Rather than the account of Sodom and Gomorrah being a fable made up by Moses as he wrote Genesis or a legend propagated by the storytellers of Israel, these are actual cities that were destroyed by God because of the sin of their inhabitants at a specific moment in history. You don’t have to be a Christian to have heard of the infamous twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground() 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s houseYou can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” Instead, he expressly stated that they went after “different” or “other” flesh. In Matthew 10:1–15, cf. So, what we have here is the identification of sexual sins in Sodom (ekporneuo). There were other reasons of course, but the angels hadn’t even been there long enough to see the other wickedness. I have heard people say it was because of homosexuality and others say it was … I think many people assume that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their sexual immortality, and this may at least be part of the reason. Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the Old Testament’s most infamously sinful cities. There’s actually a long answer and a relatively short answer to this question. They don’t ask themselves questions, like, “Why is the entire male population of a town trying to rape strangers?”, or “How can a town that is literally full of homosexual men survive beyond a generation?” While these are not questions that this particular study answers, there are good answers, but one must think through it, rather than just read Scripture at face value. Why Did God Destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? In Genesis 14, the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, Admah, and Zeboim all rebel against him and raise an army. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Sodom and Gomorrah was an ancient city of Syria located in the plain of Jordan. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Let’s return to what Scripture actually says and accept the fact that God did not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality, but because of the six (6) sins mentioned by Ezekiel. But again, we must be careful not to assume anything. Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Your hands are covered with blood. The angels warned Lot and his family to not look back but his wife did not listen and was immediately turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back. So I'm sure there would have been more than 20 infants who werent capable of committing homosexuality or any other sin so why did God still choose to destroy the cities along with those infants? Rather than there being any association of Sodom and Gomorrah with homosexuality, as is always the case today, the biblical world understood their sin to be one of their treatment of the “other.” They didn’t correct their evil ways by having “one man, one woman marriage.” No! [28] “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” [29] He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” [30] Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” [31] And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” [32] Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” [33] As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place. Are we to lift verse 7 from this context and assume that it speaks of homosexuality, rather than more human/angel interactions of some sort? So, same-sex attractions and/or same-sex sexual activity doesn’t explain why such an outcry rose to the throne of God. By reading verses Jude 6-9, we get a better picture of what Jude was talking about when he mentioned Sodom and Gomorrah in verse 7. Genesis 10:19. Sodom and Gomorrah, notoriously sinful cities in the biblical book of Genesis, destroyed by “sulfur and fire” because of their wickedness (Genesis 19:24). If God won’t prevent evil from happening, then why did he destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? At the same time, it is not biblical to say that homosexuality … So to sum up what I read, God sent down these 2 angels to check out how bad the cities really were. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, … The issue is not homosexuality but genetics; human or “Adamic” vs Nephilim. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.” The great irony is that the very people who trot out Sodom and Gomorrah in condemning LGBTs often support politicians and policies that are much more like the Sodomites than gays are. Why did the angels save Lot from being burned up in Sodom? First, Sodom and Gomorrah were judged because of grave sin. Now, isn’t it stunning that the very people who are quick to reference God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah do so in criticism of something that was nowhere in the mind of Ezekiel or Isaiah (or even of Jesus, when He referenced Sodom)? In His strong criticism of the nation, He provided great insight into specifically how they were like Sodom, and how much this angered Him. Did he punish them … In precisely the same way, Genesis 19 records the events surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction, but it tells us nothing about why God determined to destroy the cities in the first place. When reading God’s rebuke of the Israelites through the mouth of the prophet (vs. 11-17), it becomes clear that God was very angry with them. Far be it from You! You can begin reading at verse 1 to see this more clearly. Instead, God judged Sodom for various other sins, like rape, pride, and gluttony. As a result, He determined to launch a sort of investigation, to see what was causing the people to cry out against them so (v. 21). New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies–I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. He was a very righteous man, and Sodom was a very sinful city. [14] “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. Clearly, whatever the Israelites had been doing must have been pretty doggone horrific, which explains why Isaiah associated them with Sodom and Gomorrah. Let’s say that for my birthday, someone sends me a card with $50 in it. