Sodom And Gomorrah Series

June 04, 2022

Continuing our series, Bible Stories, we come to the story of SODOM and GOMORRAH.

Early on in the story of Abraham and his family, we come the moment Lot chose to connect himself to Sodom and Gomorrah.

The flocks and herds had become so large that Abraham and Lot’s employees were starting to fight over water and grazing land. Being the patriarch, Abraham should have gotten first choice, instead, he gave Lot first choice:

• Genesis 13:10-13 - Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered …. 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east…. 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Years before its ultimate destruction, the reputation of Sodom was already well known, AND YET Lot CHOSE – INTENTIONALLY – to move there.

We don’t hear from Lot again until Genesis 14, when he and the rest of Sodom and Gomorrah were taken as war loot by Chedorlaomer and his allies, which brings us to Genesis 18.

As was the custom, when Abraham saw 3 strangers coming down the road, he invited them to rest and have lunch. After lunch, the 3 men headed for Sodom and Abraham walked with them.

Because Abraham and God were friends and because God desired that Abraham should understand HIS definition of righteousness and instruct future generations regarding it, He chose to tell Abraham what was about to happen:

• Genesis 18:20-33 - …. "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Here we see another investigative judgement on the part of God {Genesis 2, 9, 11} – He has come down to see if what He has heard about Sodom and Gomorrah was true.

As the angels turned toward Sodom, Abraham and God lingered and Abraham begins one of scriptures great conversations with a question,

• Genesis 18:23-33 - "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing-- to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

At first glance, Abraham appears to be haggling with God like he would any seller in the marketplace. In truth, Abraham was interceding on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah – on behalf of his nephew, Lot. Abraham knew God and he knew that God is righteous and judges fairly and He knew that God would never act out of impulse, and he was jealous for God's reputation.

The heartbreaking reality was that there were not 10 right-doing {righteous} people – there was barely 1 – but out of his extravagant mercy, God agreed to 10 – if there were just 10 righteous people, He would spare everyone.