Sin & Destruction

By Venessa Holtzhausen

Gen 19:13 For we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before Adonai that Adonai has sent us to destroy it.”

When we read Genesis 19 about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, we think of sexual sins. That is the first thing that cross our minds, but it was far worse than just that.

The next verse states the sins of Sodom.

Eze 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, gluttony, and careless ease—so had she and her daughters—and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50 So they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.

The Complete Jewish Study Bible put it as: ’the crimes of your sister S’dom were pride and gluttony; she and her daughters were careless and complacent, so that they did nothing to help the poor and needy. They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts before me; so that when I saw it, I swept them away.’

We read words like: pride (consciousness of one’s own dignity; the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself. ), gluttony (an excessively greedy eater), carelessness (not giving sufficient attention or thought to avoiding harm or mistakes. Not concerned or worried about;
showing no interest or effort; casual), complacent (smug and uncritically satisfied with oneself or one’s achievements), arrogant (having an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities), and of course, they did not regard the poor.

It is said, that in Sodom, you were prosecuted for helping a poor person. You had to leave the person to die. Sodom was a very prosperous place and if you had money, you’re welcomed.

We must be careful of the same sins. And as I mentioned these things and you say in your heart: brother A and sister B, should hear this, then you are committing some of these same sins. We should guard our hearts. Let’s turn the finger inward and examine ourselves, before God needs to do it and take action to rid us from our sins.

We think that God is just against ‘big’ sins like sexual sins, be careful, Sodom were destroyed for pride etc. 

Amen!