by C. A. Gray
But it was too late. I saw what looked like the light of a flame reflected on her horrified face for half a second. Then she collapsed. The flash of flames momentarily blinded me; the next second, the form that had been my wife appeared to be a grayish pillar of powder, residue of the destruction around her.
All three of us let out an unearthly wail, but I kept my head enough to grasp my daughters’ wrists before they could run to their mother and be consumed like her.
“Do not make me lose you two also,” I croaked, turning their faces away. I did not know if the angels meant we were literally not to watch the destruction occur, or if they only meant we were not to stray outside the city limits of Zoar—but I did not want to find out.
Abraham
I rose that morning like any other, and went about my usual routine, when suddenly there was a great flash of light in the sky, almost as if the sun had come to earth. Some seconds later I heard what sounded like the loudest thunder I had ever heard, so deafening that my ears rang long afterwards.
I watched in horror as I understood what this was: Sodom and Gomorrah, wiped out in an instant. Presently I became aware that I was not alone. Sarah stood by my side.
“Lot,” she whispered, as we watched the fire and ash.
My heart felt like it had stilled in my chest, but I clutched my arm around her shoulders tightly.
“Lot survives,” I said firmly. “Perhaps he alone, but he survives.”
“How do you know?” she managed.
“Because he is righteous,” I said, transfixed by the dazzling, horrible show. “Apparently there weren’t nine others like him in the whole city, but he is righteous.”
“What does that matter?” asked Sarah. “The righteous still suffer all the time!”
I knew she thought of the many decades of her own barrenness as she said this. “Not at the Lord’s hands, though,” I insisted. “He saved Noah, and his family with him. He would have saved more, if anyone had listened. He will not destroy the righteous with the wicked.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I gave a little shrug. “I know the Lord.”
Afterword
We know from Genesis 13:10-11 that the land of Sodom and Gomorrah was an exceedingly good land, even likened to the Garden of Eden, which was why Lot chose it for himself when he and Abraham (then Abram) parted ways. Now, though, it’s the Dead Sea (Genesis 14:3) and surrounding areas. Nothing grows there.
The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah would seem arbitrary and cruel had the angels not gone to investigate, just as (presumably) pre-incarnate Jesus went to investigate the Tower of Babel. Surely omnipotent God knew already what the people of the city were like, without having to physically go and see. I suspect the reason for sending the angels was so that we could see what it was like too, through the writings of scripture. God doesn’t always bother to explain or defend Himself, but in this case I think that was the point. While there was not yet a law, nor had there been any atonement for sin, this was a culture in which the people brazenly flaunted their sin (Isaiah 3:9)—and presumably they knew on some level that it was wrong, because they accused Lot of judging them for it (Genesis 19:9). Literally every man of the city stalked this pair of beautiful strangers with the expressed purpose of gang rape, presumably including even Lot’s sons-in-law. Even “righteous” Lot appeared to be so desensitized to this depraved culture that he offered his own daughters to the men as a substitute (Genesis 19:8)! I had a hard time rationalizing this in the retelling. I do suspect Lot knew the men of the city would not accept, but why make such a horrible offer? Was it because he felt responsible for the strangers, or perhaps because he felt that homosexuality plus gang rape was worse than just plain gang rape? Was he acting overly obsequious to the angels, showing that he would protect them at all costs? How must his daughters have felt to have been so lightly esteemed by their father? Perhaps even they wouldn’t have considered this to be as appalling as we might today, since they later thought nothing of incest (and essentially rape) of their own father, either (Genesis 19:31-38). We are all more influenced by the culture around us than we might like to think. “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
God apparently had not intended to tell Abraham His purpose—He and the two angels just happened to be passing by Abraham’s tent on their way. (This was fortunate for Sarah, since this was when Sarah happened to overhear the promise that she would have a son by that time the following year.) But it’s interesting that God did tell Abraham what He was about to do. Amos 3:7 says that God does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets, and incredibly, God considered Abraham His friend (2 Chronicles 20:7). Jesus distinguished between servants and friends by saying that servants do not know what their master is doing, while friends discuss their plans (John 15:15). Like a friend, Abraham did not merely listen, but got involved in interceding for Sodom—and even more incredibly, God listened. Possibly Abraham could have convinced God to spare the city for even fewer righteous people than ten, but he stopped there. Perhaps he was thinking of Lot’s own family, which would have included at least his wife, his two unmarried daughters, and his sons-in-law (plural), so that would have been at least four others, if not more. Abraham may have thought Lot’s family alone would make ten, and have considered the city as good as spared. Unfortunately, Lot’s sons-in-law were presumably part of the gang that surrounded the angels, and when he later went to try to convince them to leave the city with him, they did not believe him. How heartbreaking for Lot and his wife, to lose their daughters and probably grandchildren too, because their sons-in-law refused to listen. I assume this was the reason that Lot’s wife “looked back,” and also why Lot himself hesitated to leave when the angels told him to do so, and the angels had to drag them away (Genesis 19:16). Sparing Lot wasn’t part of the deal Abraham and God had worked out: the angels were not obligated to save even Lot if they did not spare the city, but they did so anyway. Abraham presumably knew God would spare him, because he knew God’s character: that He would not slay the righteous with the wicked (Genesis 18:25).
