38C1. Is there another biblical event in
ancient times
that shows the judgment and mercy of God and serve also as a warning to all
people of today?
In the following verses, these are written:
So the Lord told
Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are
extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked. (Genesis
18:20, NLT)
Then the Lord rained
on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the
inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground (Genesis
19:24-25, RSV)
During the time of Abraham and Lot, God
totally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,
together with all the inhabitants with fire and brimstone.
38C2. Why did God
destroy these two cities?
In the following verses, the answer is
given:
And the Lord said,
"Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because
their sin is very grave, "I will go down now and see
whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it
that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.'' (Genesis 18:20-21, NKJV)
For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has
reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:13, NLT)
God decided to put an end to Sodom and
Gomorrah because of the wickedness of its people and the graveness of their
sins.
38C3.
How was the mercy of God revealed before the
appointed destruction came?
In Genesis
19:1, 12-13, 17, these are written:
THE TWO angels came to Sodom in the
evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate
of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to
meet them, and bowed himself with his
face to the earth,
Then the men
said to Lot, "Have you any one else
here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or
any one you have in the city, bring them
out of the place; for we are about
to destroy this place, because the
outcry against its people has become
great before the Lord, and the Lord has
sent us to destroy it."
And when they had brought them forth,
they said, "Flee for your life; do not
look back or stop anywhere in the
valley; flee to the hills, lest you be
consumed." (Genesis 19:1,
12-13, 17, RSV)
The two
angels sent by God to destroy the place
first gave the warning of what would happen
and made known the means to be saved.
-
The warning before the destruction was
given to Lot: bring them
out of the place; for we are about
to destroy this place, because the
outcry against its people has become
great before the Lord, and the Lord has
sent us to destroy it.
- The
instruction for salvation then was
clear: "Flee for your life; do
not look back or stop anywhere in the
valley; flee to the hills, lest you be
consumed."
38C4. Who
ignored the loving kindness of God?
So Lot went out and
spoke to his sons-in-law, who had contracted marriage with his
daughters. "Get up and leave this place," he told them; "the LORD is
about to destroy the city." But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
(Genesis 19:14, NAB)
The men who were engaged to marry Lot's
daughters simply brush aside Lot's warning -- something which later prove to
be a very costly mistake, an error which they paid for with their
lives.
38C5.
What happened to all those
who did not believe Lot, thus, they did not went out of the cities before fire
and brimstone rained from heaven?
The sun had risen on the earth when
Lot came to Zoar. Then the Lord
rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone
and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
and he overthrew those cities, and all
the valley, and all the inhabitants of
the cities, and what grew on the ground.
But Lot's wife behind him looked back,
and she became a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19:23-26, RSV)
Only
four souls managed to get out. Lot and his wife
and their two daughters, but something went wrong with Lot's wife.
What grave error was
committed by Lot's wife who was well on her way to salvation?
She did contrary to what the angels instructed by looking back towards Sodom
and Gomorrah, and thus turned to a pillar of salt. (Gen. 19:26)
Only Lot and his two daughters were saved.
All those who remained languishing in the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah
were destroyed. The two cities were reduced to ashes and not even
as much as weeds could be found growing in the ground.
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