The other day I saw an old debate come back around: how should we think about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible? It’s common in conservative circles to think destruction came about because of rampant homosexual activity. For them, the sin of Sodom was quite simply sodomy. The “other side” then quotes a passage from Ezekiel, which says the sin was actually failing to take care of widows and orphans. For both sides, there is a tendency to think “it’s right there in the Bible! How could you get this so wrong?!”
For conflicts that seem so obvious, it is perhaps all the more important to take a step back and examine what the Bible really says. First, we will look in detail at the story of Sodom in context. Then we will survey all the other references to Sodom in Scripture. Finally, we will take in some other examples in the Law of God’s moral reasoning about the nations.
The Story of Sodom
The first mention of Sodom in the Bible is in Genesis 10, where the land of the Canaanites is first introduced. Having just read about Noah and the flood, we find that he fathered Ham, and Ham fathered Canaan. Canaan’s family provides a list of peoples that will become familiar to any reader of the Pentateuch: it’s a list of nations that will one day be wiped out when Israel conquers the Promised Land. But for now, they seem harmless enough. Their territory extends “in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha” (Gen 10:19 ESV)
Settling Near Sodom
Fast forward a few chapters and many years, and we find Abram now entering the land of Canaan for the first time in Genesis 13. He has answered God’s call in faith, and because of their massive flocks, he is dividing up the space with his nephew, Lot. He gives Lot first pick of the land.
And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.
Genesis 13:10–13 ESV
So Lot is attracted to the natural beauty of the Jordan Valley and goes there. But of all the places to pitch his tent, he chooses the city of Sodom, and right away we are clued in to the fact that Sodom is a poor choice. As exceptionally beautiful as the Jordan Valley was, Sodom was exceptionally evil.
It’s interesting that mention of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction precedes the mention of its wickedness. The writer of this passage expects his readers to know already that these cities have been destroyed. Whether by experience or word of mouth, Sodom is known (to borrow a Pythonesque phrase) as an ex-city.
Often reading well depends on knowing many important details. But sometimes we gain important details by pretending to forget what we know, in order to appreciate better the story as it unfolds. As my ancient literature professor liked to remind us, classic literature is about the raising and fulfilling of expectations. So what does this text teach us to expect? So far, we are supposed to know that Lot has chosen a city that will eventually be destroyed, but the text has not yet given us the details. So as we read we expect its destruction, and we watch and wait to find out how—and perhaps why.
War in the Valley
In the next chapter, things are already looking pretty bad. Whether this is a new development or a quick history lesson, the text does not say, but the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah are on the losing end of local politics (v1–12). They have been made to serve Chederlaomer, king of Elam, for 12 years, and in the 13th year they have had enough. So the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with three other kings in their situation, rebel against Chederlaomer and the three other kings that are allied with him. In the end, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah are defeated, their armies scattered, and their cities plundered.
Is this the end of Sodom? No! Perhaps it might have been, except that Lot was captured, and so Abram comes to the rescue. King of no one, with a small army, he defeats the four kings and retrieves all that was plundered, rescuing the people.
In case we should feel conflicted that Abram saved Sodom, one of the other local kings blesses and praises him. This king is Melchizedek, who is also a priest of God Most High. He tells us (for anyone who wasn’t sure) that God delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand. And if you read enough of the Old Testament, you should have noticed a big clue in our story: God promised that small armies of the faithful would put large armies to flight because God would be fighting on their behalf (e.g., Joshua 23:10).
At this point, the king of Sodom asks that Abram give him back his people and keep the rest of the plunder, presumably as a reward. But Abram refuses the loot and gives everything back to the king of Sodom. The city is essentially restored. It’s interesting, in light of what’s ahead, that the king of Sodom is willing to give up all their possessions. He also saw an example of generosity and self-sacrifice in Abram refusing any payment except the food his soldiers ate.
The Outcry and the Mediator
Fast forward again to Genesis 18. Significant things are happening in the life of Abram, not the least of which being a name change. We know that he fathered Ishamael 13 years before the time of the next story, but it’s possible that many more had passed since the restoration of Sodom. (16:16 and 17:1 are clues to the timing here.)
