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Sex is
wonderful when it is used in the right way - within
a life-long, committed marriage relationship,
between a man and a woman. God specifically made
us male and female. He designed us with differences
in gender. He designed men to be men, and women
to be women. He made us in such a way that there
are physical and emotional differences between
men and women. It makes life so much more interesting.
From my male perspective, a beautiful woman, like
my Martha, is better than anything else on Earth!
More beautiful than the most beautiful artwork,
more precious than gold or silver, more valuable
than great wealth.
Sexuality
is useful. It helps draw a man and a woman together,
and keep them together. It's a glue of marital
companionship. It provides pleasure. Sex is a
very powerful force that can have the most profound
consequences for good or for bad. The proper use
of sexuality is essential for healthy families
and healthy societies. God has given us the power
to reproduce. He allows us to be involved in the
production of other human beings, beings made
in the image of God, beings capable of living
forever! What a miracle it is when a baby is born!
But,
sexuality that is misused can be terribly destructive.
It's destructive physically, mentally, emotionally
and socially. Both God's law and natural law tell
us that homosexuality is a perversion of what
God intended. Nature shows us that men are not
to have sex with men, and women with women. The
male and female anatomy are designed for the opposite
sex - not the same sex. God's Word couldn't be
more clear on the subject.
You shall
not lie with a male as one lies with a female;
it is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22).
If there
is a man who lies with a male as those who lie
with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable
act; they shall surely be put to death (Leviticus
20:13).
You think
the New Testament changed this? Think again. God
gave them over to degrading passions; for their
women exchanged the natural function for that
which is unnatural, and in the same way also the
men abandoned the natural function of the woman
and burned in their desire toward one another,
men with men committing indecent acts and receiving
in their own persons the due penalty of their
error (Romans 1:26-27).
Homosexuality
is unnatural. It's an error. It's a degrading
passion. It degrades, it hurts, it ruins the one
who engages in it. It brings a penalty to the
person who engages in this shameful perversion,
and it brings the ultimate the judgment of God.
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither
the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor male prostitutes nor homosexuals... will inherit
the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Our study
from the Torah today couldn't be more relevant.
Presidential candidate Dr. John Dean said this
week that his decision to sign the bill legalizing
civil unions for homosexuals in Vermont was influenced
by his Christian
faith. "My view of Christianity ... is that
the hallmark of being a Christian is to reach
out to people who have been left behind,"
he claims. "So I think there was a religious
aspect to my decision to support civil unions."
In other words, his so-called "Christian
faith" was a driving force causing him to
advance the radical homosexual agenda, which God
calls an abomination! Unbelievable! He also stated
that "from a religious point of view, if
God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would
not have created gay people." God creating
homosexuality? Incredible! Blasphemous!
In this
portion of the Torah, we have the supreme example
of sexuality run amuck. The two angels who had
appeared to Abraham in a human form, left Abraham
and the Lord, who had also taken on a human form,
and had eaten a meal with Abraham, and headed
east, some 10 or 15 miles, toward the city of
Sodom, which is much lower in elevation, near
the Dead Sea. Remember that at that time, Sodom
and Gomorrah were in a lush well-watered valley.
The two
angels came to Sodom in the evening, and encountered
Lot sitting near the gate of the city, where the
leaders of the city gathered. This indicates that
Lot may have been a respected leader in the city
of Sodom.
Lot greeted
them with honor, and since it was evening, he
offered his home and his hospitality to the two
strangers, giving us a good example of hospitality
that we should imitate. Why should we be hospitable
to others, even strangers? Well, it may turn out
that they are not ordinary human beings, but angels
sent from God, who will do something good for
you, as these two angels will do to Lot.
The two
angels in human form initially turned down Lot's
offer, wanting to spend the night in the city
square, so they could test the goodness of the
city. But Lot knew that the city square, which
should be a safe place in a good city, was not
safe, and he urged the angels to stay with him
that night. Even though these strangers may not
have been able to pay him back, that didn't matter
to Lot. He was generous with strangers, and treated
them well that evening. He didn't serve them poor
fare, but served them a feast.
