Why did Abraham try to STOP
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?

One of the most popular genres of fiction, in both visual and print media, is the courtroom drama. A good story of this type keeps us on the edges of our seats.

Excitement builds as the witnesses are questioned and the evidence is presented. With the jury, we try to decide whether the defendant is innocent or guilty of the charges, and, in the latter case, what the appropriate sentence should be.

Besides being entertaining, courtroom dramas can raise serious questions about justice, so they are not necessarily a waste of time. The administration of justice is an important subject; consider, for instance, the amount of space that the Bible devotes to it. From the time when the blood of Abel, the first murder victim, "cried out" to God (Genesis 4:10), justice has been a major concern for human society.

The book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, describes a series of events that could rightfully be termed a courtroom drama. God, the "Judge of all the earth" (Genesis 18:25), is the main character in this drama. The patriarch Abraham also plays a significant role, as does Abraham's nephew Lot. On trial are the now infamous ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

You may not have previously thought about the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah as a courtroom drama. Nonetheless, a detailed study of Genesis 18-19 carried out by biblical scholar James K. Bruckner (1) demonstrates that a "juridical" approach to the interpretation of these chapters is both appropriate and helpful. To see what insights result from such an approach, let's take a fresh look at this familiar episode from the life of Abraham.

Did Abraham entertain ANGELS?

Hebrews 13:2 instructs us:

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." (Hebrews 13:2, NKJV throughout unless stated)

In this verse, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews undoubtedly had in mind the examples of Abraham and Lot recorded in Genesis the 18th and 19th chapters.

The eighteenth chapter of Genesis begins with Abraham showing generous hospitality to three strangers who are passing through (18:1-8). These strangers turn out to be special messengers from God. They bring the message that Abraham and his wife Sarah will soon be parents of a son (18:9-15), as God had promised years earlier (15:4-5).

"And the Lord said,  'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  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.' " (Genesis 18:17-19).

How was Abraham trained in RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE?

" . . . Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness." (1Kings 10:9).

"So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people." (2Samuel 8:15).

"The King’s strength also loves justice;  You have established equity;  You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob." (Psalm 99:4).

"The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed." (Psalm 103:6).

"'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.'" (Jeremiah 23:5).

Did God hold a PUBLIC TRIAL for Sodom and Gomorrah?

"And the Lord said,  'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 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.'" (Genesis 18:20-21).

"These terms are typically used to present the outcry of a maltreated marginalized individual within a community as evidence in legal cases." (4)

When these words are used in the Hebrew Scriptures, they often describe complaints that are directed to God as the supreme judge (Genesis 4:10; Exodus 3:7; Exodus 22:23; Isaiah 19:20). In this case, the gravity of the complaint leads God to make an indictment and authorize a formal fact-finding process.

Why would an all-knowing God need to visit a CITY?

Recognizing Genesis 18-19 as a courtroom drama can help us answer a question that has puzzled many readers of Genesis 18:21: Why would an omniscient God (which means He has unlimited knowledge and awareness of all things) need to visit the cities to determine the truth of the charges? In considering this question, let us keep in mind that God is using the trial of Sodom and Gomorrah as a vehicle for teaching Abraham and his descendants about proper judicial procedures. So God is not carrying out his investigation because he lacks knowledge. Instead, he wants to illustrate how a trial should be conducted, for the purpose of educating Abraham and those who will come after him.

Can God choose to
NOT know everything?

As we read further, we will see that God designs the trial of Sodom and Gomorrah so that it will include these important characteristics:

• It is conducted in public.

• The verdict will be based on eyewitness testimony rather than hearsay.

• It includes the testimony of more than one eyewitness.

Bruckner points out that traditional Jewish exegesis of these verses has recognized God's role as Teacher. One midrashic source comments,

"This teaches that a judge must scrupulously examine a case before pronouncing judgment" (Genesis Rabbah 49.6, quoted in (5).

Christian tradition sees an additional detail that shows the extent of God's commitment to carry out a fair judicial process. The text of Genesis 18-19 seems to indicate that two of Abraham's special visitors are angels who go on to investigate matters in Sodom (18:22; 19:1-2), while the third one, referred to in Genesis 18:22 as "the Lord," stays behind to hear Abraham's concerns. It could be, then, that one of Abraham's visitors was a Christophany - i.e., a temporary, pre-incarnate appearance in human form of the One who later became Jesus Christ. (6) If so, God may be emphasizing the importance of basing legal judgments on firsthand evidence. The New Testament states that Jesus' experiences on earth prepared him in a special way to be our Intercessor and High Priest (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). Similarly, the best guarantee of a fair trial for Sodom and Gomorrah would be for the judge to ascertain, though direct sensory experience, what was going on there.

How did Abraham BARGIN with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah?

God's public announcement of the indictment against Sodom and Gomorrah invites concerned parties to get involved in the proceedings. Abraham quickly takes advantage of this opportunity. His nephew Lot lives in Sodom, and he is apparently at least somewhat familiar with the nature of the charges, since he does not ask God what "grievous sin" has allegedly been committed. And so Abraham "came near," as Genesis 18:23 tells us. Again, the Hebrew phrase for "came near" has a technical judicial meaning (7). Today we would say that Abraham "approached the bench" (p. 147) as an advocate for the defense.

