The patriarchs · Genesis 18–19
Sodom and Gomorrah
The LORD reveals to Abraham that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah has grown great and that their sin is very grievous. Abraham intercedes: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” If there are fifty righteous people in the city, will it be spared? Then forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty . . . down to ten: for ten righteous, God will not destroy it. That evening, two angels arrive in Sodom, where Lot welcomes them into his home. The men of the city surround the house to abuse them; the angels strike them with blindness. They urge Lot to leave with his family; his sons-in-law think he is joking. At dawn, as he lingers, the angels take him by the hand, along with his wife and two daughters: “look not behind thee.” Lot takes refuge in Zoar, and the LORD rains brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt.
What happens
- The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah reaches the LORD Genesis 18:20–21
- Abraham intercedes: “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Genesis 18:23–25
- For ten righteous, God would spare the city Genesis 18:32
- The angels strike the men of Sodom with blindness Genesis 19:10–11
- The angels take Lot by the hand: “look not behind thee” Genesis 19:16–17
- Brimstone and fire; Lot’s wife becomes a pillar of salt Genesis 19:24–26
Who is in this story
The lesson
God is a just judge who does not leave evil unpunished, but he listens to intercession and pulls his own out of judgment. “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32): the one whom God delivers does not look back.
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
Quick quiz on this story
What happens to Lot’s wife?
“His wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” The blindness had struck the men of Sodom. Genesis 19:26
At the end of Abraham’s intercession, for how many righteous people does God agree to spare the city?
Abraham works his way down from fifty to ten, and the LORD answers, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” Genesis 18:32
How do the angels protect Lot from the men of Sodom who want to break down his door?
They pull Lot inside, shut the door, and strike the men at the door with blindness, so that they wear themselves out trying to find it. Genesis 19:10–11
There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.