On this occasion, it happened that God appeared to Abraham in the form of three men. This alone is incredible, but I will not dwell on it now. Suffice it to say this is a momentous event. Abraham convinces the three men to stop at his tent and enjoy his hospitality: footwashing, rest, fresh bread, and meat. Why is God here? In the course of conversation, God repeats His promise that Sarah would soon have a son, but something else occupies God’s attention. We find out in the next few verses:
Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Genesis 18:16–22 ESV
So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
What an incredible moment. God is up to something big, and to highlight that, I want to rearrange the text a bit:
- Sodom and Gomorrah are guilty of terrible sins. Note: we still do not know what they are yet.
- These sins have caused a great outcry to God. For anyone looking for evidence of the power of prayer, this is a powerful example. The outcry has gone up, and now God has come down.
- God is coming for evidence. We know from elsewhere in Scripture that God already knows the truth, so this is not an educational exercise on His part. But much like a later scene where Abraham is tested with Isaac, God is putting man to the test, to give people a chance to prove their character or lack thereof.
- News of Sodom’s destruction is couched in a mini-sermon to Abraham. You are chosen to greatness, for the purpose of teaching your children and all the world to “keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice.”
What follows is another incredible sequence: Abraham is pleading for Sodom. How often does this come up in our retelling? We remember Sodom’s destruction, but do we remember how Abram saved them with God’s help? Do we remember how Abraham pleaded for them? Perhaps this should temper how we treat the people there, regardless of their sin.
Abraham’s pleas are not based on Sodom’s worthiness but on God’s character. He says,
“Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
Genesis 18:23–25 ESV
Abraham recognizes God is the Judge of all the earth, and that He will do what is right. This includes sparing the guilty in order to protect the righteous. What an incredibly hopeful thought! And God agrees: he would spare the whole city for the sake of 50 good men. However bad the sin is and however great the outcry may be, God would rather spare the guilty than punish the innocent. This is not a promise that bad things won’t happen to good people. But it is an insight into God’s character. He is patient and kind. While the rest of the city deserves punishment, God may answer the prayers He received in other ways.
In a bizarre twist, we will find in the New Testament that while God would not put to death the righteous with the wicked, He would one day put the righteous to death for the wicked. And this is not in spite of His role as the just Judge of all the earth, but because of it.
But that story is a long way off. When Jesus died and rose again, He became our mediator before God. But here, Abraham is the only mediator the people of Sodom have. God initially says He will spare the wicked for 50, but Abraham presses until God says he would spare the whole city just for the sake of 10 righteous. 10! At this, the conversation ends.
So we know Sodom and Gomorrah are wicked, and we know they will be destroyed. But we also know that for the sake of 10, God would have spared it. Even 10 righteous people can make a difference.
Contrast this also with Jonah and Nineveh. Another wicked city is marked for destruction and just one prophet (whose righteousness is questionable) helps bring about citywide repentance. The first readers of Genesis would not have known this, but we know about it now, and it helps us get a fuller picture of what is happening here.
Now God will test Sodom to see what they are made of. The text does not use the word “test,” but it is essentially what He is doing by coming down to see for Himself what the people of the city is like. Again, He is not here to gain knowledge He lacks. He is here to witness it in person, to see how they respond to a particular situation.
Last Night in Sodom
So here we are at last: the infamous Genesis 19. The two men who were with God are now revealed to be angels in disguise. Lot greets them at the city gate and shows them respect and hospitality. He honors them just as Abraham did, offering to wash their feet, feed them, and provide a place of rest. Don’t miss this. Hospitality is the expectation in their culture. Lot is (at least so far) a good man.
The angels initially want to sleep in the town square, and this hints that the outcry they are coming to see is somewhere out there. But we still don’t know what it is.
Next comes the part everybody knows: the whole town comes out to gang rape the visitors. All the men, young and old. Wow.
Now, time-out for a second. Whatever your feelings are about gay marriage, this is not that. Yes, it’s men, but it’s all the men. At once. By force. No one reading this passage is going to defend that. So before you are tempted to say Sodom was destroyed for homosexuality, recognize that what’s going on here is far, far worse. We can all agree that this is a nightmare scenario.
At this point, Lot does the unthinkable: he offers his daughters to the mob.
This might give some the impression that Lot was ok with gang rape as long as it’s heterosexual gang rape. But that’s not what is going on here. Lot tells us why he would rather give up his daughters than his guests: “they have come under the shelter of my roof” (v8 ESV).
