Sermon – Genesis 19 – Sodom & Gomorrah

1 … Today, we will be in Genesis 19 – where Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed – and while you may have read this passage before or even heard sermons about it – I hope to bring out some information you may not have heard or a point of view that isn’t mentioned.
2 … Genesis 19:1-2 (NLT) … That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. ²“My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
3 … Genesis 19:3-5 (NLT) … ³But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. ⁴But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. ⁵They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
4 … Genesis 19:6-8 (NLT) … ⁶So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.⁷“Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. ⁸Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”
5 … Genesis 19:9-10 (NLT) … ⁹“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door. ¹⁰But the two angels^[^a^] reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door.
6 … Genesis 19:11-12 (NLT) … ¹¹Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside. ¹²Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else.
7 … Genesis 19:13-14 (NLT) … ¹³For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
8 … Genesis 19:15-16 (NLT) … ¹⁵At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” ¹⁶When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.
9 … Genesis 19:17-19 (NLT) … ¹⁷When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” ¹⁸“Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. ¹⁹“You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.
10 … Genesis 19:20-22 (NLT) … ²⁰See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” ²¹“All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. ²²But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)
11 … Genesis 19:23-26 (NLT) … ²³Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. ²⁴Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.²⁵He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. ²⁶But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
12 … Genesis 19:27-29 (NLT) … ²⁷Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. ²⁸He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. ²⁹But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.
13 … Genesis 19 is interesting to say the least. From the standpoint of a sinful world, from God answering the prayers of the righteous, and of God’s people falling into spiritual decline that has devastating consequences.
14 … So much to discuss … God’s judgment on sinful cities … A great warning to us, churches, or the US … Abraham’s petition in ch.18 and the results of that petition in ch.19.
15 … God’s Judgment on the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
- The sinfulness of these cities are not a shock; as we first read about it in Genesis 13.
- But God’s patience has come to an end, and now He will bring judgment upon these cities and a people who have rejected Him.
- There was quite a gap in time between chapters 13 and 19, so we know that the Lord does not act hastily in judging. Remember that God is patient and doesn’t want anyone to perish.
16 … Great Warning in Genesis 19
- Homosexuality consumed them so much the men wanted to gang rape the angels.
- They faced God’s judgment and that should concern us, churches, and our country.
- Some commentators have even said that if God does not judge America, then He will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.
17 … Chapter 18 (Abraham’s petition) & Chapter 19 (Results of That Petition) are related
- Before the Lord rains down judgment upon the cities, He will rescue Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family.
- We often look at the rescue of Lot being on the basis of Lot being a righteous man, and that he was, for Peter tells us this (2^nd Peter).
- Chapter 19 reveals in two places that Lot was rescued for other reasons as well.
  - Genesis 19:16 … The Lord had compassion on Lot.
  - Genesis 19:29 … God remembered Abraham, as his petition resulted in the rescue of Lot – just another example for us to stand in the gap and pray.
18 … We are going to look at this chapter from the viewpoint of Lot, a righteous man, and his spiritual decline. We tend to look at everything from Abraham’s point of view and how God worked in his life, but we need to look at Lot and how he did not follow God.
19 … It would benefit all of us, especially those who think that spiritual decline is beyond them. Paul warns us in 1^st Corinthians 10:12 that if we think we are standing firm, that we need to be careful lest we fall. Paul warns us of the possibility of spiritual decline (and being apostate – a former believer – losing our salvation), and the greatest candidates for it are those who think it could never happen to them.
20 … What happened to Lot? How did he end up in Sodom? How could he stray so far from his great start? The first observation that we must make is that spiritual decline is gradual.
21 … Spiritual Decline Is Gradual … As we observe Lot, don’t think for a moment that Lot’s condition as revealed in chapter 19 just happened. The spiritual condition of this chapter was a gradual, but continual decline on the part of Lot.
22 … We first met Lot in chapter 11. There we see that Abraham’s father, Terah, took Abraham, Sarah, and Lot to the promised land, Canaan. But Terah would not make it to Canaan, instead he would settle in Haran. Then, after Terah died, the Lord once again called Abraham to go to the land of Canaan; and Abraham would obey and Lot went with him.
23 … We can only guess as to why Lot went with Abraham. It would be nice if the reason was out of loyalty to his uncle and that he went voluntarily because he also had faith in the Lord. We don’t know exactly why Lot went, but went he did.
24 … Unfortunately, Lot would not continue in his uncle’s footsteps, but instead would begin to make choices that would bring him to the spiritual bankruptcy of chapter 19.
25 … The 1^st step of Lot’s spiritual decline started many years before chapter 19. It started back in chapter 13 where he and Abraham separated for the sake of peace. After Abraham told Lot to choose where he wanted to live, he took the well-watered areas around Sodom.
26 … It seemed like a nice place, but we are told several times that the men of the area were exceedingly wicked. Lot moved right outside the sinful city of Sodom.
27 … The 2^nd step in Lot’s spiritual decline is found in chapter 14. Here, Sodom is attacked and people are taken captive. Genesis 14:12 tells us that Lot was taken along with his possessions. In Genesis 13, Lot is living outside the city; and in 14, he is living in the city.
