THE KING’S BUSINESS
80
“Y e are th e salt o f th e e a rth ” (M att. 5 :1 3 ) . II. Sodom and Its Sister Cities. 1. Their location. ( 1 ) Its beau ty , m agnificent m ountains, a cry stal sea ; th e low er Jo rd a n , m e an d e rin g stre am s th a t b u rst in c a ta ra c ts and to rre n ts from m oun ta in gorges, a trop ic a l clim ate, a n d m o st fertile soil, m a d e th e v a le o f S idd im “ like th e G a rd e n o f th e L o rd ” (G en . 1 3 :1 0 ), a p arad ise, w here “ E very p ro sp e ct pleases a n d only m an is vile.“ 2. Their Peril. ‘‘T h e v a le o f S id dim w as full o f slime p its” (G en . 1 4 :1 0 ). B itum en, oil a n d gas a b o u n d e d u n d e r the" soil, an d was expo sed b y fissures h e re a n d there. T h e cities them selves w ere c em en ted w ith b itum en. S po n tan eo u s com bu stion som etim es occurs in such re gions to d ay . P e rh ap s a n earthqu ak e, an electric storm , b ro u g h t on th e ca- ta stro p h y . T h e le ad in g geologists to d a y find cond ition s in th e D e ad Sea v alley a lto g e th e r harm on iou s w ith th e B ible reco rd . Sin like S id dim b e a rs in itself th e ag en ts o f its own destruction . ( 3 ) T h e ir m oral d eg rad a tio n . S o d om be c am e a sym bo l ( a ) of lust an d sin an d crim es o f th e vilest an d m o st un sp e ak ab le n a tu re (L am . 4 :6 ; Isa. 3 :9 ; M att. 1 0 :1 5 ; J u d e 7; 2 Pet. 2 : 6 ) ; ( b ) o f th e an tich ristian Je ru sa lem o f th e end of tim e. It w as guilty of all th e crim es o f D eu te ro n om y 2 7 :1 5 -2 6 . (c ) Its influence has co rru p te d th e m o ra l histo ry o f A sia a n d Europe, an d its sins a re still practised . L o n don , Paris, Berlin, St. P etersbu rg , New Y ork, Chicago an d S an F ra n cisco a re all sisters of S o d om (Ezek. 1 6 :4 6 ), a n d p ro b a b ly p re se rv ed on ly becau se o f th e righteous in th em an d saintly intercession. T h e re is a serm on on th e “Slime Pits o f Sodom” an d th e ap p lic a tio n is (1 ) T h e Shm e Pits' o f th e S treets. ( 2 )
to ho sp ita lity ” an d show courtesy to all (H e b . 1 3 :2 ; Rom . 1 2 :1 3 ; 1 Pet. 3 :8 ) . 2. Abraham’s interview with the Lord. ( 1) A b ram , th e fa th e r o f th e p ro ph e ts, th e depo sita rie s o f rev e la tion, was ta k e n in to th e d ivine coun sels (vv . 17 -19 ; Am o s 3 :7 ; Jo h n 1 5 :1 5 ). (2 )H is intercession. T h e first o f th e p ro p h e ts o f Israel, he was th e first of its priests, too, whose b ra z en a n d go ld en a lta rs sto o d for p ro p itia tio n an d intercession fo r th e w ho le w o rld . ( 3 ) A b ra h am knew th a t S o d om an d its sister cities w ere w ide o p e n ,” an d w h a t th e issue of th e L o rd ’s inquisition m ust be, an d he in te rc ed ed fo r m ercy. W hy ? H e h a d a kinsm an there. W e should in te rc ed e fo r ou r relatives (1 Tim . 5 :8 ) though th ey m ay b e citizens of Sodom , o r w e shall b e ’’w o rse th an an infidel” (1 T im . 5 :8 ) . W hy ? A gain, b ecau se he w ou ld an d should be a blessing to th e w o rld (G en . 1 2 :2 ), an d “ supplications, p ray e rs an d intercession “ sh o u ld ” b e m ad e fo r all m en ( I T im . 2 :1 ) . It is our d u ty to p ra y e a rn e stly fo r tw en tieth cen tu ry Sodom s. An example of intercession. (1 ) H e “d rew n e a r” v. 2 3 ; Jam e s 4 :8 ) . H e re a son ed w ith th e L ord; u rg ed variou s a n d ingenious p le a s a p p e a led to the^ a ttrib u te o f justice an d to th e resistless sov ereign ty of th e J u d g e ; p le a d e d th a t, a t least, th e righteous m ight b e sp a red (p e rh a p s th a t p e tition sav ed L o t’s life ). H e w as persistent, im p o rtun a te , b o ld (E ph . 3 :1 1 , 12; H eb . 4 : 1 6 ) ; y e t re v e re n t a n d in all hum ility. ( 2 ) T h e L o rd con c ed ed p o in t a fte r point. ( 3 ) Concession d id n o t silence th e p etition er, b u t en cou rag ed him to exp e c t an d a ttem p t g re a te r things. ( 4 ) T h e L o rd d id n o t stop giving until A b ra h am sto p p e d asking. (5 ) H a d th e re b een ten righteous m en S o d om w ou ld h av e b e en saved.
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs