God started a conversation with Abraham after Abraham’s hospitality. This devotional reading looks at how He told him His plans for the cities’ destruction.
Nuggets
- Sodom and Gomorrah were wonderful cities.
Jehovah said that He had heard an outcry. - Sin was rampant and horrific in Sodom and Gomorrah.
- At first read, some may think that Jehovah really doesn’t know what was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah.
- The angels leave God with Abraham to have their talk.
- Abraham was afraid that Jehovah would wipe out the righteous as well as the unrighteous, but he knew He wouldn’t.
We have been talking about Abraham’s hospitality for and discussion with his Friend, Jehovah. We know that God has plans that He hasn’t shared yet.
After weighting things out, God chose to share the plan with Abraham. Let’s see how He does it.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Abraham the Patriarch series
Sodom and Gomorrah’s Judgment
“So the Lord told Abraham, ‘I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know’” (Gen. 18: 20-21 NLT)
Sodom and Gomorrah were wonderful cities.
Foster described Sodom and Gomorrah as beautiful cities. Its position on the Babylon to Egypt trade route made Sodom prosperous.
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The problem, though, was humans. Sin had become rampant again, possibly from the abundance of idleness.
Dykes, though, didn’t find any evidence of culture or refinement.
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Great Outcry
Jehovah said that He had heard an outcry.
We know that God can hear us from Heaven. But from whom did the outcry originate?
No, it wasn’t from Abraham, lamenting that humans had become as sinful as they had been before the flood. We really haven’t been told to this point that he was concerned whether others believed or not.
Jehovah had personal knowledge that there was evil in Sodom and Gomorrah.
The outcry came from the cities themselves. Creation was calling to its Maker for relief.
Think about it. We know that Jesus calmed the storm (Mk. 4: 35-41). Creation obeyed the voice of its Creator.
When Jesus was entering Jerusalem during the Triumphant Entry, He said the rocks would cry out. “But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, ‘Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!’ He replied, ‘If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!’” (Lk. 19: 39-40 NLT).
Sin Is Flagrant
Sin was rampant and horrific in Sodom and Gomorrah.
We’ll find out one of the sins of the cities was sexual immorality. We can deduct from the fact that there was not ten righteous men in the cities that there were thousands that cursed Jehovah. There was probably a big dose of pride. Gilfillan wondered if there was child sacrifices.
Gilfillan described the situation in Sodom and Gomorrah. He wrote,
“Had there been but one prevalent evil practice in Sodom, there is something so disgusting, and at the same time comparatively so rare, in the sin which bears the name of the city, that it might have been as well, perhaps, to have passed it over in silence. But it is evident that the peculiar iniquity of Sodom was only the climax and consummation of the general depravity of the place.”
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I Want to Know
At first read, some may think that Jehovah really doesn’t know what was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Nothing is further from the truth. Jehovah wasn’t going there to make an initial evaluation. He is going to make a final evaluation.
The purpose was to pull out the righteous.
Trench helped us understand this. He wrote,
“The judgments of God from time to time overtake guilty nations and guilty men; but, huge and overwhelming catastrophes as these often are, there is nothing hasty, blind, precipitate about them. He is evermore the same God who, when the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah waxed great, is described as going down to see and inquire whether they had “done altogether according to the cry of it.”
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Jehovah wants us to evaluate our lives. First, we do it to determine if we need salvation. Then, we continue to evaluate ourselves to ensure we are navigating the Sanctification Road. We identify the areas Jehovah is working in our lives to make us more like Him.
In other words, this evaluation gives us a clear view of our sins.
Dunning brought up something interesting. Maybe I want to know really meant were they ripe for judgment.
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Was God giving them one last chance to turn to Him?
The Angels Take Their Places
“The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham” (Gen. 18: 22 NLT)
The angels leave God with Abraham to have their talk.
Do we think it is strange that Jehovah came this far but didn’t go any farther? Especially since He said that He wanted to know in verse 21.
At times, Jehovah does things Himself. He shut door of ark (Gen. 7: 16). He was in the burning bush to commission Moses (Ex. 3: 4).
At other times, Jehovah sends His messenger.
We don’t know that Jehovah didn’t go with the two angels. No, He wasn’t visible, but that doesn’t mean He wasn’t there.
But look at the two angels. They calmly left the dinner with their Master and friend and walked to Sodom and Gomorrah to carry out their assignment.
Yes, they were going to mete out vengeance. But they didn’t go to the cities with anger or even fanfare.
