We finally get to the meat of God’s visit with Abraham. This devotional reading looks at Abraham’s response to God’s plan to judge Sodom and Gomorrah.
Nuggets
- Abraham questioned Jehovah about saving the cities until he was down to ten righteous people.
- Abraham interceded with Jehovah in confidence and doubt.
- Not only was Abraham confident in his relationship with Jehovah, but he also knew Jehovah’s character – and this plan, to Abraham, was out of character.
God had told Abraham He had judged Sodom and Gomorrah because of its sinfulness. Abraham had some questions for God.
Well, really it was a variation of the same question. If You found righteous people there, would you destroy the good with the evil?
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Devotions in the Abraham the Patriarch series
Abraham’s Question
“Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city — will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?’” (Gen. 18: 24 NLT) “And the Lord replied, ‘If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.’ Then Abraham spoke again. ‘Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And the Lord said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.’ Then Abraham pressed his request further. ‘Suppose there are only forty?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.’ ‘Please don’t be angry, my Lord,’ Abraham pleaded. ‘Let me speak — suppose only thirty righteous people are found?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I will not destroy it if I find thirty.’ Then Abraham said, ‘Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue — suppose there are only twenty?’ And the Lord replied, ‘Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.’ Finally, Abraham said, ‘Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?’ And the Lord replied, ‘Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.’ When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent” (Gen. 18: 26-33 NLT)
Abraham questioned Jehovah about saving the cities until he was down to ten righteous people.
Abraham Pressed His Request
Abraham interceded with Jehovah in confidence and doubt.
Yeah, Abraham actually had the guts to question Jehovah. But you are probably scratching your heard that I said he approached Him in both confidence and doubt.
We may wonder that Abraham had the audacity to question Jehovah. But Abraham knew He could confidently approached his Friend. He knew his relationship with Jehovah.
Abraham approached Jehovah with reverence to His position. He did show confidence in his position with Jehovah. Look how Candlish described the interaction. He wrote,
“Aspiring to no acquaintance with the secret decrees of God, and standing upon no claim of merit in himself, he has still warrant enough for all the earnestness of this intercessory pleading, in that broad general aspect of the character and moral government of God, to which he expressly refers.”
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But Abraham didn’t approach God as an equal friend. He knew he was dealing with Sovereign God. That what the secret decrees is about.
“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions” (Deut. 29: 29 NLT). God is all-knowing – we aren’t.
Let’s look at how Abraham approached Jehovah.
- Boldly with reverence.
- Humbly (verse 27)
- Acknowledging God’s sovereignty and character.
- Just between the two of them.
- Persistently
Why did Abraham approached God this way?
- He understand God’s moral government of the world.
- He understand God’s patience.
- He acknowledge our position as subordinate.
- He acknowledge God’s right to determine what is a sin and when and how to judge disobedience.
Jehovah wants us to boldly approach His throne while we give Him the reverence He deserves as Sovereign God and our Savior.
We can have confidence in Jehovah’s wisdom and righteousness.
I Am but Dust and Ashes
Not only was Abraham confident in his relationship with Jehovah, but he also knew Jehovah’s character – and this plan, to Abraham, was out of character.
To Abraham, this destruction of the good with the wicked seemed out of character.
Abraham would have known Noah’s story. Noah would have been Abraham’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. He was probably wondering when the equivalent of the ark would be brought up. If Jehovah was willing to save eight people and kill possibly millions, he knew He would save the faithful.
Plus, Rowlands thought Abraham’s doubt came from the incompatibility of God’s plan with Abraham’s definition of a judge. He wrote, “The position of any judge is one of dignity, authority, and responsibility; he cannot, therefore, maintain his position for a single day unless he do right, and execute justice, and act impartially.”
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I know. We look at the condition of Sodom and Gomorrah – and the world today – and question why a righteous Sovereign God allows the lawlessness to go on so long.
But the doubt also came in, I think, as to how far Abraham wanted to push it.
