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Great article on No More Strangers. You might be having this lesson this Sunday, so worth getting the Ezekiel scripture ready (more in the link) http://www.nomorestrangers.org/sodom-and-gomorrah-arrogant-overfed-and-unconcerned/ Quote:When the three men arrive in Sodom and Gomorrah, they are greeted hospitably and given shelter by Abraham’s nephew, Lot. A group of ostensibly heterosexual men from the city try to break into Lot’s house with the objective of sexually assaulting the strangers—treating them “like women” and thus challenging their masculinity. Such inhospitable treatment of strangers was considered a grave social transgression in ancient Israel. When Lot refuses and the aggressors attempt to break into his house to brutalize his guests, his visitors blind them and tell Lot to take his family and leave the city. Once Lot and his daughters are safely outside the city, it is destroyed by fire.
Traditionally, readers of the Bible have interpreted this episode as having to do with homosexuality, but homosexuality is never mentioned in this account. In fact, other biblical scriptures make clear what the transgressions of the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were and why the Lord considered them serious enough to warrant the cities’ destruction. In Ezekiel 16, for example, the Lord threatens to destroy Jerusalem, suggesting that the sins of its inhabitants are worse than those of Sodom: “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (Ez 16:49-50, NIV)
We came across that scripture back when we were teaching seminary and I have used Ezekial ever since. If the topic even gets close I whip it out and raise my hand. I love order of Sodoms sins – Pride, fullness of bread (whatever that is – over eating or what), ignoring the poor — Nothing what so ever about homosexuality. The problem comes though with the line “abominations before God”. The very end words but my answer has always been – okay, so sex trafficking is okay, rape is okay, child abuse is okay and so on. Abominations before God can be a multitude of things – Infact it’s a millstone around the neck for child abuse.
Can’t wait for Sunday School.
Yep, I use that passage all the time when the conversation starts. It is excellent – and direct. It shows how the actual people of the time viewed the story. Thanks for posting it.
There’s an old tradition that the sin of Gomorrah was the woman on top. Who knows… Bear in mind STDs were probably seen as a punishment from God, and a promiscuous society would be riddled with them, pre-condoms.
SamBee wrote:There’s an old tradition that the sin of Gomorrah was the woman on top. Who knows…
Bear in mind STDs were probably seen as a punishment from God, and a promiscuous society would be riddled with them, pre-condoms.
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Apocryphal versions of the Sodom and Gomorrah story also support a lack of charity as the reason of their destruction. One story relates that one of Lot’s daughters gave charity yo a stranger and she was punished by be covered with honey while tied up so angry bees could sting her to death. According to that account, her cries ascended to heaven and that was the fi all straw for God. So it wasn’t the homosexuality that was the proverbial straw but hatred of fellow man Like the “flood” and other “wraths of God”….I’ve always been bothered by the destruction of a whole city. Wouldn’t that include pregnant women, little children, etc? How can little children be burned for the behavior of adults by a “loving heavenly father”? Seems a bit excessive to me. Just sayin…
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