Genesis 18:32-33 ESV
Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Abraham pleads with God for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah. For the sake of ten righteous men in the city God would relent from destroying the city. This might remind us of the power of a little leaven in bread. The kingdom of heaven can sprout from the smallest seed.
The number ten in Scripture "signifies the perfection of Divine order" - Bullinger. It took ten men to form a synagogue, an assembly of God, a presence of the Divine.
If there was some righteousness in the city, it would be spared. It was found lacking. After Lot and family were taken from the city, it was destroyed. This contains an echo of Noah and his family's salvation from the destruction of the earth. The righteous rode the wave of destruction that would engulf the earth. The waiter receded and the sea was no more. The earth was made new.
This destruction foreshadows the coming cleansing of wickedness from the earth at the return of Christ. He will see for Himself and judge with truth and justice.
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