THE DAY THE HEAVENS RAINED FIRE
(Genesis 18)
God told Abraham he heard a cry,
Against Sodom and Gomorrah’s sins.
The outcry was great and their sins were grievous,
The cities were evil twins.
Then Abraham approached the Lord and said,
As though God would make a mistake,
“What if fifty righteous people live there?”
What about their sake?
Far be it from you to do such a thing—
To the righteous caught in this plight,
Treating the righteous and the wicked alike.
Won't the Judge of the earth do right?"
The Lord promised He would spare Sodom,
If fifty righteous people were there.
Abraham lowered the number;
Expecting God to be fair.
God lowered the number to forty-five,
But Abraham continued to implore.
God said for forty He would spare the city,
Then that number was lowered more.
God promised to hold back if thirty were found,
So Abraham asked for ten less.
He said, “What if only twenty can be found?"
His hope had begun to digress.
“For the sake of twenty, I won’t ruin it."
God patiently replied.
When asked what if only ten could be found,
God vowed to set his anger aside.
The LORD left Abraham after they spoke,
Who went home to wallow in pity.
Two angels arrived in Sodom at dusk,
While Lot sat at the gate of the city.
Lot saw the Lord’s men and bowed to the ground,
After getting up to meet them.
The men asked Abraham’s nephew,
If anyone belonged to him.
Get them out of here, Lot was told,
The city would soon be destroyed.
The outcry against the city was great;
So their home they should now avoid.
So Lot went and spoke to his sons-in-law,
Who his daughters were pledged to marry.
"Hurry and get out of this place,” Lot said,
“For this city God will bury!"
But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
Then before the break of day,
The men of God urged his family to hurry,
So they wouldn’t be swept away.
When Lot paused, the men grabbed his hand,
And the hands of his wife and each daughter.
They led them safely out of the city,
So they wouldn’t be caught in the slaughter.
As soon as they had brought them out,
One man said, "Run for your life!
Don't look back, and don't stop in the plain!
Escape with your daughters and your wife.”
But Lot said "No, my lords, please!”
He then told the Lord’s men why,
“I can't flee to the mountains,” he said.
“I’ll be overtaken and die.”
He asked to run to a nearby town,
Then his life would surely be spared.
Lot’s request was granted;
And he left, though quite unprepared.
By the time Lot reached Zoar,
The sun had risen over the land.
Then the LORD rained sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—
From heaven came His command.
He overthrew the cities, the plain,
And Lot’s wife, though it was her fault.
For though she was warned, Lot’s wife looked back,
And became a pillar of salt.
Becky Overturf Wall