28 … When we get to chapter 19, we read that Lot was sitting at the gate of the city when the two angels arrived. So, now, Lot not only lives inside the city, but is one of the leaders. To be sitting at the gate would suggest that Lot was a high-ranking official.
29 … It was at the city gate that many of the decisions and judgments were made. For Lot to be at the gate suggests that the inhabitants had accepted him and promoted him.
30 … Although Lot may have been a righteous man, his spiritual decline kept him from being a champion of righteousness and justice in a sin-saturated city. This reveals the gradual process of Lot’s spiritual decline.
31 … At the heart of this gradual process were Lot’s sensual and sinful desires. In 1^st John we are warned about the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These lusts, John says, are of the world. The gradual process of spiritual decline takes place when God’s people are led by sensual and sinful desires instead of the Savior.
32 … You can begin to see the sensual aspect of Lot’s demise when you compare Lot with Abraham. When they separated, Abraham was willing to trust the Lord to lead him, but Lot was led by what he saw.
33 … Abraham lived in a tent, but Lot desired more and would eventually move into a house. Abraham was a pilgrim looking for the celestial city, whereas Lot was a citizen, enjoying the benefits of this world.
34 … As God’s people we are by no means free from temptation of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life; but we are free from being slaves to them. The gradual process of spiritual decline takes place when we begin to give into and are consumed with the sensual and sinful desires that belong to this world.
35 … Throughout Scripture, you will find men of God falling into spiritual decline, a decline that was a gradual process. This happens when sinful desires are left unchecked. It could start with one small sin, but gradually the inability to deal with leads to shipwrecked lives.
36 … Even today, when you hear of Christians falling, you need to understand that it just didn’t happen overnight. It was a gradual process that came about from some moral fault lines. Earthquakes don’t just happen – there are things happening beneath the surface that take a while to happen, but when they do the results are devastating.
37 … The spiritual decline of the spiritually inclined is the same. There are things that happen beneath the surface and behind the scenes before we see the moral earthquake take place. When God’s people don’t deal with the underlying sin issues they lead to a spiritual decline. And when spiritual declines are not dealt with they have destructive consequences – the decline is gradual and the results are destructive.
38 … (2) The Spiritual Decline Is Destructive … As the story of Lot unfolds, you begin to see the destructiveness of Lot’s spiritual decline. Yes, Lot is considered a righteous man, but he has decided to seek the best of both worlds. He wants all the comfort of heaven and salvation, but at the same time he wants all the temporal joys and benefits of a world that is doomed and headed for destruction. Because he wants feet in both worlds, Lot’s spiritual decline would bring on a destructive insensitivity to the things of God.
39 … (2A) – Destructive Insensitivity … We see the destructive insensitivity revealed in how Lot responds to the angels when they arrive. At first it doesn’t seem so bad, but later it is.
40 … The hospitality that Lot shows to the angels is indicative of his righteous character. It was custom to show hospitality to guests. When you compare Lot’s hospitality to the men of the city’s hostility towards the guests, you see the difference between Lot and the men of the city in spite of the fact that Lot had declined spiritually.
41 … But, when you begin to compare Lot’s hospitality to Abraham’s hospitality in chapter 18 you begin to see that Lot was insensitive to the presence of God. When we give into the gradual process of spiritual decline and we become entangled with the lust of this world and pride, we become desensitized to the presence of God in our lives; and we don’t even seek God as much as we used to – we don’t read, pray, study, or come to church as much as we should or perhaps used to.
42 … When we are carried away by temptation we become dangerously insensitive to the presence of God in our life. When this takes place, it then leads to destructive compromise.
43 … (2B) … Destructive Compromise … Lot’s destructive insensitivity led him to a destructive compromise, that would affect his life in many ways. As Lot gave into and was led by his worldly lust, he would begin to compromise his very own righteous convictions.
44 … 2^nd Peter says Lot was disturbed by the sinfulness within the city. It literally “vexed” his soul day and night. Even though he was displeased with the sinfulness of the city, he would become a leader, sitting at the gate upholding the unrighteous laws that governed the city.
45 … Lot, instead of sitting at the gate of the city enjoying the acceptance of the people, he should have stood at the gate proclaiming the righteousness of the Lord not worried about what the people in the city thought. But Lot, instead of being following the way of the Lord would follow the way of the world and compromise his righteous convictions. Not only did Lot compromise his convictions, but he also compromised his character.
46 … After the heavenly guests enter Lot’s house to enjoy his hospitality we are told that Lot would receive some other visitors from within the city. You see the perversity of the city because both the old and young men, wanted to have sexual relations with the two angels, whom they thought were mere men.
47 … Lot found himself in an interesting situation. He could comply with the request and let them have the men or he could refuse the request and stand for righteousness. Lot would choose to protect his guest, but he would not choose to stand up for righteousness. Instead he would make a proposal that would truly be a compromise of this righteous character.
48 … We are told in verse eight that Lot had two virgin daughters. Protecting the guests was noble, but sacrificing his two virgin daughters can hardly be considered a quality of a holy and righteous character. The only moral choice in this situation would have been to stand up for righteousness and not give in to unrighteousness.
49 … Lot’s spiritual decline compromised his righteous convictions and character. The destructive compromise of spiritual decline in turn brings about a destructive influence on those all around.

