Sodom and Gomorrah
Transcript
Well, good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Y'all enjoying the new carpet smell? We are excited to have new carpet, and I actually like the smell. We close the doors, the chemicals start seeping into your brain, and as the sermon goes, my jokes get funnier.
Alright, that would kill at the end of the sermon, just letting y'all know. So, Kim, just keep breathing in those fumes. Grab your Bible, go to Genesis chapter 18. We're walking through the book of Genesis. We're in chapter 18, and we're going to actually pick up. So, what we did a couple of weeks ago, and even for the past two weeks, was we looked at some stuff that was happening in Genesis chapter 16, 17, and then we jumped past 18 and 19 to look at 21.
So, now we're picking back up. We're going to go 18, 19, and chapter 20 next week. So, we're going to look at 18 and 19 today. We'll be looking at picking back up with Lot. Last time we saw Lot, he and Abraham, he is Abraham's nephew. And the last time we saw him, they had grown too large for each other.
They had too much cattle, too many herds, too many people kind of living in their camps. And so they said, hey, let's not fight. Let's spread out. And so Abraham tells Lot, pick where you want to go. If you go this way, I'll go that way. Lot looks around.
He looks this way. And everything's dry and rocky. And it almost sounds like it even kind of maybe stunk that way. Like it just wasn't good. He looks this way. Everything was pretty and lovely.
And there was water. And it was like the garden of God. And so he was like, hmm, this way. And so Lot goes that way. And it says that he moved his camp all the way to Sodom, which was a very wicked place. And so it was kind of, it was bird-dogging a little bit, kind of telling us where it was headed.
And then it tells us kind of what happens with Abraham. So we're picking up in 18. I'll pray. And we'll start reading. Lord, we thank you for your word, that it doesn't move, that it is sure and steadfast, that we can study it now. And a hundred years from now, others can open it and study it.
And it helps. And it teaches. And it leads. We pray that we would learn from your word today. That your Holy Spirit would guide us in our time. In Jesus' name.
Amen. Amen. All right, we've read some of chapter 18 already. When we were talking through the story of Sarah and Isaac, the birth of Isaac, we're going to read back through it and kind of follow through the rest of the chapter. So it says, The Lord appeared to him, him as Abraham, by the oaks of Mamre.
Now that's where Abraham had settled as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. So Abraham is kind of hanging out in the, would have been like just like a covered space in front of his tent. These are goatskin tents, most likely black tents. It's hot. So we know that it's a hot time of year.
And a lot of times they would roll up the sides of their tents, but they still had an inside area that was still had the sides down where women, children were often. And so he's sitting in front of his tent. It says, God appears to him. The Lord appears to him. He lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, three men were standing in front of him. Okay, so it reads like we don't know if they just appeared.
If like they weren't there and he looked this way and he looked back and they were there. And so it was kind of magical. Or if he was like dozing off because that was a common thing in the middle of the afternoon and it was super hot. I wish South Carolina would institute a siesta. I think that would be wonderful. But we haven't.
But they had a similar system as that. And so he may have been sleeping a little bit. But it says he sees three men. So we're already told that it's the Lord or that the Lord is among them. He sees three men. So it is the Lord in some form of veiled glory.
It's not the Lord as we will see him. It's not the Lord as he has seen at other times in all of his glory. It's veiled glory. He looks like a man or at least it's fair to describe him that way. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, Oh, Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Now, that could read as him knowing exactly who he is talking to.
He doesn't say the name Lord. If you'll notice in your Bibles, when it said at the very beginning, verse one, it says, And the Lord and its capital, all caps, L-O-R-D. Down here it says, and he says, Oh, Lord. And it's lowercase O-R-D. That means it's a different word in the Hebrew. So the first one is the divine name of the Lord.
This one is just a term, Lord. And so he's either being very gracious, very hospitable. This isn't odd for him to describe visitors this way. So this wouldn't be out of place for him to say, You're my Lord. I'm your servant. He's being really humble.
It's like when someone brings you in and says, Look, this house is your house. You don't say, Sweet, give me the keys and get out. You understand they're being humble. They're saying, You can have whatever's here. They're not giving you the... So that's what he's doing.
He says, Oh, you're my Lord. I'm your servant. It is obvious that he uses the singular Lord. So there's at least of the three, one of them, who is obviously in a higher status than the other two. It is possible. Abraham knows who he's talking about.
It's possible he doesn't. It doesn't make a big difference because in a little bit he's going to have figured it out. And the story plays out the same. So he says, Let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree while I bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves. And after you have and after that, you may pass on since you have come to your servant. So they said, Do as you have said.
And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, Quick, three sea is a fine flour. Sea is about a gallon. So he said, Get a lot of flour. Three sea is a fine flour. Knead it and make cakes. And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man who prepared it quickly.
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. Okay, so if he knows it's the Lord, he goes above and beyond for the Lord. He is sacrificial. He gets a calf, not a goat or a lamb. Which a goat or a lamb would have been plenty for three visitors.