Satan is conspicuously absent from the biblical text on this story, as he is on most of them. But just as he was involved in corrupting the entire earth during the time of Noah, perhaps here he was behind the scenes, trying to test God’s resolution to never again judge the entire earth by flood. Would God let this kind of debauchery stand, knowing as He did that “a little leaven [a type of sin] leavens the whole loaf” (Ephesians 5:9)? It’s possible. Alternatively, all since mankind became inherently sinful at birth after obeying Satan in the garden (Psalm 51:5), with no law at this point to restrain them (Galatians 3:23), perhaps that wasn’t even necessary. Perhaps the people of Sodom and Gomorrah became this corrupt all on their own, without Satan’s having to do a thing except sit back and watch.
What actually happened to Sodom and Gomorrah—how did fire and brimstone rain from heaven, and how did Lot’s wife turn into a pillar of salt for looking back (Genesis 19:24-26)? According to Life Site News, in the article “Archaeologists: Sodom and Gomorrah literally destroyed by fire and brimstone falling from the sky,” this was likely a meteor entering earth’s atmosphere and exploding there (much like what happened to the Tunguska Asteroid in June 1908). This would have had the force of an atomic bomb. Archeological evidence suggests that around 1700 BC, a flourishing civilization was suddenly destroyed by temperatures similar to that on the surface of the sun, hot enough to heat pottery to glass in the space of milliseconds. The explosion rained down platinum as well as molten lava, suggesting meteoric origin. We know from Genesis 14:10 that the surrounding areas around Sodom and Gomorrah were tar or slime pits, which would have fueled the flames and may have triggered secondary explosions after the initial incident as well.
Because the Dead (or Salt) Sea was in the area, archaeologists believe that the salt was spread over the land. Could thi
s be what is implied when it says that Lot’s wife “became” a pillar of salt? The phrasing sounds like she literally turned around and her chemical composition changed at once. Perhaps this was the case, but the angels had made it very clear that Lot and his family needed to make it safely within the boundaries of Zoar before they sent destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:17, 19:22). The word in Hebrew for “looked back” was also to “consider, regard, or respect.” I wonder if she ran back outside the protective boundaries the angels had placed around Zoar (which was evidently so near to Sodom and Gomorrah that the angels had originally intended to destroy it too), and was consumed in the explosion—and then, like the rest of the land, she too was covered in not only ash but also the salt from the Dead Sea.
Side note: when Abraham encountered the angels, there were three of them. By the time they got to Sodom, there were just the two. When Abraham spoke to them, the one who replied to him was identified as the Lord: presumably this was again the pre-incarnate Jesus. We’re told those who actually went to Sodom were angels, so at some point between speaking to Abraham and their arrival in Sodom, the Lord had seen enough and let the angels go on alone. We’re not given the names of these two angels; I chose Gabriel and Michael simply because those are the only two named angels elsewhere in the Bible.
The Scriptures
Genesis 18:16-19:29
18:16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” 30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
19:1: Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” 6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” 9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. 15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” 18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” 21 And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
Abraham’s Sacrifice
Years passed, and Isaac grew into manhood. He was our pride and joy, and everything Sarah and I could possibly have wished for in a son: obedient, dutiful, handsome, and so very patient. I often marveled at how mild he was, particularly given his mother’s fiery temper. He was the best of both of us, with his mother’s good looks and common sense, and my quiet trust and confidence in the Lord.
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p; Yet while Isaac seemed content to live his life moment by moment, never fretting about what was to come, Sarah agonized over where to find him a wife.
“He’s already over thirty years old!” she insisted one evening when we were alone. “We should send a servant now !”
“The Lord has not told me to do that,” I reminded her, “and yes , I’ve asked Him about it, and I’ve continued to ask Him. He will tell me when the time is right. Isaac is the promised child, Sarah. Obviously he will have to marry.”
“ When ?” Sarah demanded. “I’m over one hundred and twenty years old, Abra ham , Father of Nations! I’d like to live to see my grandchildren!”
What she did not say was that Hagar, her longtime rival, already enjoyed five grandsons through Ishmael, and three granddaughters as well. Sarah’s animosity for her former maid had simmered after Isaac’s birth, but had reignited once Ishmael had married and his wife had begun to bear children.
“Patience, my love,” I murmured, kissing the top of her head. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “He will marry. He will have children. Our descendants will be as the grains of sand and the stars in the sky, remember? Surely you cannot doubt that now.”
She sniffled. At long last she grumbled, “I don’t doubt it, I’m just sick of waiting. I don’t see why you can’t just send a servant back to Ur. Why do you have to wait for the Lord to tell you to do it? Isn’t it obvious that’s what has to be done?”
I raised my eyebrows at her. “Really?” I let my question hang in the air between us. She knew exactly what I meant: the last time she had tried to help God out, Hagar had borne Ishmael, and Sarah herself had gained a lifelong enemy.
She sighed. “All right fine , but—will you please at least ask Him again?”
I nodded, squeezed her shoulder, and went out of the tent. I spotted Isaac sitting off by himself and gazing up at the stars, as he often did. He gave me a cheerful little wave. I smiled back.