On a hillside above the town of Zoar (modern-day Safi), Byzantine Christians built a church and monastery dedicated to St. Lot where they believed he and his daughters found refuge in a cave after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible says Lot’s daughters gave birth to sons whose descendants would become the Ammonite and Moabite people, whose kingdoms were in what is now north and central Jordan.

The people of Lot lived in a society very similar to our own. It was corrupt, the people had no shame, criminals and criminal activity abounded, and those passing through the town of Sodom risked robbery and physical abuse. The overall atmosphere of the town was not one of a cohesive society. The people of Lot were without morals, without standards, and without shame. The homosexuality that abounded did not exist in a vacuum, it was part of a lifestyle that not only allowed but also encouraged vice and corruption. It was to this town that God sent Prophet Lot; his message was to worship God alone. However, embedded in worship are the desire and the willingness to obey God’s commandments? The people of Sodom were content with their corrupt ways and had no desire to curb them. Lot became an annoyance and his words were ignored.