Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Genesis 19:24
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 |
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
For further study – Genesis 19:24-38
The key verse for our devotional reading today is a record of the judgment of God on a sinful society that lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, which would have been located in the Dead Sea area of modern-day Israel.
The “sin” in question here is “sodomy”, the sin of un-natural sexual relationships between men. It is a sin that the Lord punished with the destruction of their society and He also turned them over to a “reprobate mind” because of their sin, Romans 1:28.
The beginning of the chapter is the account of the two angels that had been traveling with the Lord, Genesis 18, coming into the city of Sodom and there meeting Lot, who was a judge that sat at the “gate of the city” each day.
The beginning of the chapter is the account of the two angels that had been traveling with the Lord, Genesis 18, coming into the city of Sodom and there meeting Lot, who was a judge that sat at the “gate of the city” each day.
These angels were in the appearance of “men”, verse 5, and Lot invited them to his house for a meal. This passage is evidence that “angels” can take on the form of “man”. Some of the “men” of the city of Sodom came seeking to have an un-Godly relationship with the two angels who they thought were “men”, evidence of how sinful the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were in this society.
Verses 10 to 23 reveal the events leading up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as the angels work to save Lot, his wife and their two daughters from the judgment. Three of the four escaped but Lot’s wife looked back at the judgment and was turned to a “pillar of salt”.
Verses 10 to 23 reveal the events leading up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as the angels work to save Lot, his wife and their two daughters from the judgment. Three of the four escaped but Lot’s wife looked back at the judgment and was turned to a “pillar of salt”.
After the escape and the destruction of the cities another terrible sin was committed between the two daughters of Lot and their father. In the cave where the three were being protected from the judgment the daughters decided to get their father drunk and then commit “incest” with him, verses 30 to 38.
Both daughters bore a son to their father, the oldest called her son “Moab” and the second born called her son “Ammon”. These names are the Biblical names of two locations in Jordan during the times of the Israelites.
This account, of these terrible times in the history of mankind, is a reminder of the end times as well. Dr Luke, in his Gospel, Luke 17:28-32, warns us of the last days just prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back to the Earth.
Luke records the words of Jesus, who said, “as it was in the days of Lot”. We are indeed living in similar days when “sodomy” is rampant in our world and becoming more aggressive everyday. We are living in the last days, the days when Jesus will shout to call us up to be with Him in the heavens. It could be today, so keep looking up.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the warning that you give to each of us of the nearness of your return. We can see the similarities between Lot’s day and our day. Help all of us that know you as Lord and Saviour to be alert to the times and be ready for the shout that will call us to be with you, forevermore.