TRAVELLERS in the land of Palestine have found close to the shores of the Dead Sea traces which leave no room for doubt that there is the site of the ancient cities of the plain “which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath” (Deut. 29:2323And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: (Deuteronomy 29:23)).
The frequent mention of these cities, of which Sodom seems to have been the most prominent in its guilt, testifies to the importance of the lessons to be learned by their history. Nearly two thousand years before Christ the plain of Jordan presented to the natural eye a most pleasing appearance, “well watered everywhere.” As it lay stretched out before Lot’s covetous gaze, it looked as if it were a very garden of the Lord (Gen. 13). “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly,” is the solemn verdict of the moral condition of its inhabitants.
The sin of Sodom was notorious.
Up from that beauteous plain ascended to the ear of God a great cry of human iniquity. The lusts and passions of sinful human nature unchecked and unrestrained by any fear of God had turned those fair cities into a very cesspool of corruption. For a holy God to have borne any longer this awful state of things would have been an utter impossibility; only indifference to evil could have tolerated any further delay.
“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:20, 2120And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. (Genesis 18:20‑21)).
Abraham stood before the Lord. He knew somewhat of the state of things at Sodom where Lot, his nephew, dwelt, and he knew well that only one result could follow upon such an inquiry. Sodom was doomed.
The judgment of Sodom was just.
“And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom.” The messengers of judgment were on their way, “but Abraham stood yet before the Lord” (Gen. 18:2222And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. (Genesis 18:22)).
Were there none righteous within those sin-stained walls? Yes, Lot was there, and he was a child of God (2 Peter 2:77And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (2 Peter 2:7)); there might be others; surely there would at least be fifty, and would a just God slay the righteous with the wicked? Abraham knew the character of God too well for that— “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Fifty—forty-five—forty—thirty—twenty—ten? “Peradventure ten shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.”
Reader, it is true that God is the Judge of all the earth; it is true that He has appointed a day in which He will judge the earth in righteousness; it is true that Christendom today is guiltier, far guiltier than was sinful Sodom. If the curtain were drawn aside for five minutes from London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, and we could see with God’s eyes things as they really are in every rank of life, in every walk of society—and added to all this the crowning act of man’s sin (the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ)— the wonder is that God should have delayed the day of righteous vengeance so long as He has.
Thank God there are multitudes of His people around us living lives of devotedness to Christ, and of intercession for others, like Abraham. They know that judgment is coming, and in fellowship and sympathy with the heart of Christ, by preaching and by prayer, and various means, they are seeking to rescue the perishing. But the world, just like Sodom, is doomed.
How, then, will a righteous God secure His own and preserve them from the judgment? Already He has fixed the day and appointed the Judge, and all is ripening rapidly for the direful moment.
Christ is coming.
In the twinkling of an eye He will come; descending into the air He will translate His people from earth to heaven, and thus remove them from the scene of judgment.
But, reader, the judgment is coming. You may be careless about it, you may mock at the thought of it, you may be one of the last day scoffers, and pour scorn and contempt upon all allusion to such a thing. But God has solemnly warned you about it in His Word. He warns you again by this gospel paper. “The heavens and the earth which are now,” He says, “by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:77But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:7)).
Take the Bible and read it; read it seriously; read it with an honest desire to know the truth about these things. This you will find, that God never yet sent a prophetic warning about judgment to any nation or people but what that judgment came. The histories of Egypt, Babylon, Nineveh, Sodom, Jerusalem, all testify to this. He may delay the execution of judgment, waiting to see if any will repent and turn to Him, but eventually the judgment came as sure as the warning was given. It will be so in the case of the world as now constituted.
Escape for thy life.
This was the solemn and urgent advice poured into the ears of reluctant Lot as he lingered, loathe to leave the city of his choice. Yes, “escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed” (Gen. 19:1717And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. (Genesis 19:17)).
Oh, lingering soul, your danger is as great as his. Could you but stand where Abraham did, “before the Lord,” you would see that nothing can prevent the outpouring of God’s fiery indignation upon a guilty world which has crucified His Son, and now lives carelessly regardless of its sin.
Sodom’s last sunrise.
Yes, it came. For the last time those guilty sinners saw the rising of the sun. “The sun was risen upon the earth” when Lot, just barely escaped from Sodom, entered into the place of safety.
And, reader, the last rising of the sun will soon be witnessed by the men and women of guilty Christendom. “Exalted unto heaven” with gospel privileges, “brought down to hell” in judgment she will be.
Do you wish to escape that awful doom? Thank God, the way of escape is open for you, it is open for all. Still the blessed Saviour invites you to His arms of love: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
But do not delay. Do not listen to the voice of Satan bidding you put off to a death-bed, or to some future time, the decision of this all-important matter.
When the unfortunate inhabitants of St Pierre, alarmed at the rumbling noises from the neighboring volcano, were preparing to escape, the governor of the island stilled their fears and bade them settle down again, for there was no danger, yet in twenty-four hours not a trace of the city was left.
The devil tries in like manner to still the sinner’s fears, but, friend, awake—
Escape for thy life.
“O Lord, once more in love appeal
Whilst mercy still is near,
Arouse the careless, make them feel
Their awful need of Thee.”
A. H. B.