God had provided a way for Lot and his family to be saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This devotional reading looks at how the destruction played out and what happened to Lot and his family.
Nuggets
- Fire and burning sulfur were the chief weapons used in a direct act of Jehovah in the destruction of the cities.
- We sometimes forget that there were other cities destroyed beside Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Mrs. Lot disobeyed a specific direction the angels gave – don’t look back – and was immediately punished.
- That Abraham could see it possibly up to 50 miles away speaks to the scale of the destruction.
- Even though the wicked were not saved, Jehovah answered Abraham’s prayer.
The time had finally arrived. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plains were to be judged.
But what would happen to Lot and his family?
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Devotions in the Abraham the Patriarch series
Judgment Day for Sodom and Gomorrah
“Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt” (Gen. 19: 24-26 NLT)
Fire and Burning Sulfur
Fire and burning sulfur were the chief weapons used in a direct act of Jehovah in the destruction of the cities.
It was not part of the angels’ mission to call down the fire and sulfur onto Sodom and Gomorrah. Jehovah doesn’t delegate our punishment.
Sovereign God does it Himself.
Ooo, baby. Put yourself in Sodom and Gomorrah that day in 1861 BC. Did the destruction start out slow? I doubt it – especially since it has been described as an overthrow. It would have started suddenly.
Picture what fell out of the sky. Maclaren described what the King James Version called brimstone as a gaseous form of bitumen, a form of petroleum, that could be airborne along with mud.
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Along with what was falling from the sky, there were hazards on the ground. Remember, the area was the plains of the Dead Sea. Called the Vale of Siddim, the area contained bitumen deposits.
While these deposits would have helped grow the local economy, it is highly flammable. It would not mix well with the fire falling from the sky, especially if it was accompanied by an earthquake as some feel.
Foster thought that there was also an earthquake associated with the cities’ destruction. I can see that as Jehovah would use every tool in His arsenal to mete out judgment on the wicked. But Dawson disagreed as an earthquake is not mentioned.
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There was nowhere the wicked could hide.
Foster said that the people probably didn’t have time to think. They were only able to react – in terror.
But I bet Jehovah did put in their minds the reason why this was happening. No, it wasn’t a fluke storm.
It was punishment.
Dawson described the judgment as unexpected to the wicked in the area. I have to process this.
That would mean that, when the angels were in Lot’s house and he was out dealing with the crowd, the angels did not plan to offer them a chance to repent.
Well, Sovereign God is not going to give us any more signs than what we have in His Word. We know enough to repent. We just have to do it.
We cannot diminish the fact – as much as the worldview tells us otherwise – that there is good and evil. Because of that, the good will be rewarded and the evil punished.
I like what Walker said. He wrote, “Their sin was very grievous, or heavy. Like a black cloud, gathering increased density from accumulated [vapors] of human wickedness until it becomes so charged with rain, thunder, lightning, and tempest, that it must at length empty itself upon the devoted earth over which it lowers.”
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We also cannot deny that God does delay punishment.
However, when the destruction came to Sodom and Gomorrah, it was complete and permanent.
Along with the Other Cities and Villages of the Plain
We sometimes forget that there were other cities destroyed beside Sodom and Gomorrah.
Just as we talked in our discussion of the flood, some may not see how a God of Love can destroy not only Sodom and Gomorrah, but also the towns and villages around them. They forget that He is the God of Wrath, also.
No, one does not exclude the other. We call it a law of physics. There is an opposite reaction.
God loves truth. He hates lying.
God loves obedience. He hates disobedience.
God was well within His right to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the surrounding population. They disobeyed Him.
Judgment Day is coming for the entire world. Those who have lived their lives disobeying Him will be punished. “And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 15 NLT).
Dawson said something interesting. He thought this was almost to the level of an eyewitness account.
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We don’t know how Moses obtained the information. If it was from God, it was an eyewitness account.
Pillar of Salt
Mrs. Lot disobeyed a specific direction the angels gave – don’t look back – and was immediately punished.
Dawson explained what happened to Mrs. Lot – along with probably other bodies. They were covered with a brine or saline mud – the Hebrew word which is translated brimstone.
