Sodom and Gomorrah: Sometimes we never learn.

In 1812 Napoleon and his troops invaded Russia. Until that point the French army had been nearly unstoppable. Napoleon was so emboldened by his success that he decided to march his troops right into the hardly survivable Russian winter. In the end, the terrible weather conditions proved a major factor in Napoleon’s final defeat.

In the very next decade, Hitler sent Nazi forces to Russia hoping to enlarge the borders of his territory. Though an avid history student, Hitler failed to learn from Napoleon’s mistake. The Nazis were next to struggle in the Russian winter, leading in part to the end of Hitler’s regime. Had he learned from the history before him he might  not have made such a foolish decision.

The history of God’s people and those around them has been recorded in the Bible. The apostle Paul said that these events “were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4). The historical account of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is recorded for us that we might learn from their mistakes.

Before God destroyed these cities they rested in a beautiful area that was lush and well watered, “as the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10). After their punishment was delivered by fire and brimstone, “the smoke of the country went up as the smoke from a furnace” (Genesis 19:28), and not a soul was left alive (Luke 17:29). The destruction of these cities echoes through the pages of the Bible as a reminder of the wages of sin (Romans 6:23).

What warranted this complete destruction? The Bible tells us that the people were wicked, “sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13).  Their sin was very grievous and had saturated the area: not even ten righteous people could be found in both cities combined (Genesis 18:20, 32; 19:24-25). The Bible refers to their specific disobediences as “fornication” and “going after strange flesh” (Jude 7), and today the word is homosexuality (I Corinthians 6:9 [NKJV]).

The Bible is very clear in its doctrine concerning homosexuality and fornication. Fornication is a word that describes various manners of sexual sin in any occurrence outside of marriage, including premarital relations and adultery. Paul tells us we should flee fornication (I Corinthians 6:18). In Romans, he tells us it is a sin worthy of death (Romans 1:29-32). It is one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19 and is the only reason for a scriptural divorce according to Matthew 19:9. Jude 7 tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah gave themselves over to this terrible sin.

Homosexuality is considered an abomination by God (Leviticus 18:22). No matter what the popular opinion of the day is, God’s word is true and timeless. I Corinthians 6:9 states clearly the “abusers of themselves with mankind,” homosexuals, will not enter heaven. Some argue that people do not choose to act this way, but that it is natural from birth. The Bible speaks otherwise in Romans 1:26-27, referring to homosexuality as unnatural and against the gender roles God outlined in the Garden of Eden. Christ said this: “Have yet not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4, 5). Who would know better than One who was present at the very outset of human existence (John 1:1)?

If we are to avoid spiritual death, as Sodom and Gomorrah failed to avoid physical destruction, we must learn from their history and leave these sins. We can do this by receiving God’s word. Jesus said in Matthew 10:15 that it will be “more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment” than for those who reject the preaching of God’s disciples.

Peter says that Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to ashes to be an example “unto those that after should live ungodly” (II Peter 2:6). Like Hitler’s last march through Russia, those who do not learn from past mistakes will also fail, and the punishment is eternity apart from God. May we accept the accounts of the Bible as our schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24) and learn these lessons well.