The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-05
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= BIBEE-S STUDY.ON
Hope for the Sodomites

Genesis 19:12-17. 23-2e-March o. Come
ye out from among them, and be ye sep
arate, saith the Lord. and touch no un-
clean thing Corinthians Gil.
| When Abraham was 80 years old-in
| the year 2021 B. C.-his encampment was
| at Hebron. There the Lord and two an
| gels appeared to him as men. He knew
| them not, but entertained them. QIe-
| brews 1929 The one called the Lord
was doubtless the Logos, the chief mes
senger, subsequently mans Redeemer.
| The Lord on this occasion told Abraham
| that Ishmael would not be the heir of
promise. but that shortly Sarah would
| have a son. The next year Isaac was
born.
AS Abraham walked a little distance
with his visitors. he learned who they
really were, and that the destruction of
Sodom was imminent. Nobly and gener-
ously he pettioned Gods mercy on the
amongst them were doing as well as they
knew how. The Lord gave assurance
that If there were ten thus righteous,
Sodom would be spared
The Wickedness of SOdom Great
Gods policy has been to allow man.
kind, during this reign of sin and DEATH
to try their hands at lf-goyernment
etc. He has interfered to cut off with de-
struction only those whose iniquity be-
came very pronounced, and whose fond
enjoyment of life's privileges would be in
furious to themselves and to others. Thus
OF the Sodomtes and of the antedluvians
God made illustrations of the great les
son, All the wicked will He destroy"
We are to remember, however that
these are not illustrations of eternal tor
ment, but of destruction. These people
merely passed into destruction a few
years sooner than they ordinary would
have done; for the death sentence was
upon all of Adams race from the time
when he was cast out of Eden. We are
to remember, further, that Jesus Christ,
by the grace of God, tasted death for
every man.; and that in Him all the fam
lilies of the earth are to be blessed. This
means that all of Adams children, under
the reign of sin and death and the weak
nesses of heredity, will eventually come
forth from the tomb, through the merit
of Christ's sacrifice.
"And Delivered Righteous Lot"
The Apostle Peter informs us that Lot
was not in sympathy with the evils of
Sodom, where he lived. q Peter 2:7 50
His family apparently were all girls.
These, except two, had intermarried with
the Sodomites. Quite possibly it was the
thought of marrying the daughters to
prosperous husbands that, under the
guidance of the mother, had induced the
family to settle in Sodom. How many
others, like Lot and his wife, have made
the serious mistake of claiming more for
the physical and temporal interests of
their families than for their intellectual
and moral welfare The story of the
flight of Lot, with his wife and two
daughters is simply told in our lesson.
Biologists declare that the region of
the Dead Sea, the former site of Sodom,
was a gas, oil and asphalt deposit, with a
deep crevice leading down to subterra-
rean fires; and that the connection estab-
lisEed between these by an earthquake or
by lightning would have resulted as de-
scribed in the lesson. But had there been
no such reservoir of infammables, the
Lord was quite able to accomplish the
same results by other means.
Verse 90 intimates that Gods mercy to-
| ward Lot was because of his relationship
| To Abraham. This view is consistent with
all Scriptura statements. humanity was
| condemned to death because of Adams
| disobedience Hence divine justice owed
| them nothing. Divine mercy made a spe-
| cial covenant with Abraham, after he had