He gets a calf, a young, tender, fat one. So he goes above and beyond. He gets milk. He gets curds. He gets her. He says to him, Oh, let me give you a little water.
Just a bite, a morsel, a skosh of bread. And they're like, okay. And then he's like, okay, kill a whole cow. Get three gallons of flour. Bake cakes. He goes above and beyond.
And he's being very hospitable here. There's a guy who hangs out with a community group. He was baptized a year ago. His name is Taha Hataram. And his family lives in my neighborhood. They are from Pakistan.
And I was over there talking with them at one point. And they said, hey, come in and have some tea. Would you like some tea? And I said, yeah. They said, we make really good chai tea. I said, that sounds delicious.
So I came in. I sat down there. And they were like, while you're having tea, here's some puri. And here's some, and I was like, okay. And I started eating that. And they were like, here's some kebab, which was like a smushed chicken thing.
And then they said, here's some naan. Here's some dal. She just cooked. By the time I was done, there was this whole table was full of food. And I was just eating like a king. And then I was like, I got to head home.
Bag it up. You know, like, it was great. Every once in a while, I swing back by. And I'm like, y'all got any tea in there? You know? That's what he does here.
He says, let me get you a little bit. And he goes above and beyond. And this is common Middle Eastern hospitality. We talk about Southern hospitality. The Middle Easterners eat our lunch on this. And we're less hospitable than we used to be.
But we ought to grow in hospitality as a church. Because it's one of, it's a very godly thing to welcome people. The New Testament over and over again says that we'll entertain angels unawares. That when we welcome somebody, we welcome Jesus. And so this ought to be a thing that as a church, we ought to be good at. When people come over, don't just pop out the mountain lightning.
Get out some mountain dew. Like, go above and beyond. Host well with whatever you have. And if mountain lightning is your favorite, well, pop it out. If that's your best. If that's what you like.
You know, but host well with what you have. So that's what he does. He stands by them while they eat. Now, verses 9 through 15. We have already read a couple weeks ago. I'm going to paraphrase it just so we don't miss this part of the story.
That is where the Lord starts asking about Sarah. He calls her Sarah, which means he knows her name has changed. He starts saying prophecy stuff about she's going to have a child. At this moment, if Abraham did not know he was dealing with God or some sort of divine representative, he does now. This is where God says, Sarah's going to have a child. She's super old, so she laughs by herself.
God looks at Abraham and says, why is your wife laughing? Abraham's like, uh. And then his wife says, I didn't laugh. And God says, yeah, you did. And that whole ending of change goes on. All right, we stopped there and skipped ahead before.
Now we're going to keep reading. Verse 16. Then the men set out from there and they looked down towards Sodom. So down means they are in a higher elevation. So where they are, they are up a hill, up a mountain, looking down.
It's a hilly region. Sodom is in a valley. They look down towards Sodom. Also, Sodom would be about 20 miles away. So they're just looking in that general direction.
I don't know if you'd have been able to actually see the city or not. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation. And all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. 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. Okay, so the Lord stops. Abraham's walking with him. He stops. And it's almost like he speaks to the other two men, which we're told later are angels. And he says, should I tell Abraham what I'm going to do?
Should I hide from him? He's going to be a great and mighty nation. He's going to be the one through whom I bring the promise. He's going to be the one who blesses all nations. He's talking about Christ. He's saying, should I leave him out of this or should I go ahead and include him on what I'm going to do?
They don't answer, but God keeps going. Then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave. I will go down there to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know. So he says, should I tell Abraham what I'm about to do?
And then he looks at him and says, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave. And we're going to check it out to see if it's as bad as the outcry has been. Now, I don't think it would be correct, given the rest of Scripture, for us to understand that God actually had to show up over there to know what was going on. I think this should be very encouraging to us. First of all, that God wants to include Abraham in what he's doing. He doesn't need Abraham.
He chooses to include Abraham in what he is doing. It's like when Archer has helped me build furniture. He did not help. I chose to include him. That's what he's doing with Abraham. He doesn't need Abraham.
He chooses to include him. And then he says, the outcry has been great and I'm going to go be near. I'm going to go be close to that. And honestly, that's a thing that we would want from God. That he would be near when we're crying out. That he would investigate.
That he wouldn't just sit far off, but that he would come close to what is going on. That he would see it. That's what it says. The sin is great and I'm going to go be close. I'm going to go investigate. I'm going to go see this.
So the men turned. This is verse 22. Turned from there and went towards Sodom. But Abraham stood, still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the 50 righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing. To put the righteous to death with the wicked so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far be that from you. Shall not the judge of the earth do what is right?
Okay. That was bold. God says, should I include Abraham in on this? And Abraham immediately jumps in and says, hold on a second, God. And his question, I think, is a fair question. I think it's one that we have all the time.
Abraham, first of all, understands what God's going to do. God said, I'm going to go investigate. I think Abraham knows at least the reputation of Sodom and Gomorrah. It doesn't say that he's thinking of Lot when he kind of goes into talking to God about this. But it's likely that he knows that Lot lives there or is in that city.
