Like Sodom and Gomorrah: An Exposition of Isaiah 1:1-20

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city. Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The story of what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah is legendary. These cities lay at the bottom of the Dead Sea, also known as the “Salt Sea.” The evaporation of the waters of the Jordan River caused the area of the Dead Sea to be covered with deposits of salt. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of the cities which seemed to have been destroyed by a volcanic and or seismic event which melted the surrounding salt formations, the explosion of which covered Sodom and Gomorrah with molten salt. This is in agreement with what the Bible teaches, except that this catastrophe came upon the cities due to their gross sins and sexual perversions. Science does not look to God for causes. To them, it was an unfortunate accident caused by the fact that Sodom and Gomorrah lay in the Great Rift Valley and was prone to earthquakes. But the Bible shows that God was the one who brought judgment upon these cities. Scientists can give warnings about the dangers of living in geologically active zones and make recommendations to people. But by failing to see the hand of God, they make a fatal mistake. They fail to bring attention to Whom we should fear and respond in repentance.

The Book of Isaiah begins with a comparison of the Kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem of his day to what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah. This is shocking, considering how wicked Sodom and Gomorrah were. Isaiah begins with a lament that Judah was disobedient to Him. He notes that even the stubborn oxen and donkeys know who their masters were. Yahweh had brought up children (Judah and Israel), Family has a much higher status than their livestock. More is expected from them than oxen and donkeys. But their behavior was even worse than the animals who with the help of the lash at times could be made to do useful work.

Instead of reflecting the glory of Yahweh, Judah was full of sin and corruption. They did not even consider doing what was right. Israel had done likewise and was in danger of being removed into exile which happened during Isaiah’s lifetime. This would serve as a warning to Judah as well. But the LORD was sickened by their behavior. He could find nothing sound in them.

So what sins in particular was Judah guilty of in order to so grieve the heart of God. We don’t know whether this passage refers to the reign of Uzziah or Jotham or later to Ahaz. Scholars are divided as to whether the first five chapters refer to events before Isaiah’s inaugural vision at the death of Hezekiah in chapter 6 or not. Some see the first five chapters as a sort of introduction to the book and refers to the ministry of Isaiah as a whole. As Uzziah and Jotham were considered to be good but not perfect kings, it would be hard to see such a harsh comparison being made between their times and that of Sodom and Gomorrah. But Uzziah tried to usurp the role of the priest and was stricken with leprosy. Perhaps the mention of the putrefying sores in this passage is a allusion. And even if these two kings were good, we must remember that Lot. a leader in Sodom lived considerably above the sins of the city. He was not perfect, but he was a whole lot better than all the other residents. So this description of the events here could have happened even in the reign of these two kings. One need not necessarily wait for Ahaz who greatly corrupted Judah and brought in idolatry as well.

There seemed to be an outward conformity to the worship of Yahweh. They were still doing the sacrifices and the outward forms of worship to Yahweh. All seemed well on the surface. There seemed to be a bit of prosperity, at least among the upper classes. There was much silver in the city. But they were corrupt in heart. It is not long before inward corruption expresses itself in outward disobedience. God, who knows what is going on in the hearts of men is not deceived by these outward conformities. Unfortunately, outward conformity in worship and obedience makes one blind to internal rot. Judah was not even considering the danger they were in. Outwardly they were observant to Yahweh. Inwardly, they worshiped themselves. They had become Sodom and Gomorrah.

The outward actions Yahweh desired of them was to repent of their evil and start doing what was right. They were to look to the needs of the fatherless and widows. They were to fair in their judgment and to seek the relief of the oppressed. These are sacrifices far more pleasing to Him than all these oblations and burnt offerings. The LORD calls them to reason. Though their sins were as scarlet, they could become white as the snow. They were on the path to judgment, but there was time to turn their lives and the life of the nation around. God would rather see healing rather than have to judge. But judge He will and did, just has he has done throughout history. What a sad story it is when having been given the change to repent and be restored that men have persisted in their wickedness.

There have been many Sodom and Gomorrah times in history, all of which lead to judgment and disaster. Some, like Lot are indeed delivered, but most have perished. A lot of them who perish had been going through the motions of religion but had no heart for it. They thought their religious show on the outside was good enough to save them from judgment. Jesus castigated the city of Capernaum, who for a season was where Jesus took up residence. It had a pretty synagogue and was very religious and zealous for the outward observances of the Law. But what does Jesus say about them?

Matthew 11:23–24 NKJV

And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

But what about today? I live in the USA which has the reputation of having been founded as a Christian nation. The nations of Europe are part of what is called “Christendom.” I will refrain from judgment as to whether either were ever truly Christian. But at least there was an outward conformity to Christendom. At one time, one could not be elected to office without confessing to being a Christian. There was also a sense of law and order. But, like Judah, there was much sin in the camp. But at least, these things were done in secret. The same cannot be said of today. One can hardly be elected to office if he or she is a Christian, at least a devout one. What used to be done in secret is now practiced in public. America has outwardly become Sodom and Gomorrah. It is filled with injustice and every sort of perversion. This is not to say that there are some good, but not perfect, people living here who like Lot are distressed by what is going on. The reputation of America has drastically fallen.

Yet, many of these who outwardly practice evil still pretend conformity to Christianity. They call themselves “good Christians” and “good Catholics” even though they deny the doctrines of the church and disregard what is taught as living the Christian life. They still christen their children which involves a vow that they and the church will raise their children to believe and obey what the church has taught for centuries. They still come to the LORD’s table, and if any deny them because of their scandalous lifestyle, they defame the very church and the very Lord they made a promise to obey. Instead of preaching the Gospel the church has historically preached, they have replaced it with “social justice.” Although the Christian is called to act justly and oppose injustice, many of the new doctrines are totally contrary to Biblical teaching. So like ancient Judah, both church and state have become entirely corrupt.

It is hard for a Bible-believing Christian to feel at home in this world. We are confronted and vexed by the world. We should not be surprised that the world now openly rejects the gospel ans troubles the believers. We are not surprised, but we are greatly saddened. We know that if America and much of the Christian church does not repent, that terrible judgment awaits. the book of Isaiah proclaims God’s wrath against sin. But it also promises grace to those who believe and repent. The church must continue to believe in Jesus and what He taught. But faith also implies obedience as well.

We must realize that God calls us after the calling He gave to Isaiah. He saw the vision of the thrice holy God. He answered the call of the prophet, even though he felt unworthy of it. He was a sinner living among sinners. So are we. We need to be purged be a coal from off the altar of God, The call of Isaiah was to be very frustrating. He would proclaim the message, but most would not understand or perceive the danger they were in. They thought as long as they went through the motions and praised God with their lips, all would be well. Not so! One has to be a Christian in one’s heart.

So let us ponder these words for ourselves and act on them. Let us be willing to repent of our obstinacy and rebellion. Let our hearts be transformed. Then the scarlet of our sins will be washed white. We can go beyond the days of Isaiah in that we know that Jesus lay down His life for our sins. The scarlet of His blood makes us white as snow.

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