Read Genesis 19 Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph:
18:1-19:38 {s} Abraham’s prayer, but the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah
The Chiastic Structure of this paragraph reveals something about the judgment of God. God gets accused of being angry, vengeful, wrathful, and judgmental when He exercises His right and His responsibility of judging sin. But is it true?
Applying the teaching tool of of Common Theme, we find two instances in the Bible so far where God judged sin which resulted in death:
1) The global Flood, where only Noah and his family were spared; and
2) The overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The judgment came because the wickedness of men had become great.
And YHVH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Gen 6:5
And YHVH said, ‘Truly, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and, truly, their sin is exceedingly grievous.’ Gen 18:20
Wickedness targets the innocent and creates victims of violence. When wickedness becomes great, it is the responsibility of the Judge of the whole earth to judge it.
In both instances YHVH made a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. In both instances, He provided an avenue of escape for the righteous, so that He did not ‘sweep away the righteous with the wicked.’
What about Lot’s two daughters? Lot offering to put them out to appease the wicked men was not YHVH’s suggestion, but shows how damaging to Lot and his family Sodom’s culture was. Likewise, that the daughters bore sons to their father was not YHVH’s idea. The Bible factually reports what men did, but this does not mean YHVH condoned it, and we must be careful not to conflate the two.
Why This Matters: YHVH is both just and merciful. He judges sin to protect the innocent, but He always opens an avenue of escape for the righteous through the judgment.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Finding Messiah in Gen 18:1-22:24 (Vayeira) – Christine Miller
The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah – Associates for Biblical Research
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