One
hot summer day as Abraham sat in the door of his tent to cool off, he looked up
and saw three men coming toward him. Immediately Abraham knew these men were
very important, he ran to meet them, and bowed himself down to welcome them.
Abraham
recognized one as the Lord and said to him, “My Lord, if it pleases you, let me
bring you some water to wash your feet, and rest here under this tree for awhile.
I am your servant, please, let me prepare you something to eat so that you can
be refreshed to go on your way.”
“All
right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”
Abraham
hurried inside the tent and told Sarah to make some cakes. He then ran to pick
out a young calf from his herd, and he gave it to one of his servants to cook.
Abraham
took butter and milk with the meal he had prepared, and served it to the three
men. Abraham stood by under the tree while the men ate. After the men ate they rose up and
started toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.
The
Lord said, “Shall I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? Abraham will
surely be a great nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in
him. For I know him! He will direct his children after him to keep the way of
the Lord by doing what is right.”
Then
the Lord said, “The cry from Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sins are
so bad. I am going down to see if what they have done is as bad as I have heard.
If it is not, I will know.”
The
two angels with the Lord then turned and went toward Sodom.
Abraham
remained standing before the Lord. He then went up to the Lord and said, “Will
you destroy the good people that do right, with the people that do wicked?
Suppose there are fifty good people within the city? Will you spare the place
for the sake of fifty good people?
Surely you will not do such a thing, destroy the good along with the
wicked? Will the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
And
the Lord said, “If I find fifty good people that do right in the city of Sodom,
then I will spare the whole city for their sakes.”
Then
Abraham said, “Since I have already spoken, let me speak further to my Lord,
even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only forty-five good people
rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five?”
And
the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five good people there.”
Then
Abraham pressed even further, “Suppose there are only forty?”
And
the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty.”
“Please
don’t be angry with me, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “But, let me speak yet again.
Suppose only thirty good people are found there?”
And
the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty good people.”
Then
Abraham said, “Now, I know that I have taken it upon myself to speak in such a
way to the Lord. Suppose there are only twenty found there?”
And
the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find twenty.”
And
Abraham said, “Oh, Lord, please don’t be angry with me, allow me to speak just one
more time. Suppose ten good people that do right are found there?”
And
the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find ten good people that do right.”
After
they finished speaking the Lord went on his way, and Abraham returned to his
tent.
Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed
Genesis 19:1-29
Later in the same evening that the Lord spoke with Abraham,
the two angels entered into the city of Sodom.
Lot was sitting at the gate of the city and when he saw
them, he stood up and bowed himself in welcome, and said, “My lords, come to my
home to wash your feet, and be my guest for the night.”
“Oh no,” they replied. “We will just spend the night out
here in the city streets.”
But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot
prepared a feast for them, and they ate.
But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and
old, came and surrounded the house.
They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend
the night? Bring them out so that we can know them!”
You see, these men wanted to do something very dreadful to
these men! But Lot went out of his house and shut the door behind him, and
said, “I beg you, please do not do such a wicked thing! Do nothing to these two
men they are under my protection.”
Stand back!” they shouted. “You are not even of this city,
who are you to act as our judge? We will do far worse to you than to those
two!” They lunged toward Lot to break down the door.
But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot back inside
and bolted the door. They blinded all the men outside so that they could not
find the door; eventually they gave up trying to get inside.
The angels asked Lot, “Do you have any other family members
in this city besides what you have here? Go, get your daughters and
sons-in-laws, and any others you have in this place, for the cry is so great
against this city it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”
So Lot rushed out right away to tell his sons-in-laws to get
out of the city, that the Lord was about to destroy it, but the young men would
not listen they acted as if Lot was joking.
Early the next morning, the angels became insistent.
“Hurry!” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out
now, or you will be destroyed with the city!”
When Lot hesitated, the angels grabbed him, his wife, and
daughters by the hand and rushed them safely outside the city, for the Lord was
merciful.
The angels then told them to escape, to run for their lives,
and not to look behind them, but as they were escaping, Lot’s wife looked back,
and she became a pillar of salt.
Abraham rose up early the next morning, and went to the
place where he had stood before the Lord. When he looked toward Sodom and
Gomorrah, he watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a
furnace.
But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe
from the disaster that befell the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sodom and Gomorrah are set as an example for us in this
day and time…
2 Peter 2:6 and Jude 1:7 say the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
are an example to those that live ungodly.
Luke 17:28-30 Jesus explains that in the day that it
rained fire and brimstone upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed
everything, people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and
building, going on with life as usual. Jesus said that’s just how it will be in
the days when the Son of man is revealed.
In Luke 17, Jesus also tells us to remember Lot’s wife. He
said, “In that day, he which shall be on the housetop, and his stuff in the
house, let him not come down to take it away, and he that is in the field, let
him likewise not return back.” Jesus was giving us a warning to not look back
nor return to the world in that day. There is danger in looking back.
Was this just an innocent glance? It appears that there was
more than just turning around to see the destruction of the city. It is quite
possible that Lot’s wife’s heart, she looked back with longing and wanted to
return; maybe she was leaving family and friends behind, valuables, a beautiful
home? Maybe she didn’t she the danger and wanted to go back? We are living in
that day now and some still don’t see the ever-impending danger that looms
ahead. They start on the road to salvation, but for one reason or another
return back to the world.
The biggest lesson we can learn from Lot’s wife is to leave
the emptiness of our past behind, and not to think of returning. We can’t move
forward in our faith with the Lord if our heart is always longing to return to
the things of the world.
There is one thing we can consider when we remember Lot’s
wife – her doom is rendered all the more impressive when we consider the
circumstances -- she so nearly escaped. She was destroyed because her heart was
still in Sodom.
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