He at least knows that's the direction he went last time we picked up with him. There's a good chance he knows a lot more than that. But here's his question. He's asking God about what's good and what's right and what's just and what's fair. And he's pleading with God. If you're going to plead with God, pleading with God based on his own nature is a good way to go about it.
God, you are good. Won't you do what's good? You are just. Won't you do what's just? But he says, far be that from you.
Don't go down there if there are righteous people in that city and just wipe it away. Now, city, we don't know how big it is. There were ancient cities that got pretty big. This one doesn't seem like it's that big. Sodom and Gomorrah I don't think would have been that large. We saw that they were part of 13 other cities that were paying tribute earlier.
So we don't know how big a group of 50 is in this city. Similar to. They had a king. Similar to what we've seen. If you've watched. I've studied.
Or. If you've studied history. Or. Watched movies and television. I was just going to assume no one had studied. But I don't want to be rude.
The two of y'all have studied. Y'all know about this. If you're like me and you've watched television. There would have been like a castle. Some of these in this area would have been made out of wood. Some of them might have been made out of stone.
We heard about one that was in the same area where they made. Their own bricks. Then they would have had a walled area. And people who lived inside the area. Lived inside the city. And had the protection of the king.
So we don't know how big this area was. Most likely not a very massive place. But. Substantial in the area. And his question is. If there are 50 there who are righteous.
You'll destroy the whole city. Will the righteous fare the way the wicked do? And his question is a fair question. And it's one we're still asking. Which is. What is just?
You see. When someone harms us. Our outcry goes to God. And we want God to care about injustice. We want God to when someone is harmed or abused. Or when someone in power takes advantage of somebody else.
We want him to care. We want him to pursue this. We want him to follow up. We want justice to be served. But then we have all these questions about.
Well. How much and how and to whom. What's fair? Have you ever thought about this? If there is a God. I would postulate that there is.
But. If there is a God. And he has a system for judging. What's fair? This is. This is a question that.
That's. It's. It's in our culture all the time. We're having to answer this. If you're mostly a good person. But you've done some really bad things.
Is it 50-50? What's his threshold? Is it graded on a curve? Do you have to be better than half the population? Do you have to be. Does it.
Does it matter what you come from? So if you're in general a nice person. But you also have a good digestive system. And you grew up in a fairly wealthy family. With nice parents. In a nice area of town.
And you turn out nice. Did you do much? Never really harmed anybody. It's like. Yeah. But where you came from.
You should be doing a lot more. If somebody comes from a place. That's not nice. Didn't have parents. All they ever got was. Was beaten.
All they were ever taught. Was how to be aggressive. And they grow up aggressive. Can. Can. Can.
Is Scrooge okay. Can you be a terrible person. For 80 years. And a nice one. For five. We just.
Supreme Court justice. Does it matter how long you've gone. How long it's been. Since something's happened. Can we just say. Oh well I was like that.
But that doesn't matter. Now there was a guy in Columbia. Who committed. Three murders. 45. 50 years ago.
And lived in Columbia. As an upstanding citizen. They found out it was him. They arrested him. Why? Because he committed three murders.
That's what he's saying. What is just. What is right. What are you going to do. And I think this is a fair question to ask. How good is good.
How righteous is righteous. And what should happen. So what he says is. Will you let the righteous fare the way the wicked do. Will you destroy the wicked. A wicked along with the righteous.
Here's God's response. 26. 26. And the Lord said. If I find at Sodom. 50 righteous in the city.
I will spare the whole place for their sake. So Abraham says. It's unjust. For the wicked. And the righteous. For the righteous to get what the wicked deserve.
And God says. Okay. If there are 50 righteous. Then the wicked will get what the righteous deserve. Is that just? Is that how that should work?
27. Abraham answered and said. Behold. I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. I who am but dust. And ashes.
Suppose five of the 50 righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city. For lack of five. He said. I will not destroy it. If I find 45.
There. Again. He spoke to him and said. Suppose 40 are found there. He answered. For the sake of 40.
I will not do it. Then he said. Oh. Let not the Lord. Be angry. And I will speak.
Suppose 30. Are found there. He answered. I will not do it. If I find 30 there. He said.
Behold. I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose 20 are found there. He answered. For the sake of 20. I will not destroy it.
Then he said. Oh. Let not the Lord be angry. And I will speak again. But this one.
Suppose 10. Are found there. He answered. For the sake of 10. I will not destroy it. And the Lord went his way.
When he had finished speaking to Abraham. And Abraham returned to his place. God invited Abraham in on that. And Abraham intercedes on behalf of Sodom. Abraham goes before the Lord. And says.
I've undertaken to do this. What about 10? What if there's just 10? He says. I won't do it if there's 10. Abraham doesn't push it further.
We don't know. If God gave him some clues. Throughout the conversation. It gets. The sentences get shorter. So it's possible Abraham knew.
