| |
Sodom and Gomorrah |
|
|
|
Introduction |
| |
The story
of Sodom and Gomorrah is found in the middle
of the narrative of the life of Abraham. It
begins at the end of Genesis Chapter 18:20,
when the LORD first mentions the outcry
against Sodom to Abraham, and
ending in
Genesis Chapter 19 in the incestuous plotting
of the daughters of Lot on him.
The
contrast here is that the foretelling of the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with
their people, is preceded by the promise of
the LORD of the making the descendants of
Abraham as numerous as the stars in the skies.
This
is a relatively short story but the moral
implications and applications are staggering
and relevant then, as indeed they are now.
The
story of Sodom and Gomorrah begins after
Abraham meets with the LORD and the two
angels. |
|
|
|
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
Then the men set out from there and look down
toward Sodom. Abraham walks with them, to see
them on their way. The LORD then says to Abraham
that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so
great, and their sin so grave, that He must go
down and see whether or not their actions fully
correspond to the cry against them.
The two messengers walk on toward Sodom, while
the LORD remains standing before Abraham. Then
Abraham comes nearer to Him and asks if He will
destroy the city if there are fifty innocent
people in the city, making the innocent die with
the guilty. The LORD replies that if He finds
fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, He
will spare the whole place for their sake.
Then Abraham pleads with the LORD several more
times until the LORD tells him that He will not
destroy the city if there are |
Abraham
Pleads for Sodom |
|
|
ten
who are innocent. The LORD departs as soon as he had
finishes speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returns
home.
The Angels Meet Lot |
|
The two angels reach Sodom in the evening, as Lot is
sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot sees them, he
gets up to greet them and bows down. Lot then
invites them to come into his house for the night to
rest, and to bathe their feet so they can get up
early to continue their journey. At first they
refused saying that they shall pass the night in the
town square. |
|
|
|
 |
Lot urges them so strongly, however, that they
accept his invitation and enter his house. He
prepares a meal for them with cakes without
leaven, and they dine. Before they could get to
bed, all the men of Sodom close in on the house.
They call to Lot and ask to him to bring out his
guests to them so that we may have intimacies
with them.
Lot goes out to meet them at the entrance, shuts
the door behind him, he begs them to not to do
this wicked thing. Lot offers his two daughters
who are still virgins that they may do to them
as they please. Lot implores for the men of
Sodom to leave his guests alone for they have
come under the shelter of his roof.
But the men of Sodom order Lots to stand back
and tell him that as immigrant he cannot order
them. With that they close in on Lot to break
down the door. But |
|
|
his
guests pull Lot inside with them, and close the
door. At the same time they strike the men at the
entrance of the house with such a blinding light
that they are blinded and unable to reach the
doorway.
|
|
|
|
Flight
Sodom |
|
The angels then order Lot to gather all who
belong in his household and leave the city for
they are about to destroy it, for the outcry
reaching the LORD against those in the city is
so great that He has sent them to destroy it.
Lot goes out and tells the men who are sworn
to marry his daughters to get up and leave the
city for the LORD is about to destroy it. But
the men think Lot he is joking. |
|
As dawn is breaking, the angels urge Lot to be on
their way. They order Lot to take his wife and his
two daughters or they will be swept away in the
punishment of the city. When Lot hesitates, the men
seize their hands and lead them to safety outside
the city.
As soon as they are outside, the angels tell him to
flee for their life and not to look back or stop
anywhere on the Plain. The angels tell him to get
off to the hills at once, or they will be swept
away.
But Lot protests that he cannot flee to the
hills to keep the disaster from overtaking him,
and so he shall die. Lot insists that there is a
small |
Lot Leaves Sodom by Reubens |
|
|
town
up ahead that he can hide in so he can be safe. The
angels consented and tell him that they will not
destroy that town. They urge him to hurry so they
can begin the punishment on the city.
|
|
|
|
Lot's Wife
Turns Into a Pillar of Salt |
|
|
 |
The sun starts rising over the earth as Lot arrive
in Zoar and at this time the LORD rains down
fire of sulfur upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Then He
destroys those cities and the whole Plain,
together with the inhabitants of the cities and the
produce of the soil.
But Lot's wife looks back, and she turns into a
pillar of salt.
