For week 2 of my Bible reading challenge, I read through Genesis chapters 17-30. For the purpose of this post, I will be focusing on Genesis 18-19 and the happenings that led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Why was Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed?
When I was a pre-teen, my Bible Study teachers would recount the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 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.
You could say it scared me into living right, at least for a little while. Today, I want to share some revelations from revisiting this infamous story.
There have been varying schools of thought on why the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. I have heard people say it was because of homosexuality and others say it was because of their greed and lack of generousity (Ezekiel 16:49-50).
But I believe it was beyond these two things. I believe that the level of sin and depravity was so bad that God did not believe they could come back from this.
In Genesis 18:19, God considered hiding his plans for these two nations from Abraham but finally tells him that:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
Genesis 18:20
In Genesis 19:1, we read that God sent two angels to go down to Sodom and Gomorrah and confirm the state of facts.
Genesis 19:4 highlights the actions of the men of Sodom:
“Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom — both young and old– surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them.”
8 Lessons from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Here are a few things I learned from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah
- It wasn’t just some men but all the men, both young and old in Sodom who wanted to have sex with Lot’s guests. Just imagine this; when everyone chooses to do wrong who will correct them?! These depraved acts were trans-generational. You would have expected that the older men will know better and caution the younger ones but they were all in on it.
- The men of Sodom insisted on sleeping with Lot’s guests and were ready to forcefully enter Lot’s house but thankfully, Lot’s guests (God’s Angels) struck the men with blindness.
- While reading Genesis 19, I wondered were the women of Sodom were as these things were happening. Where were the wives, mothers, sisters and concubines? How must they have felt with their men doing these things or were they also doing their own depraved acts?!
- In verse 7, Lot sought to gently disperse the crowd by his house. He even offered his virgin daughters (which was dismaying) but his offer was rejected(wrong gender). While reading this story, I was reminded of some things that happen in today’s world. There are people who will do anything–assault, intimidate and attack others– to assuage their lusts. Human trafficking is at an all time high, neither does the statistics on rape seem to be ebbing.
- God saved Lot because of Abraham. Genesis 19:29 reads that “So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities were Lot lived.”
- Who were the ones that cried out to the Lord? Was it the poor and needy, was it the people of neighboring towns and cities? But more than this, it is comforting to see how God hears our heart’s cry and is always ready to come to our rescue. Galatians 1:3.
- There were not up to 10 righteous people in all of Sodom and Gomorrah. You may be wondering where I got this statistic from, please read below:
“The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham said, Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty people can be found there?”
…then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
Genesis 18:26, 31-32
This confirms that God was willing to save Sodom if only ten righteous people were found in the city.
- This story is also a reminder to stand firm in what we believe in and not be swayed by popular opinion or the world’s standards.
Other interesting lessons from Week 2 of the BRC
Week 2 of my Bible Reading plan was an impactful one. Beyond the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, there were so many other nuggets and I have shared a few here.
- Sharing our concerns regarding the promises or instructions of God is not always a sign of unbelief or a lack of faith. Sometimes, it is about being open and honest with God and asking him for strength and understanding to follow his will. Genesis 17:17
- We have to always remember that God can do the impossible. When Sarah heard that she would bear a child, her first reaction was to laugh at the impossibility of this. Who bears a child in their 70’s?! I absolutely loved the response to her laughter “Is anything to hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14
- God’s covenant with Abraham still required that Abraham and his household remains obedient and steadfast. Genesis 17:9 This is also true under the new covenant in Christ. We are still called to live a blameless life, to love others as ourselves, through this, we enjoy the benefits and fruits of our new birth in Jesus Christ.
- An interesting fact from chapter 21:
Abraham entered into a treaty with Abimelek, King of Gerar to deal honestly with the king and his people. Gerar is in Philistine. Basically, Abraham entered this treaty with a country that would later become one of Israel’s archenemies. I wonder what changed in the course of history. Can’t wait to find out.
So there you have it, over 12 lessons from week 2 of my Bible Reading Challenge. I hope you found these nuggets interesting and helpful. I have learned so much over the last few weeks and I am still super excited to continue my Bible Reading Challenge and Bible Journaling.
Leave a Reply