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Genesis 18:1-19:38
Sodom and Gomorrah: God’s Judgment on Society

Last week the old and childless Abraham and Sarah choose not to wait for God, but to try and bring about God’s promise of offspring through human means: Sarah gave Abraham her slave Hagar as a surrogate. This produced a son Ishamel . . . but Abraham and Sarah quickly realized this was a bad idea! Then, 13 years later, God reaffirmed his promise of offspring through Sarah in a 2nd covenant with Abraham – a conditional covenant for which God required circumcision as a sign of acceptance of the covenant.

The events we discuss this week occur a short time after this 2nd covenant: God finally adds a timetable to his promise that Sarah will have a son (17:19), and God brings judgment on the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, home of Abraham’s nephew Lot.

Chapter 18 opens simply but dramatically: God appears to Abraham in the midday heat, while he’s sitting at the entrance to his tent near the great trees of Mamre (Gen 18:1)! The web site includes the traditional site of the great trees of Mamre; but large trees grew freely around Hebron, so we don’t know if this site is authentic.

This is the third time a theophany of God has appeared to Abraham; this time God takes the form of a man – accompanied by two companions who turn out to be angels. Hebrews 13:2 implies Abraham does not recognize God at first. True . . . he addresses the three as if they are people of importance, and has their feet washed and an elegant meal prepared for them with elaborate courtesy . . . but this may only reflect the Middle Eastern culture, in which one’s courtesy (or lack thereof) can determine whether one lives or dies in the middle of the desert. Abraham stands by as they eat, indicating they are strangers, not friends. If nothing else, the preparation and eating of a meal confirms this is a real event – not a dream or a vision brought about by the midday heat.

After the meal the visitors ask: “Where is your wife Sarah?” (18:9). It’s very unusual in the Middle East for strangers to inquire about a man’s wife . . . and how did they know her name?! These strangers are not mere men! Abraham says Sarah is in another part of the tent (18:9); it was common for the women to be near where men and guests were seated, but not visible. Even today Bedouin women often sit close to the tent partition and listen to the conversation of the men in the other section, and this is evidently what Sarah is doing (18:10).

Apparently Abraham now realizes this is God, because the bible records: “Then YHWH said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son’” (18:10). Quietly behind the tent partition, Sarah hears what God says and “laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’” (18:12). This seems an appropriate reaction for most 89-year-old women . . . but it implies Sarah has failed to believe God’s promises! Has she? . . . or does this just reflect the female practical side.

Sarah thought no one saw or heard her reaction . . . but God knows everything: “Why did Sarah laugh?” God says. “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son” (18:13-14). End of discussion.

The balance of chapter 18 – and all of chapter 19 – deals with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why does God do it at this particular time? One of the really neat things about the bible is the way everything fits so smoothly together . . . and this is another such example. As God and the angels prepare to leave, God says: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (18:17). This is not an afterthought on God’s part . . . it’s a rhetorical question, which really means: “I’m about to reveal to Abraham whet I plan to do.” And why is God making that revelation? To quote God again in what may be the most succinct explanation of the purpose of his covenant with Abraham: “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (18:18-19).

God intends that the offspring of Abraham through Isaac will be a living example to the world of God’s righteousness and justice – and that the blessings they receive from following God’s ways will lead others to do the same . . . and receive the same blessings. And God reiterates the conditional nature of the covenant: blessings come from following God’s ways – not from being sons of Abraham and Isaac.

And just as obeying God brings blessings, disobeying God brings consequences . . . and God is about to show Abraham an example of those consequences now – both because justice requires punishment for sin, and because God is trying to teach Abraham, so Abraham can teach his offspring. God continues: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry” (18:20-21). The bible has already mentioned the outrageous sin of Sodom; Abraham turned down a reward from the King of Sodom so as not to be “tainted” (14:22-23). Notice God does not tell Abraham He plans the total destruction of the cities . . . but somehow Abraham knows.

We can almost sense the wheels turning in Abraham’s brain after God’s bombshell . . . how can he save Lot and his family from destruction? Abraham showed how devoted he is to Lot when he rescued him from the kings of four eastern cities (Gen 14), so this must be the first thing that goes through his mind. Does he dare question God? . . . but if God is teaching Abraham about righteous and justice, he’s got to ask! So Abraham screws up his courage and inquires: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really . . . not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people? . . . Far be it from you to . . . (treat) the righteous and the wicked alike. . . . Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (18:23-25). On the surface this seems a challenge to God . . . a poor attempt to lecture God about justice. But in this context it seems more like a question a student might ask a rabbi about the nature of God: “Does God treat the righteous and the wicked alike”?

Some commentators laud Abraham for his compassionate concern for the nameless righteous of Sodom. I tend to view it as just concern for Lot, but in either case it shows good character on Abraham’s part. A complete answer to this weighty theological question comes from Jesus in Luke 13:1-5 . . . but God’s response to Abraham’s question is: “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake” (18:26). The issue here is not salvation, but wholesale physical destruction . . . and Abraham learns here from God that compassion is part of His nature.

Abraham has now learned that for a few righteous people God will not destroy the city. But how few is too few? So Abraham, a wealthy and successful caravan merchant, puts his well-honed ability to haggle over price to the supreme test in the outlandish task of haggling with God. He starts small and asks for only a 10% discount: from 50 righteous to 45. Is God willing to haggle at all? And if so, 45 is surely close enough to 50 that God will agree. And God does agree!