But then
something terrible happened. Before they lay down
to go to sleep, the male population of the city,
both old and young, surrounded Lot's house, and
demanded that Lot send out the two strangers,
so that they could be homosexually gang-raped
by population of the entire city. Cruel, vile,
disgusting, perverse, wicked, twisted, horrible.
Abomination. How far they had fallen from the
proper use of sexuality! How far they were from
modesty, from decency, from compassion.
Lot went
out to them, and offered to give them his two
virgin daughters, instead of the men who had come
into his home, and therefore were under his protection.
This offer may have made Lot a good host, but
I'm not sure it made him a good father!
The Sodomites,
the men of Sodom, not only ignored Lot's request,
but threatened to treat Lot worse then the two
strangers. The two men grabbed hold of Lot, and
brought Lot back into his house. Then the angels
did a miracle, and struck the men with blindness,
so that they were unable to find the door. But
in spite of learning the lesson from this miraculous
judgment, and turning about from their sinful
behavior, the men of Sodom were so inflamed with
their perversion that they continued trying to
get at Lot and the two strangers!
Then the
angels told Lot to remove all the members of his
family from Sodom. By their horrific actions,
the people of Sodom had verified that they were
wicked sinners and the situation was very serious.
The Lord's judgment had been determined and would
come immediately.
Lot spoke
to the men who were engaged to marry his daughters
of the judgement to come, and the need to flee,
but they didn't believe him. They thought that
Lot was making a joke, and refused to take him
seriously. Very poor judgment, and a big mistake
for them - likely their last mistake.
When
morning of the day of judgment started dawning,
in spite of the urging of the angels to immediately
leave the city, Lot was hesitant to leave. But
the good Lord loved Lot, and showed mercy to him,
and the angels took hold of Lot, his wife and
two daughters, and brought them outside of the
city. Then one of the angels instructed them to
escape if they wanted to stay alive. They must
not remain in the valley. They must escape to
the mountains, where they would be safe. And,
they must not look back toward Sodom.
But, Lot
didn't want to flee to the mountains. He wanted
to remain in the valley, which was closer and
more convenient, and which Lot may have thought
was safer. And so, he requested from God's messenger
permission to take refuge in a small town in the
valley, and God's angel gave him permission and
promised to spare Tzoar, which means "small,"
for the sake of Lot.
Do you
think it was wise of Lot to not receive and follow
the initial advice of the angel, which told him
to flee to the mountains, and instead request
to remain within a city in the valley? No. God's
advice is full of wisdom and foresight. His advise
is better than our highest wisdom. But the Lord
allowed Lot to have his own way, and so Lot, his
wife and two daughters escaped to Tzoar. Then
the Lord made sulfur and fire rain down on Sodom
and Gomorrah. It came from God out of the sky.
The cities of the valley were burned up, and of
its people killed. Even the vegetation was destroyed.
It was a total devastation. The next morning,
Abraham, who was near Hebron, much higher up in
elevation, was able to look down and toward Sodom
and Gomorrah, and saw that the entire region was
burning intensely, like the smoke pouring out
of a furnace.
At the
end of his life, Moses warned the Jewish to obey
the Lord, and remain faithful to God, otherwise
God would judge the Land of Israel, and all its
land would become like sulfur and salt, a burning
waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows
in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in
His anger and in His wrath. I've been to that
part of the Jordan Valley, and that area, near
Sodom and Gomorrah, near the Dead Sea, and that
once well watered, lush land a salty wasteland
to this day.
Lot's
wife, who was commanded not to look back, did
look back toward Sodom, and she was judged by
God, and
turned into a pillar of salt. Poor Lot. The one
who was given first choice where he would choose
to live, and had chosen to live in the valley
because it was well watered everywhere, and was
like rich land along the Nile River in Egypt,
and was like the Garden of the Lord, and therefore
had plenty of grass for his many herds, lost everything.
