Escape from Sodom Genesis 18:17-22, 19:1-29

“When they had brought them outside, one said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away’” (Gen. 19:17, NASB).

Our world continues to live with the pandemic caused by the coronavirus COVID-19. On March 31, 2020 the president of the United States revises his outlook for the beginning of economic recovery. He had anticipated and hoped that Easter (April 12, 2020) would be the beginning of recovery for at least some parts of the country. The president expresses concerns about the economic consequences because of the shut downs of businesses and institutions. Now, with new statistics of increased sickness and death he anticipates April 30, 2020 as the possible date that the country begins to recover from “the war with this invisible enemy.” In the meantime the science and health experts continue to seek ways to adequately treat those that are already sick, and they are trying to find ways to prevent people from getting sick. How can we escape the devastation that is caused by COVID-19? This article is about human escape from those places and situations that cause death and destruction. Ultimately this article is about the eternal fire of God that will destroy those who are not reconciled to God. How can we escape from the punishment of Sodom and the cities around them?

As we can see from the passage found in Jude 1:7 Sodom is a city that represents sin and denial of God’s call for faith and moral and ethical living. Verse seven is the last of three examples that reminds us of how God punishes sin. It reads, “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in understanding the punishment of eternal fire” (NASB). Although the apostle Paul tells us that we are not saved by our works, those saved will live by their works (Eph. 2:8-10). Sodom represents a place and a way of life that leads to eternal death. The story of Lot and his relationship to Sodom is found in the Genesis texts cited above.

God calls Abram (Abraham) to take his family and everything that he owns from his country and his relatives. Abram leaves Haran and his nephew Lot travels with him. Lot and Abram separate from each other because there is not enough room for the large herds that both men possess. Lot chooses to take the land that from a physical appearance is the more fertile land (Gen. 13:10-11). Abram takes the other direction. We should carefully examine what the scriptures tell us about the relationship that Lot establishes with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in comparison to the relationship that Abram establishes with the people of the land that he lives in.

The writer tells us that “Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom” (Gen. 13:12, NASB). Further, the writer says, “Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD” (v. 18, NASB). In Genesis 14:12 we learn that Lot takes up resident in Sodom. “They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom” (NASB). What do these texts tell us?

First, they tell us that there is a difference between living among a people and living with a people. Lot is attracted to what is pleasing to the eye. Lot enjoys the lifestyle of the people living in Sodom. Lot is not concerned about living a lifestyle that is pleasing to God. On the other hand we learn that Abram lives among the people of the land, but he does not live with the people of the land in which he lives. Secondly, Abram keeps himself separated from people that do not worship the same God that he worships. Christians live in the world, but they do not participate with the people of the world in their sins and evil practices. No, Christians are not sin free, but Christians are called to live by their faith in God. This means that they grow in their relationship with Jesus and strive to live according to His commandments and teaching. Thirdly, Abram lives his life keeping in mind the promises of God. Abraham believes God is going to give the land in which he lives to Abraham’s descendants.

In the midst of the stresses caused by the coronavirus crisis there is the danger that church folk, will become attracted to the things that they see in the world. During these shut downs will we church folk become detached from the church? Will we begin to live as the world lives?

Genesis 18-19 tells us the story of angels visiting Abraham. In the text these heavenly beings are called men. They affirm that Sarah will give birth to a son even though she is old and barren. Then the angels tell Abraham that they are going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities. “And the LORD said, ‘The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:20-21, NASB). The angels go to the city of Sodom; to Lot’s house. The men of the city give evidence that the outcry of the city is great. The men of the city try to have sex with the men that have come to Lot’s house. However, sexual immorality is not the only sin found in Sodom.

The prophet Ezekiel gives us additional insight into the sins of Sodom. “‘Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it’” (Ezek. 16:49-50, NASB). Pastor Aaron Marble of the Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee reminds the congregation that before the tornados and the coronavirus crisis there were people in the area that need food, clothing, shelter, access to health care, and social justice. The city may be shut down, but the ministry of the church continues. The church must adjust its methods so that it can continue to be the light in a dark world. The story continues.

The angels tell Lot to gather his family and leave the city. “We are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it” Gen.19:13, NASB). Lot’s sons-in-law do not believe Lot’s warning. The next morning the angels urge Lot to take his wife and two daughters and leave the city that is about to be destroyed. Lot hesitates. The men take the hands of Lot, his wife and daughters and take them outside the city because God has compassion on them (Gen. 19:16).

The means of escape is found in verse seventeen. It says, “When they had brought them outside, one said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away’” (NASB). Lot and his family must leave the city because the destruction is certain. The response of Lot’s two sons-in-law is significant. They do not believe Lot, and they die in the destruction (v.14).

First, Lot must not look back. He must detach himself from the city in which he lives. He must be willing to give up the people that he lives with. He must give up the lifestyle that he is accustomed to. When a person gives their life to Jesus Christ he or she is required to give up old friends and family members that do not want to leave. Secondly, one cannot leave Sodom and go to a city whose sins are like that of the people of Sodom. This reality is expressed in the word “valley.” Lot must escape to the mountains. The mountains are places that are elevated above the valley. Salvation is not about a change horizontally. Rather, it is a change vertically. It is a change in which we abandon the world and all of its vices. We attach ourselves to a new life in which we attach ourselves to the Lord. God is different from the gods of Sodom. His ways are different. His thoughts are different. The prophet Isaiah expresses our means of escape in Isaiah 55.

Finally, our escape is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Revelation 21-22 describes the coming of a new heaven and new earth. Those that are in Christ Jesus have escaped the destruction of the old and live in the new. Those outside of Christ will be destroyed with the destruction of the old heaven and the old earth. We must take hid to the message of gospel. We must believe in Jesus and escape from Sodom.