Lot in SodomRead Genesis 18:16–19:29. How does Abraham’s prophetic ministryaffect his responsibility toward Lot?God’s promise of a son to Abraham has just been reconfirmed. Yet,instead of enjoying the good news, he engages God in a passionate dis-cussion about the fate of Lot in Sodom. Abraham not only is a prophetto whom God reveals His will; but he also is a prophet who intercedeson behalf of the wicked. The Hebrew phrase “stood before the Lord”(Gen. 18:22, NKJV) is an idiom for praying.In fact, Abraham challenges God and bargains with Him to saveSodom, where his nephew resides. Moving from 50 down to 10, Godwould have saved the people of Sodom if only 10 Sodomites had beenrighteous.Of course, when we read the story of what happened when the twoangels came to Lot to warn him of what was coming (Gen. 19:1–10),we can see just how sick and evil the people had become. It truly wasa wicked place, as were many of the nations around them; one reasonwhy, eventually, they were driven from the land (see Gen. 15:16).“And now the last night of Sodom was approaching. Already theclouds of vengeance cast their shadows over the devoted city. But menperceived it not. While angels drew near on their mission of destruc-tion, men were dreaming of prosperity and pleasure. The last day waslike every other that had come and gone. Evening fell upon a scene ofloveliness and security. A landscape of unrivaled beauty was bathedin the rays of the declining sun. The coolness of eventide had calledforth the inhabitants of the city, and the pleasure-seeking throngs werepassing to and fro, intent upon the enjoyment of the hour.”—Ellen G.White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 157, 158.In the end, God saved only Lot, his wife, and his two daughters (Gen.19:15), almost half the minimum of 10. The sons-in-law, who did nottake Lot’s warning seriously, remained in the city (Gen. 19:14).That beautiful country was, then, destroyed. The Hebrew verb hafakh,“overthrew,” occurs several times in this passage (Gen. 19:21, 25, 29) andcharacterizes the destruction of Sodom (Deut. 29:23, Amos 4:11). Theidea is that the country has been “reversed.” Just as the Flood “reversed”the original creation (Gen. 6:7), the destruction of Sodom is a “reversal”of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 13:10). In the destruction of Sodom, we aregiven a precursor of end-time destruction, as well (see Jude 7).