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Scripture specifically tells us that angels are able to take human form and interact with humans (. Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. (AP)25 Thus he … Abraham begged … If you are taking the responsibility of being a teacher of the Word, please know that you will be held to a higher standard by God than those that don’t teach. God agrees to spare the cities if 10 righteous people can be found (18:23–32). In the Genesis account, God reveals to Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah are to be destroyed for their grave sins (18:20). There are multiple examples in Scripture of angels taking human form, including those of Noah’s day (Point 1), those mentioned by Paul (Point 2), and those who visited Abraham in Gen. 18 (the same ones who later carried out God’s judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah in ch. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. However, Lot’s … As Lot's family fled Sodom and Gomorrah, God rained down burning sulfur onto the city. This context bears out that the subject isn’t homosexuality at all. They hardly focused on the act of the people, (it took my reading this part a few years later to know) but would usually focus on the consequence, some scared us by telling us bad things happen to those who disobey God. As I said, Genesis 19 records the circumstances surrounding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but it actually tells us nothing about the reason God decided to destroy the cities. The angels who sinned in the days of Noah certainly had flesh, in that they were able to copulate and have hybrid children with human women. Ezekiel writes: … Lot was a foreigner to the realm of Sodom and not succumbed to the lustful, degenerate sins … According to the Bible, the men of Sodom 'were wicked, such sinners against the Lord, He decided to destroy them'. Yeshua was without spot or blemish and in His case was without spot and blemish in both DNA and behavior. Genesis 14:2. It doesn’t matter how good or how bad the sex is; someone doesn’t cry out to God because of it, precisely because the sex was consensual. The book of Jasher includes the details of Sodom and Gomorrah and their lawlessness in the land and in the courts. Sounds nice, but what does this look like, specifically? Why was Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed? Ask any student of Scripture how best to go about interpreting any single phrase or verse in Scripture and, if they know their stuff, the answer will always be “consider the context.” Any word, phrase, or verse taken in isolation from the surrounding passages can be twisted and misinterpreted. Even the early biblical commentators on the story of Sodom differed. His “doing a deal” with Abraham indicates that he had extended his mercy time and again. However, I’ll address that in more detail further below. No sacrifice could be given of an unclean or damaged animal. Someone please tell me where homosexuality is mentioned…. Hopefully, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah can serve as a case study for how easy it is to completely misinterpret Scripture. Sodom is where we get the term “sodomy and sodomites” named after this widespread sin of the town. Now the story of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as a lesson of the consequences of sin and the wrath of God. Now, in my birthday analogy, the only way to learn why I thanked my new friend was to back up and get a history lesson. I am going by literally what the Bible teaches. I’m the first to admit that a surface reading of Genesis 19 can lead a person to believe that homosexuality was the culprit. But why do they associate it with homosexuality? Now, however unfortunate, the sixth sin identified is rather ambiguous. According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Sodom was one of the most ancient cities of Syria. Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? They ride out to do battle, but fall into a bunch of tar pits and get massacred. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD (Genesis 13:13) However, God also had compassion on them too. In Genesis 14, the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, Admah, and Zeboim all rebel against him and raise an army. First, there is the traditional and obvious answer: God destroyed the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah … Genesis chapter 18 records the Lord and two angels coming to speak with Abraham. Why did God destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Because there was nothing else he could do. Two apocryphal books—though not considered inspired by most Protestant Christians—indicate that giants (Nephilim) were in Sodom prior to its destruction (Ecclesiasticus 16:7-9, Book of Jubilees 20:5). In Genesis 18, the Lord shared His plans to destroy these cities due to their sins: "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave" (Genesis 18:20). “…just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” A week later, I see him. Certainly, there are homosexuals who fit this description, but no more than there are heterosexuals who also fit it. But whether there were giants in Sodom or not, Gen. 19 does explicitly show us that they apparently had a pattern of pursuing sex with angels. So why did God judge Sodom and Gomorrah? The best way to maintain the integrity of biblical intent is to consider an entire thought, rather than a small portion of it. When we read the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, a strange thing happened. In