Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Sodom and Gomorrah - The Book of Genesis (2024)

Transcript

Sodom and Gomorrah - The Book of Genesis (2024) · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And there came two angels to Sodom
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: at even. And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: And Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them. And
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. Genesis
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: 19.1 My Lord, thank you for constantly showing me grace
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: when I am surrounded and tempted with the pleasures of
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: this world. Thank you for protecting me from myself. and
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: from foolish decisions I've made when I wasn't thinking in
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: alignment with your word. Help me to move with critical
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: obedience when you give a command. I will no longer
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: hesitate when I know the direction you're calling me to go.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I will no longer look back at my past, longing
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: for the things that move me off the path of
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: my destiny. Thank you, Lord, that when you close one
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: season of my life, like Lot and his family, you
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: will provide a safe space for me and my loved
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: ones to dwell in. I thank you for your protection,
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: your justice, and your mercy towards me. I can move
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: in full confidence knowing that you've placed your angels like
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: a fence around my life. I am protected because I
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: am yours. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these daily
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: to you by Bibleinayear.com.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Sodom and Gomorrah Before this story, we learned about how
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: God visited Abraham and they talked about the cities of
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: Sodom and Gomorrah. God alluded to Abraham his plans to
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: destroy the city for its wickedness. Abraham asked again and
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: again about God's mercy, if there are any righteous left
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: in the city. God promised he would not destroy Sodom
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: and Gomorrah if there were any righteous still living in
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: the city. Now we will learn about how God will
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: bring justice to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, inspired
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: by the book of Genesis.
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Last time we heard about
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: God's visit to Abraham and how Abraham pleaded for Sodom
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: and Gomorrah to be spared from destruction. The evil in
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: these cities has simply gone way, way too far. And
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: God is going to bring judgment upon them, destroying them
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: completely and all within the cities. But Abraham intervened and
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: God agreed to relent if just 10 righteous people could
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: be found in those places. Today, we pick back up
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: as two angels who were with God arrive in Sodom,
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: the place where Abraham's nephew, Lot, was still living. They're
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: going to try to find righteous men who could spare
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: the cities from annihilation. Notice as Lot greets them, knowing
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: as Abraham knew that these visitors were not of this world.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: Listen as he pleads with them, knowing that they are
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: not safe in a very wicked town. So just think
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: about what this recognition of the evil around him signals
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: about Lot's unwillingness to distance himself from corruptive influences, terrible, awful,
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: wicked influence upon his life and family. Is this the
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: kind of leader his family needs? Finally, as you hear
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: this passage and the things the townspeople do to these angels,
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: imagine how much this grieved God's heart to see the
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: depth of depravity in the hearts of those he created
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: in his own image, now defiled by sin. You will
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: surely see that God's righteous anger against Sodom and Gomorrah
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: was more than warranted. But consider also that our hearts
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: are not so different and prone to sin and evil
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: as And this also grieves the heart of the father. Soberly,
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: let us hear today's passage.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: Lot, Abraham's nephew, was still living in the city of
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Sodom with his family. He was sitting outside of Sodom
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: in the gateway when two angels arrived. Lot walked up
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: to them, bowed down with his face to the ground.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: He said to them, Come with me where you can
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: wash your feet, spend the night, and leave in the morning.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: FOR LOT KNEW THAT THE TWO ANGELS WOULD NOT BE
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: SAFE IN THE CITY AT NIGHT. THE ANGELS RESPONDED SAYING,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: WE WILL STAY THE NIGHT IN THE SQUARE. LOT INSISTED,
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: SO THEY WENT WITH HIM TO HIS HOME. LOT PREPARED
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: A MEAL FOR THEM BY BAKING BREAD WITHOUT YEAST AND
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: THEY ATE. DARKNESS BEGAN TO FALL OVER THE CITY AND
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: THE SHROUD OF NIGHT PROVIDED A COVERING FOR THE WICKED
