The sins of Sodom are not what you thought!
God talking to Jerusalem
Ezekiel 16:49-50 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.
Selah
Sodom and Gomorrah were sinful cities. But there were a lot of sins other than the one that everyone assumes.
These other sins are what destroyed Sodom. Homosexuality isn’t even specifically mentioned. The accumulation of all these sins is what will destroy the world. God is saying here that Jerusalem was just as bad as Sodom. The world right now is just as bad or worse than Sodom.
Sodom was in a beautiful location. Lot (Abraham’s cousin) was righteous. Peter said he was in the New Testament. He’ll be in heaven. But Lot was attracted to Sodom because it was nice climate, lush and green. Lot was a believer, he left the comfort of the seat of luxury in a city what is now known as Iraq. He left everything to follow Abraham. When it was time to split up though (because they were both successful), Lot looked at all his options and chose the prettiest, best place. Throughout their time together, ever notice that Abraham always prayed, talked to God and even when he blew it, he stayed connected to God. No where in the Bible says that Lot built an altar to the Lord. Abraham was spiritual, Lot wasn’t. Lot choose based on what he saw, not what God wanted him to elect.
1. God punishes arrogance. That was the first reason that He destroyed Sodom. Arrogance means your are judging others. The People in Sodom were known as arrogant. They lived in a beautiful place. They chose Sodom because they wanted to have it all’. So did Lot. He was righteous, but he had one foot in the world. God hates arrogance.
Proverbs 16:5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished”
The way to keep from being arrogant is to look at others and look how to help them, not yourself. Think about others more than you!
2. God punishes gluttony. They were overfed. They were fat. Everything was easy for them. They didn’t have to work hard. They had all they needed, and more. They are everything and didn’t share. I have seen people throw food in a garbage can in front of a kid begging for leftovers. God called this their second largest sin.
Proverbs 23:20 Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat
I know, that convicts me too! But literally, where it is compared to drunkenness means total lack of control. I’m like that. I eat one potatoe chip I eat the whole bag. One candy bar, the whole box. That’s why I don’t eat sugar down here. But when I go to the states I go crazy. Not any more though. Now I have pre-diabetes. God told me!! Obey God and you get sick less. God punished me for disobeying Him.
3. God punishes indifference. The people in Sodom were unconcerned about anyone else. As long as they were fed they absolutely didn’t care about anyone else. Unconcerned is the exact opposite of love. Actually hate is very close to love. The farthest you can get away from love is indifference. While they were pigging out they didn’t shares. They didn’t care. Not caring about the poor and needy is worse than hating them. God loves the poor and needy. And considers them.
Psalms 40:17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer
I know God is with us at PureHeartChildren’sFund because that is what we do. Actually we love doing it. We get one thank you every couple of years from the people we serve but it doesn’t matter. We are serving the Lord, and He loves it, whether the poor and needy acknowledge them or not. I am in love with them.
4. God punishes haughtiness. What’s the difference between being haughty and arrogant? Arrogant means an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or ability. Haughty carries an additional connotation of a sense of superiority and disdain for others. You can be arrogant without being disdainful, but you can’t be haughty without being arrogant.
Disdain is an action. People disdain the poor by throwing a half eaten hamburger away in front of a kid begging for it. People disdain God buy coming up with new ways to sin.
Psalm 36:4 puts it best. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
5. God punishes detestable actions. Detestable actions come from people who aren’t satisfied anymore with their sin. Sin is a drug. You need more and more. Ted Bundy started by reading play or magazines. Kids are dying from heroine overdoses because they smoked one joint years before. Whole families are killed by a drunk driver who started out taking a sip of their dad’s whiskey when they were kids. Sin is insatiable. Sin always wants to grow and get worse. But these detestable things are a result of 1-4. Sin is greedy.
Prov 30:15 Contemporary English Version
Greed has twins, each named “Give me!” There are three or four things that are never satisfied:
Sin always wants more. It’s greedy. It’s territorial. Sin is a rapidly growing cancer that must be stopped, or God will stop it. He did it in the flood. He did it to Sodom, and He will do it again, pretty soon in my opinion.
I don’t want to sin. I yearn to not be arrogant. I do not want to be an indifferent glutton. I don’t want to be haughty. I don’t want to do dispicable things.
We all must be aware of the sins that are trying to grow our in our lives. The way to do it is my talking to God about it. Ask God to give and grow your love for Him. I have to give credit to Reagan Gass , posted that. It’s revolutionary! If you love God (and you will if you ask Him to help you love Him) you love for God will out way you live for self (arrogance). You won’t be an indifferent glutton, eating everything and not sharing because as you love God, you will love the poor a needy. You will not be disdainful because you will be filled with God’s glorious love. And you won’t want to do bad things, and if you do it will break your heart.
James 4:9-11 NLV – Be sorry for your sins and cry because of them. Be sad and do not laugh. Let your joy be turned to sorrow. Let yourself be brought low before the.
God is slow to punish, but He will. He is slow because He loves us. The scary thing is these sins are prevalent in the world today are much worse than Sodom ever was.