I’m in no way defending Lot’s reasoning here. But if I’m taking Lot at his word, his highest priority here is hospitality toward strangers. We may question his priorities, but we should acknowledge that he is trying to do right by his guests, sparing no expense. He is willing to pay even the extreme cost of sacrificing his children.
When I teach ethics, I love to discuss the Trolley Problem with my students. It’s a thought experiment where you are placed in an impossible situation: watch a train kill 5 innocent people, or throw a switch that redirects the train to kill only 2 innocent people. Many find it frustrating because it’s such a difficult question, and the difficulty is the whole point: it forces us to think very carefully about why we do what we do and what is most valuable to us.
Lot here faces a kind of Trolley problem: let the town gang rape your guests or throw the switch and let them gang rape your daughters instead. Either way, it’s a terrible situation. The question is which do you value more: your own flesh and blood or strangers who have entrusted themselves to you? If you think the answer is obvious, then I submit that you have just been granted a window into your culture.
Back to the action: the men of the city refuse the offer and turn on Lot, but the angels save him, strike the town with blindness, and let Lot know they have reached their conclusion: this town is going down.
Initial Thoughts
There’s so much more to this story; it really is captivating in its details. But I have lingered over narrative details long enough. Our question remains: what is the sin of Sodom?
No one ever says.
Isn’t that amazing?! The action gives us a new and terrible clue: homosexual gang rape of visitors. Is that it? Is it that specific? Is your hometown safe from God’s wrath just as long as that never happens? Or does one of these elements crowd out the others as the one that tips the scales? Is it possible that the sin is something hidden from sight here? In order to find out, we have no choice but to look and see what the rest of the Bible says about Sodom.
Looking Back on Sodom
For Lot’s wife, literally looking back on Sodom was a mistake that cost her her life. But the events that happened here were meant to send a statement throughout the world and all generations. “Sodom” became a byword, a warning. For everyone else, we are supposed to look back and take notice. Don’t let this happen to you.
Deuteronomy 29
The book of Deuteronomy is at the other end of the Pentateuch, and it’s the second giving of the Law that will guide a new generation into the Promised Land. It’s here that we find the first mention of Sodom after its destruction.
And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the LORD has made it sick—the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger and wrath—all the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them.
Deuteronomy 29:22–26 ESV
In this example, God is warning the people that if they turn away from the Mosaic covenant, they can expect to end up like Sodom and Gomorrah. There is no indication whether the sin is the same or not, but the outcome will be the same. Here the sin is idolatry, betrayal, faithlessness. It is breaking the Law without repentance, persisting in sin and rejecting God.
So this does not tell us much about the sin of Sodom. After all, Sodom had no covenant relationship with God, so we should not expect them to feel the same punishment for the same reason. But this actually allows us to make a crucial observation through contrast. If Sodom wasn’t judged by breaking covenant expectations, there must still be moral expectations God had for them—perhaps even expectations He has for all nations. Israel is given a specific set of commands with blessings and consequences. Sodom was not, and yet they were held guilty.
This is an important point for anyone who recognizes that our modern nations are not the nation of Israel. We may look to the Law and appreciate it as a fuller revelation of God’s character and His expectations for us, but our secular nation is not in a covenant relationship with God. The covenant blessings and curses do not apply to us. But that does not mean we are off the hook! Instead of looking to Israel for clues on how God may or may not judge us today, we are wise to look at Sodom and the other non-covenantal nations that God has punished over the centuries. It may be that we in the 21st century, wherever we are, should still take seriously the possibility that God could hold us accountable in the same way.
More about this later.
Deuteronomy 32
The next mention of Sodom is in the Song of Moses, where he is describing the adversaries of Israel.
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
Deuteronomy 32:32, 33 ESV
and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
their wine is the poison of serpents
and the cruel venom of asps.
This appears to be saying there is a connection between Sodom and Gomorrah and the rest of Israel’s adversaries. In the verses that follow, Moses says essentially that the judgment that awaited Sodom now awaits the enemies of Israel. In context, this is speaking not of the impending conquest of the land, but the judgment of Israel’s enemies after they (Israel) have forsaken God. So think more Judges than Joshua, more Daniel than David.
In short, Sodom is still a byword for those destroyed because of their sin, and sins will be punished whether or not you have the Mosaic Law.
Isaiah
If the LORD of hosts
Isaiah 1:9, 10 ESV
had not left us a few survivors,
we should have been like Sodom,
and become like Gomorrah.
Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
These are the first of four mentions of Sodom in Isaiah. While Moses has in mind the enemies of God, here Isaiah has stern words for the people of God themselves. Instead of the Canaanites being compared to Sodom, now the Israelites are guilty. Isaiah’s emphasis here is again on destruction due to sin.
Which sins? Isaiah lists rebellion against God, corrupt dealings, iniquity, infirmity, and evil deeds. Does it get more specific than this? Yes, in verse 17 (with 16 for context):
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
Isaiah 1:16, 17 ESV
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
The rest of the chapter continues along these lines, as does the third reference, in Isaiah 3:9. At this point, we have to admit that no one is really paying attention to the sexual aspect of what happened in Sodom. Either the main sin was not mentioned in the narrative, or God destroyed it for the way they treated their guests.
“Guests?!” you say. “These were angels, not widows and orphans.” In the Law, God repeatedly calls out widows, orphans, and sojourners/aliens as three vulnerable groups in need of protection. While it’s true that there is no direct connection between what is here in Isaiah and what we saw in Genesis 19, the way they treated their sojourners is at very least a clue into how they treated the fatherless and widow. Regardless, God is clearly calling Israel “Sodom” not for sexual sins but for sins of oppression.
Isaiah 13:19, the fourth reference, likens Israel’s conquerer Babylon to Sodom, declaring its destruction at the hands of the Medes. In chapter 14, Babylon is indicted with oppression and persecution. Again, no mention of sexual sin.
Jeremiah and Lamentations
“But in the prophets of Jerusalem
Jeremiah 23:14, 15 ESV
I have seen a horrible thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
all of them have become like Sodom to me,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
Again, we see the recurring theme: Israel will be destroyed just like Sodom, because of its sin. In this case, the sins called out are adultery, lying, and strengthening the hands of evildoers. For the first time, sexual sin is clearly implicated, but note how justice is still at the fore.
Sodom is again mentioned in Jeremiah 49:18, where Israel’s neighbor Edom is likened to Sodom, again to highlight the utter destruction awaiting it. In Jeremiah 50:40, almost the exact same language is used of Babylon again.
Moving on to Lamentations, Sodom is invoked again, this time not for comparison but for contrast:
For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater
Lamentations 4:6 ESV
than the punishment of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.
So the picture of Sodom is used to lament the state of Israel. And the context again gives us some clues as to why: prophets and priests shedding the blood of the righteous (v13). The concerns are again more about justice than sex.
Ezekiel 16
There are a few other references to Sodom in Amos and Zephaniah, but they add nothing new to what we have already seen. (Although the fact that Moab and Ammon get likened to Sodom and Gomorrah is particularly poignant because they are the descendants of Lot and his daughters. Alas, we must press on.)
The last big one is the text that is always used as a proof-text for the “Sodom wasn’t about homosexuality” crowd. It’s in Ezekiel 16, and it’s so important that I’m going to quote it at length here:
“Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
“I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.
“For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 16:44–63 ESV
Wow. If Lamentations claimed that Israel’s punishment was worse than Sodom’s, now Ezekiel is claiming that Israel’s sin was worse than Sodom’s. Sodom’s sins are called abominations, and if we’re not careful, we can read that as a code word. It has often been associated with gay sex because God describes it as an abomination in Leviticus. But Sodom’s abominations are listed for us here: “pride, excess food, and prosperous ease, but [they] did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”
Perhaps you may still be tempted to think the text is pivoting from the list to something else; “an abomination = gay sex.” The truth of the matter is God calls a great many sins abominations. It is not a special category for things done by people with struggles you may not have. A great many things are called abominations in the Bible, things like lying lips (Proverbs 12:22) and an arrogant heart (Proverbs 16:5). If you surveyed all the times it is used, you would realize that you have been guilty of many abominations in your life. Don’t be fooled. Better instead to see “did an abomination” in the terms given here: pride toward God and selfishness toward the needy.
The Gospels and Paul
Talk of Sodom is not restricted to the Old Testament, and so while Ezekiel presents the clearest word, it is not the last word.
Jesus spoke about Sodom and Gomorrah, which is recorded in both Matthew (10:15 and 11:23, 24) and Luke 10:12. In each case, He is using them to condemn Israel for its persistent disbelief. Remember that Nineveh repented when it heard Jonah’s message, and how that was thematically in contrast with the destruction of Sodom? Well, Jesus says that if He had sent a prophet to do miracles in Sodom, they would have changed their ways. So again, Jesus is following in the tradition of the prophets by using the byword for sin-unto-destruction to condemn Israel, and not by being the same, but by being worse.
