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Abraham Pleads for Even 10 Righteous People in Sodom and Gomorrah

This passage in Genesis 18 is a beautiful example of intercessory prayer.  When the Lord reveals that He is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleads for anyone righteous who might live there.  Remember the three visitors from my previous post about God promising Abraham and Sarah a son?  As the three visitors get up to leave, they began walking toward Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham walks with them.  As the 2 angles begin walking toward the two cities, Abraham stands before the Lord and says,"Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city?  Will you really destroy it and not spare it for the sake of the 50 righteous ones?"  

In fact, Abraham gets a bit bold while pleading for the sake of any righteous ones in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Far be it from You to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.  Far be it from You!  Will not the judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25)

The Lord tells Abraham that He won't destroy the city if He finds that there are 50 righteous people there.  Then Abraham pleads for 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, then Abraham pleads for even 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah.  

The Lord tells Abraham that He will not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there are only 10 righteous people living there.  At that point, Abraham returns to his home.

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As we enter Genesis 19, the angels and the Lord approach Sodom and Gomorrah.  They find Lot sitting at the gate.  Lot invites the men to his house.  At first they decline, but then when Lot insists, they agree to go to Lot's house. Lot prepares a meal for them, but before they go to bed, all the men in the city surround Lot's house.  The men called for Lot to send the visitors (angels) out so the they could have sex with them.  

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That's how ugly and evil the city had become.

Lot begs them to not do such a wicked thing but then Lot offers his daughters instead.

The men remain persistant and move to break down Lot's door.  The men (angels) inside Lot's house pull Lot back inside.  They shut Lot's door and then they strike the men outside with blindness so that they can no longer find the door.

The angels tell Lot to get everyone who belongs to him out of the city because they are about to destroy it. 

Lot pleads with his sons-in-law who are pledged to marry his daughters to get out, but his sons-in-law think he is joking.  The angles tell lot to take his wife and daughters and leave quickly.  Lot hesitates so the angels grab the hands of Lot's wife and daughters to lead them safely out of the city.

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As soon as they were safely out of the city, one of the angels tells them to flee for their lives to the mountains.  He tells them to not stop in the plain and don't look back or they will be swept away.

Lot tells the angels that he will not be able to make it across the plain to the mountains.  He begs to be allowed to go to a small town instead, one that he will be able to reach in time.  His request is granted so Lot heads for the small town of Zoar.

By the time Lot reaches Zoar, the sun is coming up.  This is when the Lord destroys Sodom and Gomorrah and the entire plain.  Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

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Abraham gets up and heads to the place where he had previously spoken with the Lord, the place where he had plead for any of the righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham sees the dense smoke from the destruction.  But the Lord remembered Abraham's plea.

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. - Genesis 19:29

Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains.  They lived in a cave.  

Now this next part is hard to read but it happened according to Genesis 19:30-38.

Lot's older daughter speaks to her younger sister.  She tells her younger sister that their father is old and there are no other men around to give them children.  In summary, each of the two daughters get Lot drunk and they each sleep with him while he is drunk.  Lot was too intoxicated to know what had happened both times.  Each daughter conceives a son by her own father.  The older daughter became the mother of Moab (the future father of the Moabites).  The younger daughter became the mother of Ben-Ammi (future father of the Ammonites).

Whew!  What a story in Genesis 18-19!

Teach the Kids

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot and his daughters don't seem very child friendly, but we can teach our children valuable lessons from this passage.

1.  God is a just God, but He is also merciful.

Sodom and Gomorrah fell under God's justice, but God was merciful toward Lot and his family.

2.  Intercessory prayer is important.  

When we pray for other people, God listens just as He listened to Abraham when Abraham pleaded for the lives of anyone righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah.

3.  We must obey God.  We must do what he says.

Here is a list of lessons to help teach children about the Bible history of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sodom and Gomorrah - Free Bible Lesson for Under 5s by TrueWay Kids

Sodom and Gomorrah - Bible Time Fun Through the Bible by BibleTime Interactive Family Devotional

Sodom and Gomorrah Bible Crafts by Danielle's Place

Sodom and Gomorrah by Sunday School Resources

Sodom and Gomorrah Coded Words by Sunday School Zone

Sodom and Gomorrah by Mission Bible Class

Sodom and Gomorrah Crossword Puzzle by Sunday school Zone

This post is part of my coloring through Genesis series.  I love my Beautiful Work coloring Bible.  If you would like to color through your own Bible, you'll find it here.

PIN ME!

Abraham pleads for even 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah.