The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a very special place to both Jews and Christians. It was the location of Solomon’s Temple and the site where the temple was rebuilt after the Jews returned from exile in Babylon. According to Jewish tradition, this is also the place where Abraham bound Isaac.
7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); (2 Pet. 2:7–8 ESV)
Three times in two verses Peter says that Lot was righteous. Yet, if the only commentary we had on Lot’s life came from Genesis, I doubt that we’d describe him as a righteous man. His “accomplishments” include:
Why did God destroy Sodom? Here is the simple answer:
But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. (Gen. 13:13 NKJV)
It really is just as simple as Genesis 13:13 says. The men of that city were great sinners and God will only tolerate so much. The question should not be why did God destroy Sodom, but how did He decide when it was time to destroy the city? To what depths of sin must a society sink before God takes action?
The Bible gives us clues that God delays His judgement until there is no hope that a society will turn away from their sin. A key verse in this regard is found in Genesis 15. This is the chapter where God formalized His covenant with Abraham. In a vision, God told Abraham that his descendants would sojourn in another land, but that they would ultimately return and take possession of the land of Canaan.
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Many experts do not accept that Tall el-Hammam is Sodom. As I noted in the first article in this series, the prevailing theory for the past century has placed Sodom at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Perhaps even beneath the surface of the Dead Sea.
It’s hard to go against a century of tradition, and the common belief in a southern location has resulted in several objections to a northern location. To wrap up this series on Tall el-Hammam, let’s look at the common objections raised against a northern location for Sodom.
Continue reading →How well does the date of the destruction of Tall el-Hammam line up with the Bible’s chronology for the destruction of Sodom? We’ve already considered that Tall el-Hammam is in the right place to be Sodom. It’s also been observed that Tall el-Hammam contains the right stuff to be Sodom. However, if Tall el-Hammam’s destruction was hundreds of years before or after the time of Abraham, it can’t be Sodom.
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