Destroyer of Sodom

Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities around it were to be destroyed for their wickedness. 

God was judging the issue and now the time for destruction had come.

But we must accurately see the context of this terrifying judgment here.

It says that:

[Gen 19:23-25 NKJV] 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

Deuteronomy says that the entire plain turned into brimstone, salt and burning while nothing can be sowed there.

Lot’s own wife who looked back to Sodom with desire to it turned into a pillar of salt.

And when Abraham went out of his tent in the morning the sight is simply solemn:

[Gen 19:27-28 NKJV] 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

Such was the end of Sodom. But to properly see the character of God in this great judgment we must look at what Sodom had done in the first place.

We know they were rich because of the land they lived in. We know that God had blessed them in this regard. Yet they had become wicked and unthankful.

Even when Lot went near to Sodom when he separated with Abraham the people in the city were already described as very wicked. God had given them time to repent. 

In fact, he even gave them an opportunity.

Kedor-Laomer had won the war against Sodom and its allies. It was Abraham who had saved them from this great king. The king of Sodom had met Abraham and the Sodomites were presented with a chance to know the true God. Abraham had certainly not won by his own power and the people in Sodom could have known something divine happened here.

Yet they did not care and they did not repent. They didn’t even seem to consider it.

God had given them a chance and much patience, but they had despised His mercy and goodness and power.

And what kind of characteristics did these Sodomites have?

When a stranger entered the city they turned into a homosexual violent rape-gang controlled by passion.

They were even willing to fight against divinity itself. When the angels in the house of Lot made the Sodomites blind with a miracle to keep Lot safe, they did not fear. They did not repent.

No, they became weary trying to seek the door. They were willing to fight against God Himself.

All this was quite enough evidence for the court of God. The cry against Sodom was great in the judgment hall.

[Gen 19:13 NKJV] 13 "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

And so it was. 

God does not like to destroy, but He absolutely does it when it is needed. But even in this case He was extremely patient and he allowed it to go to a very terrible kind of wickedness. 

He was patient, willing to save them and at the same time this left no doubt about the justice of His judgment.

God has not changed. If God was so patient in the past, why would we think it would be any different with the final judgment? He has given this world way more time than it deserves. But do not interpret this as an absence of judgment.

God does judge and destroy, but He is extremely patient and transparent in His doings.

This is the character of God.