A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Genesis 19:12-26, with the title, “Purged,” for Sunday, February 25, 2024.

A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO??? Can you share a time when you/or someone you know was WARNED about something, but the warning was ignored?

(Unfortunately there are all kinds of examples of this all through history, and in our own experience:

— I just finished reading “Isaac’s Storm,” a book about the 1900 hurricane that struck Galveston (which is about 40 miles from us here in Angleton) and destroyed the city, killed more than 6000 people. Part of the tragedy was that storm watchers in Cuba had given warning that a hurricane was headed to Texas, but the newly formed Meteorological Society weathermen did not believe them, and the city was not warned. Children and families just played in the rising waters, thinking it was a fun vacation — until the waters kept rising and it was too late.  

Many of us undoubtedly have personal stories of unheeded warnings as well. For example I was famously warned by my father NOT to buy a Chevy Vega when I was buying my first car at age 16. He said the aluminum engines were known to burn up easily, but “I just wanted one” anyway — and of course I ended up paying for it. I ignored the warning.

You/your group can share stories like that, of warnings that were ignored, then transition to how today’s lesson is on the God’s warning of the judgment coming on Sodom & Gomorrah was also ignored.

CONTEXT

We left off in our study of Genesis in Chapter 17 with God telling Abram that he would have a son through his wife Sarai — and God changed their names to Abram & Sarah. Then, in Chapter 18, “three men” visit Abraham, and tell him that this time next year he will return to visit, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah, like Abraham before, laughed at the promise. 

Then the Lord decides to tell Abraham what He is going to do with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose sin has been very great. (Sodom and Gomorrah, by the way, are the names of two cities in the southeast part of the land, many think near (or perhaps covered by) the Dead Sea.)  Abram, knowing that Lot was there, famously tries to “Jew God down”, until finally He agrees that if there are only 10 righteous in the city, He will not destroy it.

(In this section, by the way, is one of my favorite and most useful Old Testament verses, Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Of course the answer is yes. God will always deal justly, which is something we can rely on — and I also think this is a good answer for a lot of questions pose: we can say, “I don’t know: but I know that ‘the Judge of all the earth will deal justly.’”

But this brings us to our focus passage for this week: Genesis 19:12-26, where God deals with Sodom & Gomorrah.

OUTLINE

I. The Warning Given (:12-13)

II. The Warning Unheeded (:14)

III. Grace & Judgment (:15-26)

TEXT

I. The Warning Given  (:12-13)

:12 “Then the two men said to Lot, ‘Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of this place.”

This is a good word for many of us today: WHO DO WE HAVE?

Who do WE have in this world, that is about to be judged, that we want to make sure and take with us.

I have 11 Grandchildren, and my continual prayer each week is for the Lord to touch them and prepare each of them for salvation. I have a special promise from God’s word, “The descendants of the righteous will be delivered,” on which I am praying, and trusting God for their salvation. So my grandkids are “whom I have in this city” (not this city literally but here on this earth.)

The question for each of us is, WHO DO YOU HAVE “in this city” that you need to take with you to heaven? Seek to “lead them out of this place” of condemnation we all deserve:

PRAY for them

MINISTER to them and build relationship with them

WITNESS to them, and seek to lead them to the Lord.

My Aunt Betty had a big influence on me as a child, and in fact she led me to the Lord as a child in Vacation Bible School in Pittsburgh, PA when I was 7 years old. 

Who can YOU lead to the Lord? Who do YOU have “in this city”? Surely God will lay someone on your heart, on your class members’ hearts, that they need to pray for, and seek to take out of this world with them.  You could even mention some of the people that you and your class hope to lead to the Lord, whom you are praying for. (And either here or at the end of class, have a time of prayer for these to be saved.)

Now WHY was it so important for Lot to lead his loved ones out?

Verse 13 continues the account: “For we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 

II. The Warning Unheeded (:14)

What was the response of Lot’s family in :14?
“Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, ‘Up get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city.’ But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.”

So their response was that they thought he was joking. They didn’t take him seriously.

Perhaps the world’s most widely read book other than the Bible is PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, by John Bunyan. If you have not read that book, I would highly encourage you to do it. Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory: the man “Christian” represents a man who is on his way to heaven, and the story details the trials and perils on the journey.  But the story begins with Christian reading “a book,” and a burden on his back. (Of course, the “book” is the Bible; the “burden” is the conviction of sin it brought him.) 

