Not necessarily the perversion you think.

The city of Sodom in the Bible is infamous for being judged and destroyed by God with fire and brimstone. But the interesting part is why, exactly, He did this.

See, most people think that the big sin of Sodom was sexual immorality, and that aspect is certainly true (Genesis 19:1-9, Jude 1:6-7, 2 Peter 2:6-7). But there is a little-known passage in Ezekiel 16 which brings an entirely new perspective on things.

In verse 49, the Lord declares “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.” Keeping this in mind, if you go back and read the story of Sodom’s destruction in Genesis, you notice a curious expression, where God says He has come in response to the “outcry” of Sodom, which can only mean the lamentations of the poor and needy there.

So why did God destroy Sodom? Because of both its sexual wickedness and its social injustice. It’s a pretty sobering thing to ponder in a nation of economic prosperity and “sexual liberation.”