their religious hypocrisy, they are completely blind to the fact that it’s their sociopolitical views that exemplify the reason God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, not homosexuality! Hence, Sodom and Gomorrah were saturated with sexual deviance, filthy behavior, and every form of godlessness known to mankind. Her action suggests that she identified with the people of Sodom. His “doing a deal” with Abraham indicates that he had extended his mercy time and again. Lessons learned God revealed that being perfect, especially in love, does not necessarily mean being unnegoiatable and unable to change his decisions. After God told Abraham about the judgment of the two cities, Abraham negotiated with God asking if the cities would be judged if there were 50 righteous in the city. Kedorlaomer and his allies then ransack Sodom and Gomorrah… He waited for them to turn from their destructive ways. You have to think about what you read—thoughtfully ponder it and let it revolve around in your mind before forming a conclusion. Sodom and Gomorrah as the borders of Canaan. [11] “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. We can, therefore, presume that the sixth (“committing abominations”) is likely what Jude is referring to. ", According to Bible commentaries like the NIV Zondervan Study Bible, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt as she looked back, “for disobeying the instruction not to look back. [8] Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But he drew this association with Sodom and Gomorrah because Israel was going astray in much the same way as he (and the rest of Israel) understood Sodom and Gomorrah to had gone astray. Hence, Sodom and Gomorrah were saturated with sexual deviance, filthy behavior, and every form of godlessness known to mankind. The Lord informed Abraham that “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous.” Verses 22-33 record Abraham pleading with the Lord to have mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah … He pleaded with the angels to join him in his house so he could wash their feet and serve them a meal. Then they called out to Lot and asked where the MEN who came to Lot were so they could have SEX with them! The angels first tell Lot to flee to the mountains, but Lot requests that his family go to a nearby city, named Zoar, to ensure their survival. Unlike chapter 19, this passage, which is right before the destruction chapter, lays out the reason God initially decided to destroy these cities. He pleaded with the angels to join him in his house so he could wash their feet and serve them a meal. but there were not 50, not 45, 30, 20, or even 10 righteous people. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. He waited for them to turn from their destructive ways. Isaiah 1:10-17, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed 700+ years prior to Isaiah’s day, so when he addressed the word of the Lord to to the “rulers of Sodom” and the “people of Gomorrah,” he was speaking metaphorically to his countrymen–the people of Israel. Her failure to flee God’s punishment becomes a vivid warning to others (Luke 17:32).”. We know that God mercifully judges each person in a perfect way that only he can, and we heartened by Scripture that God sent his only divine … “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. For obvious reasons the homosexual lobby want to downplay the sexual nature of Sodom and Gomorrah's sins so they try and make it appear that Ezekiel 16:49 was the only things Sodom and Gomorrah did wrong. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, [7] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. While Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of many other horrendous sins, homosexuality was the principle reason God poured fiery sulfur on the cities, completely destroying them and all of their inhabitants. The Nephilim [KJV: giants] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in Genesis, notorious for their flagrant sin. Which abominations did they commit? Interestingly, these very two ingredients were contained within the culture of Noah’s day. I don't own the copyrights to this video, it was posted for the education of the general public. [13] “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. [19] “For I have chosen him, so 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 upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” [20] And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. bonus points for etymology of the word sodomy . It’s nowhere to be found in the Bible. Notice that the giants (Hebrew: Nephilim) were not simply genetic anomalies. God’s sparing the lives of Lot and his family is an example of how God cares for the righteous people. If not, I will know.”. All men, animals, and vegetation were destroyed. We can find clues not just from the Genesis account, but also from the Prophets and the New Testament books 2 Peter and Jude. He fully intended to destroy Sodom, Gomorrah, and … They would not. Here, we have the first clear mention of the fact that one of Sodom and Gomorrah’s sins were, indeed, of a sexual nature. Their Story of Sin in the Bible The sinful ways of Sodom and Gomorrah were so outrageous that God destroyed the two cities with fire sparing only the family of Lot. The Bible describes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:23-29, stating: "By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. However, I recently read Ezekiel and in Ezekiel 16:49-50. He waited for their stubbornness to subside and for them to turn from their culture of death. Why did God punish Sodom and Gomorrah? Reading Time: 3 minutes These days, ask someone, “Why did God destroy Sodom & Gomorrah?” and you will probably get one of two very different answers (depending on who you ask). 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