Judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 18:16–19:38

This story pairs intercession and judgment. God discloses impending judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham responds by pleading for the righteous within the city. Chapter 19 then shows violent social collapse in Sodom, angelic rescue of Lot, and catastrophic destruction. The narrative ends with a troubling episode in Lot's family, reminding the reader that rescue from judgment does not automatically produce moral wholeness.

Abraham's Intercession

As the visitors move toward Sodom, Abraham stands before the Lord. God is about to disclose His plan to destroy the cities. But first, God asks Himself: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?"

God decides to tell Abraham. Then Abraham responds by pleading for the righteous within the city:

"Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?" — Genesis 18:23–24 (ESV)

The dialogue moves in descending numbers. Abraham asks about fifty, then forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, then ten. Each time, God agrees that He will spare the city for the sake of the righteous.

This reveals Abraham's reverent boldness. He is not questioning God's righteousness; he is appealing to it. Calvin has stressed that Abraham's intercession reveals the compatibility of divine justice and prayerful appeal. Asking God for mercy is not questioning His righteousness; it is trusting in it.

The scene does not cancel judgment, but it demonstrates that divine justice is never arbitrary. God is willing to spare the city for the sake of the righteous. The problem is that there are not even ten righteous in Sodom.

The Destruction of Sodom

Two angels arrive in Sodom and are received by Lot. He offers them hospitality, bringing them into his house and preparing a meal.

But the men of the city gather outside Lot's house with violent intent. They demand that Lot bring out the visitors so they can assault them. The text describes the city's depth of corruption: "both young and old, all the people to the last man."

The angels strike the mob with blindness, and Lot cannot see. Then the angels urge Lot's family to flee: "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."

Lot hesitates. The angels seize him, his wife, and his daughters by the hand and bring them out of the city. As they flee, one of the angels says: "Flee for your life! Do not look back or stop anywhere in the plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away."

But Lot's wife looks back, and she becomes a pillar of salt. The text does not explain why she looks back. Perhaps it is longing for the life she is leaving. Perhaps it is doubt. But the consequence is clear: she does not escape.

Destruction falls at dawn. The text describes it with cosmic language: "The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven." The cities are destroyed, and all the people in them perish.

Abraham later sees smoke rising from the plain. The text notes: "God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow." Lot's rescue is presented as mercy connected to Abraham's covenant relationship.

The Aftermath

In the aftermath, Lot and his daughters live in a cave in the hills. The daughters believe that the world has been destroyed and that they are the only survivors. Fearing extinction of their line, they intoxicate Lot and conceive sons by him.

The episode closes by naming Moab and Ammon as descendants. Genesis records this without celebration, presenting a deeply damaged family scene after a major judgment event. Matthew Henry and others have treated Lot as a compromised righteous figure: rescued by mercy, yet shaped by proximity to a corrupt environment. His daughters resort to incest to preserve their line. The rescue is real, but the damage is also real.

What to Notice

Intercession is concrete and persistent. Abraham does not make a single appeal; he engages in dialogue with God, asking repeatedly for mercy. Intercession is not abstract prayer; it is specific, persistent pleading.
Judgment is tied to entrenched violence. Sodom's guilt is not a single isolated act. It is layered injustice, including violence and social arrogance. Later biblical references, such as Ezekiel 16, reinforce this reading.
Lot's rescue is mercy, not reward. Lot is described as righteous, yet he is also compromised by his proximity to Sodom. His rescue comes through God's mercy, connected to Abraham's covenant relationship.
Salvation history moves through morally complex lives. The chapter ends with unresolved damage. Lot is rescued, but his family is fractured. The story does not present a neat resolution; it shows the real consequences of living in a corrupt environment.