Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah were two ancient cities that over the centuries have become synonymous with judgement due to the Biblical story of God destroying them by raining burning sulphur down upon them as a result of their wickedness.

The meaning and origin of their names is unclear. However, from the Biblical accounts it is clear what the state of affairs were like in them. And it wasn't good!

There is much speculation about where these cities were. From Genesis 13 we see that they were in the plain of Jordan, which before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was a fertile land that attracted Lot. Also, in Genesis 14 we see that the king of Sodom, Bera, joins forces with five other kings (including the king of Gomorrah) in the valley of Siddim, which we are told is the Dead sea valley. Thus, it is not hard to reach the conclusion that Sodom and Gomorrah were near the Dead sea. Interestingly, Josephus Flavius, a famous Jewish historian, also connects the location of Sodom with lake Asphaltites, which was Greek for the Dead Sea (see chapter 9). Another interesting point is that, as mentioned, the area around Sodom and Gomorrah is described as being fertile until their destruction and today we see that the area where they probably were located is now barren and contains the Dead sea!

How Close to the Edge?

Beyond the archaeological curiosities connected to these two cities, there are a number of things that we can learn from reading about them in the Bible.

 Firstly, we see in Genesis 12:13 that Lot was living near to Sodom. However, by Genesis 14:12, when the four kings attack, we find that Lot is now living in Sodom! He started off just living near to the sinful city, benefitting from the surrounding fertile land, but ended up a little while later living in the sinful city. As human beings we are often tempted to ask ‘how close can I get to sin, without actually sinning?’. A better question would be ‘how can I stay as far away from sin as possible?’

Lot obviously thought in the beginning it would be fine to live in the plains around Sodom as it was fertile land. He would stay well away from the bad things going on in Sodom and just take advantage of grazing his animals on the grass nearby. Everything would be fine right? Unfortunately, the problem with sin is that it is deceptive. Little things that don't seem too much of a problem, trifles that we are sure we can handle, gradually allure us and as we get use to them we slowly accept more and more.

This is what happened to Eve as she found herself standing near the forbidden tree, then she entered into a harmless dialogue with the serpent, who suggested that she had got things wrong and that she was missing out on something good and before she knew it, she had committed a terrible mistake, leading to dire consequences. Likewise Lot, after having roughed it a while in tents, probably started to think why shouldn't he enjoy a bit of comfort in the city? After all, it's not like he was going to condone or get involved with what the people there were doing. However, he got too close to the edge and wasn't able to avoid falling into great problems.

A Long Way Down

We see the consequences of Lot's flirtation with the people of Sodom in chapter 19 of Genesis. Here the two angels sent by God arrive in Sodom. Lot has to invite them to his house to protect them as he is aware of the wicked tendencies of the men of Sodom. Nevertheless it is not enough to stop the men of Sodom coming to his house to try and fulfil their wicked thoughts. Lot then has to offer his daughters as a sacrifice to save the angels and is only able to get out of a disastrous situation thanks to the miracle of the angels, when they strike these men of Sodom with blindness.

More so than that, he then has to flee Sodom for his life. In verse 14, we see that his daughters are engaged to marry men of Sodom, men who think the threat of God's judgement is a joke! Indeed, Lot's daughters have obviously been deeply affected by their time in Sodom because the chapter ends with a section about how they devise (not to mention carry out!) a terrible plan to get their father drunk and then use him to impregnate them. Thus, resulting in the Moabites and Ammonites, two peoples born of incest, who later on cause God's people much strife.

There is one more tragic consequence of all this as Lot's wife decides to turn back after having reached safety and ends up as a pillar of salt after having been caught up in Sodom's judgment.

All in all then, we see that sin, no matter how innocuous it might appear in the beginning, can lead to serious outcomes. Lot's lack of attention in his own life to what was going on around him resulted in him destroying his family. Hence we need to be alert in our lives, always be aware of the harm that sin can do.

Collateral Damage

Two other spin off lessons that we can learn from here are that sooner or later God will punish sin as sin is a breaking of God's law and being a justice God, He has to punish this. However there is hope. Lot, although falling into sinful circumstances, still benefits from God's grace as the angels show him the way to avoid falling under this judgement. Likewise we human beings are all under the threat of God's righteous judgement for our sins but there is hope because God provides a way out for those who trust in Him, even if we have fallen into bad circumstances.

Secondly, and sadly, some people even when warned of God's judgement and offered a way out, just treat it as a joke. Lot's son-in-laws could have fled too and then lived a happy life with their new wives but unfortunately they preferred to linger in the darkness of Sodom and suffered the consequences.