I should stop. But we don't know. You thought Job interviews were tough. Or that first dates. Were nerve wracking. I think Abraham walked back to his tent.
A little. Interceding with God was. A bit much. But God. Graciously. Listens to Abraham.
19. The two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Okay. So the three men. One of them was the Lord. Two of them were angels.
The Lord is no longer among them. At least. Visibly. Came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. So most likely they would be closing the gate soon.
Most of the people who sit in the gate. Are prominent people. So Lot is in the gate of Sodom. Which means he's. Most likely a fairly prominent person. In the city.
When Lot saw them. He rose to meet them. And bowed himself with his face to the earth. And said. My lords. Again.
I just think this is interesting. He's going to respond. You'll see some similarities. Between how he and Abraham treat them. And also. Abraham said.
My Lord. Because I think there was obviously one. That was above the others. He says. My lords. Because.
Couldn't really tell. Y'all just seem like y'all are friends. You're on the same level. Please turn aside. To your servant's house. And spend the night.
And wash your feet. Then you may rise up early. And go on your way. They said. No. We will spend the night.
In the town square. But he pressed them strongly. That word is like. He grappled with them. Like he twisted their arm. So they turned aside to him.
And entered his house. And he made them a feast. And baked unleavened bread. And they ate. But before they lay down.
So it was evening. Sun's going down. Before they go to sleep. The men of the city. The men of Sodom. Both young and old.
All the people. To the last man. Surrounded the house. So he no longer lives in tents. He lives in a house in Sodom. And they called to Lot.
Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. That we may know them. That phrase is used as a euphemism. It can mean know. Like get to know.
We want to befriend them. It can mean we want to have sex with them. Similar to the way we use the term slept together. It can mean slept. It can mean not slept. So we don't really know yet.
We're about to figure it out. It's not the good one. Lot went out to the men at the entrance. He shut the door after him. Shut the door after him. And said 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. Okay this got crazy. So these two men come to his home. They're like we're going to stay in the city gate. He knows about the city he lives in. He says no you're not.
They're like we'll be fine. He's like no no no no. Come come come come come. Come stay in my house. Every man to the last man young and old. Guys they didn't have TV.
Or cell phones. Word traveled. Seems like they didn't have anything else to do. I guess this town doesn't get visitors often. They show up. They surround the house.
And they say. Two men came in there. Send them out. We want to rape them. Lot. Steps out.
Closes the door behind him. He's staring at a sea of faces. I don't know if they had torches. I don't know how well he could see. It was getting dark. I don't know if he can tell.
It's just people and people and people. Until it gets too dark to see. Bravely says. Do not do this. And this sounds. Says something that sounds so absolutely crazy to us.
He says. I have two daughters. Take them. Now. That is absolutely crazy to us. It's crazy that this situation has played out to this point.
But if you understand a little more about Middle Eastern hospitality. That some people hold to. This is less crazy. If you've ever seen or heard the story about. Marcus Luttrell. He was the Navy SEAL.
Who they made the movie about. Lone Survivor. Navy SEAL. Four of them were sent in. Three of them die. He eventually escapes.
The Taliban is who they were trying to. There was a leader in the Taliban. They were trying to take out. He makes it to a small village. He is very very badly beaten. He has a broken back.
He has a dislocated shoulder. He's at some point bit his tongue in half. Muhammad Gulab. Sees him. Takes him into his home. The Taliban show up.
Muhammad gets a gun. And starts fighting. And the whole town fights to defend this guy. That has come under his roof. Because they understand. If he comes under my roof.
I have a sacred oath to him. That I must defend him. That's what's going on here. So Lot says take my daughters. And it's like what on earth. But he understood.
That there was a sacred thing. To hospitality. So he goes out. He says. I beg you. Don't do this.
Take my daughters. Verse 9. But they said. Stand back. And they said. This fellow came to sojourn here.
And he has become the judge. Now we will deal worse with you. Then with them. Then they pressed hard against the man Lot. And drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands.
And brought Lot into the house with them. And shut the door. And they struck with blindness. The men who were at the entrance of the house. Both small and great. So that they wore themselves out.
Groping for the door. Okay. So these men have surrounded the house. They yell. Hey Lot. Send those men out here.
We want to rape them. Lot comes out and says. Do not do this. Do not act so wickedly. But he can tell.
They didn't just disperse them. He says. Look I have daughters in here. You can have them. Leave these men alone. They've come under my roof.
And they say. You're going to judge us. We're about to do worse to you. Than we were going to do to them. Instead of two men. We'll have three.
And they come at him. Angels grab him. Snatch him inside the house. I think this was probably the most aggressive grabs he has ever received. And thankfully so. They close the door.
And the angels strike with blindness every man outside. For the record. The angels would have been fine in the town square. And it says. That they wore themselves out. Trying to get to the door.
That's one of the craziest parts in the story to me. I think. If we were in the middle of something. And I suddenly went blind. I think I would say. Hey I suddenly went blind.