Yeah, Abraham was questioning Sovereign God about His plans. That would be scary.
Again and again, Abraham noted that the lesser was questioning the Greater.
- “… Since I have begun, … even though I am but dust and ashes” (Gen. 18: 27 NLT).
- “‘Please don’t be angry, my Lord,’ … (Gen. 18: 30 NLT).
- “… ‘Since I have dared to speak to the Lord …’ …” (Gen. 18: 31 NLT).
- “… ‘Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time …’…” (Gen. 18: 32 NLT).
In fact, Dunning thought God brought up His plans so that Abraham could intercede. I wonder if it was a test for Abraham.But Abraham was only a righteous man because he knew he was still a sinful man. He was far from perfect – but he was forgiven.
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Abraham could intercede because he was a righteous man. Only those God considers holy can find the power in prayer.
But Abraham was only a righteous man because he knew he was still a sinful man. He was far from perfect – but he was forgiven.
Suppose There Are Only
Thousands of wicked people would have been saved if there had only been ten righteous people.
We don’t know the actual number of people living in Sodom and Gomorrah when the cities were destroyed. It could have been in the thousands.
If we really look at the question, we see that it is really just the same question. How many righteous people must You find before You don’t destroy the cities?
What we can see as the number dwindles that Jehovah was averse to punish the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah. We can tell because as long as Abraham asked, He answered with they would be saved.
Jehovah would have much rather they would believe in Him. “I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know’” (Gen. 18: 21 NLT).
Jehovah is always open to people repenting from their sins and turning back to Him.
- “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (II Pet. 3: 9 NLT).
- “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (I Tim. 2: 3-4 NLT).
- “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 NLT).
- “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?” (Ezek. 33: 11 NLT).
But as he got going in the prayer, Abraham asked for more and more. Saving thousands for the sake of 50 is one thing. Saving thousands for the sake of ten is something entirely different. Yeah, that would make him doubt if he should push that far.
Yet, we’ll find out that, though God didn’t save the cities, He saved three people and tried to save the fourth.
We think Jehovah is the God of big things, but not the little things. But then, we think He will be offended when we ask for the big things.
Trench had an interesting comment. Jehovah was more concerned about the absence of good than He was the presence of evil. He wrote,
“However corrupt any fellowship of men may [be], however far gone in evil, yet so long as there is a sound, healthy kernel in it of righteous men, that is, of men who love and fear God and will witness for God, there is always hope.”
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God was concerned that He wouldn’t find ten righteous people. That is one reason why He kept affirming Abraham’s requests.
Trench likened the ten righteous men to lightning rods. They draw the lightning strikes/Jehovah’s vengeance away.
I wonder how this conversation strengthened Abraham’s faith. He had to have been comforted that his relationship with Jehovah was at a level where he could ask these questions of Jehovah.
It probably strengthened Abraham’s resolve to remain obedient to Jehovah.
Think about it this way. Rowlands said that Sovereign God was really recognizing Abraham’s faith in Him and his selfless concern for others of faith.
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Making the Connections #1
Notice that not once did Abraham ask God to not go to Sodom and Gomorrah to pass judgment on them. He knew the wicked should be punished. He trusted God to judge fairly.
Instead, Abraham learns about the spiritual condition of the cities from God’s perspective. He sees firsthand God’s patience.
Did we expect Abraham to go even further and ask salvation of the cites for five righteous people? Maybe even one?
Dunning had a good handle on this. He wrote, “But the failure of his intercession, if he regarded it as a failure, resulted from his ignorance of the depths of sin, and an inadequate conception of the mercy of God.”
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According to Dunning, we shouldn’t try to weasel out of God’s judgment. We should plead for those going against His moral character.
This also shows us what God values – righteousness. Not self-righteousness, but His righteousness – purity of our character. Not the things we do or don’t do. He only looks at the condition of our hearts.
