Searching for Sodom

In reading 2nd Peter chapter 2, we can gain a sense of not only God's wrath, but His willingness to deliver those who pursue obedience toward Him.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--
9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment...

Lot was a man who attempted to live in a godly manner in an ungodly age - sound familiar?  Lot and His family were rescued from the judgment that God would rain upon the city where he lived. Thankfully, because of the presence of Jesus in our hearts and lives, we can be spared the wrath of God, because of the love of God - our Father, who loves us so much that even though we deserve judgment and punishment, He offers a way of salvation through the blood of Jesus and His life given for us.

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The book of Jude offers a stern warning to stand against immorality. He writes in verse 3:
(3b) I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;
7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

An epic search that has lasted 10 years has yielded some amazing results - the discovery of the ancient city of Sodom, which the Bible teaches was destroyed, along with its nearby city of Gomorrah.

Christian Today reports that a team of archaeologists led by Professor Steve Collins and his team from Trinity Southwest University in New Mexico, has announced that after 10 years of excavation and study as part of the Tall el-Hammam excavation project, they have discovered what seems to be the site of the biblical city of Sodom, according to the digital magazine Popular Archeology.

Collins said: "The archaeological team unearthed a goldmine of ancient monumental structures and artifacts that are revealing a massive Bronze Age city-state that dominated the region of Jordan's southern Jordan Valley, even during a time when many other great cities of the 'Holy Land' region were either abandoned or in serious decline."

Collins said that very little was known about the region before their team began their excavations in 2005. He says that, "What we've got on our hands is a major city-state that was, for all practical purposes, unknown to scholars before we started our project."

He said when comparing the newly discovered ruins with the remains of other nearby ancient cities, along with its prime location and dates of occupation, "it emerges as the best candidate for the lost city of Sodom—the infamous city that, based on the Biblical account, was destroyed by God in a fiery cataclysm because of its iniquity."

So, why were these two cities destroyed?  In attempting to refute a trend in Biblical scholarship that says that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God for inhospitability rather than homosexuality, Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason wrote an excellent piece.  He writes that:

First, Sodom and Gomorrah were judged because of grave sin. Genesis 18:20 says, "And the Lord said, 'The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.'" Indeed, not even ten righteous people could be found in the city.

Second, it seems the judgment of these cities was to serve as a lesson to Abraham and to others that wickedness would be punished. In 2 Peter 2:6 we learn that God condemned and destroyed the cities as "an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter."

Third, peculiar qualities of the sin are described by Jude and Peter. Jude 7 depicts the activity as "gross immorality" and going after "strange flesh."[4] Peter wrote that Lot was "oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men," and "by what he saw and heard...felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds." These people were "those who indulged the flesh in its corrupt desires and despised authority" (2 Peter 2:7-10).

Fourth, there are 27 references outside of Genesis where Sodom is mentioned. It is emblematic of gross immorality, deepest depravity, and ultimate judgment.

In his concluding portion, Koukl states:

We know the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were homosexual, "both young and old, all the people from every quarter" (19:4), to the point of disregarding available women (19:5-8). After they were struck sightless they still persisted (19:11). These men were totally given over to an overwhelming passion that did not abate even when they were supernaturally blinded by angels.

Homosexuality fits the biblical details. It was the sin that epitomized the gross wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah—the "grave," "ungodly," "lawless," "sensual conduct of unprincipled men" that tormented Lot as he "saw and heard" it "day after day," the "corrupt desire" of those that went after "strange flesh."

This archaeological discovery can be an open door to discuss God's wrath upon these cities, to highlight His disdain for the abhorrent practice of homosexuality, and to endorse and strongly promote His plan for sexuality.

First of all, I like to say that the Old Testament gives us some insight into the heart of God, and this incident can illustrate for us the consequences of sin.  You see, because of the sinful nature that has been born in the hearts of human beings throughout the ages and because of our transgressions before Almighty God, we deserve God's judgment.  But...Jesus came to spare us from the wrath of God, and to provide for us a way of escape from that penalty of sin.  We aren't exempted from the penalty, no, Jesus paid that penalty for us.

I believe the story of Sodom and Gomorrah can also illustrate how groups of people, entire cities and countries, place themselves in a position of opposition against God through their sinfulness.  I believe that this nation, once devoted to living Godly principles, is in a precarious position, embracing the taking of pre-born human life, endorsing the sinful act of homosexuality, and a general departure from the ways of God that we see in our culture.   God spoke through Solomon when He offered the antidote - for His people to humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from wickedness, so we can experience God's healing and favor.

The sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah stands in stark contrast to the plan of God regarding sexuality.  He has created us male and female, and when a man and woman are married, expressing that one-flesh relationship, then He intends for those couples to enjoy an intimate relationship that is powered by His love and lining up with His principles.  That relationship is ordained for marriage only, and when we violate His plan, there are harmful consequences.