Day 6 - Genesis 17-20

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE

Day 6 - Genesis 17-20 (Sodom and Gomorrah)

“And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.  And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.”  (Genesis 19:27-29)

We all know the story about how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of its evil pracitces including homosexuality.  An earlier account in the same chapter as our text shows just how bad the situation was in Sodom:

“Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.  They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."  (Genesis 19:4-5)

It is no wonder God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah as He did.  I can’t help but see the parallel between Sodom and our society today.  I am convinced that if it were not for the laws in our society making rape criminal as it should be that we will see the same horrible scenes occur daily in our cities.  I believe that unless a national revival happens wherein people repent and turn to God en masse, we will experience a Sodom-like judgment soon.

Note that in our text above, Abraham’s nephew Lot was spared because of Abraham’s prayer to God.  In all likelihood, Lot and his family would have been wiped out together with everyone else in Sodom and Gomorrah had it not been for Abraham’s petition to God.  

This should give us a lot of encouragement to pray for the salvation of our loved ones who are living in the midst of an evil society.  I pray daily for all of my siblings and their families that God would show mercy to them and grant them repentance and salvation.  Perhaps, you should be praying for yourself as well for God to deliver you from evil and sin that is so prevalent in our world today.