Some version of that. I think you pretty quickly would have found out. Yo me too. I am also blind. What a weird occurrence. At that point.
I don't know who's leading this gang. Someone should have said. Let's call it a night. Since we're all blind. Magically. It almost seems like it just made them angrier.
They must know. They have such a great vast majority. That they think. Even blind. We got this. And they.
They're enraged. And it says. They wear themselves out. Trying to get in the door. Blind. Now.
This puts on display. The great wickedness. Of Sodom. It has been often taught. That the primary sin of Sodom. Was homosexuality.
The New Testament. Does say. Does highlight. Their sexual sin. This passage. Is highlighting their sexual sin.
I don't think. The primary point of this passage. Is homosexuality. Those in the LGBT community. Have come along and said. That's not it at all.
It doesn't have anything to do with homosexuality. It has to do with a lack of hospitality. Certainly. What they suggested. Was not hospitable. I don't think.
That is a fair reading of that either. I think what this displays. Is when there is a complete rejection. Of God. And when there is active. Unrepentant sin.
Sexual sin. Rises. Rises to the top. Sexual confusion. Sexual misunderstanding. Sexual assault.
I think you can see that culturally. Right now. For us. We've spent some time. Talking about. Gender dysphoria.
Homosexuality. And I want you to know. If that's something you struggle with. Or don't struggle with. Feel perfectly fine in. Think that you want.
To celebrate. You're welcome here. Would encourage you. To talk with us afterwards. So we can clarify this position.
A little more. Because we believe. That you're welcome. That Jesus loves all of us. But that we're loved.
And welcomed in our repentance. And that God offers. Grace to sinners. This is sin. And it is actively. Aggressively.
Put on display. That's all the time. We'll spend. Talking about that. Specifically. Because it's not the point.
Of the passage. Then the men said to Lot. Have you. Have you. Anyone else here. Sons-in-law.
Sons. Daughters. Anyone you have in the city. Bring them out of the place. For we are about. To destroy this place.
Because the outcry. Against its people. Has become great. Before the Lord. And the Lord. Has sent us.
To destroy it. Can you imagine. The visitors. That showed up. The people. Who were wondering.
And saw lights. In a city. And went to Sodom. For refuge. All the times. That it wasn't angels.
Can you imagine. Why Lot. When they said. We'll stay in this town square. What he knew about. When he said.
No no no. Don't stay in the town square. Can you imagine. The tears. And the pain. Can you imagine.
The amount of times. If this is happening. And they're gathering. To do this. How much. Abuse.
How much. Theft. How much murder. How much. Has taken place. In this city.
And how often. Someone. Beaten. And bloody. Wept. And it came to God's ears.
How often. The outcry. Just rose. Rose. We see this. In small fashion.
When it comes out. That a teacher's been. Sexually assaulting people. And all of a sudden. You'll start hearing. More came forward.
More came forward. More came forward. More came forward. As soon as the Me Too movement. Started. And there was just.
Me. Me. Me. And how many tears. And how much brokenness. And how much of an outcry.
Had arisen to the Lord. From a city. That welcomed. And accepted this. Down to the last man. Maybe some of them.
Were just there. To see what was going to happen. But none of them. Save Lot. Were saying. This is wicked.
And we ought to stop. It says. The outcry. Has been great. So Lot.
Went out. And said. To his sons-in-law. Who were to marry his daughters. I'm assuming. Since it was down to the last man.
They were at his home. Earlier in the evening. Up. Get out of this place. For the Lord. Is about to destroy.
The city. But he seemed. To his sons-in-laws. To be jesting. He comes to him. And says.
Get up. Get up. Move. Get out of here. The Lord. Is going to destroy.
This place. And they thought. He's a joke. Some of you. May be in a similar situation. You've had people.
Come into you. And say. I'm telling you. God will judge sin. And Jesus. Does save sinners.
And they sound. Crazy. Sounds like a joke. They didn't believe. What Lot believed. And they thought.
He was kidding. As morning dawn. So it's been all night. As morning dawn. The angels urged Lot. Saying up.
So he said. Up to his sons-in-laws. They're saying. Up to him. Up. Get up.
Move. Take your wife. Your two daughters. Who are here. Lest you be swept away. In the punishment of the city.
But he lingered. So 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. And as they brought them out. One said.
Escape for your life. Do not look back. Or stop. Anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills. Lest you be swept away.
And Lot said to them. Oh no my lords. Behold. Your servant. Has found favor in your sight. And you have shown me great kindness.
In saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills. Lest the disaster overtake me. And I die. Behold. This city is near enough to flee to.
And it's a little one. Let me escape there. Is it not a little one? And my life will be saved. He said to him. Behold.
I grant you this favor also. That I will not overthrow the city. Of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly. For I can do nothing. Till you arrive there.
Therefore the name of the city. Was called Zor. Which means little. So he says. Get up. We're about to destroy the city.
