Genesis 18:16-19

What’s Happening?

God had just renewed his covenant with Abraham—promising him descendants, blessing, and a land of life (Gen. 17). But immediately, the story contrasts that promise with the land of death in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Three mysterious men visit Abraham. Two go on to Sodom, while one—identified as the LORD—stays to speak with Abraham (18:22). God tells Abraham that Sodom’s corruption is complete. Abraham pleads for mercy: surely the Judge of all the earth will not sweep away the righteous with the wicked. If even ten righteous people can be found, the city will be spared (18:32).

But when the angels arrive, the city reveals its true nature. The men of Sodom surround Lot’s house and attempt to violate the visitors (19:5). This echoes the rebellion of Genesis 6—humanity bearing not God’s image of life but the serpent’s image of death. The city is consumed by fire, and Lot and his daughters escape only because God remembers his covenant with Abraham (19:29). Lot himself is not spared for his own righteousness but because of God’s faithfulness.

Yet even Lot’s rescue ends in tragedy. His wife, looking back toward Sodom, is swept away in judgment (19:26). His daughters, fearful that their line will disappear, take matters into their own hands. In a scene that recalls the shame of Noah and his sons, they intoxicate their father and conceive children through him (19:32–36). Their offspring—Moab and Ammon—become nations hostile to Abraham’s descendants and are eventually dispossessed from the land. Their story proves that the serpent’s seed continues to spread, while Abraham’s covenant line alone carries God’s promise of life.

Where is the Gospel?

The gospel shines all the brighter against this backdrop of corruption and failure. Abraham asked if the presence of a few righteous could save the many. In Jesus, God provides the answer—not by finding ten righteous people, but by sending his Son, the one righteous man who saves the whole world.

Jesus not only intercedes for us as Abraham did; he becomes our righteousness. He rescues us not because of our blamelessness but because of his covenant faithfulness. And unlike Lot, whose daughters produced nations of violence, Jesus brings even the wicked nations—Sodom, Moab, Ammon, and all others—into his family. By his Spirit, he transforms children of the serpent into children of God, fit to inherit the land of life and flourishing.

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see the God who remembers his covenant even when his people falter. And may you see Jesus as the righteous one who not only intercedes for you but makes you righteous, so that you may dwell forever in God’s land of life.