After the morning of taking care of animals I was riding back to our little tent village.  At the village center was a gathering place.  It had a firepit, benches for sitting, and tables for dining.  Nearby was a beautiful tree which would give shade in the day.

When hot at midday it would be common for people to gather and share food then rest for a while.  It was an escape from the heat, and on the worst days work would resume in the cooler air of early evening.

Jared and Nathan were with me as I rode.  We were talking about one of the village girls that found Nathan attractive.  He denied it despite the fact she always hung around him anytime he was in the village.

Abraham Approaches Three Men

As we were laughing my eyes caught sight of three men walking by the edge of our camp.  I pulled the reigns and went to a stop.  The brothers saw what I was looking at and we went silent.

Abraham had been sitting by the door of his tent and we saw him take off in a full sprint heading for the three men.  It wasn’t often you saw Abraham run, but when he did it was important.

“Who are they?” Nathan asked.
“What are they?” Jared had noticed the same thing I did.
“Guys, they look normal just like us but there is definitely something other worldly about them.  Don’t get in the way.  Let’s just watch.” I said.

As we reigned our horses around to avoid contact with the men and Abraham, we could hear an invitation offered.  Abraham wanted to care for them, offer food, and I think more importantly interact.

After hitching our horses we moved closer to Abraham’s tent.  The conversation was light but the fuss of fetching water, preparing food, and providing comforts to the men was a buzz of activity.  After a little time passed the conversation was simple.

Abraham was told that he would have a son.  I heard Sarah laugh and I believe the man who was speaking noticed.  That wasn’t the odd thing about the conversation though.

What made it so odd was the man was speaking as if he had the power to make this thing become a reality.  His words were gentle enough, but with authority as if it was already done.

The three of us were sitting as far away as we could at a table but still able to hear.  Jared was staring at me like he knew something.

“What is it Jared?” I tried to mouth quietly.
“It’s him!” He replied with darting eyes looking towards the men.
“Who?” I asked.
“The Lord.” Nathan almost yelled as he punched my arm.

The conversation was over and the men were getting up and walking away.  That’s the next thing which got me.  They were on foot, not horse.  I saw Abraham walking alongside them.  I decided I was going to shadow them.

Abraham Is Taken To Sodom

I wasn’t afraid for Abraham’s safety.  I was simply entranced.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of the men.  It was like I was being pulled to them.  After letting them get some distance I mounted my horse and began walking towards them.

What happened next I cannot explain.  The catch is we are located near Hebron in the Plain of Mamre.  Sodom is located in the Plain of the Jordan.  A modern landmark one would recognize would place it some miles East of the Dead Sea.

The point I am making is that it was about thirty to forty miles from our location to there.  You could ride it on horseback in a day at a fast pace.  Realistically a larger group traveling on foot would be two days of quick walking.

What I saw was these three men and Abraham in front of me, then the wind pick up with dust and grass flying into my face.  When the wind settled they were gone.  I put the horse into a trot not believing what I saw.

In the next moment the wind returned and I was temporarily blinded by the same grass and dust.  When the wind settled I could once again see the three with Abraham walking to a hill in the distance. I recognized where I was.  We were outside Sodom in the countryside.

I rode as close as I could get without drawing attention to myself.  Dismounting I walked still closer.  I saw two men walk away from Abraham and towards the city.  A few moments later I could hear Abraham pleading with the one he called Lord.

At first I could not make out the pleas.  As I came a little closer Abraham’s pleas grew louder.  I knew he was pleading for the lives of the righteous within the city.  I could not hear the Lord’s reply but the pleas for mercy continued to grow in intensity.

I decided to retreat to a small grove of trees and brush on the hillside where I watched the sun set.  The two men made it to the city gate at nightfall.  The Lord and Abraham had concluded their negotiation. The one called the Lord disappeared, and Abraham I could no longer see due to nightfall. He was either watching or returned home.

It would be a long night.  The land grew dark and the lights within the city could be seen in the distance.  The darkness of the night prevented me from being able to see if Abraham was still there, but I believed he was waiting.

Conversation With The Lord

At some point I drifted off to sleep as I sat leaning against a tree.  Something woke me.  I gasped for air as if waking from a bad dream.  Looking in front of me I saw the one Abraham called Lord staring down at me.

“You see with your eyes but have no trust or faith.” The Lord said.

I really did not know what to say.  I was in shock, almost paralyzed.  I couldn’t get up if I had wanted to.  The world around me fell into silence.  It was as if I had entered a vacuum of space.  The air grew thin and it was hard to breathe.

He sat beside me at a nearby tree.  It was still dark but the sun would soon be rising.  For a moment there was nothing but silence.  He was looking across the plain at Sodom.  In the next moment I felt a calm come over me.  It was as if I regained some normal function in my senses and body.