The story goes on to say: “He finally revealed to his wife and children what was going on in his mind, saying, ‘Oh my dear wife and children, I’m suffering from an inner turmoil because of a burden that lays heavily upon me. And, what’s worse, I’ve been reliably informed that our city will be burned with fire from Heaven. In that fearful disaster, I with you, Wife, and you, my sweet Children, will come to a miserable ruin unless some way of escape — which as yet I do not see — may be found by which we may be delivered.’   His family members were deeply troubled at this declaration — NOT because they believed what he told them, but because they thought some form of insanity had gotten into his head.” So they would not go with Christian when he left the city, seeking the Celestial Kingdom. (They did, however, follow him later in Bunyan’s “sequel” to the story!) 

But their first reaction was that he was insane! They would not heed the warning.

This was the response of Lot’s family (at least his sons-in-law) in Sodom here as well.   

If you don’t share a story of an unheeded warning in the introduction, you could do it here;  and/or you might share a different story at this point, such as:

— One of the most famous unheeded warnings in history was on Dec. 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor Hawaii, when two Army radar operators saw 180 planes approaching from the north, still 130 miles out. They warned a Lieutenant who told them “Don’t worry about it.” They asked if they should report it to someone. He said again, “Don’t worry about it.” And the worst military disaster in U.S. history took place in the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor — but it shouldn’t have been a surprise. They just didn’t heed the warning. 

There are SO many examples of times that people did not heed a warning, and it cost them. You can share one of the ones I’ve shared here, or use some of your own. But emphasize that all of these kinds of stories of tragedies pale in comparison to the reality of God’s judgment that is coming. 

The Bible warns us in Hebrews 12:25, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.”

The Bible’s saying, DO NOT fail to heed God’s warning. Repent and turn to Christ while you can.

??? Can you share of a person you have shared God’s word with, who rejected it??? 

(I have a vivid memory of a man slamming the door in face early in my ministry. I also remember a sorrowful evening witnessing to a relative who did not believe that Jesus was the way to heaven. You/your group can share some of your own experiences of people who rejected God’s word/did not heed His warning.)

III. Evidences of Grace & Judgment (:15-26)

God is both a God of justice and righteousness, and grace. As A.W. Tozer points out, He is ALWAYS ALL of His qualities.

But we see those qualities manifested in several ways in these verses:

??? What are some evidences of His GRACE in this story???

— that He called Lot, who had been compromising, out of Sodom. He did not deserve to be so rescued. But He showed him grace instead.

— And then that He was so PATIENT with Lot, while he stalled and prevaricated. Verse 16 says “he hesitated” to leave the city even when he had been warned.  He was very “wishy washy,” “double-minded” James 1 might say (literally “a mind and a mind.”)   Lot was so presumptuous: asking the angel not to make him go to the mountain, asking to go to the town instead. I mean, here you are, getting a “special escort” out of this tragedy, and you’re going to complain about where they are taking you, and ask to go somewhere else? To me that takes a lot of “cheek/chutzpah.”  I might have said to him, “Forget it! Stay here and die!”, but God did not. The angels patiently dealt with him in grace. They said in :21 “Behold I grant you this request also …” WHY? Here they were giving him this chance to escape, and he is stalling, and asking for favors, etc. Yet God was so gracious.  (I believe they may have been so gracious to him for Abraham’s sake — just like God is so gracious to US for Jesus’s sake!)

It reminds me of Psalm 103:10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” Lot seems to have deserved a lot harsher treatment than he got. But God treated him “Better than he deserved.”

+x Dave Ramsey (Jack Franklin at our church) always = “Better than I deserve.” We can ALL say that!

(AND it should cause us to treat OTHERS “better than they deserve”! Because God has been so patient with us, and treated us better than we deserve, so we should be patient with others, and treat them better than we think they might deserve.)

But we need to remember that God is not only a God of grace; He IS also a holy God who WILL judge if we reject His grace. (We’ve seen this in His self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 34 in the cleft of the rock. After He proclaims how He is “compassionate, gracious, slow to anger,” etc., He DOES add also: “who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished”. He IS a God of love; but He is also a God who WILL judge. This is where many today get it wrong. They think He will not judge — but He WILL!

??? What are some evidences of His JUSTICE/JUDGMENT in these verses:

(There are at least two: the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, and Lot’s wife being turned to salt.)

— FIRST, we see God’s judgment on Sodom & Gomorrah: 

:24. “Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, (:25) and He overthrew those cities, and the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”

This is of course a classic instance of God’s judgment, which is referred to elsewhere in scripture, and has been referred to ever since, all through history.

??? HOW does the Bible say that God brought this judgment on these cities?

(He rained “brimstone and fire” out of heaven upon them. Verse 28 says when Abraham went to look at the cities the next morning, “the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace.”

— “brimstone” is “burning sulphur”, sulphur is a chemical that is used to make matches. 

— “fire” the basic Hebrew word for fire, “esh,” — but sometimes this word is used to describe lightning, “fire” that falls from the sky. 

This is a fiery destruction that the Bible describes that came upon these cities.

Many believe that Sodom and Gomorrah are underneath the Dead Sea today; that they have been covered up entirely. But some archeologists believe the sites have been discovered, just on the southeast side of the Dead Sea. 

Here is a picture of the site: with mountains beyond, just like the angel told Lot: “escape to the mountain or you will be swept away.” You can literally see in this picture how that might be! 

(This is from biblearcheology.org website) 

SODOM & GOMORRAH: A PICTURE OF JUDGMENT

What happened to Sodom & Gomorrah is a real, historical event. It is not a “parable.” But this real event does PICTURE for us the judgment that will come on everyone who rejects God.

+x Psalm 11:6 “Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.”  

We looked at the meaning of this “portion” a couple of weeks ago: each family in Israel had a “portion,” an inheritance in the land (except the Levites, whose portion was the Lord.) But the “portion” of the wicked, Psalm 11 says, is “fire and brimstone and burning wind” — when God’s people inherit HIM in glory, the wicked will “inherit” that punishment of “fire and brimstone and burning wind.” 

“Fire & brimstone” are the same elements that are mentioned in this story. So Sodom and Gomorrah serve as a warning picture of what will happen to ALL the wicked who reject God. It’s a picture of the hell that Jesus teaches in the New Testament, will be the place of judgment for those who reject God. 

One might ask: WHAT CAUSED GOD’S JUDGMENT ON SODOM & GOMORRAH

In Genesis 18:20 God told Abraham, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.” What WAS that sin? We see it in some other places in scripture:

— earlier in Genesis19, :1-11 “the men of Sodom surrounded the house” and wanted Lot to give them the two angels to be immoral with them. So obviously this perversion was one evidence of their great sin. This is what Sodom & Gomorrah are best known for: their perversion and immorality.

      But there is also another place in scripture where God explicitly shares about why He judged Sodom:

— Ezekiel 16:49-50  “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.”

So here God = “arrogance/haughty” = pride.  As well as not helping the poor! That should be an eye-opener for some of us.

Now I have heard some try to say something like, see, we shouldn’t talk about the immorality of Sodom, we should just focus on pride, etc. instead. But the New Testament DOES condemn Sodom for its immorality too: 

Jude 1:7 is a key verse here that you will want to have ready and refer to:

“just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

So the New Testament specifically says it was their “GROSS IMMORALITY” that brought God’s judgment upon them. Did they also have sins of pride and lack of compassion for the poor? Evidently, according to Ezekiel. But do not overlook or dismiss the immorality, which the Bible does specifically state brought down that judgment. 

— A SECOND instance of God’s judgment here is Lot’s wife turning to salt in :26 “But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

The Hebrew here is just literally she “looked” — but obviously she was looking back at what God was doing to Sodom & Gomorrah — which the angel had specifically told them in :17 NOT to do. He had said: “Do not look behind you.”

??? WHY do you think God gave the command not to look???

(I don’t know that the Bible specifically tells us WHY: God said not to, and that was enough.

But I wonder if it might not have something to do with the unfortunate human tendency to want to look at tragedies; we all want to see the train wreck; Twitter is going wild these days with videos of people getting beaten up/killed/accidents/tragedies — and people are eating these things up. It’s like people have a perverse desire to see tragedies. And it is not healthy. It does something to your spirit when you see these things. I feel like it leaves an “imprint” on your soul.

Let me make it clear that’s just entirely my opinion — you/your group may have some other thoughts about it.)

??? One good discussion question might be: WHY do you think God went ahead and punished Lot’s wife??? Why didn’t she get a 2nd, 3rd, chance, etc. 

(One answer to that might be that you can’t take grace for granted. You can’t just disobey God, thinking, “Well, He’ll have grace and let me get by with that; I can do it anyway.” DO NOT DO THAT!  David prays in Psalm 19:13, “Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins.” Presumptuous sins are sins where we presume on God’s grace, where we know it’s sin, but we do it anyway. That’s a dangerous place to be. 

Admonish your group: DO NOT “just go ahead and plan to sin,” figuring that God will give you grace. You may pay more for that sin that you are counting on! You may turn into a pillar of salt — or you may get something worse!  The lesson here is that God IS a God of grace — but He is also a holy and just God, who WILL punish sin. Don’t take His grace for granted! 

And remember: you may want to close your class with a time of prayer for people who are on your/your class members’ hearts, who need to heed the Lord’s warning and be saved.  

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