Abraham’s Response to the Plan
“Abraham approached him and said, ‘Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?’” (Gen. 18: 23 NLT)
“Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?’” (Gen. 18: 25 NLT)
Abraham was afraid that Jehovah would wipe out the righteous as well as the unrighteous, but he knew He wouldn’t.
Abraham knew God. He knew that God would not execute the righteous with the unrighteous, but he had to ask.
In fact, this question probably just came flying out of Abraham’s mouth before the brain engaged. We can see why.
Dunning wondered if Abraham was blindsided by the judgment on the cities. This is a rather abrupt tone.
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As we read on, we’ll find out that God did not call Abraham out on this. Maclaren told us why. He wrote, “The boldest words from a loving heart, jealous of God’s [honor], are not irreverent in His eyes.”
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Meyer thought that, beyond his concern for Lot. Abraham was concerned how others would respond to God’s destruction of the cities. He didn’t want others to turn away from God because of this.
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Abraham knew Jehovah as a merciful God. He wanted others to know Him as he did.
I wonder if Abraham kind of felt like Noah stepping off the ark. He had never seen Jehovah’s judgment like this in the almost 25 years of his life as a believer. In fact, he hadn’t seen this level of destruction in his lifetime.
Abraham now knew Jehovah’s judgment of those who habitually sinned and chose to turn away from Him.
Think about it. Disciples are called to look different than worldview people. We aren’t supposed to have the same values and social norms they have.
Why would we expect the same severe judgment?
Let’s look at the Hebrew here. “And Avraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou also destroy the tzaddik [righteous] with the rasha [morally wrong]?” (Gen. 18: 23 OJB).
Remember, morally wrong means that they were deviating from God’s Will, law, and commandments.
We know that Jehovah does not always save His children from trials and persecution. Disciples are not exempt from suffering the results of sin. Neither are we.
However, we are not given the judgment of the unrighteousness.
Think about Noah. Out of the unknown number of people present on earth at that time, eight people were saved.
“… Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT emphasis added). Seven other people were saved because of the faith of one man.
Jehovah will not judge the righteous with the unrighteous. Otherwise, why would we choose to submit to Him?
So, was Abraham asking God to change His mind? Wouldn’t he have known that God is immutable?
Mason felt it was Abraham telling God that His plan was wonderful – but could He give him a clue as to some details.
I know. Don’t we wish God would share some plans with us once in a while? And give us a few more details!!!
Mason said something spot on. He wrote, “The mercy which is prayed for is not an exception from righteousness, but the fruit of it.”
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We become righteous only through a greater connection with God. Our concern for other’s salvation comes out of that connection.
It was that connection that created the surety that God would not destroy the righteous along with the wicked that fostered Abraham’s boldness. He knew God as a Father, not just as Judge.
Think about this. God is righteous, so that He can do no wrong. If He can’t do wrong, He won’t approve of us doing wrong.
Making the Connections #1
We may think Sodom and Gomorrah had no warnings to turn from their sinful ways. But Gilfillan said they did.
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There first warning was the arrival of Lot. I know we bit pretty hard on him back in Genesis 13, but by the end we had a different picture of him.
Remember, we talked about Lot’s Christian worldliness.
Robinson argued that, however we may judge Lot in Genesis 13, by the time he left Sodom in Genesis 19, he was a righteous man. He was sick of the culture in which he lived.
“But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day” (II Pet. 2: 7-8 NLT emphasis added).
Okay, maybe the warning wasn’t with Lot’s arrival. It was obvious to others by Lot’s turning to/turning back to Jehovah. His friends and neighbors would have seen a difference between him and them.
The second warning was when King Chedorlaomer and the invaders from the east arrived in Genesis 14. Oh, yeah. Defeat is a good warning.
Surely, they would have known about Abraham, at a minimum. They may even have known about Melchizedek.
But that didn’t deter them. They kept on sinning anyway.
Making the Connections #2
The first question may have come flying out of Abraham’s mouth, but he knew one thing. Jehovah devised the good and orders the evil.
That is one reason that Jehovah is Judge.
Another reason is all-seeing, all-knowing Jehovah is the best One for the job. “… For the LORD is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions” (I Sam. 2: 3 NLT).
Still another reason is Jehovah can do no wrong. “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection” (Ps. 18: 30 NLT).
How Do We Apply This?
- Remain obedient to Jehovah.
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Father God. You trusted Abraham because he had faith to believe in You. Thank You when You share Your plans with us. Fortify us to discern Your Will when You do not. Amen.
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