%20compressed.png?updatedAt=1733383467626&ssl=1 "The Story of Abraham, Lot, and the People of Sodom")
The Story of Abraham, Lot, and the People of Sodom
In the ancient lands of Canaan, two men stood out for their unwavering faith and obedience to God: Abraham and his nephew Lot. Their journeys intertwined with the fate of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, offering profound lessons on righteousness, hospitality, and divine justice.
Abraham’s Intercession for Sodom
One day, as Abraham sat at the entrance of his tent near the great trees of Mamre, he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. Recognizing them as messengers from God, he hurried to meet them, bowing low to the ground. He invited them to rest and partake in a meal. After they ate, one of the men asked, “Where is your wife Sarah?” When Abraham replied that she was in the tent, the man said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah, overhearing this, laughed to herself, doubting the possibility due to her old age. The Lord inquired why she laughed, affirming that nothing is too hard for Him.
As the men rose to leave, they looked toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. The Lord then deliberated, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” He revealed His plan to investigate the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah, as their sin was grievous. Abraham, concerned for the righteous within the city, pleaded, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” He negotiated with God, reducing the number of righteous individuals required to spare the city from fifty to ten. God agreed, stating, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
Lot’s Encounter with the Angels
The two men arrived in Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. Upon seeing them, he rose to meet them and bowed with his face to the ground. He invited them to his house to wash their feet and spend the night. Initially, they declined, stating they would spend the night in the square. However, Lot insisted strongly, and they agreed to stay at his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, demanding that he bring out the men so they could have relations with them. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him. He pleaded with them, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.” He offered his two virgin daughters instead, but the men refused, threatening to do worse to Lot than to the visitors. The angels intervened, pulling Lot back into the house and striking the men outside with blindness, so they could not find the door.
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
The angels told Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place.” Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who thought he was joking. At dawn, the angels urged Lot to take his wife and two daughters and flee to the mountains to avoid being swept away in the city’s punishment. Lot hesitated, so the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and led them safely out of the city. As they brought them out, one of the angels said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
Lot pleaded with them, “No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die.” He requested to flee to a small town called Zoar, and the angels granted his request, saying, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.” By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus, He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.
Lot’s Wife Turns to a Pillar of Salt
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Aftermath and Lot’s Descendants
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. The older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Lessons and Reflections
The intertwined stories of Abraham, Lot, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah offer profound lessons:
- Intercession and Mercy: Abraham’s plea for the righteous in Sodom demonstrates the power of intercessory prayer and God’s willingness to show mercy.
