LESSON 2,
JESUS AND THE SINS OF SODOM:
The Lord often quoted the Old Testament, Jesus did. And even more often
He alluded to its varied and rich treasury of stories and
events.
More than once Christ talked about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The
judgment that fell upon those places apparently weighed heavily
on Jesus' mind.
Once when He sent the Disciples forth on an important preaching mission,
He talked about the rank sinfulness of any city that rejected
their words, that repelled the Gospel of God's Grace.
"Verily
I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."
Matthew 10:15
Then when rebuking Capernaum for her unbelief, Jesus yet again mentioned
Sodom! "And
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought
down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in
thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this
day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the
land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."
Matthew 11:23-24
My point today is this.
Sodom
and Gomorrah sinned.
Grievously so.
There's no doubt about that fact.
But, and please get this distinction, other cities and lands have also
committed equally repulsive sins in the eyes of God!
No!
More repulsive sins!
The judgment of God upon some people will be greater than that which fell
upon the Sodomites!
Apparently because their sins, those of the rebels of Jesus' time, were
greater!
That is, if we are reading and interpreting Jesus' words correctly. And I
think we are.
I will not minimize what Sodom did.
Nor will I marginalize the sins that nation after nation in this world
today is rebelliously committing either!
And that's why Ezekiel preached the Sermon he did that day long ago, his
Text being Ezekiel 16:48-50. And that's why we're studying those
important words this week.
Join us, if you dare.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3,
EZEKIEL THE PREACHER:
The
Prophet Ezekiel talked a lot like Jesus. Or chronologically
should I say Jesus talked a lot like Ezekiel? Truthfully, each
was a student of the other!
Jesus Himself one day proclaimed: "Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."
John 8:58
Jesus as God the Son, as the Second Member of the Trinity, of the
Godhead, is eternal, everlasting, always the same.
Listen to the Lord again: "Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and
was glad."
John 8:56
Abraham knew Jesus! I am thinking Ezekiel did too. Wouldn’t that
be theologically and Scripturally safe to believe?
What I'm trying to say is this. Ezekiel noticed some parallel things
about Sodom and Gomorrah ... and his Homeland, Judah.
Just like Jesus noticed parallel things about Sodom and Gomorrah … and
His Homeland, Israel.
We now must listen to Ezekiel preach for a minute or two. To show you
what I mean. "And
thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that
dwell at thy left hand:
and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is
Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast thou not walked after
their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if
that were a very little thing,
thou wast corrupted more
than they in all thy ways. As I live, saith the
Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters,
as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters."
Ezekiel 16:46-48
He just said to his people, to the Jews in Babylonian Captivity, you
have been worse than the people of Sodom!
Your sins are greater than theirs!
Folks, that's exactly what the prophet of God, under direct inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, is saying!
Maybe because Israel has more "light" from God, more absolute “truth.”
Maybe because she is descendant from Abraham.
Maybe because God sent her so many Preachers and so much Scripture.
Maybe because of Moses and the Law.
But somehow Israel has sunk lower than the people of Sodom!
My point here is not to belittle the atrocious sins of Sodom.
But to remind us that God's people can sin too!
Abundantly so.
And their sins, our sins, are abominations in God's eyes too!
Maybe fornication is as bad as homosexuality from God's Perspective!
Especially if the fornicators have been Sunday School teachers
or Deacons or Preachers!
"Thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways."
Mercy!
What bold preaching Ezekiel did!!
Maybe such proclamation needs to be resurrected yet today, such vibrant,
verbal exposure of so-called "respectable" sins ... but sins God
calls "worse" than ever before!
Think about it.
Jesus had far more trouble and suffered far more rejection from
religious leaders, Pharisees for example, than He ever did
from rank sinners!
Then He did from reprobates!
Oh well, tomorrow we begin our Text. "As
I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she
nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fulness 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
before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."
Ezekiel 16:48-50
Come join us, if you're that brave!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4,
WHEN GOD SWEARS:
The Lord is
talking, here in our Ezekiel Text. The prophet merely quotes the
Almighty. God is addressing His Own people, the Jews.
They have sinned.
Yet one might think that the sins of God's "special" people Israel, often
called the "chosen" ones of God, that their sins might not be as
"heavy" or as grievous as the sins of regular lost people!
Wrong!
The sins of the saints can be as abominable to God as the sins of the
most wicked people on earth!
At least this is the case if I'm reading Ezekiel 16:48-50 correctly.
Today's Verse now: "As
I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she
nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters."
Ezekiel 16:48
Those opening words show God's serious attitude toward sin.
"As I live," says the Lord.
He later continues to explain through Ezekiel to Israel, to Judah
actually, that their sins "upset" Him!
That their wickedness, their idolatry, their selfishness, rivals the
wrongdoing of the most famous city on earth, infamous for its
wrongdoing! I mean "Sodom!"
Really God goes so far as to say Judah's sins are greater than Sodom's
sins!
Almost unbelieveable!
But right here in the Bible, so undoubtedly true.
How strongly does God feel as He delivers this message?
Those words "As I live" are an oath!
God is swearing!
In Hebrew "to swear" basically means to say something "seven times!"
Wow!
If God declares something, anything, once ... it's true. He cannot
lie, an impossibility!
But if He says something seven times, what must we think?
God is swearing here by His Own Life!
What has the Lord so excited, so agitated, so august?
The sins of His people!
Not the sins of Sodom or Gomorrah!
Not now.
But the sins of Judah!
Yes, homosexuality is wrong.
No doubt.
But so are the sins of the saints!
And maybe before we judge everyone else for all their shortcomings, all
right, abominations, perhaps we should check our own lives
first.
God does.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6,
NATIONS AND THEIR SINS:
The nations of the world influence one another. Though we conservative
Christians hold no lofty opinion of the United Nations as an
organization, we still must admit that the countries of earth
are at least loosely related. What one people does impacts
another set of people, even if living around the globe from each
other.
So what America does, New York and Washington and Los Angeles, has great
bearing on what England does, London and Liverpool and
Manchester.
And so was the case in Bible times.
Listen to Ezekiel preach, quoting Almighty God as He rebukes the nation,
His Nation, Judah. Israel, the Jews. "And
thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that
dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at
thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters."
Ezekiel 16:46, where the connectedness or relatedness of nations
is clearly seen. Here even Semitic and Gentile lands are linked!
Samaria is Israel, the Northern Kingdom, the Ten Tribes of Israel. Held
in contradistinction to the Southern Kingdom, the Two Tribes,
Judah.
And of course the people of Sodom, we all know who they were.
But God here has these nations, different in thousands of way, related!
Sisters even!
Now let's read another verse, one that's part of our Text for this week.
Watch for this "related nations" metaphor.
"As
I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she
nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters."
Ezekiel 16:46
Even the "daughters" of Sodom, probably neighboring little city-states
are mentioned. They impact each other, no doubt financially and
socially but morally as well. Or so it seems.
Here's the point today.
The world, whether we like it or not, whether we even recognize it or
not, is connected, interconnected.
In some ways the nations are indeed united.
There is even coming a future judgment of the nations in which Jesus will
decide the ultimate right-and-wrong issues for the entire
universe!
This mutual reciprocity among the nations, countries, states, cities,
communities and no doubt even families too is recognized in
Scripture, again and again.
Therefore I conclude that what San Francisco does influences Atlanta or
Montreal or vice versa.
One district's sins hinders another's moral development. Yet on the other
hand a true Revival of holy living in one Church can uplift
congregations elsewhere.
Paul was right as always, since He was directly inspired by the Holy
Spirit, when he wrote: "For
none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself."
Romans 14:7
"None of us," including nations!
God knew what Sodom had done.
And he also knew what Judah had done in Ezekiel's lifetime.
And God saw great similarity between the two erring peoples!
Thus it is yet today.
Nations, beware!
Cities, take note!
America, God is still on the throne.
He's comparing our actions to those of Judah too, positively! And likely
Sodom and a multitude of others as well.
Remember, God does know everything.
--- Dr. Mike
Bagwell
LESSON 7,
PRIDE:
The sins
of Sodom?
"No Preacher, there was just one! And everyone knows what that was! We've
heard about it all our lives."
But wait a minute!
Ezekiel, one of God's most faithful Old Testament Prophets, says that
Sodom committed a litany of sins, a whole list.
And "homosexuality" did not make it into Ezekiel's Sermon, not by name
anyway.
