Have you ever thought more highly of yourself than others? Looked down on someone? Have you ever told someone to take pride in their appearance or work? In the past few weeks I have listened to messages that quoted the same passage from Luke 18. And since I believe these things happen for a reason I decided to take a closer look. Luke 18:11-14 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Now we would look at this as an extreme example and thus we would never do this, would we? But if this is such an extreme example why is it in our bible and when you look at what follows this passage you really need to take a look. So picking up where we left off in verse 15 let's continue reading.

Luke 18:15-17 15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." Here again, we often focus on the point to how we are supposed to be like little children and can miss an important point. How are these two stories that are linked by this word “Then”? What do both of these stories have in common? The first is about arrogance and the second is about Christ’s servants wanting to protect him from the distraction of little children. Where is the link? What they both have in common is they are both about people that suffered from the sin of being a respecter of persons. The Pharisee believed he was righteous and not evil even though he said such a distasteful thing. He was a respecter of persons, (Namely himself). The disciples were also acting as a respecter of persons and not just Christ. They believed the work that was going on by Jesus, and by extension themselves, was too important to be interrupted by these children.

It’s like W.C. Fields when he says “Get away kid, you bother me”. Put these two stories together and you see a lesson that Jesus was trying to teach us. Not only are we to see that we are not more righteous because we behave more Christian than others around us but unless we take our attitude as far away from piety as an innocent child we will not enter the Kingdom. Those are tough words in deed. If you were to think of a people that exemplify the wrong path in life you would be hard-pressed to find people more wrong than those of the City of Sodom. We often think about how corrupt they were that God destroyed them outright. Surely we are not like them, are we? If you thought of the top three sins of Sodom what would they be? Would you be surprised that sexual immorality is not listed in the top three? I would like to challenge our thinking on what lessons we are to draw on from this tragedy of history. The tragedy that people could get so far off that they are hopeless and doomed for everlasting destruction. A number of weeks back someone showed me a scripture that really challenged by understanding about Sodom. Turn over to Ezekiel 16. Now if you had to tell someone of the sins of Sodom what would rise to the top of your list? What one thing would be so egregious that you would name it first?

Ezekiel 16:49-63 49 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 "And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. The title for the sermon today is: Pride and the sins of Sodom 1347 !AaG" ga'own {gaw-ohn'} Meaning: 1) exaltation, majesty, pride 1a) majesty, exaltation, excellence 1a1) of nations 1a2) of God 1a3) of the Jordan 1b) pride, arrogance (bad sense) Origin: from 01342; TWOT - 299e; n m Usage: AV - pride 20, excellency 10, majesty 7, pomp 5, swelling 3, arrogancy 2, excellent 1, proud 1; 49 Ezekiel 16 is a chapter that is listing the sins that would soon bring the end to the Kingdom of Judah. When we studied Jeremiah we looked at this part of history where the southern kingdom would soon go the way of her sister to the north. Captivity. Ezekiel 16 is centered on the abominations of Jerusalem. In it God compares three cities. Jerusalem, Samaria, and Sodom. Why Samaria was included was plain, Samaria was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel and God judged them just as he is now doing with Jerusalem, the capital of the southern Kingdom. But why Sodom? And the larger question in my mind is why is Pride listed first and why were the abominations listed last?

Let’s ask ourselves what we know of Sodom? We think about the night that God sent his angles into Sodom to literally take Lot and his family by the hand out of that city before He destroyed it. But why was Lot in that City in the first place? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Turn over to Genesis 13 and read what brought him to Sodom. Genesis 13:1-7 NKJ Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD. 5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Have you ever thought about how big the people of Lot were that they could not live in the same space as Abram? :10-13 10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. So lots possessions were spread between the cities of the plain. Then there was a war between the kings of the plain and in one of the battles Lot and much of his wealth was taken captive. Genesis 14:12 12 They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. So Abram goes after him in verse 14. Genesis 14:14 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. Now this is just part of the possessions of Abram so you can imagine what Lot had when he went to dwell in the cities of the plain. Have you ever wondered why later Abram, now Abraham bargained with God about how many righteous people there would be in Sodom and Gomorrah? Was it because Lot went in there with a large community and Abraham did not want all of them destroyed? After all of that we read that Lot escapes with the clothes on his back and even loses his wife in the process.

I wonder if the capture of Lot earlier was an attempt to wake Lot up so he can realize that he is in a precarious place and needs to separate himself from this life. What pull did Sodom and the cities of the plain have over Lot and his family if they were not part of the perverse culture? Life for those on the plain was for the rich and affluent. Sure there was corruption around you but where else is a rich man going to live in a matter befitting his stature? My family has never been well off financially but there was a time that people thought we were. Story about the Cadillac and the life of affluence When I was a teen my family moved to a new area and I began to notice that people treated us differently than in our previous area. Not in a bad way but in, what seemed as, a good way. We were always invited over to people’s houses and invited to events and such. We would in turn, open our place up for Friday night get-togethers and invite local teens over to our place. Then I was informed by someone one Friday evening they were instructed that they should not spend so much time with us because we were affluent and they were not. We found that this friendliness we were experiencing was what if felt like to be in the “In” crowd. I had never been in the “IN” crowd so I didn’t know what it felt like. I had always been on the outside looking in so I was appalled that someone would single us out for inclusion in this elite group. So I asked what about us gave anyone the idea that we were affluent? Did they not see we did not wear expensive clothing or even live in an expensive house? I found out it was my Dad’s Car.

You see he had recently bought a Cadillac at an auction and the car looked way more expensive than he could ever afford so people saw our family drive up in that and assumed we were well to do and then treated us differently. Now I know this could never happen today could it? Has anyone ever shied away from having someone over because you don’t think your place is nice enough for someone? Even though the one thing every church member has in common is that we live in an family where God is trying to make us more like Him and his principle tool is to humble us. If we are humbled before God and our family in Christ does it matter the car we drive or the clothes we were or the place that God has blessed us to live. I wonder if this is a lesson that Lot had to learn. Remember the land around these cities were similar to the Garden of Eden. Lot was an important man and probably had considerable holdings in the community but when they were summoned to leave there were none fit to escape the destruction from his empire. Lets look again at the list of grievances against Sodom? Ezekiel 16:49-63 49 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 "And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. You can look at this indictment as a progression of sin that leads to worsening states if not checked.

When I think about the people of the plain on how they defiled a good thing they were given I think about the description about the down fall of Lucifer described in Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel 28:14-17 14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. Having it all can be a recipe for disaster if we are not careful about how we view our place in the Universe. So why did God use Sodom and her pride as a comparison to Jerusalem? Lets read a passage from Expositors Bible Commentary on this passage in Ezekiel 16. Expositor's Bible Commentary, 44-48 Ezekiel changed the figure slightly at this point to make a comparison between Jerusalem, Sodom, and Samaria. These three cities were likened to three sisters. All were the offspring of their Hittite mother and Amorite father. The emphasis of the allegory was to demonstrate the abominable degradation of sin that characterized the land of Canaan, for Canaan was renowned for her religious syncretism in which she experimented with every kind of idolatry and religious perversion.

A common proverb applied to these three cities: "Like mother, like daughter". This saying was equivalent to our "Like father, like son." Jerusalem, Sodom, and Samaria had all been nourished in the perverted religious systems of the land of Canaan, and now they were characterized by their parents' wickedness. However, Jerusalem became the preeminent sister in spiritual abominations and wickedness. 49-50 Sodom's chief sin had been pride and self-exaltation. This stemmed from her abundant materialism (food), given to her from God (Gen 13:10), which had resulted in false security, apathy, a luxurious life of ease, and the corollary disdain and neglect of the poor and needy (v.49). This material ease fostered sexual perversion (Gen 13:13; 18:20; 19:4-5). This passage stands as both an exhortation and a warning against such wickedness and life styles today. As evil as Sodom was, she did not begin to do evil like Jerusalem. (Jeremiah described how the prophets of Jerusalem committed adultery, lied, and encouraged evildoers so that none turned from their wickedness, just like Sodom. Lets continue on in Ezekiel 16: 51 "Samaria did not commit half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done. 52 "You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you. Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters. Remember that the inhabitants of Jerusalem looked down on those from Samaria because they had fallen into captivity as a punishment from God. Furthermore, the Assyrians who took away the now lost tribes replaced them with people from other conquered lands and so they were certainly not as good as those in God’s nation of Judah. After all they had the Temple of God their, Surely God would not destroy this city with His Temple in it, would he?

Jeremiah 7:1-8 NKJ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 "Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!' " 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 "Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.' 5 "For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 "if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 "then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 " Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. So how does this apply to us? After all we can say to ourselves, sure I have problems but I am in the Church of God, Surely God would not destroy me, would he? Just like those of the Old Testament, we know better and God will hold us to that. We must overcome this world if we want a part in the new one. Lets read a similar warning in the New Testament. Turn over to the book of Jude.

Jude 1:5-9 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Besides the obvious call to avoid immoral people that may come into the flock to lead people away her in verse 8 is curious reference to not speak evil of dignitaries. Like some of the people on the radio that mock different politicians. We can feel that we can openly mock people in authority over us but read what verse 9 says. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" We do not want to be guilty of condemning our leaders even though they may do bad, hurtful, or even evil things. We can ask the LORD to Rebuke them but it is not our place. We who know better ought not to condemn others or we may find God speaking of us the way he did of Jerusalem in the book of Jeremiah chapter 13.

Jeremiah 13:9-11 9 "Thus says the LORD: 'In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 'This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. 11 'For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,' says the LORD, 'that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.' We all remember the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and how God changed him into a beast for 7 years. What great crime did he commit to allow this? Daniel 4:28-37 28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. Nebuchadnezzar learned his lesson when he said in verse 37…

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. Daniel 5:20 gives a warning to anyone who would sit on a throne over others. Daniel 5:20 20 "But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. We are destined for a throne unless pride corrupt us and we begin to think so much of ourselves that becoming as Little children is no longer our chief goal. You know God is a Perfect Ruler with Jesus Christ the Perfect King. There is no Pride, guile, prejudice. There is only Love, only service. God uses Humility to correct our many imperfections. Have you ever thought about the fact that God has none of these problems and yet is Humble? If things are going well in our lives we need to ask ourselves, are we letting pride a foot hold. When talking about how well your garden is doing, or how you fixed something have you ever made sure someone else knew how much you were responsible for the success even though God tells us that all good things come from him. Hosea 7:10 " 10 And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, But they do not return to the LORD their God, Nor seek Him for all this. Amos 6:8 8 The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it."

Obadiah 1:3 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' We are members of the body of Christ in the family of God. We know better because God has opened our eyes to see not only what is in this world but what could be for those who love Him. If we humble ourselves, and love one another than we will be spared the humiliation of many of those that came before. In many ways we live a life similar to Lot. We are special but we live in a profane society. We are surrounded by all manner of sin and it can be easy to be desensitized by it. We live in the richest country on earth yet just like Sodom we see the destruction just around the corner. In closing we need only here the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the Matter. Luke 21:36 36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."