4 July 2023

Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the Plain, and saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of a furnace.

So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had settled.

From Genesis 19:15-29, NRSV

It must have been with a heavy heart that Abraham surveyed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – places inhabited by his own relations. Abraham had tried to bargain with God to save these cities, but such was the wickedness of their ways that they could not be saved. However, Abraham’s fidelity was rewarded by the rescue of his nephew Lot and his family from the destruction that came to their city. For the sake of Abraham, God was prepared to show mercy to a man who did not put his trust in God and whose behaviour was at times immoral and sinful.

• • What do you suppose passed through Abraham’s mind as he surveyed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?
  • Is there anyone who is beyond the reach of God’s love and mercy?

Pray for those who wish to break free from the hold that sin and temptation has on their lives.