Other translations are sulfur or pitch. It is interesting to note that the pitch is also translated as gopher, the material used to build the ark.
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Maybe. Look what Rothschild said. He wrote,
“She is a ‘Netziv melech’ a standing monument made out of an easily eroded material. Salt represents value and wealth, it is used to preserve food, it has medicinal qualities, the beautiful crystals reflect light, it speaks to us of the sea and of tears. Salt is the symbol of the covenant (see Lev 2:13, according to Talmud salt from Sodom was burned in temple ritual (Ker 6a) and it is present to this day on the Kiddush table alongside the challah as an echo of that ritual. Lot’s wife escapes the fate of the rest of her family, she is preserved at one with her environment before the descent into degradation that follows.”
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That almost sounds like it is making Mrs. Lot a heroine.
While the how remains a mystery, the most important thing is the why.
We may think looking back is such a little thing. We may think that Lot’s wife just wanted to see the show. How was God going to destroy whole cities in the region?
It wasn’t little. Mrs. Lot looked by longingly. That meant it wasn’t just a momentary glance back.
Remember, the destruction couldn’t begin until they got to where they were going. Mrs. Lot must have all but stopped to be close enough to get salted.
More than likely, Mrs. Lot stopped, turned her body around to get a good look, and sighed deeply.
Jesus Himself told us why the family didn’t want to leave and why she looked back. “Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it” (Lk. 17: 32-33 NLT).
We cannot hold on to our old lifestyle after conversion. We have to let go of sinful things. We have to be transformed internally.
We have to remember that these little decisions also play a role in forming our character.
Spurgeon had a great thought. How much did Lot’s hesitation in leaving Sodom encourage Mrs. Lot to turn back – maybe she was thinking for one last look?
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Mrs. Lot may have looked at the hesitation by Lot earning only a get-going shove from the angels. Maybe that is what she expected for a look-back look.
We can’t look back, longing for the sin we left behind.
But I like Hughes’ explanation best. He wrote, “Lot’s wife is an example of the inevitable fate of those who outwardly, but reluctantly, conform to the requirements of the gospel, but whose heart is in the world.”
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Just because Mrs. Lot was Mrs. doesn’t mean that she inherited Lot’s righteousness when she married him. Just because she went through religious motions — if she did — doesn’t mean her salvation was genuine.
If that is the case, we will see Judas in Heaven.
- “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” (Mt. 7: 21-23 NLT).
- “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” (II Cor. 2: 15-16 NLT).
Mrs. Lot struggled with unbelief and indecision. She also had a large dose of ingratitude.
Jehovah doesn’t give leeway. A sin is a sin. Our opinion isn’t taken into account.
Jehovah expects us to obey Him. When we are presumptuous enough to think we can disobey Sovereign God and not suffer any consequences, we will be punished.
Yes, Jehovah will forgive us when we are truly repentant.
But we have to ask for that forgiveness. We have to turn away from our sin.
Gray had a great nugget. He wrote, “None who are on the way to heaven can look back longing on the world they leave without injury.”
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How we can read this was that Mrs. Lot liked her life in Sodom and didn’t want to give it up when Jehovah said go.
Abraham Saw the Destruction
“Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain” (Gen. 19: 27-29 NLT)
Abraham Watched
That Abraham could see it possibly up to 50 miles away speaks to the scale of the destruction.
I wonder what Abraham felt as he stood watching the smoke. Concern for Lot. Sadness that ten righteous people weren’t found.
Also, I wonder about what others in the area — all the way to Beer-sheba —thought. They hadn’t gotten Abraham’s warning. They just woke up one morning to smoke.
Spurgeon believed that Abraham went back to the spot that he interceded with Jehovah for sparing Sodom. That would have been logical, especially since Sodom was in sight.
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But isn’t Jehovah like that? Sometimes, He will give a final warning. Sometimes, He just brings judgment.
God Had Listened
Even though the wicked were not saved, Jehovah answered Abraham’s prayer.
Yeah, the cities of the plains were destroyed. The wicked were not saved.
No, Jehovah couldn’t find ten righteous people. But He saved Abraham’s family.
Why? Leale reminded us that Jehovah blends justice with mercy. He wrote, “He overcomes the hindrances and obstacles to salvation which arise in our minds.”
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Grace is freely given to us. It is through this grace that individuals overcome sin. It is through that grace He sent Jesus to be our Savior and gave the Holy Spirit to convict, guide, and empower us.
It is through this grace that Jehovah wants to see each of His children saved from the punishment meted out to the wicked.
Making the Connections #1
Do we think Lot was worthy enough to be saved? We probably think as Monte did. He wrote, “Few characters in the Bible are more full of comfort than Lot’s. Weak in disposition, faulty in his general life, erring after repeated warnings, irresolute even when he stood on the verge of ruin, God was yet willing to save him.”
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We may have characterized Lot as weak instead of sinful. I can see that. We might save the sinful designation for those who intentionally sin. Lot do sound like he may have characterized his sins as unintentional.
God does distinguish between intentional and unintentional sin. The sacrificial system is built to address unintentional sins.
God did save Lot, his wife, and his two daughters (Gen. 19: 15). Well, he tried to save the wife, but she looked back. He tried to save the future sons-in-law, but they wouldn’t believe.
Making the Connections #2
Do we think the cities should not have been judged?
Well, they did sin and were unrepentant about it. Their moral condition opened them up for judgment.
Just as God judged the entire earth and sent the flood to destroy sin, He also judged the cities and sent fire and brimstone to judge the cities.
God is still just even though He destroyed the two cities for wickedness. “O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked” (Ps. 5: 4 NLT).
Making the Connections #3
There are times that we think judgment will only come on Judgment Day. Wrong.
God can and will judge us when He thinks that correction will serve the best purpose for our sanctification. Remember each testing, trial, and judgment creates another brick on our Sanctification Road.
Making the Connections #4
I loved what Meade said. He wrote, “… conviction for sin and conversion to God are two very different things. A sinner under conviction is a sinner waked up to his guilt and danger. A sinner converted is a sinner who has hasted away to Christ for pardon and mercy, who is made safe in the strong mountain of God’s love and grace.”
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The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and we may be sorry that we committed that sin. That gains us nothing.
We have to ask Jehovah’s forgiveness of sin, turn away from it, and start to walk with Jehovah.
Meade made a very good point. Mrs. Lot ran away from Sodom, probably as fast as her little feet could take her.
Was she running from the sin or running from judgment? There is a big difference.
In today’s vernacular, we would say was she sorry she sinned, or was she sorry she got caught? There is a big difference.
Almost persuaded isn’t good enough.
Related Links
John Rogers Acapella Gospel Hymns
Making the Connections #5
We like to say there are no strings attached to salvation. Well, we cannot buy it or earn it.
We have to accept the gift of salvation.
But in doing so, we have responsibilities that we have agreed to take on. We agree to turn away from sin. We agree to follow all of God’s laws and commandments. We agree to ask forgiveness when we don’t.
Strings? Maybe. Maybe not.
But they are our responsibilities in the covenant.
In other words, God can and should expect obedience from us.
This is just like the original sin. God was only asking for obedience on this day. Nothing else, just do what I say.
No, humans hadn’t progressed any, had they?
Making the Connections #6
Should Abraham feel that God didn’t answer his prayer? No, Lot and most of his family were saved.
- “Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah” (Gen. 19: 24 NLT).
- “God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived” (Gen. 19: 29 NLT).
No, the cities themselves were not saved. Their sin was too much.
We shouldn’t rail on God when our answers are not the answers received. We are to pray in His Will, not our own.
How Do We Apply This?
- Don’t be the disciples who mourns for prior sin because judgment will be yours, too.
- Listen and obey Jehovah’s commands.
- Seek God so that our hearts grow closer to Him.
- Expect judgment when we rebel, sometimes immediately.
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Father God. We don’t want to be like Lot. We want to completely walking with You every day of our lives. We want to be obedient the first time You command us. Strengthen us and sanctify us. Amen.
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