It seems like our world has gone into “the upside-down”. Backwards justice is not a new thing, there are many biblical examples of cities and nations doing the opposite of what is decent and right. Solomon, Josephus, and the author of the Book of Jasher give us a wonderful historical look at the world and the unjust people in the world. From their writings we understand that Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, had many problems with unjust judgments by their judges. Everything seems backwards in those cities. Oddly, we have the same backwardness showing up in our own nations today. Solomon gets to the root of this evil, explaining the ungodly and why they have taken over positions of power in the courts. We should take notice of Abraham. Abraham told Yahweh that Yahweh would not destroy the just with the unjust. Then Abraham proceeded to negotiate the salvation of the unjust cities of the plains. It is funny that Abraham declared to Yahweh what Yahweh would not do, yet we have missed this understanding and its application for ourselves. When backward judgments start to arise in the world it is because we are not aligned with the right judgments of Yahweh. But even if we do not have Yahweh as a national God or His guiding laws as our nations’ laws, we can be righteous just like Lot was. Lot lived among the ungodly and stayed righteous.
We were created to be connected in faith, righteousness, and salvation. Yet the ungodly see the world differently.
Wis 2:1 For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave.
Wis 2:2 For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart:
Wis 2:3 Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air,
Wis 2:4 And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof.
Wis 2:5 For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again.
Wis 2:6 Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth.
Wis 2:7 Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us:
Wis 2:8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered:
Wis 2:9 Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this.
Wis 2:10 Let us oppress the poor righteous man, let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient gray hairs of the aged.
Wis 2:11 Let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.
Wis 2:12 Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education.
These ungodly people have clearly been educated in the law yet they are transgressing the law. The way that they oppress the poor righteous man, the widow and the elderly, is by becoming the law. Not the laws of Moses, but the laws of the men. There are so many people that think like the ungodly, they have strength in numbers, and they become the law; the courts, the judges, the attorneys, the secret agencies that enforce the laws, the established public servant agencies that enforce the law. Imagine how deep this goes. Therefore the unjust lie in wait for the righteous. Be reminded:
1Pe 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
Sodom was a nation that was both neighbors and friends with Abraham. When Lot first went to live in Sodom, there seems to be nothing wrong with Sodom. Lot saw the beautiful fertile fields and moved there. However Sodom became psychotic very quickly.
Jasher 18:11 In those days all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the whole five cities, were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord and they provoked the Lord with their abominations, and they strengthened in aging abominably and scornfully before the Lord, and their wickedness and crimes were in those days great before the Lord.
12 And they had in their land a very extensive valley, about half a day's walk, and in it there were fountains of water and a great deal of herbage surrounding the water.
13 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah went there four times in the year, with their wives and children and all belonging to them, and they rejoiced there with timbrels and dances.
14 And in the time of rejoicing they would all rise and lay hold of their neighbor's wives, and some, the virgin daughters of their neighbors, and they enjoyed them, and each man saw his wife and daughter in the hands of his neighbor and did not say a word.
15 And they did so from morning to night, and they afterward returned home each man to his house and each woman to her tent; so they always did four times in the year.
In the seventies we thought the song “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” was a new thing, but the people of Sodom had been doing things this way since 1898 BCE. What was taking place in Sodom occurred before Isaac was born. As Solomon tells, us there is nothing new under the sun.
Jasher 18:16 Also when a stranger came into their cities and brought goods which he had purchased with a view to dispose of there, the people of these cities would assemble, men, women and children, young and old, and go to the man and take his goods by force, giving a little to each man until there was an end to all the goods of the owner which he had brought into the land.
17 And if the owner of the goods quarreled with them, saying, What is this work which you have done to me, then they would approach to him one by one, and each would show him the little which he took and taunt him, saying, I only took that little which thou didst give me; and when he heard this from them all, he would arise and go from them in sorrow and bitterness of soul, when they would all arise and go after him, and drive him out of the city with great noise and tumult.
Today we see people walk into stores and steal bags of merchandise. The backwards lawmakers decided these people won’t be prosecuted. Strange; they basically did the same in Sodom.
The Book of Jasher (Jasher is not a person, Jasher means upright sayings) gives us more insight about backwards Sodom.
Jasher 19:1 And the cities of Sodom had four judges to four cities, and these were their names, Serak in the city of Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim.
