What About The Children?

Q

I understand that children below the age of accountability are not held to account for their sins. This fact raises a question in my mind about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God promised Abraham to spare Sodom If only 10 righteous men could be found. In a city of any size, there must have been at least 10 children below the age of accountability. Why do you think these young innocents were not counted as being sufficient to spare the cities that were destroyed?

A

The original language of Genesis 18:16-33 doesn’t specify exactly who Abraham and God had in mind. It only says “the righteous”. But since the cities were destroyed we have to assume there weren’t even 10 there who were “righteous” according to their definition. That makes it obvious that children weren’t included. Most likely they only considered those who were intellectually mature enough to have decided for themselves whether or not to adopt standards of behavior consistent with God’s righteous requirements.

Throughout history, children have been involved in God’s judgments. For example, all the children whose parents refused to join Noah on the ark were destroyed (Genesis 7:23). And on the first Palm Sunday Jesus warned the people of Jerusalem that because of their failure to recognize Him they and their children would be dashed to the ground (Luke 19:44).

Knowing that God is just and has a claim on all children, we can only assume that when He visits judgment upon His enemies, He brings their children into His presence to enjoy eternal life with Him and holds the parents responsible for their death. After all, it’s their behavior that incurred His wrath.