Jesus also uses Sodom to talk about the urgency of His return, which we usually associate with the other historic image He gave, the Flood. See Luke 17:29.
Moving on, Paul only mentions Sodom once while quoting a passage we have already seen. There in Romans 9:29, he uses Isaiah’s words about Sodom as a picture for what could have been in his day except for God’s mercy in leaving a remnant of believing Jews.
Peter and Jude
Finally we come to the end. (There is a mention in Revelation, but it does not add anything to our previous analysis.) It’s here toward the end of the New Testament in some tiny letters that we find the Bible has more to say about Sodom than just concerns about justice.
“…if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.”
2 Peter 2:6–10 ESV
Here Sodom is used in its ultimate sense: as a foreshadowing of hell. This is in some ways theologically satisfying because we have seen all along that Sodom is a picture of destruction due to sin, and ultimately this is the essence of hell. (Note: this is not to wade into the debate on whether punishment is eternal or not. I believe it is eternal, but I will not defend that here.)
The real twist is that Peter uses language that is more sexual than the prophets ever did. It is truer to the language of the narrative, which clearly depicts sexual sin. Of course, this is not really a twist; again, it’s talking about things that were obvious in Genesis 19. It only feels like a twist because no other writer has seen fit to talk about this aspect so far.
I suspect at least some of the difference is because of Lot. In every other reference to Sodom, we are called to see Sodom in Israel, Edom, Moab, etc. The focus is on judgment for sin and a warning call to repentance, and the emphasis is almost always on justice and oppression. But here in 2 Peter, Sodom is used to describe a problem “out there.” He is writing to relate his readers to Lot, who is usually not mentioned with Sodom. He was surrounded by sin that grieved his soul just as we are often surrounded by sin that grieves our souls. Part of the Christian life is pursuing holiness in sometimes dark places. In this case, it might make more sense to appeal to the details in the narrative. Just as we can see Lot working hard to stay pure amid his debauched neighbors, so we should take comfort that God sees our struggles to stay pure in a sex-saturated society and will one day judge the sins around us.
By the way, this is not to ignore problems of injustice, which surely happened in Rome as well. But taking care of the poor was a high priority for the church, and a problem they could address. Sexual sins in the culture, on the other hand, could not be dealt with so easily.
Jude 7 also uses Sodom and Gomorrah to talk about sexual immorality and the judgment of the wicked. However, here the emphasis is not on Lot or on our perseverance but as part of a list of Old Testament examples of sin to avoid. And it’s clear from the narrative in Genesis 19 that sexual immorality is one of the sins to avoid.
So just as Ezekiel 16 does not equivocate about the sin of Sodom being pride and selfishness toward the needy, Peter and Jude testify that the sexual side of the actions we see in Genesis 19 are no mirage and not to be excused.
However, this still does not narrow down the list of sexual sins we saw in Sodom to the homosexual aspect. To risk stating the obvious, rape is a sexual sin. In order to clarify our understanding of how to think about what we saw in Sodom, we have to return to a question we began to raise earlier.
What Does God Expect of the Nations?
“Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 9:5 ESV
What does God expect of the nations? This is by no means a simple question. In one sense, we could simply look at God’s character and recognize the myriad ways we all fall short. This is clearly one way to measure God’s expectations. But God is patient with sin, and if He were going to wipe out any city for any and every sin, the Flood would have happened sooner and no one would have escaped.
We can see in the Law a more detailed expression of God’s character manifested in a covenant relationship with one specific people. This again gives us clues for understanding right from wrong. However, again, we are concerned with understanding God’s basis of judgment for cities like Sodom, nations that do not know Him, do not have Scripture, do not have the Law, do not have a covenant.
For this, we could look in three places: the Law, the Prophets, and the New Testament. For our purposes here, I’m going to limit my focus to those portions of the Law where God gives us some explicit clues about why He is judging the nations. This focus is not because the rest is irrelevant, but partly for the sake of time, and partly because these are the insights that speak closer in time to the situation at Sodom and Gomorrah.
Clue #1: Leviticus 18
“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.”
