Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked, wicked cities, spiritual ancestors that many of America’s leaders have given themselves today.

The cry of the depravity was so shattering that it went before God in heaven and he and two angels came down to access the situation before judgment would rain down.

More proof that God is pure mercy, he came and saw for himself before handing down the verdict.

This is one of my favorite accounts because it reveals the heart of God and his mercy, compassion, and kindness.

Let me give you the background so we can get to our main verse, if at all possible, read this story or listen to it on a King James Bible app, it is beautiful but has so much woven into it, it is hard to get it all on a post.

God had called Abraham to follow him and promised that he would make him a great nation, that’s the main basis of Judaism and we as Christians are part of that great nation.

But Abraham had a natural nephew named Lot, they had all traveled together until the point came that their tribes had grown so large that their herdsmen began arguing, so Abraham suggested that Lot choose where he would want to for his own so they could separate and lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. 

God told Abrham that he was not going to hide from him what he was about to do and told him that he was going to see if the sin was as great as the cry.

Abraham knew the wickedness, but he did not want to see his nephew destroyed.

He starts by asking God if he would spare it there were fifty righteous people in the entire place.

He even went as far as to tell God that it wasn’t like him to destroy the righteous with the wicked.

God being incredibly patient and kind agreed that if fifty be found he would spare the entire place. 

Abraham knowing these people’s action went on and ask if there be, forty-five, forty, down to thirty, or even twenty people and each time God agreed that for that number of righteous people he would spare the entire place.

We’ll pick it up here:

Genesis 19:32: ” And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will yet speak but this once: peradventure, (perhaps) ten shall be found there. and he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.”

This is the beauty of the Lord and his foreknowledge and divine knowledge of us, is perfectly displayed here. He knew that Abraham was concerned about Lot and his family and desperately wanted them to be spared.

God went so far beyond his promise to Abraham, he sent his angels to Lot, to warn him that destruction was coming, and they made sure he and those that would of his family were out of harm’s way.

This story is also very telling of today, true prophets warn the world that the need to repent that sure destruction is on the way, but those warnings fall often fall in deaf ears.

Lot’s sons in law could have survived but instead they chose to ignore his pleas.

His wife did make it out, but she was destroyed on the way because they had been warned to not look back when they heard the destruction, and she could not resist that temptation and was turned to a pillar of salt.

The moment they were safe, God reigned down total annihilation on both cities.

Before you feel any shred of sorrow for these people, please know part of that story is that once the angels arrived, they literally had to blind the men of Sodom at Lot’s door because when they had seen the angels, whom they thought were men, go into his home, they came and demanded that he send out his visitors so they could rape them. 

They were so depraved that they were going to attempt to rape angels.

Mercy and compassion to the righteous loved by Abraham coupled with sudden and swift destruction of the wicked.

A passage concerning such for our days:

1 Thessalonians 1-4: ” But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 

For when they shall say Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. 

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief.” Peace can and does be falsely promised, that doesn’t mean it’s really coming. God and God alone grant peace through blessing, and he will not bless sin nor any nation that promote sin against him and his word.

This story gives such insight to beautiful mercy of God and how he blesses intercession, when we pray for those who do not yet know him, and the requests of compassion made to him by his children.

Join me next time for a little more about the true value of mercy!

Love & Peace! NBJ 2024/ Rev. N Brown Johnson