Lot lingers. I don't know if he was packing. I don't know what he was doing. He doesn't tell us. I don't know if he was thinking. Well if the two of y'all.
Are going to destroy the city. You're not going to. As long as you're here. I don't know what he was doing. But they eventually just grab him.
They walk him out. And they say. Run. Run to the hills. Don't look back. Don't stop.
Don't linger. Don't catch your breath. Go. This whole place is getting destroyed. And he says. Let me go there.
It's closer. I'm not going to make it. All the way there. And that's. It's a little. It's barely even.
It's little. Isn't it little? Looks really small from here. There's not that many people. Let me go there. And what always baffles me.
Is I want angels and God at times. To just slap someone and say. Shut up. Do what I told you. He says. I'll grant you this favor also.
He says. Okay. And he says. Hurry. He says. Hurry.
I can't do anything. I'm not allowed to do anything. Until you get there. When you get there. Trouble starts. 23.
The sun had risen on the earth. When Lot came to Zor. Then the Lord. Reigned on Sodom and Gomorrah. Sulfur and fire. From the Lord.
Out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities. And all the valley. And all the inhabitants of the cities. And what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife.
Behind him. Looked back. And she became. A pillar. A pillar. Of salt.
Okay. Lot makes it to. To Zor. His wife is behind him. We don't know how far behind him. He was moving.
She was not moving as fast. And God from heaven. Rains down fire. And sulfur. I think this would have been. In the past.
Hard to picture. But with movies. And video. From wars. I think we can kind of understand. What happened.
Things started flying. Exploding. And there was fire. And there were tears. And there were two sons-in-laws. Who were very surprised.
The city was destroyed. And it says. Lot's wife looked back. And I heard this. Growing up in Sunday school. All the time.
And I always thought. Wow. That was super strict. Don't look back. Yeah. Salt.
I don't think that's a fair reading of the text. Especially. Since Jesus later clarifies it a little better. And we'll read that in a minute. But Jesus says.
Remember Lot's wife. Those of you. Who want to save your life. Will lose it. And those of you. Who are willing to lose your life.
Will save it. And the point was. When she looked back. She was longing for Sodom. She had turned back. She wanted to save.
What she had. She loved it. She had grown used to it. She didn't want to give up everything. Her looking back. Was not following.
What the Lord had said. Was not trusting him wholeheartedly. But going. I know. But. And it's not.
What if it's not. And then she turns back. And she's destroyed. And swept away. 27. And Abraham went early in the morning.
To the place where he had stood. Before the Lord. And he looked down. Towards Sodom. And Gomorrah. And toward all the land of the valley.
And he looked. And behold. The smoke of the land. Went up like the smoke of a furnace. He looks towards this valley. And the sky is just filled.
So it was. That when God. Destroyed the cities of the valley. God remembered Abraham. God remembered Abraham. And sent Lot.
Out of the midst. Of the overthrow. When he overthrew the cities. In which Lot had lived. There were not ten righteous. But when God comes.
He remembers. Abraham. And he has mercy on Lot. Verse 30. Now Lot went out of Zor.
And lived in the hills. With his two daughters. He was afraid to live in Zor. Okay. So. We don't know why he was afraid.
I think he should have run for mayor. Y'all only exist. Because I didn't want to run further. But. He leaves. It's a bad place to be.
So he lived in a cave. With his two daughters. In this area. In the Middle East. There are a lot of caves. This is why.
When we've. Been in fights with the Taliban. And that sort of thing. They've moved from cave. To cave. To cave.
To cave. To cave. This is historically. People would. Move to caves. To hide.
He lived in a cave. With his two daughters. And the firstborn. Said to the younger. Our father is old. And there is not a man on earth.
To come into us. After the manner of all the earth. Come. Let us make our father drink wine. And we will lie with him. That we may preserve offspring.
From our father. So they made their father. Drink wine that night. They understood. That he would not be on board with this. And the firstborn.
Went in. And lay with her father. He did not know. When she lay down. Or when she arose. He was very very drunk.
The next day. The firstborn. Said to the younger. Behold. I lay last night. With my father.
Let us make him. Drink wine tonight also. Then you go in. And lie with him. That we may preserve. Offspring from our father.
So they made their father. Drink wine that night. Also. And the younger arose. And lay with him. And he did not know.
When she lay down. Or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot. Became pregnant. By their father. The firstborn.
Bore a son. And called his name Moab. He is the father. Of the Moabites. To this day. The younger.
The younger. Also bore a son. And called his name. Ben Ami. He is the father. Of the Ammonites.
To this day. And that is the last. We hear of Lot. In the book. Of Genesis. That story is gross.
And it makes you go. Why is this even. In here. I think there are. A few reasons. Why it is.
And a few things. We can quickly. Learn from it. I think it is. In here. Because it happened.
I think it is. In here. Because it tells us. Where the Moabites. And the Ammonites. Come from.
Who will play out. In the rest of Israel's history. I think it is in here. Because the Bible. Does not shy away. From displaying to us.
