Genesis 18 – February 8

Directly after the events that we read about yesterday, three “men” visited Abraham and Sarah. As we make our way through chapters 18-19, we are going to see that the identity of one of these men is “the Lord,” (vs. 1, 3, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 27, 30, 31, 33.) Two of them are shown in the next chapter to be angels. (Gen. 19:1, 15) In this chapter, we only hear from the Lord who reiterates His promise to Abraham that Sarah would bear a son about that time the next year. Just like we saw Abraham do yesterday, Sarah laughed at the promise. The idea was so ludicrous that she could not help but laugh at the impossibility. Let’s set our focus for the rest of these notes on the conversation that Abraham has with the Lord by asking and answering six questions.

Why does God reveal His plan of Judgment to Abraham?

God told Abraham that He was going to go down and examine the sin of these cities. Was God unaware? Absolutely not. He is showing Abraham that He will not destroy or judge haphazardly or arbitrarily. God could’ve just gone out and destroyed Sodom and the surrounding cities. Abraham would’ve seen the destruction in the distance, but not known the purpose behind it. But God gives three reasons why He wants Abraham to know that this is no natural disaster that is occurring at random. This is the outpouring of wrath for a purpose. 

1. “For I have chosen him.” God is telling Abraham because He is showing Abraham that He is a friend.
2. “that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice…” God told Abraham so that Sodom and Gomorrah would forever serve as an object lesson against sin.
3. “so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Part of God’s sovereign plan to preserve His remnant was by safeguarding them with the evidence of God’s power and wrath.

Is it right for Abraham to ask this of God?

It would be a reasonable question for us to ask, “What is Abraham thinking?” God says that He is going to go down and destroy this wicked city. And, at first glance, it appears as though Abraham attempts to barter God down like I would do for a piece of junk at a garage sale. Is it acceptable for Abraham to make these requests of God? I believe that the clear answer to that question is ‘Yes.’ I believe this because there are times when people step out of line in their communication with God in the Bible, and every time God quickly puts them in their place. If Abraham was out of line here, God would have no problem saying so. But instead, God listens to the pleas of Abraham as he asks that God preserve the lives of those in the city.

For whom should we intercede?

Abraham begins his prayer by asking on behalf of the righteous people in the city. In vs. 24 he says, “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” At this point, it is almost a certainty that Abraham is calling out specifically for his nephew, Lot. It seems that Abraham expects that Lot will have converted some of the evil men and women of Sodom to leave their wickedness and turn to the Lord. Then there is a noticeable shift in the focus of Abraham’s prayers. Verse 28 says, “Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” From this point on, Abraham is going to be asking on behalf of the city. This city. The lost, evil, dark city of Sodom. It’s like the most evil aspects of Las Vegas and the most immoral things about New Orleans got together and had a baby. This place had to have the worst reputation in the world. Yet Abraham, this righteous man, pleaded with the Lord to allow them to live. For whom should we intercede? For everyone.

Upon what basis do we intercede?

Look again to verse 25. Abraham says. “Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” What is Abraham doing here? He is relying upon what He knows about the character of God to pray. Essentially, He is saying, “God, I know you are just. It would be unjust to destroy the righteous along with the wicked. So, I am pleading with you to uphold your attributes by displaying your justice. On the one hand, Abraham overrated the justice of the people in Sodom, as can be seen by the results found in chapter 19. But, on the other hand, he was absolutely right to declare God’s Justice. Knowing God and understanding His attributes is the basis for our prayers.

With what attitude should we intercede?

Did you notice that Roughly half of the words Abraham uses are to admit that He is unworthy to even ask the questions? 

In 27 he says, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.”

In 30 he says, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak.”

In 32 he says, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once.”

Hebrews 4:16 teaches us that we can draw near the throne of Grace boldly and with confidence, but it doesn’t say we can approach arrogantly or with a cavalier attitude. Intercessory prayer, like all prayers, comes from a place of personal weakness and inability. We are recognizing that someone is desperate and we can’t help them. An unsaved person is in much more danger than a child trapped on the 50th floor of a burning building. Yet, when we would speak to a fireman we would plead with humility for help. Arguing from the lesser to the greater, would we not much more stand before the only one that can grant repentance and faith with fear and trembling as we rend our hearts in prayer? 

Did God answer Abraham’s Prayer?

In one sense, no He doesn’t. Sodom was destroyed. I wonder what it must have been like for Abraham to hear the sounds of destruction and mayhem throughout the night and to wake up in the morning to the smell of burning flesh and sulfur as it wafted across the plain. Chapter 19 never says what he thought or felt, it simply says, “And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.” God did not spare the city. He poured our righteous judgment unlike you and I can even imagine. But God did answer in His own way. He destroyed the city, but He also rescued the one righteous man who live in Sodom. God did not ignore these prayers. Rather; he sent two angels to function as holy bodyguards to transport Lot and his family to safety. But, we will learn more about that next week.