Looking Down Toward Sodom

Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” - Genesis 18:16-17

And they “looked down toward Sodom.” So much said in so few words. What an ominous, discomfiting statement! The angel’s look is rather like the glance given by the Master to Peter immediately after his third denial. What an impact those swollen, blood shot eyes must have had on the apostle! In fact, we see the power of that single look by Peter’s reaction – he ran out, weeping bitterly.

Sodom’s evil had risen to such a state that the Son of God Himself had come down along with two angels to investigate. They knew they were about to destroy Sodom’s entire valley. They knew that thousands were about to die horrible, ghastly, fiery deaths.

And they “looked down toward Sodom.” The line reminds me of Yeat's line “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” There are times when we don’t necessarily want the Lord’s attention.

Sodom was totally given over to licentiousness. It was enamored with money, power, sex and violence. Homosexuality had gotten to the point where the men of Sodom were gang raping strangers. Fathers were using their daughters as bargaining chips. This state of affairs had been reported by angels to the Lord God and the Son had come down to witness this for Himself - and that was not a good thing.

We tend to focus on the big signs. We look at what happened on 9/11, at the devastation done by hurricane Katrina or the tsunami and think “Is this God’s judgment?” But why does God have to bludgeon us to get our attention? Why can’t He simply speak and we listen? Why can’t He just glance in our direction and we be so tuned in, dialed in, and focused on Him that we immediately jump?

Abraham knew there was a problem in Sodom. When the Lord told him what was about to happen he wasn’t surprised. He simply began trying to bargain for mercy. He knew by this point that he was speaking to God. When the Son and those two angels suddenly stood and looked down toward Sodom – did he shiver? Did a chill run down his spine as those inhuman eyes gazed upon that city’s sin?

I would like to ask you, is God giving you some kind of sign that you are ignoring? Is He looking down on sin in your life that is about to bring some unwelcome consequences? Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Do not quench Him. Do not resist his promptings. Instead, plead for mercy. Ask for compassion. Whatever you do, do not ask for justice. And pray that the Judge of all the Earth is not looking your way.