Sodom and Gomorrah Bible Verse | Bible Story

After God established His covenant with Abraham, promising to bless him and make a great nation from his descendants, Abraham settled with his wife Sarah in the land of Canaan. His nephew Lot, however, chose to live nearby in the city of Sodom.

Sodom was an extremely wicked place, filled with people who sinned greatly against God. The men of Sodom were infamous for their moral depravity, engaging in homosexual activities and other perverse behaviors. Their sin was so grievous that it caused God much grief and anguish.

One day, the Lord decided to investigate how bad the sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah really was. If their wickedness was as severe as had reached His ears, God planned to punish those cities accordingly. So the Lord appeared to Abraham in the form of three men.

As the three men were visiting Abraham, the Lord revealed His plan, saying “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so serious, that I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

Abraham could tell that these were no ordinary men – two of them were actually angels, and the third was God Himself in human form. Abraham pleaded with the Lord, asking if He would spare Sodom if there were at least 50 righteous people living there.

The Lord agreed, “If I find 50 righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

But Abraham kept bargaining lower and lower, until finally the Lord said, “If I find 10 righteous people in the city, I will not destroy it.”

The two angels continued on ahead toward Sodom, while the Lord stayed behind with Abraham. As the two angels entered Sodom that evening, they were approached by Lot, who insisted they stay the night at his house as honored guests.

However, after the angels went inside, all the wicked men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s home and demanded that he bring out his guests so they could homosexually rape them! Lot refused, begging them not to do such a wicked thing. But the mob pressed harder, trying to break down the door.

Seeing the immense depravity and sin, the two angels struck the mob with blindness so they could no longer find the door. Then they warned Lot, “Get your family out of this city – we are going to destroy Sodom because their sin is so grievous before the Lord!”

Early the next morning, the two angels urged Lot to leave immediately with his wife and two daughters. But Lot’s sons-in-law didn’t believe the warning and stayed behind. As dawn arrived, the angels took Lot’s family by the hand and led them safely out of the city, instructing them, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere. Flee to the mountains so that you won’t be swept away!”

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur from the sky onto Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying those cities and the entire valley plain where Abraham could see the smoke rising like a furnace. It was a catastrophic judgment against their wicked sin! 

Sadly, Lot’s wife disobeyed the angels’ warning by looking back at the city as they fled. Immediately, she turned into a pillar of salt. Only Lot and his two daughters made it to safety.

After the punishment against Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord remembered His promise to Abraham and spared Lot, who was Abraham’s nephew. God showed mercy by rescuing the few righteous members of Lot’s family before raining down complete destruction on those corrupt cities.

The account reveals how extremely displeased God was with the sins of Sodom – especially their practice of homosexuality, which is an abomination in His sight. Yet time and again, God showed patience with them, willing to spare them if even a few righteous people could be found living there.

Only Lot’s family escaped alive because of God’s mercy and the hospitality they showed the angels. Even then, not all were obedient, as Lot’s wife disobeyed and turned into a pillar of salt as a somber reminder of the consequences of sin.

After the catastrophe, Lot and his daughters settled in a cave, having lost their home and possessions. Tragically, Lot’s daughters got their father drunk and sexually slept with him on two consecutive nights, perversely hoping to preserve their family line through offspring. This despicable decision led to two sons being born – Moab and Benammi – who became the ancestors of enemy nations that plagued the Israelites.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah shows just how grievous sin is to God, especially sexual immorality like homosexuality. At the same time, it reveals God’s merciful heart to spare any who are righteous – demonstrating both His judgment against sin and patient grace toward those who humbly walk with Him.