God Is Just!

Genesis 19

In Genesis 18:16-33, God declared His intentions to judge and punish Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins and wickedness on the face of the earth. Like in Genesis 6, God declared His intentions before He executed the plan. In Genesis 19, He actually visited Sodom, verified the claims, and then destroyed it for the sins. A righteous and just God does not hastily destroy people for their sins. He gives them a grace period to repent. But Lot and his children were saved. God destroys the wicked and preserves the righteous. 

Genesis 19 teaches us three important lessons:

#1. The sins of man are obvious and visible. (Genesis 19:1-11)

The first lesson we can learn here is that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were obvious and visible in their actions. At the height of their depravity was their sexual immorality. Romans 1:27 gives us a good summary of the depraved state of man when it said, “Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” A depraved man or woman who rejects the laws of God is clearly seen in the way they live their lives as if they are not accountable to God. They reject good and embrace evil.

#2. God destroys the wicked and saves the righteous. (Genesis 19:12-29)

In this chapter, we see the heart of God’s justice when He preserved the lives of Lot and his two girls and unleashed punishment on Sodom and Gomorrah. The nature of God is to punish evil and reward good. That is why as believers, the word of God encourages us to do good and shun evil. We are children of God. Both the wicked and the righteous will be judged based on their deeds. Romans 2:6 says that God “will render to each one according to his deeds”. The final destination of every man is based on their deeds. The unrighteous acts according to their evil nature and influence of the devil. The righteous acts based on their nature of being joined to Christ.

#3. Sin is in the heart of man and not outside him. (Genesis 19:30-38)

I am very sure that if the two daughters of Lot had asked their father concerning what they sought to do, he would have objected to it. They used a humanly devised strategy to bring forth children to preserve their father’s lineage. Sin was in the heart of the people of Sodom and also in the heart of the two girls of Lot. They may have thought leaving Sodom will end sin but it unveiled what was in their hearts. Some people think sin is outside of them but it springs from the heart. That’s why the Bible encourages us to guard our heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). We may leave the world and still find sin with us if we don’t deal with it.

God’s promise of destroying Sodom was achieved but sin was still in the hearts of the children of Lot. We must guard ourselves against sin.

Take Action: Have you examined your heart whether you are in sin?