Why Did God Destroy Sodom And Gomorrah?

Walking through my thoughts, I pondered on the sudden act of wiping out a nation, but for what? Why would the leader of a people do so to another? This brings to mind the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Did God destroy them? If so, why?

There is a story in the Bible about a place called Sodom, and subsequently, we were told how the people in it were wiped out through some supernatural means. At least one privileged to witness such an event would think along that line, or say, magical. But did such events ever happen in the history of humanity?

Honestly, I find this story to be fascinating and some would say, befuddling; therefore, I felt the need to consider this topic: why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? But let's start with whether or not God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Have a seat.

Did God Destroy Sodom And Gomorrah?

Yes, according to the Bible, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. But where in the Bible did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah appears in the book of Genesis 19.

In Genesis 18, Abraham was sitting by the door of his tent when the Lord appeared to him. According to the narrative, he saw three men opposite him, ran to meet them, and bowed in worship. He invited them over to rest and offered to entertain them with meals. 

After they ate, the Lord, who was among them, told Abraham that his wife, Sarah, would give birth within a year. She overheard it and laughed, but when the Lord asked her husband about her laughing, she lied that she didn't laugh. But the Lord insisted that she did.

Furthermore, when they were about to leave, Abraham decided to escort them. In the process, the Lord pondered within himself.

Genesis 18:17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

Genesis 18:18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?

Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”

At that point, the Lord resolved to disclose his intention to Abraham. That is, what he was going to do in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 18:20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.

Genesis 18:21 I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

Then, the other two men left, while the Lord continued to converse with Abraham. Their conversation involved a back-and-forth pleading from Abraham. He asked the Lord to consider not destroying the people if there were certain numbers of righteous individuals, starting with fifty and going down to ten. On each of those instances, the Lord agreed that if there were that many righteous people, he would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

However, it seems the Lord was already set to destroy them and only considered disclosing the plan to Abraham because he had relatives in the land, including Lot and his family (see Gen. 19:12-13). But there are some problems with the narrative. While many take a literary approach, assuming an anthropomorphic presentation, the narrative presents a God that is arguably not all-knowing. Whether he is all-powerful and all-loving is left to be considered. How about God eating human food? Sounds mythological to me. 

Furthermore, as it appears, the two men who left were up to something. What could it be? The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? You guessed right. So, having established that, how did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Genesis 19 tells us. Let's consider that together.

How did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?

In the beginning of Genesis 19, we were told that the two angels, supposedly the two men who left the Lord and Abraham, arrived at the city of Sodom in the evening. By the entrance sat Lot, who, having seen them, bowed with his face to the ground.

Like Abraham, Lot invited them to spend the night in his house, wash their feet, and wake up early the next morning to continue their journey. He did so, identifying them as lords and himself as their servant. However, they refused, wanting to sleep in the square. But why the square? Nevertheless, Lot persuaded them to squat at his place, and they resolved to do it.

After they made it to Lot's house, he offered them fresh bread, and they ate. But before they slept, we were told that the men (both young and old) from all over the city came and surrounded Lot's house. They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men that came to your place tonight? Bring them out so we can know them.” This knowing is a euphemism to indicate a request to have an intimate relationship with the visitors. It made me wonder what was really going on there. The whole city was that horny and couldn't satisfy themselves but with two visitors? Imagine what would have happened if the men had slept in the city's square. Didn't they know that? It seems the men of the city have been doing such to people who visited and stayed in exposed areas. It's such an awful way to welcome visitors, my friends. So, what did Lot do?

Lot came out, shut the door behind him, and pleaded with the people not to act wickedly to his guest. Then, he offered them his virgin daughters to do with them whatever they wanted. Now that I think of it, I guess such a suggestion wasn't an act of wickedness to his children, even to their husbands to be. Right?

Genesis 19:9 But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.

Genesis 19:10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

Genesis 19:11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

Genesis 19:12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place;

Genesis 19:13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

In the next verse, it is written that Lot went and told his son-in-law to get out of the place, for Yahweh was going to destroy the city. But they took him for granted, thinking he was joking. Come to think of it, did Lot have servants and other people in the city, aside from his immediate family? Why didn't he take them along? It seems the narrative ignored the presence of such parties.

Anyways, the next morning, the angels urged Lot to take his wife and two daughters that were present and leave the city to avoid being destroyed with it. Lot, we were told, was hesitant, but the angels took him and his family by hand and out of the city they went. The reason being that the Lord was compassionate towards Lot.

Genesis 19:17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.”

Initially, I thought they had already made it from the destruction, but then why the command to escape again? Why the instruction to not look behind nor go to the valley, but the mountains? Perhaps the effect of the destruction on Sodom would affect other places, or was it necessary to further the narrative? Let's see if we can make sense of this.

Lot, having heard that, pleaded with the angels to allow them to stay in a small village nearby. They agreed and promised not to destroy the town because of them but told them to hurry up because they could not do anything until they made it to the place. The place was called Zoar.

Genesis 19:23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

Genesis 19:24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven,

Genesis 19:25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

Genesis 19:26 But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Hold on for a moment. I thought they made it to a safe place, and the commandment to not look behind wouldn't apply. Maybe Lot's wife thought likewise, but sorry for her. What if they made it to the mountains and she looked back? What if Lot or one of his daughters did? It seems there was a purpose for which his wife had to look back. 

According to the narrative, Lot later moved to the mountains, and his daughters took turns having a relationship with him and produced children from it. These children (Moab and Ben-ammi) played significant roles in the bigger picture as the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites. That would most likely not have happened if Lot's wife was still with them.

Notwithstanding, it was recorded that when Abraham woke up the next morning, he went to the place where he stood with the Lord and observed the flames of fire rising from Sodom and Gomorrah and the land of valley.

“Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived,” Genesis 19:29.

Why Did God Destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?

In the early days of January 2025, reports of wildfires broke out in Los Angeles, affecting large hectares of land, human lives, and resources. Soon after, some Christians propagated on social media platforms that God had judged Los Angeles, the supposed godless city. In addition to that, they shared AI-generated photos of a particular house that was exempted from the destruction, claiming that it belonged to a Christian. This echoes the narrative of Lot in Zoar and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

However, we know that they lied and propagated the lies, and tens, if not hundreds of thousands, bought into the lies, expressing their agreement with likes, comments, shares, and reposts. The level of dishonesty was so overwhelming that I had to comment on the situation. I told a brother that if the Bible were to be written by such people, and they were to recount the natural disaster that occurred, it would be said that God judged California and destroyed the “godless city.” Did he really do it?

Going with the biblical narrative, we agreed that God did it; that is according to the Bible. But why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? The reason for the destruction was the pervasive wickedness of the people, depicted in sexual sins and their inhospitality to visitors.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone was God's divine judgment and punishment on the people in response to the great outcry and exceeding gravity of their sin. Whether or not that happened in human history is elusive and open to diverse interpretations, both literally and literarily. I heard a man of God say the reason was “unbelief in Christ.” But the takeaway is often the judgment of God on the disobedient and his compassion upon those he loves.

Moreover, the story reminds me of the 8th-century myth of Baucis and Philemon in Ovid's Metamorphoses, where two gods appeared as men and were received by a couple and treated with hospitality. At this point, I deem it fit to hand over the mic to you. What are your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us. And while you do, check out our previous discussion: Why Did God Flood The Earth?