lot by the hand, as parents do with their stubborn children, and pulled Lot to safety.

The Lord’s mercy is also apparent, when Lot rejects the command to run to the hills, and instead asks for permission to run to the little city of Zoar. God patiently bears with Lot’s spiritual laziness, and He grants Lot his request. And the Lord waits, as this little man and his family trudge across the plain. He waits for Lot to enter into the safety of the city. And then, finally, God rains down sulfur and fire down upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and destroys the city.

Verse 27 adds the interesting comment, that Abraham comes out early in the morning, and he sees that the city has been destroyed. And you have to realize here, Abraham had prayed for God to spare the city. He had been concerned about his nephew Lot – and at this point had no way of knowing that Lot had been saved. All he saw at this point was destruction. And sometimes when we pray, it may not look like God has heard us, either!

And yet verse 29 explains God did, in fact, pay attention to Abraham’s prayers. “So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” Though God’s way of answering Abraham’s prayer took a different form than Abraham expected, the LORD, in his kindness listened. And Lot and his family were granted rescue.

The Consequences of Compromise

But even though Lot and his family were given physical rescue from the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s spiritual compromises had consequences. And this is my fourth and final point – the consequences of compromise. We’ve already seen how Lot’s decision to move to Sodom was bad for his faith. It’s clear that Sodom’s influence was spiritually harmful for him. But Lot’s decision affected others, too. It had an even more harmful impact on his family – his wife and daughters.

We see this first, in Lot’s wife. You may remember, in verse 17, the angels had warned Lot and his family, saying, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley.” But then down in verse 26, our text says, “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” The issue, here, isn’t just that Lot’s wife accidentally took a backward glance. But the problem is that she looked back at Sodom with longing and with love. She wasn’t willing to turn her back on this manmade city, and to trust in God to provide something better. Instead, her hope for the future had been tied up in her feasting, her friend groups, and her financial abundance. Sodom had become her idol – the thing she loved and trusted in more than God. And so Lot’s wife here was turned to a pillar of salt. There was a fatal consequence for her, not just because she looked the wrong the direction, but because she loved the wrong direction.

And it’s important for us to evaluate ourselves, and to see if we’re caught up in similar kinds of idolatry and materialism. Because in Luke 17, Jesus warns his followers that the Son of Man will one day come in judgment, like judgment came in the days of Lot.  And in verse 32, Jesus says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” We need to consider – what are we longing for? Where are we looking to find life? When the Son of man appears, will he find you trusting in an earthly city, or trusting in a city with foundations, whose designer and builder is God?

But we also need to see that Lot’s compromises had a negative spiritual consequence for his daughters. Because in verses 30 through 38, we see evidence that his daughters had been influenced by the immoral sexual standards of Sodom. Though at this point, the girls were no longer in Sodom, Sodom was still in the girls. And they devise an obscene plan to make themselves pregnant by their father.

As fathers, parents, and guardians, then, it’s important to be careful about the influences that are coming around our children. It’s true that our children will have their own corrupt desires and ideas. As human beings, we aren’t just victims to our environment, but we ourselves are villains who have personal, moral responsibility for all our sin. That’s important to keep in mind. But there are certain influences that can aggravate and normalize corruption for our kids – voices that will call evil “good,” and that will call good things “evil.” And if we aren’t speaking truth to ourselves and to our kids, and bringing our homes under the influence of the Christian good news, and the truth of God – then you can be sure, we’ll be influenced by something else.

So as we close, let me remind you of the good news that should shape our desires, our decisions, and our devotion, from Titus 3: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” Amen. Let’s pray that this good news would shape our hearts and our homes: