Was the sin of Sodom selfishness rather than homosexuality (Ezekiel 16:49)?
In Ezekiel 16:49 Ezekiel described the sin of Sodom as selfishness: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy” (niv). No mention is made of homosexuality or related sexual sins. Contrary to the traditional view, they were apparently condemned simply because they were selfish, not because they were homosexuals.
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Asked November 06 2024
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Anonymous
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In my opinion, although the Bible does recount the sexually-related sin of the inhabitants of Sodom in Genesis 19, the focus of Ezekiel in the cited passage was an unfavorable comparison of Sodom to the Jerusalem of Ezekiel's time, where the same sexual sins were not present. However, Sodom also committed other sins such as those mentioned in the cited verse (such as pride, gluttony, and unconcern for the poor), which it had in common with Ezekiel's Jerusalem, and it was these that the prophet was addressing and condemning.
Dave Mohler
Supporter
I am in agreement with the answer by Tim Maas, but for clarity would add the following: If the question referred here includes all the sins of the people of Sodom then the answer would have to be: No, the sin of Sodom was not selfishness rather than homosexuality. Sodom's sins included selfishness and homosexuality. Ezekiel's reference was to selfishness as an illustration in his message to Israel (see Ez.16:47). Bible passages in Jude, Genesis and others plainly attribute the destruction of Sodom to their grave and grievous sin of homosexuality. So bad was it that angels were dispatched to snatch Lot and his family out of the city before its destruction. This account, along with that of Noah's family being removed to safety before destruction, is so important as to be used by Jesus as a parallel to the future snatching away of His believers just before the day of the Lord's wrath on a sinful, unrepentant world.(See Luke 17:26-29).
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