Righteous Judgment and Profound Mercy

Genesis 19

The story of Lot and the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 has profound implications for us. God has not changed.When you read the unfolding story in its harsh reality, the evil is simply staggering. Look at the immorality:

• Lot takes the angels of God under his roof so they will not be attacked.
• All the men of the city—young and old—converge on his house, demanding that he send out the guests so they can rape them.
• Lot, totally influenced by the evil around him, offers his virgin daughters to the men of the city. (Can you imagine?)
• The bloodthirsty citizens violently attack Lot’s house.
• The angels rescue Lot and strike the men with blindness to prevent their entrance.

The Progression of Sin

Here we have a clear illustration of the spiraling sin of Romans 1. It is a picture of the awful progression of a people, leading to a totally perverse society.These men had been given up to a “depraved mind,” which means they had lost all ability to make moral judgments. Such men actually applaud evil, lifting it up as good and righteous (Romans 1:28).The angels of the Lord declared, “Their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it” (Gen. 19:13 NASB). God had had enough, and rightfully so.

Sin’s Desensitizing Effect

The angels told Lot to leave the city (which you’d think he would gladly do), but “he hesitated” (v. 16). Out of compassion, the Lord seized him and his family by the hand and removed them before God’s judgment fell.The fire and brimstone were real and complete, destroying “all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (v. 25). It is interesting that the location of this devastation is what we know today as the Dead Sea, where there is absolutely not one single living organism. The city never rose again.

The Current Tragedy

The blatant sins of our nation are just as offensive to God today. His character has not changed. These exact sins are now so rampant that in many places, our society looks just like Sodom. To read Genesis 19 is to read the newspaper in America.Etched on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington are these words: “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”It is time for the church to make an accurate assessment of herself and the world around her … and to cry out for God’s mercy on our land.