It's hard to serve God and wealth - to want and
choose having wealth in this world, and also serving
God with all your heart and soul. Not only had
Lot lost his home, and all his great wealth and
possessions, and the city he was living in, and
his place of leadership in the city, and his wife,
and his son-in-laws-to-be, now he was afraid to
remain even in little Tzoar!
He may
have thought that the people of the city might
blame him for being the reason for the destruction
of their region, and kill him, or that the entire
region was so ruined that there wasn't much reason
to live there. And so, he fled to the mountains,
where God's messenger had originally instructed
him to go. There he found a cave and lived in
it with his two daughters.
What
happened next illustrates the saying, "you
can take the girl out of Sodom, but you can't
take Sodom out of the girl!" While Lot was
able to maintain his righteousness while living
in Sodom, and was oppressed by the sensual conduct
of the unprincipled people living around him,
and his righteous soul felt tormented day after
day as he saw and heard what was going on in Sodom,
his children were not able to remain righteous.
Lot's daughters had been corrupted by their time
in Sodom. The immorality of Sodom a found its
way into their hearts.
Their
fiancees had been killed along with the other
people of Sodom, and they were alone in the mountains
with their father. How would they ever find a
husband? Their father was the only available male
left on Earth, and he was old, and if they didn't
act quickly, they might die without having any
children. O my, what could they do in such a desperate
situation? Trust God to help them, as He did when
He saved them out of Sodom? Seek out their uncle
Abraham? No. They gave their father too much to
drink, and when he was so drunk and asleep so
that he didn't know what was going on, the eldest
had sex with him, and was impregnated. Her son's
name, Moav, which means "from father,"
reflects this incest. The next night they got
their father to drink too much again, and the
second daughter committed incest, was impregnated,
and had a son, "Ben-Ammi" which means,
"son of my people." He was the son of
her people, her people in this case specifically
being her father.
Sexual
promiscuity and drinking too much go together.
Drinking too much leads to loss of control, and
lowers inhibitions. We wind up doing things we
ordinarily wouldn't do, things which can have
the most profound and long-term consequences.
These
two sons, born of drunkenness and incest, grew
and had their own children. Their families increased,
and became nations, the Moabites and the Ammonites.
They settled in the area on the eastern side of
the Dead Sea. They were never close to God, and
they were generally hostile to the Jewish people,
and from time to time would attack us. So, this
caused many problems for the Jewish people throughout
our history. The consequences of sexuality that
become corrupted.
Even
though they were closely related to the Hebrews
in blood and language, the Ammonites hated us.
The Ammonites showed no kindness to the Jewish
people when we passed through their territory,
en route from Egypt to the Promise Land, and therefore
they were prohibited from "entering the congregation
of the Lord to the tenth
generation" (Deut. 23:3). They remained hostile
to Israel (Judg. 3:13). Jephthah waged war against
them, and took "twenty cities... with a very
great slaughter" (Judg. 11:33). They were
again defeated by Saul (1 Sam. 11:11). David also
defeated them and their allies the Syrians (2
Sam. 10:6-14), and took their chief city, Rabbah,
with much spoil (2 Sam. 10:14; 12:26-31). The
prophets predicted fearful judgments against the
Ammonites because of their hostility to Israel
(Zeph. 2:8; Jer. 49:1-6; Ezek. 25:1-5,10; Amos
1:13-15). The national idol worshiped by this
people was Molech or Milcom, at whose altar they
offered human sacrifices (1 Kings 11:5,7). The
high places built for this idol by Solomon, at
the instigation of his Ammonite wives, were not
destroyed till the time of Josiah (2 Kings 23:13).
So, the Ammonites had a very negative political
and religious effect on the Jewish people.
The Moabites
shared the same hatred for the Chosen People.
