An Appealing Conversation....

During this summer, we have been looking at a section of the very first letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Genesis, where we have seen God engage a man named Abraham. This week, we are going to see the Lord continue to engage Abram in conversation. And it is in this conversation, and in what follows this conversation, that we will discover a timeless obstacle that can powerfully impact how we respond and live when it comes to God and God’s promises. So let’s begin where we left off last week, in Genesis 18:16:

Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him." And the LORD said, "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. "I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know."

As we jump back into this story, we see Moses transition from a conversation between the Lord and Abraham and Sarah to a conversation between the Lord and the two angels that had accompanied Him on His visit. As Abraham walked with the Lord and the two angels toward the city Sodom, we are given a glimpse into this conversation. This conversation between the Lord and the angels, if communicated in the language we use today, would have sounded something like this:

 “Should I keep secret from Abraham what I am about to do? After all, I have promised Abraham that My choice of him would result in his descendants becoming a great nation that would be the vehicle that I will use to reveal Myself to the world.  I promised Abraham that through him and his descendant’s individuals from every people group and culture would have the opportunity to find blessing as part of a community of faith that would be My representatives on earth. After all, I chose Abraham to follow Me by faith and to live a life that is in right relationship with Me and reveals how right and just I am. And I choose Abraham and told him to teach his descendants after him to live the same way so that they could receive the promises that I made to them. So should I not let him know how I am going to exercise My right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of Sodom and Gomorrah”?

After reminding the angels of His promise to Abraham, the Lord turns and engages Abraham in a conversation regarding these two cities. When the Lord says that the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, this phrase conveys the sense of the life of an innocent victim crying out for justice. This is a word picture of the innocent crying out to the just God for justice.  The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah cried out to Heaven for punishment, because the sin of the cities was exceedingly grave.

This phrase, exceedingly grave literally means to weigh heavily. The selfishness and rebellion of Sodom and Gomorrah was a heavy weight that cast itself against the holiness and justice of God. And as a result of the heaviness that the weight of the selfishness and rebellion of Sodom and Gomorrah placed upon the holiness and justice of God, God came to earth with two witnesses to see firsthand what was happening.

Now, God is not going down to Sodom and Gomorrah in order to get information. God is fully aware of what is happening there. God has all the information that He needs regarding the selfishness and rebellion of Sodom and Gomorrah. While God was fully aware of what was occurring in Sodom and Gomorrah, His justice moved Him to gather all the facts together in preparation for His right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion there.

The residents of Sodom and Gomorrah would be without excuse or defense, because God Himself was coming down to gather all the evidence necessary to answer any objection that anyone might have when it came to what He was about to do. And as Abraham takes in this conversation, we see his response recorded for us in verse 22:

 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. Abraham came near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?"

As the two angels headed to Sodom, we see Abraham engage the Lord in an effort to intercede for the residents of Sodom. You see, Abraham knew the evidence that the angels would gather in Sodom. And that evidence would result in God’s right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion there. And Abraham also knew that his nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom. So Abraham intercedes with God to spare those in Sodom who would be right with God and not guilty of rebellion toward God.

Abraham appeals to God as the right and just God of justice. “You would not snatch away and destroy the innocent with the guilty, would You?” Abraham, out of concern for his nephew and the innocent, asks God to spare the entire city if there were fifty innocent people in Sodom. Now this word spare literally means to forgive. Abraham is asking God to forgive the rebellion of the residents of Sodom for the sake of fifty people who are innocent. We see God’s response in verse 26:

 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account."

The Lord responds by revealing the reality that He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness. The Lord explains to Abraham that He is willing to forgive and spare the entire city if there are fifty innocent people. We see Abraham’s response to the Lord’s response of grace in the verses that follow:

 And Abraham replied, "Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. "Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?" And He said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." He spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose forty are found there?" And He said, "I will not do it on account of the forty." Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?" And He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." And he said, "Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the twenty." Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the ten." As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Can you picture this conversation? Can you see Abraham doing the mental math? “Hhmm. What if there are not fifty innocent people there? Let me think; how many innocent people are there in Sodom anyways? I don’t know if there are fifty. God I know that I am not you; You are the Creator and I am just part of the creation. I know that I am here today and gone tomorrow. But I have resolved to speak out on behalf of the innocent. Would you forgive the city if there is only 45 instead of 50? How about 40? 30? Uhh let me think…how about 20? Are there even 20? Let’s see; there’s Lot and his wife and then their kids…how about 10?"

The Lord‘s response to Abraham’s repeated requests is the same: I will not destroy it on account of… After allowing Abraham to intercede on behalf of Lot and the innocent, The Lord leaves Abraham.

Tomorrow, we will see the story shift from the Lord and Abraham to the angels and Lot…