50 … 2C – Destructive Influence … Lot had a great opportunity to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world in Sodom and Gomorrah, but that opportunity passed when he started that downward spiral to destruction.

51 … Had the Lord called Lot to Sodom we may have a different story concerning Lot and his influence, but because Lot was led to Sodom by his own worldly desires he would fain in being a positive influence on the inhabitants of the city. Instead, Lot would become a destructive influence on the city of Sodom. Even worse, Lot would become a destructive influence upon his own family.
52 … After the men of Sodom refused the daughters of Lot, they began to try to overtake Lot and his guests. The text tells us in verse eleven that the two angels struck the men of the city with blindness so that they could not find the door.
53 … The two men would then tell Lot of the coming judgment upon the city and that he needed to get his family out as quickly as possible. As Lot tries to get his family together you begin to see that Lot lost his righteous influence over his own family on the account of his spiritual decline.
54 … Notice what happens when Lot tries to get those close to him to leave the city as well: Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughter and said, ‘Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.’ But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.” Lot’s spiritual decline kept him from having a positive influence upon his sons-in-law, so much so that they thought he was joking. If Lot had been a devout follower of the Lord and stood for righteousness, then the outcome could have been different.
55 … The reason that he had lost his influence is clearly stated by Lot’s actions in verse sixteen. After the two angels came to Lot’s house the next morning and warned Lot and his family to leave the city without any hesitation, we are told that he hesitated. Lot, knowing that the city was about to come under judgment hesitated!
56 … He hesitated because he had fallen so in love with the world that it was hard to let go. So hard for him that the angels had to drag them out of the city. Lot wasn’t rescued because he was willing to leave the city. No, Lot was rescued because God’s compassion grabbed hold of this backslidden believer and rescued him from the coming judgment. If Lot hesitated in leaving the city, then you can see why he was unable to save others.
57 … This destructive influence that Lot has would even affect those who left the city with him. Lot was commanded, in verse 17, to hurry and go the mountains and not look back. But Lot’s wife didn’t want to leave, turned back, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot hesitated, but his wife didn’t want to leave; and was another casualty of Lot’s decline.

58 … Spiritual decline brings about a destructive insensitivity, a destructive compromise, and a destructive influence. But Lot’s story does not end there, for in verses thirty through thirty-eight we see that the spiritual decline has a destructive demise.
59 … 2D – Destructive Demise … There is a great deal of irony in these last eight verses of chapter nineteen. The two virgin daughters that Lot was so willing to sacrifice to the men of Sodom would end up sleeping with Lot in an incestuous encounter. Both daughters would become pregnant, and both would give birth to sons.
60 … The fact that the last time we really hear from Lot we find him in an incestuous relationship is enough evidence to show the destructive demise of those who love the world instead of loving the Lord.
61 … But even greater evidence of Lot’s destructive demise is found in the two son’s born to him through his own daughters. The Moabites and Ammonites would descend from them.

62 … These two groups of people would always be the enemy of God’s people; and would always be on the outside of God’s blessings. This demise did not have to end this way. Lot could have walked by faith and with the Lord and avoided this demise.
63 … Lot’s story is a great lesson and warning for God’s children. Do not love the world or anything in the world. You cannot love the world and the Lord at the same time. To avoid Lot’s demise we must make a spiritual check-up every day.
64 … Spiritual Check-Up … Do you pray each and every day? … Do you read your Bible each and every day? … Do you reach out to others? … Do you share the Gospel and your testimony? … Do you gather with your church family each time they meet together; or do you choose to do something else?