2 And Eliezer Abraham's servant applied to them different names, and he converted Serak to Shakra, Sharkad to Shakrura, Zebnac to Kezobim, and Menon to Matzlodin.
3 And by desire of their four judges the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had beds erected in the streets of the cities, and if a man came to these places they laid hold of him and brought him to one of their beds, and by force made him to lie in them.
4 And as he lay down, three men would stand at his head and three at his feet, and measure him by the length of the bed, and if the man was less than the bed these six men would stretch him at each end, and when he cried out to them they would not answer him.
5 And if he was longer than the bed they would draw together the two sides of the bed at each end, until the man had reached the gates of death.
6 And if he continued to cry out to them, they would answer him, saying, Thus shall it be done to a man that cometh into our land.
7 And when men heard all these things that the people of the cities of Sodom did, they refrained from coming there.
Sexual perversions with torture devises in the streets of the cities. Both Sodom and Gomorrah raped and tortured people passing through their town. What a crazy place.
Jasher 19:8 And when a poor man came to their land they would give him silver and gold, and cause a proclamation in the whole city not to give him a morsel of bread to eat, and if the stranger should remain there some days, and die from hunger, not having been able to obtain a morsel of bread, then at his death all the people of the city would come and take their silver and gold which they had given to him.
9 And those that could recognize the silver or gold which they had given him took it back, and at his death they also stripped him of his garments, and they would fight about them, and he that prevailed over his neighbor took them.
10 They would after that carry him and bury him under some of the shrubs in the deserts; so they did all the days to any one that came to them and died in their land.
The people seem rather psychopathic in the cities of the plains. Hearing rumors of the way people are treated in Sodom, Sarah sends Eliezer to check up on Lot.
Jasher 19:11 And in the course of time Sarah sent Eliezer to Sodom, to see Lot and inquire after his welfare.
12 And Eliezer went to Sodom, and he met a man of Sodom fighting with a stranger, and the man of Sodom stripped the poor man of all his clothes and went away.
13 And this poor man cried to Eliezer and supplicated his favor on account of what the man of Sodom had done to him.
14 And he said to him, Why dost thou act thus to the poor man who came to thy land?
15 And the man of Sodom answered Eliezer, saying, Is this man thy brother, or have the people of Sodom made thee a judge this day, that thou speakest about this man?
16 And Eliezer strove with the man of Sodom on account of the poor man, and when Eliezer approached to recover the poor man's clothes from the man of Sodom, he hastened and with a stone smote Eliezer in the forehead.
17 And the blood flowed copiously from Eliezer's forehead, and when the man saw the blood he caught hold of Eliezer, saying, Give me my hire for having rid thee of this bad blood that was in thy forehead, for such is the custom and the law in our land.
18 And Eliezer said to him, Thou hast wounded me and requirest me to pay thee thy hire; and Eliezer would not hearken to the words of the man of Sodom.
19 And the man laid hold of Eliezer and brought him to Shakra the judge of Sodom for judgment.
20 And the man spoke to the judge, saying, I beseech thee my lord, thus has this man done, for I smote him with a stone that the blood flowed from his forehead, and he is unwilling to give me my hire.
21 And the judge said to Eliezer, This man speaketh truth to thee, give him his hire, for this is the custom in our land; and Eliezer heard the words of the judge, and he lifted up a stone and smote the judge, and the stone struck on his forehead, and the blood flowed copiously from the forehead of the judge, and Eliezer said, If this then is the custom in your land give thou unto this man what I should have given him, for this has been thy decision, thou didst decree it.
22 And Eliezer left the man of Sodom with the judge, and he went away.
Well at least we know Eliezer was a tough guy and a quick thinker. He was no crybaby, throwing a rock at a judge. It is possible that they did not realize that Eliezer was Abraham’s servant.
Jasher 19:23 And when the kings of Elam had made war with the kings of Sodom, the kings of Elam captured all the property of Sodom, and they took Lot captive, with his property, and when it was told to Abraham he went and made war with the kings of Elam, and he recovered from their hands all the property of Lot as well as the property of Sodom.
Abraham saved Lot and helped restore Sodom. But Sodom was not re-engineered into a more holy place, on the contrary, they continued in backward judgments. The original kings of Sodom paid taxes to Assyria for twelve years, and then went to war.
Josephus Antiquities 9:1(171) At this time, when the Assyrians had the dominion over Asia, the people of Sodom were in a flourishing condition, both as to riches and the number of their youth. There were five kings that managed the affairs of this country. Ballas, Barsas, Senabar, and Sumobor, with the king of Bela; and each king led on his own troops; (172) and the Assyrians made war upon them; and, dividing their army into four parts, fought against them. Now every part of the army had its own commander; and when the battle was joined, the Assyrians were conquerors; and imposed a tribute on the kings of the Sodomites, (173) who submitted to this slavery twelve years; and so long they continued to pay their tribute: but on the thirteenth year they rebelled, and then the army of the Assyrians came upon them, under their commanders Amraphel, Arioch, Chodorlaomer, and Tidal. (174) These kings had laid waste all Syria, and overthrown the offspring of the giants; and when they were come over against Sodom, they pitched their camp at the vale called the Slime Pits, for at that time there were pits in that place; but now, upon the destruction of the city of Sodom, that vale became the Lake Asphaltitis, as it is called. (175) However, concerning this lake we shall speak more presently. Now when the Sodomites joined battle with the Assyrians, and the fight was very obstinate, many of them were killed, and the rest were carried captive; among which captives was Lot, who had come to assist the Sodomites.
Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (p. 39). Peabody: Hendrickson.
This is the old cities of the plains. Abraham came to free the Sodomites as well as Lot and his servants. When the people who were left regrouped, there were heirs of the Nephilim still in the land and they too entered the cities of the plains to reestablish their lives. This is why the cities of the plains became backward in their own judgments, before and after the wars with Assyria. The heirs of the Nephilim were residing there. It is odd that Abraham fought for them against Assyria, but it is possible that at that time the kings of Sodom respected Abraham.
Jasher 19:24 At that time the wife of Lot bare him a daughter, and he called her name Paltith, saying, Because God had delivered him and his whole household from the kings of Elam; and Paltith daughter of Lot grew up, and one of the men of Sodom took her for a wife.
25 And a poor man came into the city to seek a maintenance, and he remained in the city some days, and all the people of Sodom caused a proclamation of their custom not to give this man a morsel of bread to eat, until he dropped dead upon the earth, and they did so.
26 And Paltith the daughter of Lot saw this man lying in the streets starved with hunger, and no one would give him any thing to keep him alive, and he was just upon the point of death.
27 And her soul was filled with pity on account of the man, and she fed him secretly with bread for many days, and the soul of this man was revived.
28 For when she went forth to fetch water she would put the bread in the water pitcher, and when she came to the place where the poor man was, she took the bread from the pitcher and gave it him to eat; so she did many days.
29 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah wondered how this man could bear starvation for so many days.
30 And they said to each other, This can only be that he eats and drinks, for no man can bear starvation for so many days or live as this man has, without even his countenance changing; and three men concealed themselves in a place where the poor man was stationed, to know who it was that brought him bread to eat.
31 And Paltith daughter of Lot went forth that day to fetch water, and she put bread into her pitcher of water, and she went to draw water by the poor man's place, and she took out the bread from the pitcher and gave it to the poor man and he ate it.
32 And the three men saw what Paltith did to the poor man, and they said to her, It is thou then who hast supported him, and therefore has he not starved, nor changed in appearance nor died like the rest.
33 And the three men went out of the place in which they were concealed, and they seized Paltith and the bread which was in the poor man's hand.
34 And they took Paltith and brought her before their judges, and they said to them, Thus did she do, and it is she who supplied the poor man with bread, therefore did he not die all this time; now therefore declare to us the punishment due to this woman for having transgressed our law.
35 And the people of Sodom and Gomorrah assembled and kindled a fire in the street of the city, and they took the woman and cast her into the fire and she was burned to ashes.
We see with Lot’s daughter a clash of cultures. Yahweh wants people to be hospitable, and to care for one another, while the cities of the plains became so unbalanced and unjust, it wasn’t even allowed for people to be kind to one another. We see this today in communist countries. What people do in free countries by freely helping others, the communists do not allow, under threat of persecution. For example no one can help Chinese Christians, Falun Gong, or Uyghurs with donations, or be among those groups who go out on the streets giving food to the poor. It is in the nature of the righteous to be helpful to others. It is in the nature of the unrighteous to persecute the righteous as Solomon said.
Jasher 19:36 And in the city of Admah there was a woman to whom they did the like.
