Destruction of Sodom
133
In Sodom there was mirth and revelry, feasting and drunkenness.
The vilest and most brutal passions were unrestrained. The people
openly defied God and His law and delighted in deeds of violence.
Though they had before them the example of the antediluvian world,
and knew how the wrath of God had been manifested in their destruc-
tion, yet they followed the same course of wickedness.
At the time of Lot’s removal to Sodom, corruption had not become
universal, and God in His mercy permitted rays of light to shine amid
the moral darkness. When Abraham rescued the captives from the
Elamites, the attention of the people was called to the true faith. Abra-
ham was not a stranger to the people of Sodom, and his worship of
the unseen God had been a matter of ridicule among them; but his
victory over greatly superior forces, and his magnanimous disposition
of the prisoners and spoil, excited wonder and admiration. While his
skill and valor were extolled, none could avoid the conviction that a
divine power had made him conqueror. And his noble and unselfish
spirit, so foreign to the self-seeking inhabitants of Sodom, was another
evidence of the superiority of the religion which he had honored by
his courage and fidelity.
Melchizedek, in bestowing the benediction upon Abraham, had
acknowledged Jehovah as the source of his strength and the author
of the victory: “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor
of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath
delivered thine enemies into thy hand.”
Genesis 14:19, 20
. God was
speaking to that people by His providence, but the last ray of light was
rejected as all before had been.
And now the last night of Sodom was approaching. Already the
clouds of vengeance cast their shadows over the devoted city. But
men perceived it not. While angels drew near on their mission of
destruction, men were dreaming of prosperity and pleasure. The last
day was like every other that had come and gone. Evening fell upon
a scene of loveliness and security. A landscape of unrivaled beauty
was bathed in the rays of the declining sun. The coolness of eventide
had called forth the inhabitants of the city, and the pleasure-seeking
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throngs were passing to and fro, intent upon the enjoyment of the hour.
In the twilight two strangers drew near to the city gate. They
were apparently travelers coming in to tarry for the night. None
could discern in those humble wayfarers the mighty heralds of divine