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: MEN OF THE CITY TO EMERGE. Every man from the
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: city of all ages surrounded Lot's house. This horde of
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Sodom knocked on Lot's door, demanding that he deliver the
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: angels into their hands. Bring them out here, so that
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: we might have our way with them. For they desired
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: to take turns with them, brutalizing and raping them. Lot
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: came outside instead. Frantic, AND NOT IN HIS RIGHT MIND
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: HE SAID, PLEASE, BROTHERS, DO NOT TAKE THEM FROM MY HOUSE.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: THEY ARE RIGHTEOUS GUESTS AND ARE PROTECTED UNDER MY ROOF. HERE,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: I HAVE TWO VIRGIN DAUGHTERS. I WILL GIVE THEM TO
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: YOU AND YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO THEM.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: JUST DO NOT TAKE THESE MEN IN MY HOUSE. THERE
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: LOT STOOD, FEELING AS IF HE HAD NO CHOICE BUT
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: TO SELL OUT HIS OWN DAUGHTERS. GROWING LOUDER AND MORE IMPATIENT,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: THE MEN OUTSIDE YELLED TOWARDS LOT. Get back! You are
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: a sojourner here in our land, and now you want
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: to judge us? Move, or we will do worse things
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: to you than we will to your guests. The men
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: came closer to Lot, ready to break down the doors. Then,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: from behind Lot, the two angels grabbed him and drew
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: him back into the house, closing the door behind them.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: The two angels stood before Lot and looked outward and
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: struck the men outside with blindness. However, It did not
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: stop the men from trying to get inside. Disoriented and blinded,
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: the men eventually wore themselves out, groping for the door.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: The angels said to Lot, Do you have any other
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: family members here in the city? If so, flee with them,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: for we are going to destroy this city. The Lord
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: has sent us because of the outcries against it. So
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: Lot went to go warn his family, including the men
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: supposed to marry his daughter's. Flailing and frantic, the son-in-laws
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: thought he was joking, so they did not listen and
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: went to bed. Morning came, and the angels came again
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: to Lot, yelling, Take your wife and your daughters and
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: flee the city. You will be destroyed if you linger
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: any longer. But Lot did linger, indecisive and afraid, and
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: was unable to help himself.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Or his family.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: He was cowardly to offer up his daughter's. and now
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: he stood equally a coward for not saving them. Yet
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: God was still merciful to them, and promised he would
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: not destroy the city unless all the righteous were gone.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: So the angels seized him and his wife and his
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: two daughters by the hand, and they brought him out
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: and set him outside the city. They commanded again, Escape
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: for your life, do not look back or stop anywhere
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: destroyed with the city. Lot responded to them and said, Please,
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: do me another great kindness. Spare the neighboring town Zoar
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: so we can settle there. The angel said to him again,
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: I will do as you ask. Now flee. Judgment is coming.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: When Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen and the
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Lord caused fire, ash, and sulfur to fall on Sodom
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: and Gomorrah. In the distance, Lot and his family could
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: hear the cries of those in the city. The city
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: of Sodom, a nest of rape, murder, and wickedness, fell
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: under the fist of the Almighty. Lot's wife, longing for
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: the city of wickedness again, looked back despite the angel's warning. There,
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Lot's wife turned to a pillar of salt and died,
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: eventually crumbling beneath the ash and fire. Early the next morning,
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: Abraham went to the place where he had stood before
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: toward the valley. Behold, the smoke of the land went
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: up like a furnace. Lot's story would not end here,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: yet he would rise to repentance like his uncle Abraham. No,
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Lot's story does not end with him as the hero.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: Yet God continues to be faithful, and God is the
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: ultimate hero.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Just as Abraham did when he saw the travelers approaching
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: his tent, Lot saw the two angels coming and went
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: out to meet them, bowing down to show reverence and
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: honor to them. But that is where the similarities end
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: between Abraham and Lot. He didn't prepare a feast for
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: these men. He fed them just some unleavened bread, but
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: no fatted calf, no milk, no curds. They didn't sit
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: in the shade of a tree enjoying fellowship with each other.
