24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from
the LORD out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of
the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
(Gen. 19:24-26)
24 LORD rained... and fire from the LORD out of heaven - We read two
times about God in order to know this punishment was just from
God.
Why were Sodom and Amorah punished? Because of their inhabitants did evil
(Genesis 13:13). In Sodom there were not even ten righteous (Genesis 18).
In Gen. 13 we read this region "was well watered every where, before the
LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD":
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of
Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou
comest unto Zoar. (Gen. 13:10)
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote in the first century:
"God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its
inhabitants; and laid waste the country with the like burning, as I formerly
said when I wrote the Jewish War. But Lot's wife continually turning back to
view the city as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would
become of it, although God had forbidden her so to do, was changed into a
pillar of salt; for I have seen it, and it remains at this day." (Flavius
Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book 1, chapter 11, section 4 http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-1.htm)
"The nature of the lake
Asphaltitis is also worth describing. It is, as I have said already, bitter and
unfruitful. It is so light [or thick] that it bears up the heaviest things that
are thrown into it; nor is it easy for any one to make things sink therein to
the bottom, if he had a mind so to do. Accordingly, when Vespasian went to see
it, he commanded that some who could not swim should have their hands tied
behind them, and be thrown into the deep, when it so happened that they all
swam as if a wind had forced them upwards. Moreover, the change of the color of
this lake is wonderful, for it changes its appearance thrice every day; and as
the rays of the sun fall differently upon it, the light is variously reflected.
However, it casts up black clods of bitumen in many parts of it; these swim at
the top of the water, and resemble both in shape and bigness headless bulls;
and when the laborers that belong to the lake come to it, and catch hold of it
as it hangs together, they draw it into their ships; but when the ship is full,
it is not easy to cut off the rest, for it is so tenacious as to make the ship
hang upon its clods till they set it loose with the menstrual blood of women,
and with urine, to which alone it yields. This bitumen is not only useful for
the caulking of ships, but for the cure of men's bodies; accordingly, it is
mixed in a great many medicines. The length of this lake is five hundred and
eighty furlongs, where it is extended as far as Zoar in Arabia; and its breadth
is a hundred and fifty. The country of Sodom borders upon it. It was of old a
most happy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities,
although it be now all burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its
inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still
the remainders of that Divine fire, and the traces [or shadows] of the five cities
are still to be seen, as well as the ashes growing in their fruits; which
fruits have a color as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them with
your hands, they dissolve into smoke and ashes. And thus what is related of
this land of Sodom hath these marks of credibility which our very sight affords
us." (Flavius Josephus. War of the War. B. IV, ch. 8, sect. 4 http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/war-4.htm)
"In his Biblical
Researches in Palestine, Edward Robinson
describes it as the fruit of the Asclepias gigantea vel procera, a tree 10-15
feet high, with a grayish cork-like bark called osher by the Arabs. He
says the fruit resembled a large, smooth apple or orange, hanging in clusters
of three or four. When pressed or struck, it exploded with a puff, like a
bladder or puff-ball, leaving in the hand only the shreds of the thin rind and
a few fibers. It is filled chiefly with air, which gives it the round form. In
the center a small slender pod runs through it which contains a small quantity
of fine silk, which the Arabs collect and twist into matches for their guns. [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_of_Sodom)
"Owing to this evaporation,
to the mineral character of its own basin, and to the constant addition of
saline elements from the Jordan, the water of the Dead Sea
contains a large proportion of mineral matter, chiefly salt, chlorids of
magnesium and calcium. It is consequently bitter to the taste and has an oily
consistency. It is likewise extremely buoyant. The human body floats well out
of the water, and diving is almost impossible. With the exception of some
microscopic protophytes—namely, fresh-water diatoms and pathogenic microbes—nothing
can live in the waters of the Dead Sea. Even
salt-water fish die in it, and the bodies of fresh-water fish carried down by
the Jordan float on the surface in great numbers." (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=175&letter=D&search=dead sea)
"An unusual feature of the Dead Sea is its discharge of
asphalt. From deep seeps, the Dead Sea
constantly spits up small pebbles and blocks of the black substance.[10]" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea)
Jeremiah said about the punishment of Israel:
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is
greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a
moment, and no hands stayed on her. (Lam. 4:6)
13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have
shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, (Lam. 4:13)
But this punishment was temporary:
22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he
will no more carry thee away into captivity... (Lam. 4:22)
Babylon was punished for the sins like Sodom and Gomorrah:
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to
generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the
shepherds make their fold there. (Isaiah 13:19-20)
Zephaniah said about the judgment of God on Moab and Ammon "for their
pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people
of the LORD of hosts":
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of
Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against
their border.
9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab
shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of
nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people
shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and
magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. (Zeph. 2:8-10)
Yeshua said:
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words,
when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 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. (Matt. 10:14-15)
23 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.
24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in
the day of judgment, than for thee. (Matt. 11:23-24)
All believers in Yeshua (Jesus) must be prepared for His
Coming, don't pander to the flesh:
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone
from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the
house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let
him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife. (Luke 17:28-32)
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with
an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live
ungodly; (2 Peter 2:6)
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving
themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth
for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and
speak evil of dignities. (Jude 1:7-8)
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