Sodom and Gomorrah

As it was in the Days of Lot

Lot is most well known for escaping from the city of Sodom just before God burned it to the ground with fire. The Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:4-6 that Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to ashes to make them an example for those who live ungodly. Jesus recalls this destruction of Sodom in Luke 17:28-29, and says that in the days of Lot they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted and built.

Sodom and Gomorrah are identified as an example of the ungodly throughout the Bible, from Genesis and Deuteronomy to Jude and Revelations. Many think it has something to do with your sex life, but that didn’t make the list given by Jesus in Luke 17. What was the ungodliness in the days of Lot? Is it like that today?

A Corrupted Verse

To start, God is not referring to the sex lives of those in Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s not to say God approves homosexuality which is often associated with this story, but making sex the focus of Sodom and Gomorrah takes away from the real lessons to be learned. The verse from the Bible that has been mistranslated and misunderstood is Genesis 19:5. Here is the corrupted version.

“And they call to Lot, and they said to him, Where are the men that came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, Bring them to us so we can have sex with them.”

Genesis 19:5 New International Version, New Living Translation, others

The word in the Hebrew Interlinear translated above as “so we can have sex with” is Strong’s OT# 3045, yada. You may be familiar with the phrase “yada, yada, yada” often used in place of “you/I know.” Have you ever heard “yada, yada, yada” as a way to say “let’s have sex?” No. The definition of yada is as follows:

To know Strongs OT number #3045 – yada. to ascertain by seeing, to acknowledge, be aware, to perceive, to understand.

The correct translation of Genesis 19:5 is as follows.

“And they call to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men which came in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”

Genesis 19:5 KJV

The people of Sodom wanted to know who they were, because they were strangers to the town. They were concerned about “security”, simple as that. Now for the real lesson to be learned.

Wealth without regard for the Poor and Needy

In Genesis 13:13 it states:

“But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”

Genesis 13:13

Jesus said those in the days of Lot, they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted and built. What is wrong with those things? God provided the herbs of the field to eat and Jesus turned water into wine, so eating and drinking can’t be the problem. Sodom had an abundance of all things. They had riches to buy, sell, plant and build yet did nothing for the poor and needy.

“Behold, this is the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination…”

Ezekiel 16:49-50

This iniquity is also confirmed in the book “The Antiquities of the Jews”, Book 1 by Josephus.

“…the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, insomuch that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from Him… God was therefore much displeased at them for their pride…”

Josephus 11:1

America’s Wealth

Is there pride of wealth in this nation today? What is the gauge by which Americans measure success? Money. This is a country with a culture of consumption where most believe “gain is godliness.”

“Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw yourself.”

1 Timothy 6:5

Just look at the President. This past week he made his campaign reelection announcement which started with the following short clip:

Does America care about it’s citizens? Is America bigger and better than ever? What is Trump’s gauge? Money. Specifically, the economy, but is the economy better than ever for all Americans or just a few at the top? You don’t have to look far to find the answers. From the opioid epidemic to record levels of debt and the homeless epidemic, America is suffering. Representatives from the UN’s Human Rights group completed a review of homelessness in America in 2018. They observed the criminalization of homelessness and one of their conclusions was:

The United States is one of the world’s richest and most powerful and technologically innovative countries; but neither its wealth nor its power nor its technology is being harnessed to address the situation in which 40 million people continue to live in poverty.

Philp Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

Illegal to Feed the Poor

Sodom went a step further and took possessions of those that came into their towns by force, they made it illegal to feed the needy and they created laws condemning people to death who would do those things. The Book of Jasher covers these scenarios in great detail. Look at Jasher 18:11-43 to read about them taking people’s possessions by force. Jasher 19:1-7 covers them killing people on the rack just like the Catholic Inquisitions. The rest of Jasher 19 details the Sodomites making it illegal to feed the poor and killing those who would do so. Lot’s own daughter was burned to death for feeding a homeless man. In Jasher you will find the following conclusion:

“And the Lord was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food and had tranquility among them, but still would not sustain the poor and the needy…”

Jasher 19:44 

Who else has made it illegal to feed the poor and needy? American cities. At least 33 of them as of 2014. In 2018 several people were arrested for feeding the poor.

As it was in the Days of Lot

Are we as in the days of Lot? The US is the richest, most powerful country on earth, yet the 2018 UN poverty review, normally reserved for third- world countries, has confirmed what many observe on a daily basis. The homelessness in America is an ever-growing epidemic. How can the divide between the haves and have-nots be anything but the ways of Sodom.

The verse from Josephus regarding Sodom could just as easily read… “[the Americans] grew proud on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men and impious towards God…”

Similarly, Jasher could be read today as…” the Lord was provoked at this and all the works of [the cities of America], for they had abundance of food and tranquility among them, but still would not sustain the poor and needy…”

It is now “as it was in the days of Lot” and Jesus said at that time the Son of Adam would be revealed. Jesus also said, there would be fire and brimstone from heaven. For what? The unrighteousness of the nations.

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Jesus – Luke 17:29-30