Sermon: The Prelude to Sodom’s Homosexuality

Don Ruhl

11 years ago

The Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah, a painting by John Martin (painter), died 1854, thus 100 years. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Listen to this Sermon: 08192012ThePreludeToSodomsHomosexuality

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The Prelude to Sodom’s Homosexuality

What conditions led to Sodom’s overwhelming acceptance of homosexuality?

Ezekiel 16.49, 50

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • August 19, In the year of our Lord, 2012

Scripture Reader and Reading: Lake Thomason – Genesis 18.16–22

Prelude:

What happened to the city of Jerusalem?
1. Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and later of Judah!
2. God set up this city as no other city on earth.
  1. He gave it a law.
  2. He gave it prophets.
  3. He gave it kings.
    1. Yet, during the days of Ezekiel the Lord said this,1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations…” (Eze 16.1, 2).
    2. What happened to her that abominations filled her?
How could Jerusalem go
1. from having the temple of God
2. to having abominations within?
  1. Whatever you think plagues a nation, whether America, or any other,
  2. whatever you think plagues a marriage,
  3. whatever you think plagues a church,
  4. whatever you think plagues a person,
    1. you believe those people should turn to the Bible,
    2. believe it and do whatever it says.
      1. But listen.
      2. We are talking about Jerusalem that gave us much of the Bible!
In Ezekiel 16, the Lord said further about the city that He had chosen,

15 “But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it” (Eze 16.15).
1. He reminded them of good things He had given the city (and nation):
  1. abundance of clothing (v. 16),
  2. precious metals (v. 17),
  3. oil and good smelling things (v. 18),
  4. abundance of food (v. 19),
  5. children (vv. 20, 21), but
    1. Jerusalem did not remember her struggle at the beginning and
    2. who helped her (v. 22).
2. Instead she forgot God and filled herself with idolatry (vv. 23–34).
3. Therefore, He promised to take away all her good things (vv. 35–43).
Then in verses 44–48, the Lord spoke through Ezekiel to show Jerusalem
1. that her sisters were Samaria and Sodom.
  1. Samaria led the way in turning her back on God.
  2. Sodom, well you know why Sodom has become famous or infamous.
    1. Genesis 13 says this,13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD (Gen 13.13).
    2. Later in Genesis 18, the Lord and two angels appeared to Abraham,17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…” (Gen 18.17).
      1. What was the Lord doing?
      2. Moses continued,20 And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Gen 18.20, 21).
        
        Abraham understood what that meant, because
        
        after the angels left for Sodom, look at what Abraham did,22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” (Gen 18.22, 23).
        
        Abraham knew that the Lord was going to destroy Sodom.
        
        Genesis 19 shows why the Lord destroyed Sodom.
After the angels—disguised as men—went to Lot’s home,
1. Moses revealed this frightening situation,4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally” (Gen 19.4, 5).
2. After Lot rebukes them,
  1. the men go after him, but
  2. the angels rescue Lot and
    1. strike the men with blindness,
    2. who still tried to get to Lot and the angels (v. 11).
Now, let us go back to Ezekiel 16.
1. What Sodom had become was horrible.
2. Yet, Jerusalem was related to Sodom spiritually, because
  1. Jerusalem did the same things as Sodom and worse,48 “‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done’” (Eze 16.48).
  2. Then to show the evil of Sodom
    1. that He might highlight the evil of Jerusalem,
    2. the Lord revealed what led to the acceptance of homosexuality in Sodom.
Listen to the Lord reveal why Sodom accepted and promoted homosexuality.
1. The point of this passage is that the same conditions existed in Jerusalem, and
2. you will see that the same conditions exist somewhere else also,49 “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit” (Eze 16.49, 50).
  1. Why did Sodom and Jerusalem commit the abomination of homosexuality?
  2. Why were they haughty about it, for
    1. they were open and in-your-face about it?
    2. Isaiah 3 reveals the nature of the homosexual movement,9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
      And they declare their sin as Sodom;
      They do not hide it.
      Woe to their soul!
      For they have brought evil upon themselves.
      (Isa 3.9)
Homosexuality, or sodomy as our law books have it,
1. is against nature, yet,
2. the city that knew the Creator,
  1. somehow got in the position that they accepted it.
  2. They did not hide it, but were very much open about it, even in-your-face.
    1. How?
    2. If you can see this, and
      1. if you have not already seen where I am going,
      2. then you will understand why our nation and all western nations
        
        with previous strong Bible backgrounds like Jerusalem,
        
        could accept and promote something that is against nature.
3. Here are the four conditions that made it possible then, and now.

Persuasion:

Pride
1. With pride they declared themselves their own boss.
  1. Therefore, what they believe are natural feelings,
  2. rule what they do.
2. In Jeremiah 13, the Lord had Jeremiah go to the Euphrates and
  1. bury a sash under a rock.
  2. Sometime later the Lord had the prophet dig up the sash,
    1. which was then ruined, and
    2. the Lord gave this explanation,9 “Thus says the LORD: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing’” (Jer 13.9, 10).
      1. This refers to the generation with the same problem as Ezekiel 16.
        
        Jerusalem and Judah had become like Sodom,
        
        proud and Jeremiah 13 explains what that was.
      2. Verse 10 shows that:
        
        Pride is refusing to hear the Lord’s words.
        
        Pride is following the dictates of one’s own heart.
        
        Pride is creating your own religion.
        
        That pictured Sodom.
        
        That pictured Jerusalem and Judah.
        
        That pictures America.
        
        That pictures many church members.
3. Can you see why the Bible speaks against pride?
  
  2a When pride comes, then comes shame…
  (Pro 11.2a)10a By pride comes nothing but strife…
  (Pro 13.10a)23a A man’s pride will bring him low…
  (Pro 29.23a)
  1. Pride has led them to do shameful things.
  2. Pride has led them to be full of strife.
  3. Pride has led them to lower themselves as human beings.
4. Having pride does not necessarily mean one is a homosexual, but
  1. it can put one on a road that could lead to homosexuality, or
  2. it could lead a person to accept it.
Fullness of Food
1. Genesis 13 shows why Lot wanted to live in Sodom,
  
  10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar (Gen 13.10).
  1. Plenty of water leads to plenty of food.
  2. Plenty of food causes many people to cease trusting in the Lord.
  3. No longer trusting the Lord, many people do or accept unnatural things.
2. Abundance of material goods causes most people to become self-centered.
3. In Deuteronomy 8.11–20, the Lord warned Israel about this, and
  1. what He said to Israel,
  2. could easily be said to all western nations and Christians, because
    1. this passage reveals why we prosper, and
    2. it reveals why we fall, and
      1. both western civilization and the church are no exception,
      2. especially if the Lord would say this to Israel,
        
        11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God” (Deu 8.11–20).
4. Fullness of food makes many people forget God.
  1. Forgetting God makes many people trust in themselves.
  2. Trusting in themselves, many people value what God detests and detest what God values.
  3. Hence, the acceptance and promotion of homosexuality.
Abundance of Idleness
1. Some translations have “prosperous ease,” “careless ease,” or “unconcerned.”
2. They became so wealthy they gained extra free time.
3. Idleness is the devil’s workshop.
  1. Ephesians 5 shows a connection between
    1. using our time wisely and,
    2. failing to use it wisely and committing evil,
      
      15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Eph 5.15, 16).
  2. People then pursue fleshly lusts with reckless abandon.
Failing to Strengthen the Hand of the Poor and Needy
1. Ezekiel 16 did not say that they failed to give a handout to the lazy.
2. There are people with genuine needs, and
  1. Sodom and Jerusalem failed to help those people, because
  2. they focused on themselves.
3. This was a further sign of their selfish condition.
  1. Their pride would not allow them to help others.
  2. They had abundance of food, but cared not for loving others.
  3. They had abundance of idleness, but wanted to use it for themselves.
4. Amos 2 reveals partly why the Lord punished the northern kingdom of Israel,
  
  6 Thus says the LORD:
  “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,
  I will not turn away its punishment,
  Because they sell the righteous for silver,
  And the poor for a pair of sandals.”
  (Amos 2.6)

Exhortation:

I am aware of the fact
1. that other things also lead to homosexuality, and
2. that the four things here do not necessarily lead to homosexuality, but
  1. even as Pilate knew the Jews delivered up Jesus because of envy, but
  2. envy will not always necessarily lead to murder.
    1. However, it can.
    2. We have to stop envy before we do something evil.
      1. Likewise, we have to keep certain spiritual conditions
      2. from entering our hearts lest we accept evil.
John 3.16 applies to the homosexual just as much as it applies to everyone else,

16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3.16).
1. Do you, whatever your sin is, believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God?
2. If you believe that He is,
  1. you now have the right to become a child of God,
    
    12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1.12, 13).
  2. If you receive Him,
    1. He gives you the right to become a child of God, but
    2. you are not yet a child of God.
  3. Becoming a child of God depends upon the will of God.
    1. What does His will reveal?
    2. First Corinthians 6 shows who will not inherit the kingdom of God, but
      1. at the same time it shows that members of the church in Corinth
      2. had practiced the things that keep people from entering heaven,
        
        9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1Co 6.9–11).
        
        Perhaps you see yourself in some of the sins that Paul listed.
If you believe Jesus is the Son of God, and
1. if you want to turn from these things,
2. then in the name of Jesus you can be baptized,
  
  38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.38).
Do not let happen to you,
1. what happened to Jerusalem and Sodom, and
2. do not fall into the trap of thinking it could not happen to you, because then
  1. you will have already fallen into the trap of pride,
  2. the first condition we observed today.
Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord.

The Bible In Our World (Lesson 5) (thebiblemeditator.wordpress.com)

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