THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
Genesis 18.7 to 19.29
=Interpretation.= The incident of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah, like that of the destruction of the generation of the
deluge, is meant as an assertion of God's justice. The insistence on
the justice of God is made the more emphatic by the recognition of
the fact that His dispensations are such as may lead us at times to
call His justice into question. When, therefore, Abraham exclaims,
"Shall not the judge of all the world do justice?" he is not rebuked
for his presumption, but, on the contrary, God seems to prefer his
attitude to one that would accept apparent injustice with complacent
resignation, and God does not disdain to justify Himself to Abraham
in very much the same spirit as the Book of Job represents Him
as preferring the blasphemous accusations of Job to the pious
apologetics of his friends. (Job 42. 7.)
The particular crime assigned as an instance of the wickedness
of Sodom was a form of immorality of which strangers were the
especial victims. Lot's offer to surrender to the men of Sodom his
daughters instead of the strangers was not only prompted by a sense
of the obligation of hospitality but by the consideration of the
different degree of immorality involved in the two acts. It goes
without saying that the specific crime of the men of Sodom cannot
be explained to the children otherwise than as a disposition to
abuse strangers, the antithesis to the attitude of Abraham and Lot
towards them, and, inasmuch as the nature of the crime cannot be
taught, Lot's offer to substitute his daughters for the strangers
cannot be taught since this act would then appear as an attempt to
remedy one injustice by perpetrating another.
=Aim.= This lesson yields more than one moral for the child. The
style of Abraham's plea for Sodom and Gomorrah is a very fine
example of devotion in prayer and should affect the child's attitude
in prayer. The lesson of hospitality taught in the story that
preceded is given further emphasis by the contrast between the
reception of the strangers by Abraham and by Lot, who was reared in
Abraham's household, on the one hand, and by the people of Sodom on
the other. This contrast between the character of Abraham and that
of the people of Sodom should appeal to the Jewish pride of the
child as a descendant of Abraham, the value of which pride we have
had occasion to point out before. The transformation of Lot's wife
into a pillar of salt is an excellent lesson in the value of prompt
obedience and the danger of hesitation and inordinate curiosity.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= In teaching of Abraham's plea for
Sodom and Gomorrah, do not merely give the substance of Abraham's
prayer but thoroughly assimilate and impart the reverential spirit
contained in such introductory phrases as "Behold now I have
taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes,
peradventure, etc." "Oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will
speak", and again, "Let not the Lord be angry and I will speak but
this once". In order that this part of the lesson shall affect the
child's attitude in prayer, speak of Abraham's plea as a prayer
by saying "Then Abraham prayed, etc.", rather than simply "Then
Abraham said", but do not, of course, go into a dissertation on
prayer; let the child draw his own moral.
In telling of the reception of the angels in Sodom it is well to
emphasize the contrast between the way the men of Sodom treated
strangers and the way that Abraham and Lot treated them. The
accusation of the men of Sodom, "This one fellow came in to sojourn
and he will needs play the judge" is a fine involuntary tribute to
Lot's moral superiority and should be quoted. The final picture in
verse 28 should not be omitted as it emphasizes the connection of
Abraham with these events and furnishes, so to speak, a concluding
tableau to the story.
A description of the Dead Sea region of Palestine, accompanied by a
good picture showing its present desolation, might furnish a good
conclusion to the lesson. The following questions will test the
child's comprehension of the story's moral:
1. How did our Father Abraham treat strangers? How did Lot? Where
did Lot learn always to be kind to strangers? How did the people of
Sodom treat strangers?
Why did God want to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? When God told
Abraham that he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, was Abraham glad
or sorry? What did he do? Can you repeat his prayer?
What did the angels tell Lot and his family not to do? Did they all
obey? Why did Lot's wife look back? What happened to her because she
did not obey?