Sodom & Lot Creation to Kings | Episode 3
Sodom and its sister city of Gomorrah have long lived in infamy,
today being representations of a life of corruption, immorality, and wickedness.
They were, though, real cities and were located near here, where the Dead Sea is today.
There is debate over the exact location, with several theories being out there.
Much of the debate centers around the fact that the biblical account records
that they were destroyed by fire and brimstone, and thus there wouldn't be much left.
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The city of Sodom comes into the picture when Abraham and his nephew Lot, herdsmen,
come into conflict with each other over who should graze their livestock where.
Rather than perpetuate the strife they agree to separate,
and Lot chooses the plains of Jordan and pitches his tent close to the city of Sodom,
a decision he would no doubt later regret
due to the disastrous consequences it would have on his family.
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Sodom would have been destroyed earlier, had it not been for the intervention of Abraham.
In Genesis 18 is recorded a dialogue between God and Abraham
where he asks Him if He will save the city if He can find 50 righteous people.
God agrees.
Then Abraham lowers the number until he eventually comes down to ten.
He will save the city if He can find ten righteous people.
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Genesis 19 begins by saying that Lot saw and welcomed two angels into his house in Sodom.
Due to the depravity of the men living in Sodom,
when they saw them come into the city and go into his house
they wanted to act in a sexually immoral way with them.
Lot courageously refuses this request but then offers them his daughters.
They won't back down, and the angel comes down and strikes these men with blindness and rescues Lot.
The angel then tells him that he needs to leave the city the next day
because the city will be destroyed.
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His sons-in-law don't leave,
but his two daughters and wife do make it out of the city.
and as they are fleeing is recorded one of the most famous texts in the Old Testament.
Verse 26 says, 'But [Lot's] wife looked back...behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.'
Even though she had left physically, in her heart something tugged back towards Sodom.
So often we find ourselves in a similar situation,
leaving a place we ought not to be, or an unhealthy situation,
but struggling with a desire to go back.
In life it's always best not to go back.
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Lot and his daughters left the area and dwelt in the mountains in a cave,
but as neither daughter had a son, they came up with a plan to have children.
Getting their father drunk with wine, they slept with him and conceived.
The older one had a son named Moab, and he became the father of the Moabites.
The younger one had a son named Ben-Ammi and he became the father of the Ammonites.
Both the Moabites and the Ammonites dwelt on the East side of the Jordan
and were longtime foes of the Israelites.
The Moabites are referenced on the Moabite Stone in the Louvre Museum in Paris, [France],
and the Ammonites' main city of Rabbath Amman is the capital city of Jordan today.
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The story of Lot is a sad one.
His wife dies due to her love of life in Sodom.
His daughters deceive and have illegitimate children with him
that cause numerous problems for the children of Israel over the years.
All of this, it could be argued, goes back to his decision to pitch his tent toward Sodom.
Somehow he went from having a tent outside the city
to having a house inside the city,
and it had disastrous consequences for his family.
Satan knows that he doesn't have to get us to do the worst thing out there,
but he can seduce us step by step down a path of destruction
if we are not watchful and careful.
May we be mindful and vigilant
that we don't open the door to unnecessary temptation
that leads us or our families away from God.