Midrash sa Job 12:5: Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit Rabbah & Sifrei Devarim

And thus do you find with the men of Sodom, that with what they vaunted themselves before Him, He exacted punishment of them. As it is written (Iyyov 28:5-8) "A land from which bread had issued forth — its place was overturned, as if (consumed by) fire. A place of sapphire were its stones, and dusts of gold were there. (And now it is) a path unknown (i.e., unfrequented) by brigands, and unseen by the falcon's eye, untrodden by the haughty (beasts) and not crossed by the lion." The Sodomites said: We need no men to come to us. Food "sprouts" from us, and silver and gold and precious stones and pearls sprout from us. Let us come and forget the way of the wayfarer from our land — At which the Holy One Blessed be He said to them: Fools that you are! Do you vaunt yourselves in the good that I have bestowed upon you! You have said: Let us forget the Torah of the foot (i.e., the wayfarer) from our land. I, likewise, will "forget" you from the world, viz. (Ibid. 4) "A stream (of fire and brimstone) burst forth from its source (upon Sodom and Gomorrah), who (i.e., the people of Sodom) caused the (codes of the) wayfarer to be forgotten." And (Ibid. 12:6) "The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who anger G–d dwell secure." Where from? From what? (Ibid.) "from what G–d has brought into his (the evildoer's) hand." And thus is it written (Ezekiel 16:50) "And they (the men of Sodom) were haughty and committed abomination before Me, and I removed them (from the world) when I saw (their ways). And (Ibid. 49) "Behold, this was the sin of Sodom, your sister. She and her daughters had pride, surfeit of bread, and peaceful serenity — wherefore she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy. And thus is it written (Genesis 13:10) "Before the L–rd destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it (Sodom) was like the Garden of the L–rd, like the land of Egypt." What is written afterwards? (Genesis 19:33) "And they (the daughters of Lot) made their father drink wine that night." Whence did they have wine in the cave? The Holy One Blessed be He "readied" it for them, as in (Yoel 4:18) "And it will be on that day, that the mountains will drip wine. (If the Holy One Blessed be He thus "readies" (things) for His angerers, how much more so for the doers of His will!)

The men of Sodom were punished with the very thing (by which) they exalted themselves. Concerning them it is written: As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knoweth, neither hath the falcon’s eye seen it; the proud beasts have not trodden it, nor hath the lion passed thereby (Job 28:5–8). They said: There is no reason why we should permit men to travel over our highways, for they deprive us of our food, silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls. Let us abrogate the law of unrestricted travel in our land. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, told them: Since you have become arrogant because of the good things I lavished upon you, I will cause you to be forgotten in the world, as it is said: He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot that passeth by; they hang afar from men (ibid., v. 4). It is written also: A contemptible brand in the thought of him that is at ease … the tents of the robbers prosper (ibid. 12:5). What happened to them for this? In whatsoever God hath brought into their hand (ibid., v. 6). Thus it says: Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and careless ease was in her and her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy (Ezek. 16:49). Likewise it says; Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah they were like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt (Gen. 13:10). But after that is written: And they made their father drink wine that night (ibid. 19:33). Where did they obtain the wine for the meal? The Omnipresent provided the wine for the meal, as it is said: And it shall come to pass in that day, the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord (Joel 4:18). Now, if the Holy One, blessed be He, provided for those who angered Him, surely He would do as much for those who performed His will.

“[Noah was a righteous] man [ish]” – everywhere that ish is stated, it is a righteous man who rebukes. As all one hundred and twenty years,⁸Before the Flood, when God first decreed that He was going to destroy the world (see Genesis 6:3). Noah would plant cedars and chop them down [for timber]. They said to him: ‘Why are you doing this?’ He said to them: ‘So said the Master of the world, that He is bringing a flood upon the world.’ They said to him: ‘If He brings a flood, it will come only upon the house of that man!’⁹Noah. When Methuselah died¹⁰At the conclusion of the 120 years. they said to him: ‘Indeed, it [tragedy] came only upon the house of that man.’¹¹Methuselah was Noah’s grandfather, therefore his death was a tragedy for Noah. That is what is written: “A flame [lapid] of contempt for those of complacent thoughts [ashtut], destined to cause slippings of the foot” (Job 12:5). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: [God declared:] I had a single herald who arose for me in the generation of the Flood – this is Noah;¹²Noah was a herald in that he announced to his generation the impending Flood, as above. there,¹³In some unspecified location. when they [mean to] say: ‘He has an announcement,’ [they say] he has a lapid.¹⁴And this is the basis of Rabbi Abba’s interpretation of lapid as “herald.” Of contempt – as they would disparage him, calling him ‘contemptible old man.’ “For those of complacent thoughts [ashtut]” – as they were as hard¹⁵In their obstinacy. as blocks of metal [ashatot]. “Destined to cause slippings of the foot” – as they were destined for two disasters¹⁶Hence the plural, “slippings.” – a disaster from above and a disaster from below.¹⁷“And the windows of the heavens were opened and all the wellsprings of the great depth were breached” (Genesis 7:11).