A Tale of Two Cities

Introduction: 

Read Genesis 19:24-25. "Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.  So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." 

These verses describe the end of Sodom and Gomorrah when God brought judgment upon them and the surrounding cities.  But why did God do this?  In finding out, we will discover several truths from this tale of two cities.

Body:

1. God Honors Intercessory Prayer

·       Genesis 13:8-13 "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." 

Lot saw how good the land was around these two cities.

·       Three men appear to Abraham.  [Two angels and the Lord Himself]

Genesis 18:16-20 "Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.  And the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.'  And the Lord said,  'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave'"

·       Abraham pleads with the Lord.

Genesis 18:22-33 "Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.  And Abraham came near and said, 'Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?  Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?  Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You!  Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?'  So the Lord said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.'  Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:  'Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?'  So He said, 'If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.'  And he spole to Him yet again and said, 'Suppose there should be forty found there?' So He said, 'I will not do it for the sake of forty.'  Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak:  Suppose thirty should be found there?'  And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.'  And he said, 'Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:  Suppose twenty should be found there?'  So He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sakea of twenty.'  Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more:  Suppose ten should be found there?'  And He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of them.  So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place."

·        If ten righteous men would have been found, God would have honored Abraham’s plea.

·       See II Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us. not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

2. You Can’t Decide to Live Near Sin and Think It Won't Affect You

·       "Pitched His Tents” Lot chose to live in a wicked and sinful place.

          Then note Genesis 19:1.  "Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.  When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground."

"Sitting in the gate" usually indicated that you were a leader in the city.

·       Lot allowed the wickedness of the city to influence him; maybe it seared his conscience.

Notice Genesis 19:2-8.  "And he said, 'Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servants's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.'  And they said, 'No, but we will spend the night in the open square.'  But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house.  Then he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.  Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.  And they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight?  Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.'  So Lot went out to them through the doorway and shut the door behind him, and said, 'Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!  See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.' " 

"My brothers"  These were extremely wicked men. Being around sin long enouch can make you think it's ok; just normal.

I Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived; Evil company corrupts good habits."

3. God Hates All Sexual Perversion

·       Genesis 19:4-5 "Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.  And they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally."

Recall Genesis 18:20. "And the Lord said, 'Becouse the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,"

"Exceedinglly grave"

·       Several places in both the Old Testament and the New Testament attest to the sinfulness of homosexuality.

Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.  It is an abomination."

Jude 7 "as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over in sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

Romans 1:26-27 "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.  For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.  Llikewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themelves the penalty of their error which was due."

4.God's Grace Has A Expiration Date

·       Genesis 19:12-22 "Then the men said to Lot, 'Have you anyone else here?  Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city - take them out of this place!  For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.'  So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, 'Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!'  But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be jaking.  When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.'  And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.  So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, 'Escape for your life!  Do not look behing you nor stay anywhere in the plain.  Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.'  Then Lot said to them, 'Please, no, my lords!'  'Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.  See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.'  And he said to him, 'See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.  'Hurry, escape there.  For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.'  Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar."

The Lord sent angels to destroy the cities.

Ezekiel 16:49-50 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom:  She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.  And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit."

·       God could not extend grace to the inhabitants any longer.  Their time was up!

·       The land that was garden-like was turned into a wasteland.

Genesis 13:10 "Then Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everythwer  (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar."

Genesis 19:23-25 "The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.  Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.  So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhavitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground."

Sin leads to a wasted life. 

Genesis 19:27-28 "And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.  Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw and hehold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace."

5. God Always Provides A Way of Escape

·       Genesis 19:15-17, 26 "When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you beconsumed in the punishment of the city,'  And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

Explicit instructions were given on how to escape.

·       We see that obedience to all of God's Word is important.

 Remember the words of Hebrews 10:28-31,39. "Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses,  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has tramled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?   For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.  And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.'  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition; but of those who believe to the saving of the soul."

·       For us today we should not look back to our former sinful life, but look to Jesus our Savior.

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Conclusion:

This tale of two cities teaches us how powerful the influence of sin really is and its terrible consequences.  Be careful where you pitch your tent!

 

Bobby Stafford