Making the Connections #2
Have you ever looked at Abraham’s intercession as a prayer? Allen called it the first recorded prayer.
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Yeah, I’ve long gotten the intercession part. I just wouldn’t call it a prayer.
God was standing right there in front of Abraham. This wasn’t a get-down-on-your-knees prayer.
It was a conversation between two beings who were looking at each other in the eyes.
Making the Connections #3
We know blessings fall on the just and the unjust. “In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Mt. 5: 45 NLT).
Do worldview people understand how many blessings are bestowed upon them because they are around disciples? Do they not get that they would receive judgment if disciples weren’t in their midst? Isn’t that what the concept of The Rapture is all about?
Fuller gave this warning to worldview people. He wrote,
“God was willing to spare the worst of cities for the sake of a few righteous characters. This truth is as humiliating to the haughty enemies of religion as it is encouraging to its friends, and furnishes an important lesson to civil governments, to beware of undervaluing, and still more of persecuting, and banishing men whose concern it is to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the world. Except the Lord of Hosts had left us a remnant of such characters, we might ere now have been as Sodom, and made like unto Gomorrah!”
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Making the Connections #4
“Ooo, baby. Mason didn’t mince words about bad prayers. He wrote, “Any other prayer must be a mockery and an abomination in the sight of God. Any other prayer is an insinuation that man is a better being than his Maker.”
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We really don’t want to approach God with a better-than-thou attitude. An abomination is a disgrace and a horror.
We want to approach God with honor and reverence – and above all, love.
Making the Connections #5
I love what Jowett said about approaching the throne of grace. He wrote, “He must lie low, and aim high.”
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How many times do we get that backwards? We go in high and aim low.
Making the Connections #6
Go back to Trench’s comment. Let’s look at it again so that we won’t have to scroll back. He wrote,
“However corrupt any fellowship of men may [be], however far gone in evil, yet so long as there is a sound, healthy kernel in it of righteous men, that is, of men who love and fear God and will witness for God, there is always hope.”
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If the angels would have found ten righteous men in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, those cities would have been saved.
What did Jesus say. “‘…’ Jesus told them. ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible” (Mt. 17: 20 NLT).
If Jesus finds faith the size of a mustard seed in us, we will have salvation. It isn’t about the size of our faith, but it is about Who our faith is in.
Making the Connections #7
Let’s face it. We know, while Abraham was praying for the cities, he was mostly praying for Lot. And that is okay.
Abraham was probably praying for Lot and his family’s safety. But that meant he was praying that God found them righteous. Because it was “if you found 10 righteous people” (Gen. 18: 32 NLT).
Remember, we don’t know for sure how many were in Lot’s family. Surely, there was a son or two, but that isn’t guaranteed. If he had two married sons, that would be 10 people counting the daughters’ betrothed.
But back to Abraham. What have we been saying since Ur that his Sanctification Road was built on separation.
God was isolating Abraham – even from his family – for something bigger.
When we first met Lot, he was never around for anything but the road trips. We never heard that he helped build the altars.
Some might call Lot a fake person. If he was around and Moses just didn’t add that tidbit, we might call Lot as masquerading as a goat in sheep’s clothing.
Let’s be real. Fake people and fake sheep wouldn’t want to around a righteous person. They have little in common with them.
On top of that, Satan wouldn’t be able to stand it.
We don’t know for sure. What we do know is that God was separating people from who would take Abraham’s focus off Him.
God does that to us, too. As painful as it may be, that is God’s plan for us. For as long or as short of a time, God is with us while we are adding bricks to our Road.
How Do We Apply This?
Pray and intercede for others, even when we feel it is in vain.
Don’t shy away from acknowledging and repenting our sin.
Give God reasons for answering our prayers.
Approach God in increasing earnestness.
Humbly approach God with high expectations.
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Father God. We are like Abraham at times. We approach You hesitantly. But You want us to approach You boldly. Help us to intercede for other righteous disciples. Amen.
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