Judgment Falls

“Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. So he overthrew those cities and all that region, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew from the ground.” –Genesis 19:24-25, NET

And what of the women and children?

Recall the prayer of Abraham: “Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?” (Gen 18:25). Abraham appears to negotiate with God, settling that if there are “ten righteous” found in Sodom and Gomorrah, God would not destroy the cities.

“Everyone rejects God; they are all morally corrupt. None of them does what is right, not even one.” –Psalm 14:3, NET

Let us not be fooled by the judgment that fell on these towns (Gen 19:24-25). Sodom and Gomorrah were examples (2Pe 2:6). Yes, their sins were severe (Gen 18:20), and they were called “exceedingly wicked” (Gen 13:13). However, judgment did not eradicate the evil. Like the flood in Noah’s day, people were just as wicked after judgment (Gen 8:21) as they were before (Gen 6:5). Do not think just because we see water alone fall from heaven and with great limits that we are more righteous (Mat 5:45; Gen 9:11). Do not think that only those caught up in a fiery disaster are “worse offenders” (Luke 13:1-5) (ex: the Los Angeles fires).

We are all guilty law-breakers (Jam 5:10-11), and the world today is under greater judgment than Sodom (Luke 10:11-12). For something greater than two angelic representatives have come down to bear witness. The very Son of God has appeared and spoken (Heb 1:2; 2:1-4), proclaiming good news to all people (John 3:16) that there is a Way (John 14:6) of escape for all through repentance (Luke 5:32; Psa 51:17).

May this move us to surrender and to have compassion. May we swing wide the door to our heart and let Him in to take us by the hand and lead us out. May we be filled with His compassion on fellow sinners, seeing that we are no better but for the grace of God. And with passion we boldly proclaim this great God to whom we plead in steadfast prayer to open ears so they too can receive this message of deliverance.