37 For a traveler came into the city of Admah to abide there all night, with the intention of going home in the morning, and he sat opposite the door of the house of the young woman's father, to remain there, as the sun had set when be had reached that place; and the young woman saw him sitting by the door of the house.
38 And he asked her for a drink of water and she said to him, Who art thou? and he said to her, I was this day going on the road, and reached here when the sun set, so I will abide here all night, and in the morning I will arise early and continue my journey.
39 And the young woman went into the house and fetched the man bread and water to eat and drink.
40 And this affair became known to the people of Admah, and they assembled and brought the young woman before the judges, that they should judge her for this act.
41 And the judge said, The judgment of death must pass upon this woman because she transgressed our law, and this therefore is the decision concerning her.
42 And the people of those cities assembled and brought out the young woman, and anointed her with honey from head to foot, as the judge had decreed, and they placed her before a swarm of bees which were then in their hives, and the bees flew upon her and stung her that her whole body was swelled.
43 And the young woman cried out on account of the bees, but no one took notice of her or pitied her, and her cries ascended to heaven.
Yahweh was listening. The woman was simply being kind. The people of Admah were just as evil as Sodom. Josephus gives us some further insights on Sodom.
Josephus, Antiquities, Chapter 11:1. (194) About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth: they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, insomuch that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices. (195) God was therefore much displeased at them, and determined to punish them for their pride, and to overthrow their city, and to lay waste their country, until there should neither plant nor fruit grow out of it.
Yahweh came to visit Abraham to tell him what he will do to the cities of the plains. The two angels turned to leave for Sodom while Abraham began to speak with Yahweh regarding Sodom. Since there were no telephones we can assume that the angels already knew that they needed to extract the righteous out from among the unrighteous.
Genesis 18:22 G2532 And G654 turning back G1564 from there, G3588 the G435 men G2064 came G1519 unto G* Sodom. G* And Abraham G1161 G2089 was still G1510.7.3 G2476 standing G1726 before G2962 the lord .
The anēr, males, left Abraham and Yahweh to go into Sodom. These beings are not manfaced, anthrōpos, these beings look like male beings but are not really human. Interestingly, the men of Sodom noticed them as “different” or angelic, as their own progenitors were fallen angels.
As we know, Abraham is going to negotiate hard because he knows Lot, and Lot’s family are living within Sodom. Abraham was standing before, or in the presence of, Yahweh.
Genesis 18:23 G2532 And G1448 Abraham approaching, G* G2036 said, G3361 You would not G4881 destroy together G1342 the just G3326 with G765 the impious, G2532 and G1510.8.3 [3will be G3588 1the G1342 2just] G5613 as G3588 the G765 impious?
Abraham is hoping to spare all of Sodom. Why? We do not really know. We understand Lot and his family were living there but we do not know why Abraham thought the four cities’ unjust behaviors should be spared. He must have thought there were more righteous among them. Abraham’s servant Eliezer was highly regarded by Abraham. In fact Abraham told Yahweh that he would leave his fortune to his servant since he did not have any heirs. Eliezer probably was the one who related these stories regarding Sodom as he had first hand experience there.
Genesis 18:24 G1437 If G1510.3 there might be G4004 fifty G1342 just G1722 in G3588 the G4172 city, G622 will you destroy G1473 them? G3756 Will you not spare G447 G3956 all G3588 the G5117 place G1752 because of G3588 the G4004 fifty G1342 just, G1437 if G1510.3 there should be so G1722 in G1473 it?
25 G3365 By no means G1473 shall you G4160 do G5613 as G3588 G4487 this saying, G3778 G3588 G615 to kill G1342 the just G3326 with G765 the impious, G2532 and G1510.8.3 [3shall be G3588 1the G1342 2just] G5613 as G3588 the G765 impious; G3365 by no means, G3588 O one G2919 judging G3956 all G3588 the G1093 earth. G3756 Will you not G4160 execute G2920 judgment?
Abraham tells Yahweh what not to do. That is bold. We need to understand our position among the unjust. Abraham boldly declares that Yahweh will not kill the just with he unjust. The word impious is asebēs, meaning “ungodly” or “wicked”. Then Abraham says in a declarative question ‘the just will by no means be like the ungodly, right?’. Abraham cannot understand why the just would be killed with the unjust. We live among the ungodly. Today we see the ungodly doing horrible things, taking over our legal systems and treating the mass population of humans as cattle. We live among them. We cannot help it. Yet Yahweh has a plan for the just in our day who are living among the ungodly. No, Yahweh will not punish the godly with the ungodly. He didn’t do it in the cities of the plains and he will not do it today. We live in an incredible time; after the Messiah came, we have Christ in us as well as the Holy Spirit. Those who believe on Jesus will be saved out from among the ungodly. Abraham continues.
