Genesis 18:21, commentary and pictures

God would go down to Sodom to determine for himself whether its deeds fully matched the cry of distress over its very grievous sin that had come up to heaven, so that judgment would rest on what its people had actually done. He already knew the city's guilt, yet he speaks in human terms to make his justice plain, examining the facts himself and holding back destruction if its people had not passed beyond the limits of divine mercy and giving them more time to repent. That examination is carried out by angels in the form of men, often present unrecognized among the righteous and the wicked to record deeds, draw out hearts by talk and questioning, and carry back to heaven a report exactly as things are. He deals the same way with nations and cities, withholding judgment until guilt has reached its appointed measure and passed the boundary of forbearance beyond hope of redemption, as when punishment of the Amorites waited until time, light, evidence and forbearance could do no more good. He told Abraham on the way to destroy Sodom because Abraham had trained his household in the right way, and Abraham pleaded with intense interest to spare the city for its honest inhabitants, but only ten righteous could be found in the corrupt city, and the same cry of dishonest dealing, greed and moral pollution now rises from modern cities grown deeply corrupt beyond hope, calling hearers to seek the Lord earnestly, confess sin, obey all his requirements, and warn the cities quickly with the third angel's message before the day of judgment.

Investigation Before Judgment

On their way to destroy Sodom the heavenly visitors told Abraham their purpose, even though he was not in Sodom and was not connected with it, and Abraham later remembered this account of the coming destruction when facing his own trial. The cry that had come up to heaven was a cry of distress and suffering over very grievous sin, and the declaration to go down means to determine whether the people's actions had been done altogether according to that report, basing judgment on what they had actually done. The language expresses God in human terms so that people can understand the justice of his actions, for he already knew the city's guilt yet would examine its conduct for himself with due regard for the facts. If its people had not gone beyond the limits of divine mercy, he would allow them more time to repent.

Angels carry out this inspection in the form of men, often present unrecognized in assemblies of the righteous and in assemblies of the wicked to make a record of deeds. They talk with men as they talked with Abraham, question them until they reveal their hearts, and carry back to heaven a report of things exactly as they are. This angelic investigation also answers complaints brought by Satan against God's servants, and this work has occurred at times since the proclamation of the third angel's message began.

God examines the wickedness of nations and cities and does not bring judgment until guilt has reached its appointed measure and passed the boundary of forbearance beyond hope of redemption. Sodom's corruption called for a heavenly visit to beautiful, highly favored Sodom to see for themselves whether its inhabitants had altogether corrupted their ways beyond hope and passed the limits of divine forbearance, and because their corruption extended so deeply wrath was revealed signally against them. So the punishment of the Amorites was delayed until time, light, evidence and forbearance could do no more good, so that the delay did not make punishment premature or less severe.

God told Abraham about Sodom because Abraham had trained his household in the right way, and Abraham responded with intense interest and pleading to spare the city for its honest inhabitants. Only ten righteous could be found, so the corrupt city where the leaven of licentiousness had been at work was destroyed. The Lord delights in mercy, and for the sake of a few who really serve him he restrains calamities and prolongs the tranquillity of multitudes, so that sinners owe their own lives to the faithful few whom they ridicule and oppress. In this account God was also revealing himself to Sodom through Abraham as his representative, for Abraham did not shut himself away but maintained friendly relations with surrounding peoples, and his fidelity, integrity, unselfishness, valor and benevolence were a light representing God's character in Mesopotamia, in Canaan, in Egypt, and even to Sodom. Sodom would not keep God's commandments even though he had done everything he could for them, and his promised blessings are conditional on obedience.

Warning and Present Call

The cry that rose from Sodom was over dishonest business practices rooted in greed for gain, untrue representations, and forgetting of God and truth, where love and fear of God were absent as the only safeguard in dealings. These same practices prevailed before the Flood swept the earth of its moral pollution and now prevail again, and in Sodom they caused God to take notice and then consume its wicked inhabitants with fire from heaven. God permits men an opportunity to manifest what character they will develop before He acts upon the cry that has come unto Him. The cry in the days of Lot came from ungodly worldly practices still seen in unfairness in deal, robbery of God, confederating to grasp from His treasury, seeking large remuneration for self while restricting others and denying them what is their due and the opportunities Providence offered them to labor. God hates such robbery for offering, and the first tinge of unfairness is the poison that prevailed then.

Sodom stands as an example of grave sin, a corrupt city where the leaven of licentiousness had been at work until only ten righteous could be found and the great city was destroyed. God attends to the cry against such grave sin and brings wrongdoing to light, and when sins have reached heaven their exposure serves as a warning to others. Its moral pollution is set forth as a warning of the evil filling the world, for God takes account of grave corruption and its outcry. The state of the world now is similar to the state that called for that heavenly visit to beautiful, highly favored Sodom to see whether its inhabitants had altogether corrupted their ways beyond hope. Angels came to the wicked city to see for themselves whether the cries coming up before heaven proved that its people had passed the limits of divine forbearance beyond hope of redemption, and because their corruption extended so deeply God's wrath was revealed signally against them.

The cry of the appalling record of crime and iniquity in modern large cities comes up to heaven as Sodom's cry did, and God sees many cities as becoming a very Sodom in His sight. Their wickedness is almost beyond comprehension, and multitudes in them are rapidly approaching a point in personal experience beyond which it will be exceedingly difficult to reach them with saving truth. This is because the enemy of souls is working to gain full control of the human mind, so what must be done to warn them and prepare them with the third angel's message for the day of judgment must be done quickly. Together with the account of Sodom's destruction, the visit calls hearers to seek the Lord most earnestly and to take a more decided stand for the Lord. It calls them to be not merely professed believers in the truth but obedient to all of God's requirements, with heartfelt confession of sin as God's Spirit softens and subdues hearts and makes the word effectual in reaching hearts in answer to earnest prayer.