What God intends Abraham to learn from the investigation of the cities of the plain specifically involves the proper administration of justice. Indeed, notice that Abraham's fascinating discussion with God in verses 23 to 32 of Genesis 18 deals with questions of due process of law:

"And Abraham came near and said,  'WOULD YOU ALSO DESTROY THE RIGHTEOUS WITH THE WICKED?  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?  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?'

"So the Lord said,  'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.'

"Then Abraham answered and said,  'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:  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.'

"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.'

"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.'

"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.'

"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." (Genesis 18:23-32)

Abraham asks God, "Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" Bruckner (8) notes that in this legal context, a better translation would be, "Will you destroy the innocent with the guilty?" Abraham, in other words, is not concerned with the question of whether anyone in Sodom and Gomorrah is sinless. Instead, he is wondering about the fate of those who are innocent of the charges in question.

Abraham is making an assumption that may strike many readers as unusual. Although nothing explicit has been said about what sentence will be imposed if the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are found guilty, Abraham assumes that the sentence would involve the total destruction of those cities (Genesis 18:24). It should also be noted that God says nothing to contradict that assumption. We will return to the question of the possible meaning of Abraham's assumption later in this article.

Abraham is concerned that the facts of the case be thoroughly investigated, and in particular, that the number of innocent people in Sodom and Gomorrah be determined. God, who must be pleased with Abraham's vigorous and persuasive advocacy, agrees that the cities will be spared if at least ten innocent people are found in them. With these pretrial discussions complete, it is time for the trial to begin.

What did ANGELS do to keep Sodomites from sexually assaulting LOT?

"One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits;  by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. " (Deuteronomy 19:15)

As Bruckner observes (9), Genesis 19 presents the evidence to the reader without editorial comment, as in a courtroom. Like jurors in a courtroom, we can listen to the testimony and draw our own conclusions:

"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.  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.'  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.

"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.  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 (have sex with them).'

"So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, 'Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!  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.'  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.

"But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.  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." (Genesis 19:1-11)

First we observe the behavior of Lot, who meets the angels at the gates of the city (19:1). Like his uncle Abraham, Lot is a gracious host. He invites the travelers into his home for a meal and a good night's sleep (verses 2-3).

However, what starts out as a quiet evening is interrupted by a riot in the streets of Sodom. An angry mob surrounds Lot's house and demands that he release his guests to them (verses 4-5). Verse 4 emphasizes that this mob includes the entire population of the city, everyone except for those who are inside the house.

Lot then steps outside and attempts to reason with the crowd at his door. He begs them to change their minds and abandon their plan to violently assault and abuse the strangers (verses 6-7). But the Sodomites derisively dismiss Lot's pleas. Who is he, a relative newcomer to their city, to stand in judgment of them? They mock Lot for calling their behavior "wicked" and threaten to treat him even more wickedly (verse 9).

These threats of the crowd essentially constitute a confession of guilt. The whole population of the area stands in defiance of God; there are not even ten innocent men to be found. The angels immobilize the mob with blindness and pull Lot back inside the house (verses 10-11). Sufficient evidence has been presented, and the verdict is clear. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah assert that no one has the right to judge them, but like everyone else, they are subject to the judgment of their Creator.

As Abraham had assumed, Sodom and Gomorrah were sentenced to utter destruction. The few who were innocent were given an opportunity to flee the area and escape to the nearby village of Zoar. Then the sentence was carried out:

"The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.  Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.  So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

"But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19:23-26)

What are the THREE major lessons of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction?

As we have seen, God intended the trial of Sodom and Gomorrah to be a learning experience for Abraham and, ultimately, for the whole human race. At the conclusion of this courtroom drama, let's consider three major lessons we have learned.

The first lesson is about justice and proper legal procedure. Just legal decisions are based on direct testimony from multiple witnesses, presented at a public trial. Every effort should be made to determine the truth and avoid the possibility that the innocent are falsely convicted.

The second lesson is about the source and content of the law upon which just legal decisions are based.

The people of Sodom believed that "might makes right" and asserted that no one could dictate morality to them. But right and wrong are not determined by the force of a mob or by popular opinion. Instead, they come to us from the God of Abraham, the Creator and Judge of all.

The cataclysmic sentence of Sodom and Gomorrah seems to imply that God's basic principles of morality are somehow hardwired into his creation. The offense of these evil towns was so great that creation itself was affected. As the Promised Land would later "spue out" the Canaanites for their great sins (Leviticus 18:28), the cities of the plain had to be incinerated in order for creation's equilibrium to be restored.

Finally, the third lesson is about the character of God upon which his law is based. When helpless victims cry out for justice, God hears and comes to their defense. He brings justice but does not delight in punishment. (The trial of Sodom and Gomorrah was a final opportunity for repentance as well as a model for fair legal procedure.) His desire is for us to heed his loving instruction and pass it along to future generations.