Early the next morning Abraham goes to the place
where he had stood in the LORD'S |
|
|
|
presence. As he looks down toward Sodom and
Gomorrah and the whole region of the Plain, he
sees dense smoke over the land rising like fumes
from a furnace.
Lot and His Two Daughters
Thus the LORD destroys the Cities of the Plain, but
for the sake of Abraham He spares Lot. Since Lot is
afraid to stay in Zoar he and his two daughters go
up from Zoar and settle in the hill country,
where he lives with his two daughters in a cave. |
 |
|
|
| |
 |
The older one tells the younger that their father is
getting old, and there is not a man on earth to
marry them. The older one tells the younger that
they should make their father drunk with wine and
then lie with him, that they may have offspring by
their father.
So that night they make their father drunk with wine
and the older one goes in and lays with her father.
Lot is not aware of her lying down or her getting
up.
Next day the older one said to the younger that
tonight is the younger daughter’s turn to lie down
with their father. So they again make him drunk with
wine. Then the younger one goes in and lays with
him. Lot again is not aware of her lying down or her
getting up.
Thus both of Lot's daughters become pregnant by
their father. The older one gives birth to a son
whom she names Moab, saying, "From my father." He is
the |
|
|
ancestor of the Moabites. The younger one, too,
gives birth to a son, and she names him Ammon,
saying, "The son of my kin." He is the ancestor of
the Ammonite. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The Navarre Bible: Pentateuch (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament)
This volume helps you make the first five
books of the Old Testament a vital part of
your spiritual reading and practical
growth in the Christian life. It contains
the full English and Latin texts of these
books, along with extensive and faithfully
Catholic commentaries. Like other volumes
in the world-renowned Navarre Bible
series, these commentaries draw on Church
|
|
documents, the exegesis of Fathers and Doctors
of the Church, and the works of contemporary
spiritual writers — particularly St. Josemaría
Escrivá, who initiated the Navarre Bible
project. |
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
Samson and Delilah and Other Old Testament Stories (Discovering the Bible) (Hardcover)
by Victoria Parker (Author), Retold by Victoria Parker (Author)
This
book provides known Bible stories from Israel in the Promised land to the Story
of Ruth. It has the stories we grew up with but it adds historical and religious
facts to each story. It tells the stories gearing them toward elementary school
children. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Moses
Great Lives Series: Volume 4 ,
by Charles R. Swindoll. This book presents the Bible's real Moses-the
Moses who tried to decline his assignment from God; the Moses who dazzled Pharoh;
the Moses who received the Ten Commandments; the Moses who was disobedient and
weak; the Moses who was the greatest leader of God's people in all of history.
Through his faith and selfless dedication, Moses continually chose to follow
God's will through difficult and seemingly impossible situations. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Jacob and Esau
by Harriette Augusta Curtiss and F. Homer
Curtiss (Paperback - Dec 30, 2005) |
|
|
|
 |
The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary
by J. A. Motyer
Recipient of a Christianity Today 1994 Critics
Choice Award! Among Old Testament prophetic books no other equals Isaiah's
brilliance of style and metaphor, its arresting vision of the Holy One of Israel
and its kaleidoscopic vision of God's future restoration of Israel and the
world. Now, after over three decades of studying and teaching Isaiah, Alec
Motyer presents a wealth of commentary and perspective on this book. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feasts
(Paperback)
by Leonard Foley (Editor), Pat McCloskey (Editor) |
|
|
|
|
 |
Lives of the
Saints You Should Know by Margaret R. Bunson,
Matthew E. Bunson |
|
|
 |
New Illustrated Book of Saints
Author: Catholic Book Publishing Company |
|
|
 |
One Hundred Saints: Their Lives and Likenesses
Drawn from Butler's
This is a coffee-table collection of 100
popular saints illustrated with art works taken
from international galleries. The saints are
listed alphabetically in a valuable table of
contents, with a larger list of patron saints
following the text. Inclusion is based on
popularity within the Christian world and the
|
|
| |
availability of
atypical art works. Entries are generally based
on the 1926-38 edition of Butler's Lives of the
Saints, with the length of each entry varying
from one-half page to several pages. Short
entries giving written insight into the lives of
pious individuals are combined with depictions
rendered by artists such as Raphael and El
Greco. An inexpensive tribute to art and faith
more appropriate for gift-giving than for
libraries. |
|
|