Now no one is saying that terrible act is not a sin. It certainly is. But
other wrongs and failures and transgressions are significant
too, in God's Eyes.
Here's today's Text. "Behold,
this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of
bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy."
Ezekiel 16:49
The noun "iniquity" is spelled "avon" in Hebrew and means anything that
is "perverted" or "twisted" in God's Sight. Things that are "out
of place" or "not normal" to the Almighty!
And the sin at the top of God's list, accusations against Sodom, is
"pride!" The same sin that led to the initial fall of Satan,
pride! The sin that caused King Herod to be slain by God, eaten
alive by worms, pride! The sin that is mentioned first in the
Proverbs 6 "Things God Hates" Paragraph, pride!
Sodom, here more so than homosexuality, is condemned for her "pride."
This Hebrew noun is "gaon," simply pronounced "gaw-ohn," accenting the
second syllable. It means "something that has risen up,
something that has been exalted, conceited." In other words,
"taking credit for one's own accomplishments, totally neglecting
to give God credit for any help at all."
That was her central sin, Sodom's!
Pride.
And I fear it's America's sin too!
In fact, it is likely the sin that will lead to all other sins!
Let each of us examine our lives today, looking for any
self-aggrandizement. Any neglect of God and His goodness and
grace and help.
And if we find any, unlike Sodom did, let's confess and forsake it!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8,
FULNESS OF BREAD:
The second sin
for which God judged Sodom, not counting her best-known sin of
homosexuality, is "fulness of bread."
So said Ezekiel, and he received his information straight from
the Lord God Almighty.
"Behold,
this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness 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 before
me."
Ezekiel 16:49-50
The noun "fulness" translates from the Hebrew "sibah," which means "the
state of being satiated, to the point of being able to eat no
more." Its background means "plenty." An overabundance really.
And "bread" is "lechem" in the Jews' language. It does of course mean
bread but is not limited to that one food group. Any
nourishment, any that's solid and nutritious!
But get this. "Lechem" is derived from a verb, "lacham," that means "to
fight, to war, to do battle."
So I think "fulness of bread" includes any desires a nation might have
that are unquenchable, wanting more and more and more and more!
The "god" of materialism perhaps!
Yes, Sodom and her neighboring satellite cities had become covetous.
Probably committing the sin Paul has in mind in Colossians 3:5.
"And coveteousness which is idolatry."
Yes, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for a set of sins, a group of
iniquities, not just for a single reason! That's what Ezekiel is
teaching here anyway.
Then America, let us beware!
Churches too!
And families.
And individual Christians as well.
It's like Nahum cautioned the Jews, long after Sodom's "fulness of bread"
mistakes: "Thou
hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven."
Too much emphasis on commerce apparently! Nahum 3:16
Paul commanded us: "And
having food and raiment let us be therewith content."
Or his warning: "For the love of money
is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with
many sorrows." First Timothy 6:8, 10
"Fulness of bread," avoid such with diligence.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9,
ABUNDANCE OF IDLENESS:
The sin we must discuss today is "abundance of idleness." It's one of the
wicked acts of the inhabitants of Sodom, just before her
destruction.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 gives us the context. "Behold,
this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness 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 before
me: therefore I the Lord took them away as I saw good."
The words used by the Prophet are telling. "Abundance of idleness," what
does it mean?
The first noun in this phrase is "shalvah" in Hebrew, specifically
meaning "quietness or ease or prosperity." Only once in the
Bible, right here, is it rendered as "abundance." It is derived
from "shalah," which in the King James Bible is even translated
"safety" once and "happy" once.
The second noun is "shaqat," the state of being "undisturbed."
Furthermore, "tranquil, at rest, undisturbed."
These people of Sodom have grown complacent. "We are secure. Nothing can
harm us. We are self-sufficient. We have no fears. We can solve
any problems that may arise, if any do." That kind of attitude!
And God called it a sin!
A major sin!
Needing no one, including God!
One commentary or lexicon says "abundance of quietness" involved
"careless security." This reminds me of Ezekiel's description of
Israel later, characterizing her as: "the
land of unwalled villages; of them that are at rest, that dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither
bars nor gates."
Ezekiel 38:11
All I know to say is this. If we've defined "abundance of idleness"
correctly, many nations on earth today are in danger of God's
judgment!
