This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in Genesis 18:16-19:29, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.
Abraham was a faithful servant of God who had a deep trust in Him. God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, and Abraham believed in this promise even though he was old and did not have any children at the time. Because of his faith and obedience, God was pleased with Abraham and He spoke to him directly.
Once, God visited Abraham and told him that he was going to check out Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that had been doing really bad things. When the Lord told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was concerned about the fate of the righteous people living in those cities.
He knew that God was just and did not want to see innocent people punished along with the wicked. So he began to plead with God on their behalf, asking Him to spare the cities if there were righteous people living there.
Abraham started by asking God if He would spare the cities if there were 50 righteous people living there. God agreed, and Abraham kept bargaining with Him, asking if He would spare the cities for the sake of 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10 righteous people. Each time, God agreed to spare the cities if there were enough righteous people living there.
After this, two angels went to Sodom to rescue Abraham’s nephew, Lot. Lot was a good man, but he lived in Sodom, which was a really bad place. The people there were very mean, and they did not like strangers. The two angels came to Lot’s house, and he invited them in to eat and rest.
The people of Sodom found out that there were strangers in the city and came to Lot’s house, demanding that he hand them over. But Lot knew that they were wicked people and did not want to let them hurt the two angels. Lot even offered his own daughters to protect the angels! The wicked people were so mad that they tried to break into Lot’s house, but the angels protected him and his family.
The next day, the angels told Lot to leave the city with his family, because God was going to destroy the city. Lot tried to convince his family to leave with him, but they did not believe him. So the angels took Lot, his wife, and their two daughters out of the city.
As the city was destroyed, Lot and his his family fled to a small town called Zoar, where they took refuge. The angels told Lot that they could not destroy the city until he was safely out of it, and that he should flee to the mountains to be safe. But Lot was afraid to go to the mountains and asked if he could stay in Zoar instead. The angels agreed, and Lot and his daughters lived there.
Before they left, the angels told Lot and his family not to look back as they fled, but Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
After that, Abraham looked out and saw the smoke from the destroyed cities.
Biblical Lessons
- God is just and merciful, and He is willing to spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous.
- It is important to have faith and trust in God, even in difficult times.
- Disobedience can have serious consequences, as seen with Lot’s wife looking back and turning into a pillar of salt.
- God protects those who are faithful to Him, even in difficult situations.