HOW SODOM AND GOMORRAH WERE SO TEMPTING
Genesis 13:10–11 (ESV):“Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan and journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.”
Dear brothers and sisters, if you didn’t know before, understand today that sin is inherently appealing. It tempts the senses, promises comfort, and seems alluring. If sin were not attractive, no one would fall into its trap. Many of us know the story of Lot and his uncle Abraham, how they disagreed over their wealth until they parted ways, each choosing his dwelling place.
Lot was given the first choice. He surveyed the cities around him and eventually selected the most beautiful—Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible describes these cities as resembling the Garden of God (Eden)—lush, fertile, and strikingly beautiful. But here’s the critical point: not all beauty is godly. The splendor of Sodom and Gomorrah reflected Eden’s beauty, yet it was a garden of Satan, designed to deceive and corrupt.
The cities were fertile, rich in water springs, and highly attractive. They were advanced, wealthy, and prosperous, offering ample business opportunities. Hunger and thirst were almost unknown. Life seemed full of meaning and comfort, in stark contrast to the harsh, barren land where Abraham and Lot had lived—a desert with scarce food and water.
Theological insight: Sin often appears desirable because it mimics God’s blessings superficially. The serpent in Eden (Genesis 3:1–6) used the same tactic—presenting disobedience as beautiful and beneficial. Just as Eve was deceived by outward appearance, people are often lured today by the world’s pleasures.
This allure of wealth, comfort, and civilization led the people of Sodom to reject God. They pursued sinful desires, including sexual immorality and unnatural relations (Jude 1:7). Lot, enticed by opportunity and apparent luxury, failed to discern the spiritual reality behind the city’s beauty. Had it not been for God’s grace, he would have shared the same fate.
The Bible warns that just as it was in Lot’s days, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. Today, civilization has advanced far beyond ancient times—wealth, technology, education, and infrastructure are unprecedented. Yet, moral decay grows alongside progress.
2 Thessalonians 5:2–3 (NIV):“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
Even now, if you are in the midst of “Sodom,” do not assume escape will be easy. God has warned His children to separate from worldly corruption.
Revelation 18:4 (NIV) says:“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.”
Remember, it was not just Sodom and Gomorrah that were destroyed. Surrounding cities were also consumed (Jude 1:7), showing that proximity to sin defiles. Today, we are also called to avoid the world’s corruption and not be yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), lest we be caught in God’s judgment unknowingly.
1 John 2:15–17 (NIV):“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Theological insight: Loving the world is fundamentally incompatible with loving God. The pleasures, pride, and achievements of this world are temporary, and attachment to them blinds believers to eternal realities. Sodom’s destruction teaches that the allure of the world can lead even the seemingly righteous astray if they fail to discern God’s will.
If you are saved but still indulge in worldly pleasures—nightclubs, secular music, revealing clothing—you are still living in “Sodom.” On the day of judgment, being spiritually in Sodom will leave you behind to face God’s justice (Matthew 25:1–13, the Parable of the Ten Virgins).
Practical exhortation: We must not be seduced by worldly desires. Like Lot’s escape from Sodom (Genesis 19:17), we are called to separate ourselves from sin, fix our eyes on Christ, and seek the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 6:33).
Psalm 1:1–3 (NIV) reminds us:“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”
My prayer is that we will not be seduced by worldly desires like Lot. Let us focus on Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven, preparing ourselves for the day of deliverance.
May the Lord bless
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