Today, the region is
still barren, even though it was once well watered everywhere (13:10). It is
also the site of frequent earthquakes and other geological events. Nearby repositories
of salt, asphalt, and sulfur are abundant.
These ill-fated
cities remind us that wickedness will not go un-punished. They also show that
God not only judges sinful individuals, such as Lot’s wife (19:26), but also
entire cities and their surroundings.
However, the story
is not all bad news. After the tragic end of Sodom and Gomorrah, God “remembered
what Abraham had asked” (19:29). When we remember the patriarch’s righteous
example, several lessons of the story become clear:-
1. Prayer makes a
difference (18:22-23).
2. People count
(18:32, 19:16-22, 2 Pet. 2:6-7).
3. God is sovereign.
God does not want to destroy cities or their systems and people (2 Pet. 3:9)
but he can and will.
4. Pride goes before
a fall. Sodom was destroyed not only because of sexual sin (Gen. 19:1-17, Jude
7). But also because it had pride and a surplus of wealth, yet failed to care
for its poor and needy (Ez. 16:48-50).
The example of Sodom
and Gomorrah challenges us:
What are we doing
with the resources God has put under our control?
Fleeing from the city
does not avoid sin, it only spreads it around. The behavior of Lot and his
daughters after fleeing from Sodom shows that sin is not confined to the city. They
exported Sodom-like immorality to the hinterlands (Gen. 19:19-22, 30-36).
Are we
running from the city in order to “escape” its problems and evils? Is it
possible that God wants us to stay and live as his representatives of
righteousness?
For Further Reading :-
Archaeologist : Sodom and Gomorrah "appear to have been wiped out in a "Heat Event"(http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.in/2012/05/archaeologist-sodom-and-gomorrah-appear.html)
An archaeological dig appears to have confirmed the truth of the Biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
"The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar; at the
same time the Lord rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the
inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil." (Genesis 19:
23-25).
Their imaginations have constantly been kindled by this
in-explicible and frightful disaster, as can well be seen from the many
allusions to it in ancient times. Remarkable and quite incredible
things are said to have happened there by the Dead Sea, the 'Sea of
Salt,' where according to the Bible the catastrophe must have happened.
During the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 it is said that the Roman army
commander Titus sentenced certain slaves to death. He gave them short
shrift, had them bound together by chains and thrown into the sea at the
foot of the mountains of Moab. But the condemned men did not drown.
No matter how often they were thrown into the sea they always drifted
back to the shore like corks.
This inexplicable occurrence made such a
deep impression upon Titus that he pardoned the unfortunate offenders.
Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived latterly in Rome,
repeatedly mentions a 'Lake of Asphalt.' Greeks lay stress on the
presence of poisonous gases, which are reported as rising from all parts
of this sea. The Arabs say that in olden times no bird was able to
reach the opposite side. The creatures, as they flew across the water,
would suddenly drop dead into it..." (The Bible as History, p. 87).
{The Life Connecting Bible : New Century Version}
