Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 19
Again we come to a chapter where God feels the need to destroy whole communities for their sins. This concept of sin appears in this chapter, though no one has been given any indication as to what was acceptable behavior and what wasn't. No law was handed down to man by God saying do this and don't do that.
Sin is defined as an offense especially against God. If God had not told men what was considered offensive, how were they to know? We have seen that in the last chapter that God considered the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah to be very grievous, but we were given no indication as to what that sin was. Maybe we will become enlightened in this chapter. Let's take a look.
The chapter opens up by saying that two angels came to Sodom at evening time. Lot was sitting in the gate of the city and he went out to meet them. He bowed his face to the ground and invited them to his house where they could wash their feet and sleep. He said that they could rise early in the morning and be on their way.
They declined Lot's offer and said that they would remain in the street all night. Lot pleaded with them and they finally capitulated, coming in to Lot's home, where he baked them unleavened bread for them to eat.
Before they could get to sleep however, all of the men of the entire city surrounded Lot's house. They called out to Lot asking for the 'men' who had come to the city. They told him to bring them out so that they could know them. It is quite clear that they wanted to know the angels as Adam knew Eve.
Lot went out of his house and begged the men to not do this evil thing, and said that instead he would give his two virgin daughters to the townspeople to do with as they saw fit. He just wanted that nothing would be done to these 'men' who were now guests in his house.
The townspeople told Lot to stand back or they would deal with Lot worse than they would deal with the 'men'. But the angels reached out and grabbed Lot inside before anything could be done to him.
The angels smote the men outside with blindness so that they could not find the door to Lot's house. They asked Lot if he had any family besides the ones in his house, and that if he did he should bring them out of this city for they would destroy it as the Lord had sent them to do.
Lot went to speak with the men who had married his daughters and told them that they should come with him out of the city for it would be destroyed. These men perceived Lot as mocking them and they did not listen.
When the morning arose, the angels hurried Lot and his wife and their two daughters out of the city so that they would not be consumed in the iniquity of the city. The angels told them to hurry into the mountains and hide, and not look back on their way.
Lot disagreed with the angels saying that he could not go to the mountains lest something evil overtake him and he would die. He pointed out that a small city was near at hand and begged them that he could escape there and his soul would live.
The angels agreed and said to hurry there for they could not do anything until he was there, and for this reason the name of the city would be Zoar. The sun was risen when Lot entered Zoar.
Then fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah out of heaven. And those cities were overthrown and all of the inhabitants were destroyed.
Verse 26 says that Lot's wife looked back as they fled and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Three verses prior we were told that Lot had entered Zoar previous to the destruction, but apparently Lot's wife had not.
Verses 27 and 28 say that Abraham got up early and saw that a smoke went up as if from a furnace in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Lot left Zoar, for he feared to live there, and went into the mountains with his two daughters.
His daughters spoke amongst themselves saying that there was not a man of the entire earth to come unto them and preserve the seed of their father. They decided that it would be wise to get their father drunk and have sex with him to become impregnated.
The first night the older daughter layed with her father and became impregnated. The second night the younger daughter layed with her father and became impregnated.
The chapter concludes telling us that the child of the older daughter was named Moab and became the father of the Moabites, and the child of the second daughter was named Ben-ammi and he was the father of the children of Ammon.
This conludes chapter 19.
Conclusion
Sodom and Gomorrah. Clearly one of the most controversial chapters in all of the Bible. This chapter has wrongly been used to discriminate against homosexuals, while the concept of incest goes nearly unmentioned. That there is nothing in this chapter that even remotely relates to homosexuality is overlooked in an attempt to control other's lives.
A much stronger case can be made here that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for being uncharitable and abusive to strangers. This can be seen by cheating a little bit and jumping ahead in the Bible, first to Leviticus 19:33 -34 which I will paraphrase: "If a stranger visit in your land, you shall not vex him, but you shall treat him as if he was born among you, and you shall love him as yourself."
In other parts of the Bible, various people have discussed and compared Sodom and Gomorrah to their times. Here are a few:
- Isaiah 1- this chapter is a condemnation of Judah, with continuous comparisons to Soddom and Gommorah. Not once is homosexuality mentioned, but pagan-like rituals are.
- Jeremiah 23:14 - this verse is a specific condemnation of Jerusalem. Again, no mention of homosexuality, though adultery and dishonesty are the main "sins".
- Ezekiel 16:49-50 - this verse is God speaking through his prophet of the time. God is stating to the city of Jerusalem why Sodom was destroyed. He says that it was pride, fulness of bread (gluttony), and abundance of laziness (sloth). It was also a lack of charity, and haughtiness. It does say that they committed abomination before him, but this could be anything. From the holiness code of Leviticus (17:1 - 26:46) many things were considered abomination.
- Matthew 10:14-15 - This is Jesus talking to his disciples about how they should react if they are not received when they proselytize. He says that those cities who do not accept them would be judged more harshly than Sodom and Gomorrah had been.
Still, some people say things like, "But the word sodomy comes from the name Sodom. God destroyed Sodom for this reason." Sodomy is defined by The Merriam-Webster Dictionary in two ways. The first as copulation with a member of the same sex. This fits with the picture painted by Christians who use this chapter to condemn homosexuality.
The second definition, however, has nothing to do with homosexuality. It is defined as, non-coital, and especially anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex. By definition sodomy can be used to describe heterosexual activity, as well.
It is my strong opinion that this story is not anti-homosexual in nature. We are not told that men had sex with men. It is not even implied. What is implied is that the men wanted to rape the angels, which would have been bestiality and not homosexuality.
Forgetting the absurd idea that this has something to do with homosexuality, we again see a man of questionable morals being saved. Lot was willing to prostitute his daughters to save the two angels from being raped. Sure, this can be looked at as a great sacrifice for his God, but I disagree with this idealistic notion.
Beyond this, is the two daughters sleeping with their father and becoming impregnated by them. This is clearly incest, and from what we know of science, the possibility for a healthy child to be born of such a union is slim. That two would be born healthy has to be near impossible. That this is not considered more grievous a sin than homosexuality is truly inconcievable to me.
PREV - Gen. 14-18: Of Wars,
Kings, & Pleadings
NEXT - Gen. 20-22: Birth and Sacrifice