“Why am I here?” I asked.
“You are here because of your children’s pleas.” He said.
“What do you mean my children’s pleas?”

In this moment he looked into my eyes like he was looking into my soul and continued.  “The night you went to sleep in your home and prayed, so were your children also praying.  Just as Abraham has plead for the righteous, so did your children plea for you.”

“You mean I was supposed to die that night?” I asked.
“Yes.” The Lord replied.
“So Abraham was wrong, I am not called by you.”
“No Clay you are not.  You have never known me nor searched for me.” He said.
“Then why bring me here to this time?” I asked.

“Many will never believe no matter what they see or experience.  It was the plea of a child to do whatever it took to bring daddy home and to know me. The plea for mercy in innocence is what moved me.  I am not complicated Clay.  I am the author of all things, in me is life.  To not know me is a choice to be outside of life, which can only be death.”  He said.

Sodom And Four Other Cities Destroyed

The dawn broke the night with morning.  Rays of sunlight peaked across the horizon.  I could hear what sounded like a sky filled with a roar of planes.  I looked up, and it wasn’t any kind of plane.  Meteors filled the sky.  Some fragmented in the air bursting in explosions creating smaller missiles of rocks.

I watched as they fell.  It took merely seconds for them to impact.  It wasn’t only Sodom which was hit.  In total it would be five cities.  The ground shook violently.  Fire leaped into the sky along with a dust cloud which reminded me of massive bombs. 

Then came the blast wave.  It lasted mere milliseconds.  When it hit me I was thrown backwards. The trees surrounding me were snapped and laid over on their sides.  In the valley below fire engulfed the grassland.

Then came the sound.  The sound of the explosion was so deafening I temporarily lost my hearing.  I looked towards Sodom and there was nothing but fire, smoke, and dust.  The heat was intense.  I then looked around for the Lord and He was gone.

Stumbling to my feet I looked across the horizon.  I could see in the distance pillars of smoke rising from the plain.  Each cloud of rising smoke was where each city was located.  They were gone.

I looked around for Abraham but couldn’t find him.  I know that nothing could have happened to him, but there was no sign of him coming or going.  My horse had ran from where I left him.  My ears still ringing I began to call out for him.

I realized that I was in shock.  My body was shaking.  The smell of sulfur in the air began to cut out the oxygen I was breathing.  I fell to my knees with my head near the ground gasping.  I thought I would pass out.

Moments later I felt my horses nose against the back of my neck.  I didn’t hear him run up to me.  My eyes now stinging I felt for the reigns, stood up, and flung myself across his back.  He knew what to do next as he began running away from the blast area.

Taking a reign in each hand I tangled them around my wrists.  I hooked each foot into the binding of a leather strap on the horses rear I used for tying down light cargo.  In the haze I was half awake and half dead.  Somewhere along the way I lost consciousness.

Coming To Life And Healing

I woke finding myself laying on my back in the grass by some trees.  Above me was a poncho lean tied to the branches.  Jared and Nathan were with me, I could hear their voices.  Nathan noticing I was awake alerted Jared and both came to my side.

Jared looked down with his big goofy smile. “I knew you would be back.  You always make it back.” He said.

“Where are we?” I asked.
“On the road between Bethel and the Jordan Plain.” Nathen replied.

“We saw a flash of light in the sky.  A moment later we heard a booming noise and then smoking rising from the direction of the plain.  Thinking people would need help, a group of us rode and we found your horse at full speed running and you hanging off him.” Jared stated.

“There is nothing left of the cities.  Keep the people away from there.  Its too dangerous for anyone to go there.” I said.

I knew that what I experienced from breathing the air would happen to others.

“We figured that out.  Our rescue party is already headed back to camp.  We decided it was better to let you come back to life here with us.  Fewer explanations to others this way.”  Nathan said laughing.

“What on earth happened?  Did you see it?  Also where is Abraham?”  Jared started rapid firing questions. 

I had not sat up yet but I began to relate the story as I experienced it.  Although I left out the part of my personal experience with the one Abraham called Lord.

“I have no idea where Abraham is.  He didn’t pass by this way?” I asked.
“No we haven’t seen him.  We thought he would be with you.” Nathan said.
“He might be back at camp as mysteriously as you two disappeared.” Jared replied.
“Eat, drink some water and rest.  When your lucid again we will head out.” Nathan stated.

I spent that day by the makeshift camp among the small grove of trees.  I felt the strength returning to my body.  As in past times it seemed as though I still could not die, but this time the damage was severe.  My body took a little while to recover.

The next morning we rode for our camp by Bethel.  When we arrived we found Abraham.  Also it was discovered that Lot and his two girls survived being taken out of the city.  Lot’s wife didn’t make it.  It was said she turned to look back on Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I have seen and experienced more strange things in this journey than I can count.  I had no issues believing what happened to her.  What would begin to weigh on my mind more and more is the conversation I had with the Lord.