Genesis 18:26 G2036 [3said G1161 1And G2962 2 the lord], G1437 If G1510.3 there should be G1722 in G* Sodom G4004 fifty G1342 just G1722 in G3588 the G4172 city, G863 I will leave off doing so to G3956 all G3588 the G5117 place G1223 on account of G1473 them.
27 G2532 And G611 Abraham responding G* G2036 said, G3568 Now that G756 I began G2980 to speak G4314 to G3588 G2962 my Lord, G1473 G1473 and I G1161 G1510.2.1 am G1093 earth G2532 and G4700 ashes.
28 G1437 But if G1161 G1641 [4may be lessened G3588 1the G4004 2fifty G1342 3just] G1519 to G5063.2 forty-five, G622 will you destroy G1752 because of G3588 the G4002 five, G3956 all G3588 the G4172 city? G2532 And G2036 he said, G3766.2 No way G622 will I destroy G1437 if G2147 I find G1563 there G5063.2 forty-five.
29 G2532 And G4369 he added G2089 yet G2980 to speak G4314 to G1473 him. G2532 And G2036 he said, G1437 But if G1161 G2147 there may be found G1563 there G5062 forty? G2532 And G2036 he said, G3766.2 No way G622 should I destroy G1752 because of G3588 the G5062 forty.
30 G2532 And G2036 he said, G3385 Much less, G2962 O Lord, G1437 if G2980 I may speak, G1437 but if G1161 G2147 there may be found G1563 there G5144 thirty? G2532 And G2036 he said, G3766.2 No way G622 will I destroy G1752 because of G3588 the G5144 thirty.
31 G2532 And G2036 he said, G1894 Since G2192 I have G2980 taken to speak G4314 to G3588 the G2962 Lord, G1437 but if G1161 G2147 there may be found G1563 there G1501 twenty? G2532 And G2036 he said, G3766.2 No way G622 will I destroy G1437 if G2147 I should find G1563 there G1501 twenty.
32 G2532 And G2036 he said, G3385 Much less, G2962 O Lord, G1437 if G2980 I may speak G2089 still G530 once more, G1437 but if G1161 G2147 there may be found G1563 there G1176 ten? G2532 And G2036 he said, G3766.2 No way G622 will I destroy G1752 because of G3588 the G1176 ten.
33 G565 [3went forth G1161 1And G2962 2 the lord] G5613 as G3973 he ceased G2980 speaking G3588 G* to Abraham, G2532 and G* Abraham G654 returned G1519 to G3588 G5117 his place. G1473
Abraham did his best to guarantee Lot and his family were counted among the righteous. When the angels get to Sodom, Lot sees them in the center of town and invites them in. Lot was hospitable, which all righteous people should be. Hospitality is an important point in the Mosaic law which came later.
Josephus, Antiquities, Chapter 11:2.(198)… Then they concealed themselves no longer, but declared that they were angels of God; and that one of them was sent to inform them about the child, and two of the overthrow of Sodom.
3. (199) When Abraham heard this, he was grieved for the Sodomites; and he rose up, and besought God for them, and entreated him that he would not destroy the righteous with the wicked. (200) And when God had replied that there was no good man among the Sodomites; for if there were but ten such men among them, he would not punish any of them for their sins, Abraham held his peace. And the angels came to the city of the Sodomites, and Lot entreated them to accept of a lodging with him; for he was a very generous and hospitable man, and one that had learned to imitate the goodness of Abraham. Now when the Sodomites saw the young men to be of beautiful countenances, and this to an extraordinary degree, and that they took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolved themselves to enjoy these beautiful boys by force and violence; (201) and when Lot exhorted them to sobriety, and not to offer anything immodest to the strangers, but to have regard to their lodging in his house; and promised, that if their inclinations could not be governed, he would expose his daughters to their lust, instead of these strangers—neither thus were they made ashamed.