Still gently probing, Abraham drops the price to 40. Again God agrees. Those who have taken classes in negotiation skills immediately recognize Abraham’s tactic: he gets God accustomed to saying “yes” with two small requests . . . then he ups the ante; he drops the price to 30. Another “yes.” To 20. “Yes” again. How far will God go? Abraham speaks again: “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” And God answers: “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it” (18:32).

Here Abraham stops. God and the two angels leave, and Abraham returns home – no doubt to unwind from the stress and anxiety haggling with God must have caused! But why did he stop at 10? I think Abraham believes there are 10 righteous people in Sodom: Lot and his wife and two daughters and two sons-in-law are 6. Some commentators read 19:12 as implying there are other married children and/or slaves to easily total 10 in Lot’s household! And Lot seems influential: he is found “sitting in the gate of Sodom” (19:1 NAS) – so he may be a city councilman – and he is referred to as a “judge” (19:9); even if Lot got these positions in a “deal” when Abraham saved the city, it would seem a safe bet that there are 10 righteous among just Lot’s household and friends! But there aren’t!

To make a long story short . . . the two angels enter Sodom that evening. Lot is sitting at the city gate, instinctively recognizes they shouldn’t be there, and invites them to spend the night at his home and leave town first thing in the morning. Lot has apparently moved from a tent on the outskirts of the city (13:12), to a permanent residence within the city wall – showing willingness to co-exist with evil. At first the angels refuse his hospitality; but Lot insists, and they all go home together for dinner.

Now the depth of depravity of the people of Sodom is revealed. In total disregard of Middle Eastern hospitality customs, “the men of Sodom surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter” (19:4). Their intent can only be described as homosexual gang rape – no wonder Lot did not want the angels to spend the night in public accommodations! In an exaggerated act underscoring the Middle Eastern custom that guests in your house are under your protection, Lot offers his two virgin daughters instead. But the depraved men of Sodom reject this offer and try to attack Lot when he refuses their demands. He is saved by the two angels . . . who then strike the rioters blind, so they can’t find the door of Lot’s house to storm it!

Now the angels reveal God’s plans to destroy the city; they call on Lot to collect his friends and family and flee. In light of the angels’ blindness miracle, it would seem people might give them the benefit of the doubt . . . but not even Lot’s sons-in-law believe them, and Lot himself hesitates (9:14, 16) – perhaps reluctant to leave his possessions (as might be the case with us!). So as dawn breaks, the angels forcibly lead Lot, his wife and two daughters to safety . . . telling them to flee to the mountains and not look back. But Lot, now accustomed to city life, suggests the nearby small city of Zoar instead, and the angels agree. Most people know the story of Lot’s wife – who looked back and became a pillar of salt – but some Jewish commentaries claim this is figurative language: that she is so attached to her possessions she refuses to leave. In any case, after Lot and his daughters reach Zoar, God rains down burning fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying the cities.

Where are Sodom and Gomorrah? These cities have never been located. According to tradition, they are under the Dead Sea, which is far too caustic for underwater exploration. However, recent archaeological discoveries may confirm tradition because a large cemetery – contemporary with Abraham – has been found 500 yards from the Dead Sea in a place called Bab edh-Dhra. There’s no correspondingly large city nearby, so the city from which the bodies came may be under the Dead Sea . . . near the traditional location of Sodom.

What, really, was the rain of fire and brimstone? We learned in the description of the battle of Sodom that the area was filled with tar pits (14:10). Earthquakes are common in the Jordan rift valley, and an earthquake together with lightening could have ignited the natural gases and the tar pits in the area, and submerged the cities under the Dead Sea . . . and even though a natural phenomenon, it would still be the hand of God.

What must be going through Lot’s mind, as he tries to pull himself back together in Zoar. He has made some bad choices in his life . . . most especially the choice to move to Sodom and coexist with an evil that the bible shows is both unspeakable and pervasive. But he has just lost his wife and everything he has worked for – all his property, the betrothed husbands of his two daughters, and the other relationships he developed. He has nothing left upon which to build a future for his family, and he may be too proud to ask for help from Abraham. He may do nothing but mope around all day, distraught. So he leaves the city of Zoar with his daughters and moves into a cave in the mountains.

Now we see some consequences of living in the midst of evil – even without participating in it. It’s been about 20 years since Lot moved to Sodom; it’s the only environment his daughters have known. The girls want families, but Lot has no dowry for husbands. Lot would never have sex with his daughters . . . but the Sodomized girls see nothing wrong with getting their father drunk and having intercourse with him. And they do. Both daughters become pregnant, and in naming their offspring – Moab and Ben-Ammi – they even brag about the incest! These sons become the forefathers of the Moabites and Ammonites, rivals to the Israelite offspring of Abraham during and after their conquest of the land promised by God. Three children born without God’s direction: Ishamel, Moab, Ben-Ammi . . . all cause problems for the offspring of Isaac, child of God’s promise.

Next week Abraham moves further south from Hebron to Beersheba . . . and he has an encounter with a local king similar to his earlier encounter with Pharaoh in Egypt. Also next week Sarah’s son Isaac is born – just as God promised – and Hagar and her son Ishmael are banished. The bible mentions that Abraham dug a well in the Beersheba area, and the web site will include what is traditionally considered to be that well.