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: Lot's first instinct, rather, born out of his knowledge of
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: this place in which he had remained with his family, compromise,
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: was to hide these divine beings. But the angels were
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: not there to be safe or to hide. They were
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: there to see just how evil this city had become.
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: And remember, according to the scriptures, angels are holy beings.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: Of course, God did not need firsthand evidence or for
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: angel scouts to find righteous men. He knows all. He
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: sees the instincts and the sins of every heart. But
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: he had an agreement with Abraham. So the angels were
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: there to witness the evil. They were in effect on
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: a mission of espionage. Lot knew very well that he
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: was in an evil place. So why didn't he leave?
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: Why didn't he pick up his family and get out
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: of this place? Or maybe we should ask ourselves, why
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: don't we flee an evil situation when we have the chance?
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: What's the problem here? Why did he stay? Was it
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: for comfort? Was it wealth? Was it familiarity? No, Lot
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: had given up protecting his family a long time ago,
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: it seems, but he was intent on protecting these visitors,
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: even to the point of sacrificing his own daughters, virgins,
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: to the wicked, wretched men who were trying to rape
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: and abuse the angelic beings. We see that even this
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: is not a deterrent for the men of Sodom. Their
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: desires are so depraved gone from what God created them
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: to be, that they reject Lot's offer. This is a shocking,
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: stunning display of the nature of sin gone completely out
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: of control, unrestrained. They do not know it yet, but
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: this is going to have devastating consequences for their city.
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: Not only could God not find 10 righteous men, he
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: could barely find one. The least evil man in the
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: town was Lot, who had offered his flesh and blood
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: to be brutalized by these wicked men. Lot is severely
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: compromised at every level. Somehow this was enough to save
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: Lot because the angels tell him to gather his family
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: and leave, never looking back. Did you catch what is
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: happening here? The towns were going to be destroyed completely.
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: God's justice would be served because of the great evil
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: in the area. Lot should have wanted to flee to
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: get as far away as possible, as soon as possible.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: He was told to flee to the mountains, but what
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: did he do? Genesis 19 verses 18 and 19 gives
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: us the response. But Lot said to them, O my lords,
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight,
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: shown to me by saving my life. but I cannot
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: escape to the mountains for the disaster will overtake me
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: and I will die. Failing to trust to deliver him
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: through his escape, he asked them to spare the nearest
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: town of Zoar so he could settle there. When we
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: flee from sin, when we run away from wickedness and evil,
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: we must get away as far as possible, as soon
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: as possible. But how often do we keep sin close?
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: cherishing it even in our hearts. They agree to let
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: him go there, so Lot takes his family and they
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: go to Zoar. They've been warned not to look back
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but Lot's wife
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: is so seduced by the city where sin abounded that
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: she had to take one last, was it a longing look?
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: It was her last act as she turned into a
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: pillar of salt, crumbling into oblivion just as the city
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: she had fled. When God gives you an escape, a
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: chance to sever your ties with sin, to break away,
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: don't look back. Don't go there again. For the old
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: life of sin will paralyze you and Satan himself will
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: destroy you. The judgment of God will fall upon you.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Heavenly Father, thank you for rescuing us from our sin.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Thank you for the story today which so vividly shows
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: the wickedness of our hearts and how your justice cannot
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: be avoided. Thank you for your son, Jesus, who took
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: the penalty of our sin and wickedness upon his own
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: life at the cross so that we could have a
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: brand new life in the power of the resurrection. Amen.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: app and make prayer a priority in your life. If
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you know,
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: someone you love. because by sharing this podcast, you can
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: make a big difference in someone's life. And if you
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: want more resources as to how to live the Christian life,
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: how to know God and experience His presence in your life,
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: be sure to visit jackgram.org. God bless you.