Genesis chapters 18 and 19 record the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham and Sarah had been visited by 3 men, one identified as the LORD. The LORD knew Abraham would be the father of the chosen people. Based on this, the LORD decided to tell Abraham about the pending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
(Bible quotes from King James Version)
Gen 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
Gen 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
Remember Lot? He was the nephew of Abraham and had traveled with him from Ur of the Chaldees. Both were blessed and increased much in herds and flocks. Got so bad that their herdsmen quarreled.
In Genesis 13:5-13 Abraham decided they needed to separate. He gave Lot first choice of the land.
Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
BUT!
Yes, there is always a “But!” Gen 13:13 states “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” The righteous soul of Lot was vexed daily by their unlawful deeds (2 Peter 2:8).
By the time we get to chapter 18 the LORD has had enough and is ready to wipe out Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham intercedes asking if God would destroy the righteous with the wicked? What if there were fifty righteous? Would the LORD destroy the fifty righteous with the wicked?
The LORD agreed to spare if there were fifty righteous.
At this point Abraham begins to bargain. What if there weren’t quite 50? What if there were only forty five?
The LORD agreed to forty five, “If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.”
Abraham continues the bargaining process. What if there are only forty? How about thirty? twenty? Finally ten! The LORD agreed that if ten righteous souls were found He would spare.
Genesis chapter 19 records the attempts to find the minimum of ten and the eventual destruction.
Upon arrival in Sodom, only Lot’s house was found to be righteous. This is only Lot, his wife and two virgin daughters. Lot even went to his sons in law, begging them to enter his house of safety.
OK, Lot, Go Time!
The next morning, Gen 19:15-26, Lot and his family lingered. By the LORD’s mercy they were led by force outside the city prior to destruction.
Don’t Look Back!
Lot’s family was told not to look back in Gen 19:17 as they fled to the city of Zoar. Yet Mrs. Lot had to look as the LORD rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. Upon looking back she turned into a pillar of salt! The destruction was so great the smoke rose as a furnace.
Great Story, What does that have to do with me?
Second Peter 2:9 gives the child of God hope.
2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
If God can deliver Lot from that mess he was in, surely he can help us find escape from the temptations we face.
If I lived in Sodom back in the day, would the LORD have counted me as one of the righteous? How about You?
I may consider myself “vexed” by all the unlawful deeds of those around me, but I must do my best to live by God’s standard. I must not let forces of sin and evil drag me away from seeking God and His righteousness.
I must strive to be one of the minimum number of righteous that will keep the LORD’s destruction at bay.
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