Daily Devotions
Genesis
"God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Everyone one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, no not one." Psalm 53:2-3
Text: Genesis 19:1-38
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITIES OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
The Lord had personally come down from heaven to visit the earth. It was a privilege that the inhabitants of the twin cities never fully understood let alone appreciated. All efforts to redeem those who lived in the two cities were in vain. The inevitable judgment had to take place.
“The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah,
from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities,
all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew
on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him,
and she became a pillar of salt.”GENESIS 19:23-26
JUSTIFICATION OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TWIN CITIES
Let us look at how we may justify the destruction of these two cities. Let us never imagine that God was too harsh in His judgment :-
1. Outcry was raised against them
What these outcries were, and where these came from, we are not informed. It is sufficient to know that there were people who were outraged by the morals (or the lack of them) of Sodom and Gomorrah (Cf. Genesis 18:20; 19:13). These outcries were great and urgent!
2. Intercession was made for them
Abraham pleaded strenuously on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. If there were but 10 righteous men found in both cities, the Lord would have spared them.
3. Not even a hint of remorse
There wasn’t a hint of remorse found amidst the dwellers of Sodom and Gomorrah, if the reactions of the sons-in-law of Lot were anything to go by. Right up to the last moment, even Lot’s wife was reluctant to break free from the evil of Sodom. Her backward glance was symbolic. It went against the express and explicit instruction of the angels! Her punishment was also symbolically appropriate!
FROM ABRAHAM’S VIEWPOINT
Abraham must have anxiously awaited news concerning the fate of the twin cities. The answer came, and it was bleak and somber news. The twin cities existed no more!
“And Abraham went early in the morning to the place
where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward
Sodom and Gomorrah… and he saw, and behold, the smoke
of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace…”GENESIS 19:27-28