Sodom and Gomorrah
14. October 2008 by Bernice Davis.
Hello:
Here is our text.
Matthew 10:13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
In case someone new is joining us today, the above text refers to the mission that Jesus gave the disciples when he sent them out. Yesterday, we ended with talking about verses 13 and 14 which say should the disciples come across people that were willing to hear the gospel then they were to bless that home and for those who were unwilling to hear then “shake the dust off your feet.” Verse #15 is where I want to pick up today. The text says that it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that town. One of the things that I have taught when studying the bible is the use of a hermeneutical (science of interpretation) device called historical context. This device helps us identify people, places and things in history and then once we have that understanding, it helps us to properly understand their usage in the text. With that being said, today we are going to look up the history of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus is making a comparison that on the Day of Judgment; those two cities will be a much more bearable site than the people who rejected hearing the gospel. We first hear of the wickedness ofSodom in the following verse:
Genesis 13:12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near
Sodom.
13 Now the men of
Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
This is the story where Abraham and his nephew Lot separate because of the tension between their people.
Lot is to choose whatever land he wants and Abraham will take the rest.
Lot chooses the
land of
Sodom because it is well watered only the people of that land are extremely wicked.
The next time we hear of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah is in the 18th chapter. This is the story where God reveals to Abraham that he is going to destroy them and Abraham intercedes on their behalf. Let’s look at the text. Genesis 18:20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 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.” 22 The men turned away and went toward
Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing–to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of
Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32 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.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.The end of the story is that there are no righteous people found there and God does destroy it but allows Lot’s family to leave with the instructions of as they are being pulled out of the city they are to not look back. We know
Lot’s wife looks back and she is turned into a pillar of salt.
The point that Jesus makes in using this analogy is that there was no one that preached the gospel to Sodom and Gomorrah so their testimony was not that they refused the gospel but that they were totally wicked. In the story with the disciples, the people rejected the gospel and Jesus was saying that at judgment, it would be more bearable for Sodom and
Gomorrah than people that refused to hear the gospel.
Okay, enough for today. We will continue with the mission of the disciples on tomorrow.
God Bless!!!!!!! Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.