They showed no kindness to the Jewish people when
we passed through their territory, en route from
Egypt to the Promise Land, and therefore they
were prohibited from "entering the congregation
of the Lord to the tenth generation" (Deut.
23:3). They hired Balaam to curse us. After the
Conquest of Israel, the Moabites maintained hostile
relations with the Jewish people, and frequently
harassed us in war (Judg. 3:12-30; 1 Sam. 14).
The story of Ruth, however, shows the existence
of friendly relations between Moab and Bethlehem.
By his descent from Ruth, David may be said to
have had Moabite blood in his veins. Yet there
was war between David and the Moabites (2 Sam.
8:2; 23:20; 1 Chr. 18:2), from whom he took great
spoil (2 Sam. 8:2, 11, 12; 1 Chr. 11:22; 18:11).
Several centuries later Isaiah uttered a prophecy
about Moab, predicting the coming of judgment
on that land (Isaiah 15-16). Between the time
of Isaiah and the commencement of the Babylonian
Captivity we have very few references to Moab
(Jer. 25:21; 27:3; 40:11; Zeph. 2:8-10). After
the Return from Babylon, it was Sanballat, a Moabite,
who took chief part in seeking to prevent the
rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:19; 4:1; 6:1).
[The
history of the Ammonites and Moabites comes from
WebBible Encyclopedia]
The Ammonites
and Moabites, and all the trouble they caused
us, came about because of the improper sexual
activity of Lot's two daughters! My friends, sex
is powerful! Its use in its proper, God-given
setting - marriage - is a great blessing. It's
misuse in any other setting, can have the most
profound and destructive consequences!
Since
the beginning of the Sexual Revolution in the
1960s, our nation has been progressively misusing
sex, and it is leading to terrible consequences.
Most Americans who are sexually active have multiple
partners over their lifetime. One survey I recall
said that it was close to 10 partners.
Since
1960, there has been an explosion of Sexually
Transmitted Diseases. In 1960, there were only
a couple of common STDs. Now there are 25!
In the
United States, at the beginning of our fall into
sexual degeneracy, there were no reported cases
of AIDs. The first case was reported in 1981.
Now, only 23 years later, more than 500,000 have
died of AIDs, more than died during World War
2, and even more people are infected!
The Culture
of Life Foundation reports that at a public health
conference held in December in Washington DC,
doctors cited evidence of an epidemic of sexually
transmitted diseases among the nation's teenagers,
and cited "safe-sex" programs and condom-distribution
as contributing factors of the problem.
At the
conference, researcher Dr. David Hager reported
that within the US each year, chlamydia cases
increase by 4 million, pelvic inflammatory disease
by 1.2 million, gonorrheae by 2 million, genital
herpes by 1 million and human papilloma virus
(HPV) by 5.5 million.
According
to the American Social Health Association, 3.8
million of these and other STD cases are contracted
by US teens - the highest contraction rate within
the general US population. In fact, almost 45%
of all teenagers and young adults are infected
with at least one STD by their mid-twenties.
Many
of these STDs cannot be cured, leading to long-term
health problems including infertility and even
cancer. 95% of all cases of cervical cancer are
associated with HPV infection, resulting in 4000
deaths a year in the United States.
Yet teenagers
continue to be the most targeted group for the
safe-sex message, which advocates condom use to
prevent the spread of STDs, including HIV. According
to groups such as Planned Parenthood, "safer-sex
practice allows couples to reduce their sexual
health risks. Safer sex is anything we do to lower
our risk of sexually transmitted infection."
Unfortunately, new statistics and studies have
concluded that "while condom usage has increased
most among teens, STDs have also increased most
among teens." Project Reality, the advocacy
group sponsoring the conference, points out that
"the popular claim that 'condoms help prevent
the spread of STDs,' is not supported by the data.
If condoms were effective against STDs, the increase
in condom usage would correlate to a decrease
in STDs overall-which is not the case. Rather
as condom usage increases, so do rates of STDs."
