Genesis 18:20-33 KJV And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord . And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

A Severe Mercy God detests sin. It is an affront to His holiness. He cannot abide it. The sin of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was an outcry to Him, and He resolved to destroy them. Now some may say, "What is this all about? How can a God of love destroy whole cities?" When God revealed His plan of destruction to Abraham, Abraham interceded for the inhabitants of these cities. God even agreed to spare Sodom if ten righteous men could be found in it, but they could not. So the God of grace, forgiveness and love destroyed this ancient city. And that destruction was a severe mercy - an act of love toward the unborn generations that would have borne the consequences of the Sodomites' sins. Suppose in New York City there was an entire city block of people addicted to crack cocaine. And suppose they were having crack addicted babies. How much of a godly remnant could be expected to counteract the results of their sin? What would it take to give these unborn children a chance at a drug-free life? When evil becomes so prevalent that any decent remnant is consumed, destruction is mercy. God brought judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for immorality, lustfulness, decadence, and godlessness. Someone has said that if God does not judge New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco or Houston in the same way, He will owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology! Every day that God does not bring down His arm in judgment is an act of mercy. And when He does, we can be sure that, too, is mercy.