4. (202) But God was much displeased at their impudent behavior, so that he both smote those men with blindness, and condemned the Sodomites to universal destruction. But Lot, upon God’s informing him of the future destruction of the Sodomites, went away, taking with him his wife and daughters, who were two, and still virgins: for those that were betrothed to them were above the thoughts of going, and deemed that Lot’s words were trifling. (203) God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; and laid waste the country with the like burning, as I formerly said when I wrote the Jewish war. But Lot’s wife continually turning back to view the city as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, although God had forbidden her so to do, was changed into a pillar of salt; for I have seen it, and it remains at this day. (204) Now he and his daughters fled to a certain small place, encompassed with the fire, and settled in it. It is to this day called Zoar, for that is the word which the Hebrews use for a small thing. There it was that he lived a miserable life, on account of his having no company, and his want of provisions.
Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (pp. 40–41). Peabody: Hendrickson.
Josephus does not mention that Lot had three other daughters. One was murdered, and two were married but did not want to leave. This is why Lot’s wife, Ado, turned around to see the destruction. The Book of Jasher gives us more details.
Jasher 19:44 And the Lord was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility amongst them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before the Lord.
45 And the Lord sent for two of the angels that had come to Abraham's house, to destroy Sodom and its cities.
46 And the angels rose up from the door of Abraham's tent, after they had eaten and drunk, and they reached Sodom in the evening, and Lot was then sitting in the gate of Sodom, and when he saw them he rose to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground.
47 And he pressed them greatly and brought them into his house, and he gave them victuals which they ate, and they abode all night in his house.
48 And the angels said to Lot, Arise, go forth from this place, thou and all belonging to thee, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of this city, for the Lord will destroy this place.
49 And the angels laid hold upon the hand of Lot and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hands of his children, and all belonging to him, and they brought him forth and set him without the cities.
50 And they said to Lot, Escape for thy life, and he fled and all belonging to him.
51 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah and upon all these cities brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
52 And he overthrew these cities, all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground; and Ado the wife of Lot looked back to see the destruction of the cities, for her compassion was moved on account of her daughters who remained in Sodom, for they did not go with her.
53 And when she looked back she became a pillar of salt, and it is yet in that place unto this day.
54 And the oxen which stood in that place daily licked up the salt to the extremities of their feet, and in the morning it would spring forth afresh, and they again licked it up unto this day.
55 And Lot and two of his daughters that remained with him fled and escaped to the cave of Adullam, and they remained there for some time.
56 And Abraham rose up early in the morning to see what had been done to the cities of Sodom; and he looked and beheld the smoke of the cities going up like the smoke of a furnace.
Solomon reminds us of the role of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom.
Wis 10:6 When the ungodly perished, she delivered the righteous man, who fled from the fire which fell down upon the five cities.
Wis 10:7 Of whose wickedness even to this day the waste land that smoketh is a testimony, and plants bearing fruit that never come to ripeness: and a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an unbelieving soul.
Wis 10:8 For regarding not wisdom, they gat not only this hurt, that they knew not the things which were good; but also left behind them to the world a memorial of their foolishness: so that in the things wherein they offended they could not so much as be hid.
Wis 10:9 But wisdom delivered from pain those that attended upon her.
The Holy Spirit residing upon Lot, encouraged him to heed the warning of the angels and leave the area. Lot was a righteous man living among many sinners. There weren’t even ten righteous people in Sodom. Lot may have had a family of ten, two virgin daughters and three married daughters, and three sons-in-law, which is why Abraham stopped at ten. One married daughter was murdered in fire, and the other two married daughters and their husbands didn’t want to leave Sodom.
There is a joint effort from Yahweh to help the righteous in difficult situations. We see that Yahweh, angels, and the Holy Spirit, all made it possible for Lot and his two daughters to survive. Even though Yahweh probably knew that they would be the progenitors of the Moabites and the Ammonites, Yahweh still saved righteous Lot. Even though we live in difficult times it does not mean that we have been forsaken.
Wis 3:1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
We know a time is coming when the entire world will go through judgment. We call that time the seven years of tribulation. The righteous and the Holy Spirit are not on the earth at that time. The righteous are taken off the earth, harpazod’, before the tribulation starts. What are we to do now, while we are still on the earth? We resist the evil ungodly people trying to be our overlords. We grab our sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and we rally others to overthrow evil. We speak the truth of Yahweh, we teach faith, righteousness, and salvation. We shine a light on evil everywhere it lurks. When we pray and come to God we have faith, and believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
