After finishing their meal and renewing their promise to Abraham and Sarah, the three men stood up to leave. Abraham accompanied them as they looked down toward Sodom. At this moment, the LORD revealed His plans to Abraham—to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
God chose to inform Abraham of His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah not only because Lot, Abraham’s beloved nephew, lived in those cities, but also because God was partnering with Abraham in His greater purposes. This was more than just a family matter—it was about relationship and trust. God was drawing Abraham into His work, allowing him to be part of His decisions.
Purpose of the Visit
By revealing His plan, God gave Abraham the opportunity to intercede on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham did respond, but instead of pleading for the cities as a whole, he seems to have narrowed his focus, perhaps with the thought of saving Lot and his family on his mind. His intercession gradually turned into a negotiation, with Abraham lowering the number of righteous people required for the cities to be spared. However, Abraham soon realised that he could not vouch for even ten people who would be found righteous in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The LORD made His decision based on the outcry against these cities, which was so great and their sin so grievous that judgment was inevitable. This situation mirrored the circumstances of Noah’s contemporaries, who were also judged for their wickedness, and that’s probably what got Abraham worried.
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? – Genesis 18:22-23 (NIV)
Abraham Intercedes
Abraham approached the LORD and asked if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked. He questioned whether God would spare the city if fifty righteous people were found there. The LORD assured him that He would spare the whole place for the sake of fifty righteous individuals. Abraham, still bold, continued to plead, asking what would happen if there were five fewer righteous people, then forty, thirty, twenty, and finally, ten. Each time, the LORD agreed not to destroy the city for the sake of the specified number of righteous people.
Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” Genesis 18:32 (NIV)
Abraham’s question is what we all ask ourselves sometimes, would God really sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? He challenged God to spare the city if even a few righteous people could be found. But what Abraham didn’t realise was that God already knew the true condition of every heart in that city. The corruption had run so deep that not even a handful of righteous people could be found. Abraham wasn’t bargaining with a distant or indifferent judge—he was speaking to a God who sees everything clearly.
Today, we often think like Abraham when we hear of disasters or tragedies in distant lands, we’re quick to question God’s justice. But many times, our concern isn’t rooted in real compassion for the people affected—it’s more about trying to affirm our own sense of fairness and righteousness. We often try to assert our own righteousness, as if to prove to God that we deserve to be spared. In doing so, we attempt to carve out our own path to escape His judgment, leaning on our own good deeds, justifying our intentions and comparing ourselves with others.
God, however, truly delights in showing mercy and continues to offer us a way out of His judgment. He does not desire destruction but longs for repentance and restoration. Lot experienced this mercy firsthand—not because of his own merit but through the persistent intercession of his uncle Abraham. In the same way, God still raises up intercessors, and ultimately gave us Jesus, who pleads for us and makes a way out—even when we don’t realise how desperately we need it.
Are Our Lives Impacting Others
What stands out about Lot is that despite living in Sodom for so long, he wasn’t able to influence even a handful of people toward righteousness. He had settled among them, built a life there, but when it came time to leave, not one soul apart from his immediate family took him seriously. It says something not just about the city, but also about Lot’s quiet compromise—being present, but not transformative.
It forces us to ask, are we truly influencing lives in a meaningful way? We often measure success in terms of religious conversion, numbers in pews, or our record church activities, but our hearts remain unchanged. People might switch religions, but do they actually encounter God? And even when they do, churches can sometimes overwhelm them with tasks—choir duty, cleaning rosters, outreach events, even dressing up as Santa in malls. Like a directionless HR department, many churches just create activities to keep people engaged, mistaking busyness for spiritual growth.
Our lives should be rooted in God, not in any outward religious performances. We should be sharing the realities of what we’ve seen, felt, wrestled with, and discovered in our journeys with Him. Abraham would come to understand this more deeply as his faith matured, while Lot, perhaps, never grasped it in the same way. Let us not make the same mistake and choose to walk closely with God Himself and follow Him directly, rather than merely following a religion and not impacting any lives around us.
Discussion Questions
- Why did God choose to inform Abraham of His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?
- Does God sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? Why do people today think that He does?
- What does it say about Lot that he could not influence anyone in his city, where he had been living for so long?
- Are we able to influence those around us to come to God, or do our actions drive them away from Him?
The Jordan Valley 
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