"Then the Lord said, 'The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached, me.'"
I've thought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah quite a bit. I think it's because I live in the ring of fire and am surrounded by volcanoes. Anyway, I've noticed that people are quick to assume that judgment crashed down on them because of their homosexual tendencies. They forget that the law had not been written in Abraham and Lot's time. I read the story again in Genesis eighteen and nineteen with an eye on the outcry that went up to the Lord. I could only imagine the nightmare that some of those travelers encountered in those towns.
I can only imagine the rapes, robberies and violence that happened on the streets of a town that hunted down visitors at the homes of it's own neighbors. The outcry of the broken and young ascended to the throne in a rush of heartrending stories and cries for revenge that must have filled the Lord with pain. Lives forever torn and families crying out to God as the rippling effect of grievous sin spread through the land. The land had become a trap for travelers. A city of men that preyed on strangers and each other. Only one man was willing to stand between them and their prey and he was willing to toss out his two virgin daughters to the mob! Gee, thanks Dad!
Yes, the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were sexually immoral. Yes, they were violent and evil. But remember that everyone has sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They were judged for the way they treated others. They were destroyed because of the outcry of victims to a God who loves them.
"Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned." ~David
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