In addition
to such statistics on STD cases, studies on sexual
activity during adolescence also show increased
percentages of depression, suicide, as well as
an assortment of emotional problems including
loss of self-respect, esteem, and trust among
sexually active teens.
As Dr.
Hager went on to point out, the only way to guarantee
teens will not contract such diseases, or, prevent
increases in these emotional and behavioral problems
is to promote the delay of "sexual activity
until they are in a mutually, monogamous relationship
within marriage," not the safe-sex message.
The most effective messages promoting the delay
of sexual activity came from parents and moral
beliefs, which "accounted for 53% of the
influences affecting teen decisions about sex."
(From the Culture of Life Foundation, 1413 K Street,
NW, Suite 1000 Washington DC 20005, www.culture-of-life.org).
Don't
listen to the ungodly, wicked sexual propaganda
coming from the world. Heed God's word. Learn
the lessons from Sodom and Gomorrah. God condemned
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction
by reducing them to ashes, having made them an
example to those who would live ungodly lives
thereafter. God surely will judge sin. He will
reject it. He will punish it, and the one who
continues to practice it. Don't ignore sin. Turn
away from it before its too late!
Sodom
and Gomorrah and the cities around them indulged
in gross immorality and went after strange flesh,
and are exhibited as an example in undergoing
the punishment of eternal fire. Not that the fires
are still burning, but the consequences will last
forever, and all of us should learn from what
happened to them, so that something similar doesn't
happen to us (Jude 7).
Messiah
warned us to "remember Lot's wife."
Lot's wife, who was commanded not to look back,
did look back toward Sodom, and she was judged
by God, and turned into a pillar of salt. When
God delivers us from an unhealthy situation, don't
look back with longing toward it. If you were
engaged in sinful behavior, and the Lord revealed
Himself to you, and brought you away from there,
and started changing you, don't look back on those
former things with longing, with affection, with
desire. Don't think about them with pleasure.
Don't maintain fond memories of them. If God delivered
you from sinful attitudes, and bad practices,
don't be drawn back toward them, lest something
terrible happen to you, as it did to Lot's wife.
The Son
of God warned us that what happened in Sodom and
Gomorrah would happen in the Achareet HaYameem
- the Last Days: In the days of Lot they were
homosexuals, great sinners who offended the Creator,
but they thought they were OK. They were going
about their affairs as usual. They were eating,
they were drinking, they were buying, they were
selling, they were planting, they were building;
but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it
rained fire and sulfur from Heaven and destroyed
them all. It will be just the same on the day
that the Son of Man is revealed." Our society
is rapidly descending into the materialistic and
sexual cesspool of Sodom and Gomorrah. Our outcry
is becoming great, and our sin exceedingly grave.
Don't be surprised if the Lord comes down, and
His judgment falls.
Finally,
the last lesson that we should consider is that
there are sins even worse than those of Sodom
and Gomorrah. And, those sins are the sins of
unbelief, rejection of the of Messiah, and rejection
of those who bring the Good News about the salvation
He offers (see Matthew 10:11-15, 11:23-24). The
Son of God declared that any city that does not
receive one of His disciples, and pay attention
to his words, and his message about the need to
believe in Messiah, and turn to Him, will find
that it will be more tolerable for the land of
Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than
for that city. Messiah promised that the city
of Capernaum, in which Yeshua did many miracles,
and yet didn't receive Him, or believe in Him,
will not be exalted to Heaven, but will descend
to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in
Sodom which occurred in Capernaum it would have
remained. In the day of judgment, the people of
Capernaum will be judged more severely than those
who were part of Sodom! Unbelief in God and rejection
of the Messiah whom He sent - Yeshua, mankind's
only Savior, is a terrible, terrible sin, my friends.
It's a very serious thing. Warn people of the
danger. Tell them clearly, strongly, they must
accept Yeshua, and obey and follow and serve.
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