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THE JUDGMENT OF APOSTASY (III)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8
Jude 7
Genesis 19:1-25
 
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha …
are set forth for an example …”
 
THE JUDGMENT OF APOSTASY (III)
 
The third example given by Jude is that of Sodom and Gomorrah. These were ancient cities situated near what is now the Dead Sea ‒ the region was not always dead, but was “well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt” (Gen 13:10).
 
While the region then was outwardly lush, fertile, and fruitful, the spiritual condition of the people was another matter entirely. Indeed, “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Gen 13:13). They gave themselves “to fornication, and going after strange flesh” (Jude 7), all sorts of immorality and perversion. Genesis 19 gives us a glimpse of the wickedness of those cities.
 
Sodom and Gomorrah were judged by God for their wickedness: “the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire… out of heaven,” and God “overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground” (Gen 19:24-25). It was an absolute destruction, and an abiding destruction. The plain, which was once well-watered everywhere, is to this day barren and lifeless, covered with sand and dust. Jude warns us (in Jude 7) that this judgment was intended by God “for an example,” and the fire which rained down upon Sodom was a picture of the “eternal fire” that is God’s just punishment for unrepentant sinners.
 
Yet how sad it is, that mankind today ignores God’s warning and overlooks this sober example! The Dead Sea remains today as a scar on the face of the earth, a stark reminder of the reality of God’s wrath and judgment; yet millions treat it as a tourist destination, and float in the salty waters, heedless of the weight of their sins. Indeed, the very sin, for which the city of Sodom is eponymous, has become widespread and accepted in modern society. But the example remains, though it be not regarded: God does not take these sins lightly, and anyone who thinks that the grace of God can be turned into an excuse for lasciviousness (cf. Jude 4) is in grave danger of “the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7).
 
THOUGHT: God’s grace leads us to repentance, not sin (cf. Rom 2:4).
PRAYER: God, most just and holy, help me not to take sin lightly!

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