What humans are like. As much as we want to act like. This is. And what people are like. It shows to us. How much Sodom.
Had crept into. How much the daughters. Of. Lot. Were willing to accept. The sexual ethic.
Because you think. How would this come into. Anybody's mind. As an acceptable idea. Lot. It also displays.
That Lot. Isn't. A superhero. You read this story. And you are like. Okay.
Cool. There was one righteous. God goes and saves Lot. And then it is like. Lot got super drunk. And slept with his daughters.
It is like. What on earth? It is like. If you watched Rudy. And he gets to play. That last play.
And he makes the tackle. And it freezes. And then he goes. Twenty years later. And the last fifteen minutes. Of the movie.
Are him super drunk. Yelling at his television. And beating his children. And you would say. To the director. Why on earth.
Is that how the movie ended. Why would you put. Fifteen minutes of that. In here. And him cussing. And knocking over the table.
At their birthday party. It is like what. Just because he played. A little bit of Notre Dame. Doesn't make him a good person. I want people to understand.
How stuff works. It would be a terrible movie. That is what happened to you. You read this. And you are like. Okay Lot.
And then you go. Oh. What on earth? And you see. I think. When we look at this story.
As a whole. And we see. What is going on here. I think it is. We need the New Testament. To help us.
Understand how to read this. So. I am going to show a few verses. Where the New Testament. Begins to address some of this. Second Peter 2.
Six. Says. If by turning the cities. Of Sodom and Gomorrah. To ashes. He condemned them.
To extinction. Making them an example. Of what is going to happen. To the ungodly. The Sodom and Gomorrah. Is a small picture.
Of what is going to happen. Jude seven. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah. And the surrounding cities. Which likewise. Indulged in sexual immorality.
And pursued a natural desire. Serve as an example. By undergoing a punishment. Of eternal fire. That God. Will not stand sin.
Sodom and Gomorrah. Is a small picture. Of ultimately. What he is going to do. Which is judge. Wickedness.
Jesus. Brings it up as well. In Luke 17. They ask him. When the kingdom will come. And he says.
It is already working. Among you. He says. That don't get. Don't get confused. When someone says.
I found Jesus. He has already returned. He says. I'll come back like lightning. I'll rip the sky open. It'll be very obvious.
Then he says this. Likewise. Just as it was. In the days of Lot. They were eating. And drinking.
Buying. And selling. Planting. And building. But on the day.
When Lot went out. From Sodom. Fire and sulfur. Reigned from heaven. And destroyed them all. So we'll be on the day.
When the son of man. Is revealed. On that day. Let the one. Who is on the housetop. With his goods.
And the house. Not come down. To take them away. Likewise. Let the one. Who's in the field.
Not turn back. Whoever loses his life. Will keep it. So Jesus says. That his return. Will be like.
It was in Sodom and Gomorrah. The day before. Will be normal. And there will be many. Who are like Lot's wife. Who've just grown used to it.
If you think about. Us right now. What we've grown used to. What we've begun to accept. What we've begun to love. And to long for.
That's just earthly. Think about the sin. In our culture. That we're just becoming. Numb to. That we don't weep over.
We don't lament. We don't pray. That God would end. That he would fix. We're just. Used to it.
Think about what you. Watch now. That maybe you. Used to wouldn't. Think about what you'll. Laugh at now.
That maybe you used. To wouldn't. Think about. What you'll partake in now. Or accept now. Or join in now.
That maybe you used to wouldn't. That certainly. Our grandparents. Wouldn't have. You see. It's going to look normal.
There'll be weddings. Somebody will be leaving. For their honeymoon. It'll be a normal day. You'll get up and go to work. And the sky will crack open.
And Jesus will appear. And at that moment. For those who like Lot. Have trusted. And run from it. Some will be like Lot's wife.
Who thought that's what they were doing. But then turned around and said. I don't know. I kind of like this. And many will be like the sons of. Sons in law of Lot.
Who thought it was a joke. So the question. I think we need to ask. Because the band comes back up. Is when God cracks the sky open. What's his standard for righteousness.
I think if you'll genuinely believe. And understand. That there is an eternity of punishment. Coming for those who are wicked. That we will pay for our sin. That it will find us out.
That we will not live forever. Peaceably. But we will stand before God. My son. Watches. This movie called Lego Batman.
And at one point. They get taken to this little place. And this little block shows up. And says. Plays a little highlight reel. Of their badness.
I think if you played a highlight reel. Of some of your good qualities. Be your favorite movie ever. You'd be looking and going. Wow. Look at what I did.
Look at how I acted. Look at how great I was. And we could immediately. All of us could flip it. And show all the times you were petty. And all the times you lied.
And all the times you took advantage of somebody. And all the times you hid. And all the times that you went out of your way. To puff yourself up. Or to put somebody down. And I think we could watch.
In excruciating agony. As we saw how little we deserve God's grace. And I think it's a fair question to ask. What is his judgment going to look like? And how will he judge us? And what does righteousness look like?