Not Just Sodom and Gomorrah of old!
Isn't this the same set of sins that brought about God's threat to the
church at Laodicea? God says to her: "Thou
art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and
increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked."
Revelation 3:15-17. wow!
Beware of this sin!
Especially if it was a major contributor to the destruction of Sodom and
vicinity. And Ezekiel says it was!
"Abundance of idleness."
Sounds like the American pastime!
Let's stay busy, folks! Doing good things! And trusting the Lord to keep
us safe from all harm.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON
10, NOT CARING FOR THE POOR:
The list of
sins Sodom committed continues, written by the Lord Himself.
They include today's topic, "Neither
did She strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."
Ezekiel 16:49
What?
How does that small infraction, not caring for the poor, compare to the
"big" sin of homosexuality, Sodom's trade-mark?
I don't know!
But God thinks it does!
In fact, in Ezekiel's Sermon which directly quotes the Lord, the sin of
sodomy is not mentioned at all, not specifically. And even when
it is faintly referenced, it is just called an "abomination."
Here's something that is an abomination to God:
"And
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be
an abomination; it shall not be eaten."
Leviticus 11:41, still God speaking.
Some sins we call "big" certainly are. But perhaps many sins we call
"little" or "inconsequential" are maybe "bigger" in God's Eyes
than we ever realized!
Not loving the poor included!
"Behold,
this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of
bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor
and needy."
Ezekiel 16:49, the whole verse.
The verb "strengthen" is "chazaq" and merely means "to help" someone. To
provide for him or support her.
The "poor" employs the Hebrew noun "aniy," really the "pressed down, the
afflicted, the despised!" Those others "look down" on, being
nobodies in the eyes of society!
I think the "poor" here refer to emotionally distressed people. Folks no
one loves! People who are alone and rejected and discounted,
marginalized by the world.
Then the word "needy" occurs, in Hebrew "ebyon." One lexicon says the
word means "chiefly lacking, especially in material things." The
Greek parallel would have it "abjectly poor!" Beggars, in other
words! In need of the dire necessities of life!
Sodom did not have time for poor folks!
She did not care for the less blessed, either impoverished socially or
financially or educationally or any number of other ways!
Let me stop and say this.
Jesus loved poor folks!
He preached to them and healed them and saved them by the droves!
One of the miracles of Jesus' Ministry involved the poor! Our Saviour
said to John the Baptist, validating Jesus' Deity and Messiah
Status: "The
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to them."
Matthew 11:5
Christian friends, we of all people should be caretakers for the poor!
Jesus even called "blessed" certain types of poor Believers, the "poor in
spirit" for example.
Am I doing anything to help someone poor?
Do I care?
I should.
How about you too?
The Holy Spirit no doubt today will use these words to prompt someone's
heart and mind and hands and feel to go do a kind deed or give a
practical gift to some poor man or woman or young person!
Today!
If America has any saving grace to combat this whole list of sins, it
might be the fact that our Country has cared for the poor again
and again through her history. Apparently unlike Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Goodness, do our very Churches even have any room for the poor these
days? Have we become so money oriented that we favor the
gold-fingered man James mentioned in his great Epistle?
Lord, help us to help others.
--- Dr. Mike
Bagwell
LESSON
11, AND THEY WERE HAUGHTY:
The worst of
all the sins, from Ezekiel's list anyway, might be
"haughtiness." This conclusion is based on the Prophet's
enumerations of the wrongdoings of the famous city of Sodom.
Ezekiel 16:50 begins with these four English words:
"And
they were haughty."
Doesn't sound so very bad, does it?
But God thought otherwise!
Yet remember this please. Already, earlier in his sermon, Ezekiel had
accused Sodom of "pride." Here are his very words:
"Behold,
this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride ...."
Among other things, other wrongs.
Twice proud!
Twofold self assertiveness!
Double neglect of Almighty God!
Still, there must be some difference, however slight, between "pride" and
"being haughty." Otherwise the Holy Spirit would not have used
the two similar terms, in the very same context.
Here I think is a thought that the vocabulary will support. Just as David
"encouraged" himself in the Lord, back at Ziklag, back in First
Samuel 30:6 ... so have the people of Sodom "made themselves
haughty" in their doings, their habits and evil practices.
