Daily Prayers

Prayer is Love, I want to Love

Abraham – Sodom And Gomorrah

Biblical Date: 2067BC

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are thought to have been located at the southern end of the Dead Sea, now submerged. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, lived in Sodom with his wife and two daughters. They were God-worshiping people, unlike other residents who had drifted towards sinful pleasures and vices.

Map: Sodom and Gomorrah

When God told Abraham of his intentions to destroy Sodom because of the people’s wickedness, Abraham prayed and pleaded earnestly with him saying:

“Will you sweep away the Godly along with the wicked?

What if there are fifty Godly people in the city?

Will you really wipe it out and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty Godly people who are in it?

Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the Godly with the wicked, treating the Godly and the wicked alike!

Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?” (Genesis 18:23-25)

As God mercifully agreed not to destroy the city if he found fifty good people, a compassionate Abraham tried again and again! He slowly reduced his number firstly, to forty-five, then thirty and finally ten. When God agreed to ten surely, Abraham must have thought, the city will now be saved!

But God could not find ten good people so, he sent two angels to forewarn Lot and his family and take them to the safety of the nearby town of Zoara. Then he rained down sulphur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. Only Lot and his two daughters were saved. Lot’s wife died when she “longingly” looked back against God’s command at the burning city of Sodom. (Genesis 19:26(Genesis 18:16-33)

Thought

How compassionate am I? Do I search for “ten” small acts of kindness or react to the “nine-hundred and ninety” mistakes?

Reflection

Lord Jesus, increase my awareness of the needy, help me to be a voice of reason for the victimized and use me as a voice of compassion for the outcasts. Amen.

Prayer: Bookmark of St Teresa of Avila

Let nothing disturb you,
nothing frighten you.
All things are passing,
God never changes.
Patient endurance,
attains all things.
Whom God possesses,
in nothing is wanting.
Alone God suffices.


Top Questions:

Is there any evidence that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed?

We don’t know the site of the two cities so, there is no definitive archeological evidence to confirm their destruction.

A viable suggestion is that the cities of Bad dh-Dhra and Numeira, destroyed by fire in the Early Bronze III period (2700-2200BC), could have been Sodom and Gomorrah.

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?

God told Abraham, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great… their sin is so grievous”. When two Angels of the Lord, disguised as men, visited Sodom, male inhabitants wanted sexual relations with them. Their ways were wicked, and they were unrepentant.

Jesus reminded his Apostles of Sodom and Gomorrah when he sent them out to the towns and villages to preach his Gospel. He said to them, those who reject Him are committing a sin greater than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Matthew 10:14-15)

Might God do the same again?

That’s a question for God!

Rather than focusing on the wrath of God, it’s more helpful to reflect on God’s loving and merciful ways. God asks us to live in holiness as He is holy.

Sin is a choice between good or evil. Death will come to all of us, and our Judgement Day will follow. Trust in Jesus.