Leviticus 18:24, 25 ESV
Here we can see one set of rules that God applied to non-covenant nations: sin that pollutes the land and demands cleansing. And the list found in the 23 verses preceding is almost exclusively about sex. Most of it is about various forms of incest and marking the boundaries of what is too close versus what is acceptable—and this includes family that is not your blood relative. I say this because we often focus on biological concerns in incest when clearly more than this was in view. Then it says not to marry both a woman and her sister, which may be less about sex and more about kindness toward the woman, preventing a life of sibling rivalry. Then comes no period sex, no adultery, no gay sex, and no animal sex. In the middle of this is one command that is not explicitly related to sex: no child sacrifice.
Now, before I go on, let me be clear: I am not saying that these verses say the sin of Sodom was gay sex. But they do indicate that gay sex is one of a number of sexual sins that caused God to do a very similar thing to other nations.
In case you’re wondering how seriously we should take these, note that verse 25, quoted above, is not the end. He continues:
“But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 18:26–30 ESV
God does not give us details about which sins happened the most in Canaan, and whether some on this list are worse than others. We may crave more details, either to acquit or condemn, but we have to accept the list as it is.
These rules were given to Israel, but they were not only applied to Israel. These rules were applied to people who had never heard of God. And if they applied to the Canaanites, I submit that they also applied to Sodom. And if to Sodom, I am convinced they apply to everyone. God does not need to establish a special covenant with your people to hold you accountable for these actions, including, but not limited to, the destruction of your city or your country.
“But wait,” you might say. “Wasn’t the Promised Land special?” Well, yes, it was. But to that I say, again, consider Nineveh. Nineveh is clearly outside the Promised Land and yet God was going to destroy their city because of their sins. So we cannot put any geographical boundaries on God’s willingness to act.
Does this mean that “the sin of Sodom” really was sexual after all? No. That’s not what this text says. But I am saying it could have been. If it was enough to destroy Jericho, for example, it could have been enough for Sodom, too. So anyone who is quick to dismiss the sexual aspects of the sins at Sodom have not only 2 Peter and Jude to contend with, but Leviticus as well.
You may wonder if I am being biased here, if perhaps I am being prudish and obsessing over sex. Again, I’m just reporting what is in the text. God explicitly says He has a sexual code that He has at times used to punish other nations. Do with this knowledge what you will.
Clue #2: Leviticus 20
“And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.”
Leviticus 20:23 ESV
Here is a second instance where God pulls back the curtain, as it were, and explains why He is driving out the nations before Israel. What’s on this list? Well, child sacrifice makes a reappearance, in greater detail than last time. Other repeats from the previous list include adultery, incest, gay sex, animal sex, and period sex. New to the list are turning to mediums and necromancers, cursing your father and mother, and sleeping with both a mother and her daughter.
Yes, sex figures prominently in this list, too, and it comes later on down the list so that it is in closer proximity to the judgment in verse 23. To be clear, I don’t think proximity matters in this case, but I say this in case one is tempted to think God is only condemning what came immediately before.
I have heard some argue that these Levitical laws no longer apply. While it’s true that Jesus declared all foods clean and that His sacrifice on the cross put an end to the sacrificial system, the other laws are debated. However, even if you hold that the rest of the Mosaic Law is not binding on Christians, these passages are talking about transgressions by non-covenant nations with no record of warning. God does not need the Mosaic Law to judge the nations fairly.
But of course someone will say, “It doesn’t matter. You cannot rely on biblical teachings about sex and gender because they were written in patriarchal times and are either corrupted by culture or at least dependent on a culture that no longer exists. Better to just emphasize the clear teachings in Ezekiel and keep your mouth shut about other people’s sex lives.” True, these laws are human words that come from a particular time and place and culture. But if you believe, as I do, that they are not merely human words but divinely inspired, then you can appreciate the need to inspect our own culture and biases and not let present-day passions and hegemonies restrict the words of God. Perhaps the sexual code in the Bible does not merely function to prop up patriarchy but reflects the way we were designed by our Creator. This seems to be what Jesus is saying when He talks about sexual ethics. Better to condemn the sins listed in Ezekiel without excusing any aspect of the sexual misconduct, since that’s what the Bible does.
Clue #3: Two Contrasts
Before I conclude, let’s consider some additional passages where God makes moral judgments of other nations in similar but different ways.