Who gets. Who counts in the ten? Romans 3 says this. Paul's answering that question. For we have already charged. That both Jews and Greeks are under sin.
As it is written. None is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside.
Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one. Later in the chapter he says. We all have fallen short. So that if God's standards of righteousness.
Is that you. Would live up to his perfect goodness. When he returns. No one is righteous. And there is. An eternal punishment.
Sodom and Gomorrah is a blip on the radar. There are people who are spending. Eternity in hell. They were there last night. They woke up there. This morning.
And they are not one day closer to that ending. There are people. That you work with. That when Jesus returns. Will not be a joyous occasion. Second Corinthians 521 tells us this.
For our sake. God. Made Jesus. That's the he made him. To be sin. Who knew no sin.
So that in him. We might become the righteousness. Of God. That there are. That there are. A group of righteous.
That will be redeemed. That will be. That will escape the city. And it's those. Who have had Jesus. Become their sin.
So that they can become righteous. That's the hope. That's the only hope. That Jesus Christ. Who knew no sin. Who deserved no punishment.
Took all of our sin. And all of our punishment. And all of our blame. And became our sin. He became the worst. Among us.
He became an abuser. He became a rapist. He became a murderer. He took it all on himself. And was nailed to a cross. And when he rose again.
He swapped places with us. So that all who place faith in him. Become the righteousness of God. That there are a righteous. Who are redeemed. That story says.
That on that day. When he destroyed Sodom. God remembered Abraham. And he rescued Lot. And there will be a day on judgment. Where I'm going to say.
When God judged the world. He remembered Christ. And so he saved his church. I want you to know. As best as I can say it. If Jesus Christ has not borne your punishment.
You will bear it. If Jesus Christ has not become your sin. And your wickedness. You will own it. And as Lot ran around and said. Up.
The city will be destroyed. Make a move. Do something. Trust me. Some of you need to get up. You need to trust.
You need to decide. You've been hanging out for a while. But you haven't decided. I'm going to follow Jesus. I'm going to trust in him. I need him to pay for my sin.
Because I will stand before God. And my highlight reel of my sin. Is not pretty. And I will justly deserve. The punishment I get. And there are so many of us.
That will not get what we deserve. Will get what Jesus deserved. Will be loved. And cherished. And welcomed. For eternity.
Because we've been made. Righteous. In Christ's righteousness. And will shine like the stars in heaven. And will reign with him. Because Jesus redeems sinners.
So here's how we're going to finish today. If you're a Christian. Prior to taking communion. Where we actively remember. That Jesus Christ became our sin. So that we could be made righteous.
So that the day that Jesus cracks the sky open. And like lightning shows up. Will be the most explosive. That the day that has ever happened for us. That's why we can leave everything behind. That's why we can run from everything the world has to offer.
Because it pales in comparison to the Christ. Who redeems those who don't deserve it. Prior. To taking communion. And celebrating that. I want you to ask the question.
Am I running around the city telling people to get up? If I believe that Sodom is a blip on the radar. If you thought tomorrow. That Columbia would be destroyed. Who in Columbia would you rescue? And Jesus says it won't just be a city.
It's going to be eternal. And it's going to be the whole world. And who are we seeking to say get up. Trust in him. I don't care if you think I'm a joke. I don't care what I look like.
This place is going to be gone. No. And if you haven't placed your faith in Jesus. In a moment. When his church gets up. After praying.
After repenting. After praying. Pleading for God. To redeem. Standing in the gap like Abraham. And saying Lord.
As we take communion. There's going to be some people around the room. Over in this area. And a few over in this area. Some of you need to get up. And you need to decide today.
I'm going to follow Jesus. You need to get up. You need to make a move. You've been hanging out for a while. You've been toying with it. You've kind of taken some steps.
You've kind of taken some steps back. Some of you are in the mode. Where you're jogging along behind the church. You're Lot's wife. You're trotting along. Everybody thinks you're going to escape.
And everything's holding you back. And at some point. You're just going to stop. And you're going to turn around. Because you never really believed it. You never really bought in.
Your heart never left Sodom. Some of you need to decide today. I'm going to get up. I'm going to trust. And I'm going to encourage you to stand up. To make a decision now.
To go talk with somebody. To pray. To place your faith in Jesus. Some of y'all need to walk through. What that looks like. Some of y'all just need to get up.
And take communion for the first time. As an actual Christian. Trusting that Jesus can become your sin. And you can be made righteous. And when we stand in judgment. We'll join with all those who've had mercy.
Poured out on them. Let's pray. God. God. God. We ask that in these next moments.
That those. Who have thought this is a joke for too long. Would hear it. See it. Know it. Believe it.
And that you would change them. And we ask in this moment. For those who seem like they're escaping. Who are trotting along with the church. And we can't tell the difference. But their heart.
Longs for this world. That they would trust you. And not look back. And we pray. That for those of us. Who know the truth.
That we would be unashamed. In proclaiming it. God.