The words "were haughty" used by the Preacher translate from his native
Hebrew "gabahh." It means "to be exalted, to be arrogant."
The heart of the verb suggests here that the inhabitants of Sodom
"uplifted themselves" by committing evil works.
They were excited by the sins they committed.
They enjoyed breaking God's Law!
They flaunted their iniquities in God's Face ... and laughed about it!
"And
they were haughty."
These are not simply people who do wrong, then feel ashamed of their
deeds! No, not at all.
This crowd sins, then denies they have violated any norm of propriety,
and tries to recruit others into those same actions!
They are missionaries for rebellion!
"And
they were haughty."
They exported their mischief to the whole world, those close enough to
notice!
And America is doing the same thing today!
God help our Nation!
--- Dr. Mike
Bagwell
LESSON
12, THOSE ABOMINATIONS:
The last of
Sodom's sins, not the first as I would have imagined, involved
her committing "abominations" against the Lord.
This is separate from her other named sins, named by the Lord in Ezekiel
chapter sixteen.
Here's the whole list, with the focus for today underlined.
"As
I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she
nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fulness 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
before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."
Ezekiel 16:48-50
The noun used for "abomination" is spelled "toebah" and means "anything
disgusting" in the eyes of the judge, here in the Lord's eyes.
Literally, anything that makes God "sick." "Toebah" is taken
from the root verb "taab" which indicates the action of "hating
or abhoring or detesting" a thing.
"Things God hates," in other words. They are all repulsive in His Sight!
And here's a sample list of them, quoted from Proverbs 6:16-19.
"These
six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an
abomination unto him. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands
that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord
among brethren."
The sin of homosexuality, so little mentioned by Ezekiel, is surely
included in his indictment of "abominations" the people of Judah
have committed. Leviticus 18:22 proves this fact.
"Thou
shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is
abomination."
But before we Christians get too high-and-mighty we had best remember
that other things make God "sick" too! Even one Church in
Revelation made God that way! The Laodiceans did! Jesus through
John said to them: "I
know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou
wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
Revelation 3:15-16, where the verb "spue" translates "emeo"
which simply means "to vomit!" They actually made God nauseous!
Yes, sin is sin.
In the Church House, the White House, or any other house. Yours and mine
included!
Sodom did wrong, including her "namesake" sin.
But Judah, God's chosen people, did even worse!
I wonder where we as Christians are placing today on God's scale of
holiness and reverence and purity.
I want to please the Lord.
You do too.
Not to make Him sick!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
CONCLUSION, GOD'S JUDGMENT:
The Lord judges sin!
It's true, what Moses wrote in Numbers 32:23. "Be
sure your sin will find you out."
As
far as I know, there are no exceptions to this axiom.
The Bible, New Testament as well as the Old, gives example after example
of God's judgment upon sin.
The Cross of Calvary is the greatest one of these. Where Jesus was
judged, shed His Blood, to satisfy God's Righteousness. That
sinners might be saved, forgiven, made "right" in God's Eyes.
The Text we have been studying the past few days tells the sad story of
two nations who fell under God's hand of Discipline. They are
Sodom and her suburbs and Judah and her cities.
Listen to what God did to Sodom. And why He did it.
"As
I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she
nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fulness 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
before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."
I have underlined for emphasis what God did because of the sins
of the land, from Ezekiel 16:48-50.
God "took them away!"
Sounds serious, deadly even.
The verb employed here for "took away" is "sur." It means "to turn
aside." Also "to reject, to abolish," and at times "to avoid!"
The verb is expressed in the hiphil stem, a "cause" lurks behind
God's actions!
God was leaving Sodom alone!
Spurning them!
Because of their sins.
Oh yes, the fire fell on that city.
But perhaps worse than that "last resort" stroke from God was His quietly
removing Himself from their national conscience!
Is that happening to America today?
Because of our sins?
Our pride and haughtiness?
Our materialism and idolatry?
Is God about "through" with our Land?
Is He withdrawing Himself from our political landscape?
From our educational systems?
From our military?
Even from our religious institutions?
If he did this to Sodom and to Judah, why would He no longer do such to
the nations of current post-modern civilization?
Beware.
"Therefore I took them away as I saw good."
It's still in the Bible.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
