Sodom and Gomorrah; Wrath or Grace?

When people hear of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah they think of God’s wrath. They are, of course, correct to think that this is an example of God’s wrath, but we almost always miss the bigger picture. God included this account as a way to show us two different sides of the same story; His love and devotion to Man – both to the righteous and unrighteous in nature – and His determination to righteously judge unrepentant sin. This line of thinking may go against what you have heard of before (even from the pulpit), but we should look at it in the entirety so that we can appreciate what God went through to try and reach the very people that were destroyed.

These passages begin with a problem between Abraham and his nephew, Lot (Gen 13:1-13). God had blessed Abraham in multiplying his possessions, and had also (by default) blessed Lot to a lesser extent, who was directly associated with him. They both had large numbers of material goods, servants and flocks; so much so that the land was not able to provide enough grazing for both groups to remain so close to each other. This problem was stressful enough that it caused conflict between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot, which was unacceptable to Abraham. Something needed to change. The two men needed to put some distance between them, but how would they do it? A great deal can be discovered about each man’s character in how they went about making their choices in what to do. In a gracious act Abraham allowed Lot the pick of locations; if Lot went to the left then he would go to the right, if Lot went to the right then he would go to the left. Abraham would honor whatever Lot decided to do.

Gen 13:1-13; 18:1-19:29

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

On the surface it sounds like an effort to keep the peace (and it was), but there was something else at work. We can see from previous examples that Abraham believed in God (as did Lot), but Abraham’s faith was at the center of everything he did. He had faith that God was true to His Word, and he acted accordingly. Did he make mistakes? Of course he did, because he was human. The difference is that He continued to refocus his thoughts and actions on what God had told Him. To what extent? One of many examples is that he changed his name to what God had called him – from Abram (meaning ‘exalted father’) to Abraham (meaning ‘father of nations’ or ‘father of multitudes/a large number’). If that wasn’t enough, he followed the instructions of God and had himself and all the other males in his group to be circumcised! The point to remember is that Abraham knew God, and God knew Him (Gen 18:19). Abraham believed that God would take care of him simply because He said He would, and Abraham felt confident that God would not lie to him. Since God was his source of provision then Abraham didn’t seem to care what choice was made, because he had faith that God Himself would provide for him (Gen 12:1-3; 15:1, 18-20; 17:1-8; 18:17-19).

Such was not the case with Lot. Although Lot was a believer in the same God that Abraham believed in, his faith was not set on God and in His provision as much as it was set on the things around him. It states that before he made his decision Lot surveyed the land. He saw that the valley of Siddim (in the plains of Jordan) was lush and well-watered like a garden. The rest of Canaan – not so much. There were thriving cities there, in which he could conduct business. What about Canaan? Once again, not so much. There were reports of the bad character of those who lived in those cities (Gen 13:13), but the lure of wealth seemed to be too much for Lot to resist. However, we need to look a little more closely at what Lot already knew (or at least should have known) about the area he want to go to. Was it only that the people of those cities were ‘rough around the edges’ or was something more sinister involved? Something far more dangerous was at play and Lot knew it. or at least he must have had heard about it.

In reviewing Gen 13:1-13, we see that while the Siddim Valley was fruitful and prosperous, it contained cities which were not only sinful, they “were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.” Think about this verbal portrayal. These people were sinful, yes – but so much more! They were not just sinful, they were wicked and sinful. They were not only wicked and sinful, they were exceedingly wicked and sinful. Not only were they exceedingly wicked and sinful, they were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord. THAT is the correct way to view the actions and heart attitudes of the inhabitants of those cities. They gave themselves over to all kinds of perverse and detestable practices, but there is even more to it than that. They did these things against (or ‘before’) the Lord. They were not ignorant in their willingness to do evil, they reveled in it.

We see this phrase against the Lord or before the Lord in other Scripture references, and it conveys the same thought. The closest chronological reference we have to compare the use of these terms comes from the account given for the Tower of Babel;

Gen 10:8-11

Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

The sum of the Babel account is this; Nimrod rebelled against the Lord and established a false religious system in Babel, with the goal of turning people away from worshiping the true God. To help accomplish this Nimrod commanded the people to build a tower dedicated to celestial observation and worship to the heavens (compare Egyptian, Mesopotamian and other ancient near-eastern, Mesoamerican and South American pyramids which were based upon similar principles, designs and uses as the Babel tower). So to be labelled as “before the Lord” or “against the Lord” meant that those so labelled were adamantly opposed to and in opposition to the Lord (and everything He stands for). Those terms are used for those who are opposed to, in defiance of or in rebellion against the Lord. It paints the picture of those people who know what God wants and desires, but they willingly and wantonly insist on doing those things which are against, and in spite of, His will. It is the embodiment of “in your face” anarchy. Thinking of it another way, it equates to the kind of sinfulness and depravity which triggered the destruction of the old world through the flood of Noah! A proper understanding of this attitude gives us a much clearer image of the kind of atmosphere Lot was willing to voluntarily enter into, just in hopes of some potential financial gain. Was Lot counted as righteous? Yes, because he believed in God, and the Bible declares him as righteous (2 Pet 2:7-8). Was he wise? You can be the judge of that after we see what happened to him.

This is Part One of a multi-part series. Keep an eye out for the next installment!