An uproar in Tel Aviv!
In Yesterday’s publication of Israel Today there was a headline that read; “Uproar After Israeli Teacher Asks Students to Pray Against Gay Parade.” The article went on to say “Israel, or at least the Greater Tel Aviv area, has made a name for itself of late as a place of great tolerance for homosexuality, and even a top travel destination for the LGBT crowd. So, when a high school teacher from the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan cited the Bible in requesting that his students pray against the upcoming “Gay Pride” parade, outrage ensued. In reporting on the incident, Israel’s Ynet news portal (Hebrew) referred to the teacher’s remarks as a scandalous example of “homophobia” in the public education system. The teacher sent a Whatsapp message to his students stating that “on Friday there will unfortunately be a great desecration of God’s name in the heart of Israel, in Tel Aviv. We are short on salvation, but the salvation of God can come in the blink of an eye. Read this chapter of Psalms that saves us from shame and disgrace.” The teacher then cited Psalm fifteen. The local Ramat Gan municipality condemned the teacher’s remarks, inexplicably calling them “racist” in nature, while the Ministry of Education released a statement censuring the educator for intolerance. “The teacher’s words…are not in keeping with the spirit of the Ministry of Education, which educates to increase tolerance and acceptance of the other,” read the statement. The teacher is expected to face disciplinary action, and the students were all called in for a “sensitivity session” to undo any influence the teacher in question might have had on their views regarding homosexuality.”
In the book of Genesis Chapter nineteen we read these words; “And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” (Genesis 19:5)
Militancy and violence
Militant violent homosexuality was a conspicuous feature of Sodom. After Lot had received the angels into his house we are told that before they settled down for the night that “the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.” They were demanding their rights as it were to have sex with the angels which they thought were men. These wicked and depraved men and boys came from every quarter of the city. There is no doubt that militant and violent homosexuality was widespread in Sodom and that violence was threatened against any who opposed it as a way of life. While this was going on Abraham was living outside of those wicked cities on the plain in a tent and untouched by the corrupt ways of Sodom and her sister Gomorrah. Abraham was praying and interceding for his nephew Lot. God answered Abraham and sent the two angels into Sodom to rescue Lot and his family out of the city which was to be destroyed by fire from heaven. In the end only Lot and his two daughters were spared and we are told that the very same day Lot was taken out from the city that the wrath of God was poured out on those wicked cities in the plain. This whole situation teaches us about the last days prior to the return of the Messiah our Lord Jesus.
#1. Sodom represents the world
Sodom represents the world and especially the age in which we are now living where sodomy is almost becoming common place and tolerated and even approved of as a valid lifestyle. Added to this those who seek to show its perverseness from the Bible are persecuted and marginalized. Today we see an upsurge in violent and militant sodomy. The Bible calls it Sodomy! Just as Sodom and Gomorrah were doomed for a fiery judgment so is this world that tolerates sin and rebellion against God and His commandments.
#2. Lot represents believers hard pressed by persecution.
Lot represents believers in the Messiah our Lord Jesus who are hard pressed by the pressures and persecutions of the world in which they are living. Lot was somewhat reluctant to leave but because of Abraham’s intercession for him and for his family Lot was spared. In the last days believers in the Lord Jesus will be hard pressed to keep their sanctification as the pressures to compromise their stand for the Word of God will be unabated. As Peter writes; “And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Peter 4:18)
#3. Abraham represents two things:
Firstly; he represents those believers who are in this world but not of this world and who choose to live apart from the lifestyle of those around them. They are not contaminated by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life even though they are constantly bombarded with afflictions and temptations. Their mind is on their heavenly reward and they, like Abraham, are looking and longing for a city not made with human hands but whose builder and maker and foundation is God Himself and the Messiah our Lord Jesus. Secondly; Abraham represents our great High Priest and intercessor the Lord Jesus who intercedes for the saints at His Father’s right hand and ever lives to make intercession for them. Because of Abraham’s constant intercession for him Lot was taken out of the city just before the fire fell.
#4. Lot’s wife looked back
Lot’s wife we are told looked back and was consumed by the fire. She represents those believers that are escaping this world and being delivered out of it; they have believed but are still longing for the world and its pleasures and are trying to live in two camps as it were with one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of God. Most probably Lot’s wife was thinking about her social status in Sodom, after all her husband Lot had been a prominent citizen of Sodom, Possibly she remembered the cocktail parties, the entertainment and the shopping sprees, the boutiques and luxurious restaurants and the experience of rubbing shoulders with the ‘elite’ women of the city. She was told not to look back but she did because deep in her heart she loved the world and still longed for the things of the world more than she loved God and the love of the Father (God) was not in her and in the end she was consumed by the fire. She was escaping but looked back!
Commended for his courage
This teacher is to be commended for his courage and uncompromising stand against Sodomy in Tel Aviv. It is a travesty to see a man like this persecuted for his stand against a practice forbidden and condemned in Torah in a nation that has been called by the God of our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be a light to the nations. The only answer is to be found in our Messiah the Lord Jesus, the one who came to save His people from their sins, not in them!
“First for the Jew, then to the Greek”
As the Apostle Rabbi Paul writes; “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; but glory, honour, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.” (Romans 2:8-10)
P.S. See the study on our website titled; “The Days of Sodom.” Here is the link; https://blowthetrumpet.com.au/the-days-of-sodom-genesis-191-29/
