And they smote the men with that were at the door with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Genesis 18:12
Through the Bible for Children
After the men had shared a meal at Abraham and Sarah’s home, they got up to leave. Abraham walked with them along the road for a ways. Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abrahm the thing that I am goin to do, seeing that he shall suely become a great nation, and all the nations of the earth shall blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command and teach his family and his household to keep the way of the Lord, and to do justice and judgement.”
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Because I know that the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin very grievous I will go there now and see if they are totally evil as is said.”
Then the men that were with the Lord turned towards Sodom, but Abraham stood at the place with the Lord. Abraham asked the Lord if he would spare the city if there were fifty righteous people found in it.
Then Abaham asked the Lord if there be forty righteous people found in it?
The Lord agreed that he would not destroy the city if there could be just fifty righteous people found in it.
Then Abraham asked the Lord if for forty righteous people the city could be saved, and the Lord agreed to spare the city for forty righteous people. Abraham asked, “If ony twenty righteous people could be found in the city will you spare it?” The Lord agreed to spare city for twenty righteous people. Then Abraham asked for the last time. “If only ten righteous people could be found in the city would the Lord spare it. The Lord agreed to spare the city for ten righteous people.”
Then the Lord went his way and Abraham returned to his home.
The two angels came to the gates of the city of Sodom at evening, and Lot who was sitting in the gate, begged them to come home with him for the night. For the city was very wicked and no one dared to stay in the street once the night came. But the angels said, “No, we will stay in the street tonight.”
Lot continued asking the two men to come to his home, for he knew that they would be attacked in the city streets. At last the two agreed to accompany Lot to his home and spend the night. Then Lot made the men a feast, and they ate.
Before Lot’s guests went to bed that night, the men of the city encircled the house of Lot. They were old and young people from every area of the city. They called to Lot, saying, “Where are those men that you took into your house? Bring them out to us so that we can have some fun with them.”
Lot went out of the door of his house and spoke to them, shutting the door behind him. He said, “I beg you, brothers, do not so wickedly. I will give you my daughters instead. But please do not harm these men who are my guests.”
The wicked people cried, “Get out of the way! You came here from somewhere else and now you think you can judge us and tells us what to do! We will treat you worse then the two that came if you do not give them to us.”
Then they began to push against Lot and the door of the house.
The angels opened the door of the house, and quickly pulled Lot in. Then they struck those men with blindness. And yet, those wicked people did not turn away from their evil intentions. but made themsleves tired trying to find the door in their blindness.
Such great wickedness is sometimes hard for us to imagine. but the Bible tells us that unless the Lord opens our eyes and hearts to the truth and changes us, we would all become wicked and vile. It is only by the Lord’s mercy that we can leave the wicked ways of the world behind and become a new creature in him.
The wicked men of Sodom were stuck blind, but worse than losing their sight was the fact that their hearts were blind to God and what is right. Their spiritual blindness, led to eternal death. Everyone of us is spiritually blind until God by his grace, opens the understanding of our hearts to the truth and shows us our wickedness and the need for a Savior.
PRINCIPLE:
It is only by God’s mercy that we are saved from being wicked.
LEARN:
As it is written. There is none righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, there are together become unprofitable, there is none. that doeth good, no, not one. Romans 3:10-12