In one of many examples where Egypt is used as a warning for Israel, God says, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 20:21 ESV). Notice how God does not say “Egypt oppressed you, that’s why I judged them.” He says you know what it’s like to be oppressed; don’t oppress others. Egypt clearly did what was wrong, but God tells Israel the lesson they are to learn from this is more like “do unto others.”
This is very different from the warnings we have been looking at. These were not sins committed against Israel but against God. Instead, the lesson they are to learn from the Canaanites is “don’t let this happen to you.”
The example of the Egyptians is especially tuned to the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. And perhaps this next example relates to the greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
“Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.”
Exodus 34:12–16
Here Israel is warned in no uncertain terms that the nations being driven out are guilty of worshiping false gods. However, unlike the lists we have been looking at, God does not say that they were driven out for idolatry, per se. Again, such would condemn every culture, not these in particular. So while God would be justified in judging any nation for following after false gods, this warning appears to be especially for Israel. God is jealous for her. This jealousy applies to the people of His covenant, but He does not often use these concepts with other nations. Jealousy is associated with God’s name, His people, and the Promised Land. Only in the final judgment does God speak of His jealousy for all the nations (e.g. Zeph. 1:17, 18).
So the lists in Leviticus 18 and 20 seem to specifically indict the Canaanites, but on universally applicable grounds. However, the oppression from the Egyptians and the idolatry of the Canaanites, while also sinful, are treated differently in God’s warnings.
However, to bring things full circle, God does say that Canaanite idolatry was linked to the detestable practices that are forbidden. “…But you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God” (Deut 20:17, 18 ESV).
So while idolatry is a sin, and it is grounds for judgment for Israel, it appears that the practices associated with idolatry were grievous enough to cause the destruction of these cities.
Conclusions (Finally)
In some ways, we shouldn’t be surprised if the quest for “the” sin of Sodom is complex. After all, we would be hard pressed to identify “the” sin of David or “the” sin of Israel. We are all guilty of many sins, often at the same time. Looking for “the” sin quickly becomes an exercise in ranking one sin over another, which can easily get out of hand.
We know for sure that Sodom was destroyed for its sin and made an example of for all to heed: do not persist in sin or you will be destroyed, too. It is a lesson for nations, but ultimately also a lesson for individuals. Repent of your sin, otherwise your own personal destruction awaits.
And when we look in the narrative for “the” sin, we see a whole city of men willing to gang rape visitors. It is a sexual sin. It is a sin of violence. It is a sin of oppression of a vulnerable group. The Bible makes clear none of these are tolerable. The Law makes especially clear that sexual sin pollutes the land and can lead to destruction.
But the Prophets make equally clear that injustice pollutes the land and can lead to destruction. And in Ezekiel 16, God makes plain that mistreating the poor is “the sin” that should grab our attention when we think about Sodom.
The problem for people of both camps is when we linger over one set of sins and refuse to acknowledge the other. Both are heinous, according to God’s Word.
But someone may say “you’re just giving in to cultural pressure by downplaying gay sex in the narrative. Everyone can see the abomination in Genesis 19 is men sleeping with other men. I don’t need the prophets to tell me what’s right there in front of me.” Yet the same God who inspired Genesis inspired Ezekiel and we would be foolish to rank one above the other, as though some of God’s words had more “God status” than others. It is not “giving in” to stand by the Word in all its fullness and all its complexity. Further, to insist on Genesis 19 as support for God’s design for sex is a case of right doctrine, wrong text. It’s not about marriage. It’s about a whole town of men so depraved that they cannot wait for some poor traveler to wander in so they can gang rape him in the street. No one is defending the men of Sodom. If you are more concerned about the homosexual aspect of the story than you are about the violence, I’m concerned for you. If you are more concerned that the town might be gay than you are that the town might be affluent but completely indifferent to the needy, God is concerned for you.
Or perhaps concerned is not a strong enough word. For as God told the Israelites, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.” (Exod. 22:21–24 ESV)
In the end, I wonder if the story of Sodom isn’t primarily about which sin was the clincher. Maybe the sin was not specifically listed in the narrative in order to keep the emphasis on the outcome, as a sign to the world that there are significant consequences for sin. After all, as we have seen, “Sodom” in the Bible was not a byword for homosexual or for injustice; it was a byword for sin unto destruction. The name Sodom was a reminder that your own sins can end in destruction because the Just Judge of the Earth always does what is right. Neither Leviticus nor Ezekiel should be used to hush this fact.