Now we know that just prior to this portion of Scripture that we will be going over, three angels had visited Abraham and gave some news to Abraham and Sarah that caused her to laugh.
Being as they were of physically older age, I guess Sarah thought that this was somewhat humorous. It involved the great and mighty nation that would come from them. But that is another message.
Righteousness in the Old Testament
In Genesis 18:16-19, we see that the three men got up and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went along with them a little way from the camp.
I have heard that in this area, you can see quite far across the horizon. No doubt it may have been a day full of sunshine, and they could see the cities from their viewpoint.
And now the Lord is preparing to reveal to Abraham His plans for Sodom and Gomorrha. Now, Scripture does not tell us, but I think the Lord was speaking out loud to Himself, and you cannot tell me that none of you have ever done that. I know I have when I have been contemplating something.
So, the Lord says in Genesis 18:17-19, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” But now, in the next verse, we see the reason why He is not going to withhold the information.
We read in verse 18 that Abraham will become a great nation and that his descendants will be blessed in him.
Then, in verse 19, “For I have known him.” The Lord knew Abraham. What does this tell us? We learn more about Abraham’s character.
He is disciplined in that he will teach his children and his household about the Lord. He will provide justice and judgment, and the Lord will bring the blessed nation to fruition.
The explanation of why God let Abraham know how He would manage Sodom was God knew that Abraham would tell others and his future descendants would tell others. This infers that Sodom’s obliteration was to be a unique illustration for all ages.
if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly (2 Peter 2:6).
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire (Jude 7).
This example of destruction was to be passed down to all ages and through all generations to come (Luke 17:28-34).
The city of Sodom is illustrative of the world during the last days, and the calling out of Lot from Sodom by the Angels represents our calling out to meet the Lord in the air.
The word grievous, as translated in the Hebrew, means hardened. This points to the Sodomites as being hardened in their own sexual sin and pride so much that they glorified sin (Genesis 19:5; Ezekiel 16:49).
Now, the Lord is saying that because of the multitude of cries of injustice from these cities, it is so overwhelming that He will go to these cities and investigate the issue. Can you imagine a parent hearing a commotion from another room in the house where kids are playing?
The noise seemed to be getting louder, and it seemed as if the children were becoming more vocal. The parent has called out, “You kids need to tone it down a bit in there; do not make me come in there!”
Now, that may seem humorous to some, and it may bring back memories from your own childhood or when your own children were still at home. Now just imagine, maybe that is how the Lord felt.
God had provided an honest test to the people of Sodom. He already knew of their wickedness, but in His benevolence, He gave them another opportunity to turn to Him. Father God is still patiently waiting for humanity to turn to Him (2 Peter 3:9).
So, the men started walking toward Sodom and Abraham was standing before the Lord. Abraham knows that Lot is down there, so now he begins his questioning of the Lord. Maybe Abraham was wondering if there were any other righteous people down there as well.
“And Abraham drew near…” To draw near means to come closer or approach, literally or figuratively. Here, it can be in reference to a relationship, in prayer or sacrifice, or in intercession (1 Samuel 14:36; Psalm 73:28; Isaiah 29:13; Hebrews 10:22; Jeremiah 30:21).
So now Abraham starts questioning the Lord, “What if there are fifty good people in the city? Are You still going to punish the good with the bad? Why would You do that? Why would the Judge of the earth punish the good with the bad?” And he continues his questioning while decreasing the number of potentially righteous people.
Righteousness as a Way of Life
I remember a time as a child when there were a bunch of us kids messing around, and something bad happened, and we all denied that we had done something.
I cannot quite remember what it was, but I remember my mother making a comment about how she was going to whoop all of us to be sure she got the right one. When it comes to the Lord, He already knows who the guilty ones are, and you cannot hide from God.
Were the questions from Abraham to the Lord a prayer? Provided that this is true, was Abraham petitioning God for Lot’s security?
If we say that they were, it does not look as though it was a particular supplication; however, we could say that the spirit of his solicitations was heard and perceived. According to Romans 8, the fundamental spirit of our requests is deciphered and answered by the Holy Spirit.
Was Abraham trying to change God’s mind? Most likely, God was changing Abraham’s mind. Abraham knew that God punishes sin. However, he might have been pondering God’s mercy. It seems as if Abraham was questioning how merciful God was.
I think that Abraham understood that God was merciful and just. I do not think that our prayers will change the mind of God, but God can change our minds. Prayer is how we communicate with God and how we can better understand Him.
In any case, did Abraham’s request set a boundary for God? The number of righteous individuals diminishes as Abraham talks. Could not Abraham have just requested that God spare Sodom for Lot? For what reason did Abraham not simply ask that the city be saved?
I think that he restricted God’s reaction when he halted at 10. He might have continued onward down to one to represent Lot. The redemption of Sodom relied on Abraham’s expansiveness of vision. We can only wonder if Abraham lacked vision and faith.
We may question if God was being unfair to the city of Sodom. Did God genuinely want to annihilate the good with the wicked? I do not think so. I believe that the fairness of God was definitely apparent.
For starters, God consented to save the whole city if 10 righteous individuals lived there. Secondly, God offered extraordinary kindness toward Lot, who evidently was the only person in the city who had any sort of relationship with Him, and surprisingly, that was sketchy.
And finally, God showed incredible forbearance toward Lot, nearly driving him away from Sodom before it was obliterated.
Ezekiel 16:44-52 speaks on Israel’s detestable sins. To be called a sister to Samaria and Sodom was bad, but to be labeled as being worse means that the sins were unspeakable, and it was doomed.
The sins were not actually any worse, but the point was that Israel knew better yet did nothing to repent. How many righteous people were present?
Individuals of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum saw Jesus firsthand, but they determinedly would not repent of their wrongdoings and trust in Him. Jesus said if the wickedest cities on the planet had seen Him, they would have repented and believed.
But since Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum saw Jesus and did not accept Him and believe, they would suffer more than those communities who had not seen Jesus. Again, how many righteous people were present? (Matthew 11:20-24).
Cultivating Righteousness
Now let us look at the word righteous. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines righteous as: “acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin; morally right or justifiable: arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality.”
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
When a person puts his/her faith and trust in Christ, that person trades his/her sin for the goodness of Christ. Christ took upon himself our sin when He gave up His life on the Cross of Calvary.
The righteousness of Christ was placed in our hearts the moment we accepted Him into our hearts and exchanged the old man for the new man (Colossians 3:9-14; Ephesians 4:24). This is what is meant about Christ’s atonement for our sins.
God made an offer to exchange His righteousness for our sin, His Son Jesus. What a free gift to receive! A gift of fathomless worth in exchange for something worthless. How thankful we ought to be for such immeasurable grace and mercy that has been bestowed upon us.
I know that this has been somewhat lengthy, but I hope that something has stirred in your minds about this message that applies to each and every Christian.
We should remember the patience that God has whenever we are persuaded to think that God is unfair. Indeed, even the godliest individuals merit justice from God. We ought to be thankful that God does not direct His justice toward us, as is evident with Sodom.
Can you see that God was demonstrating to Abraham that we can ask for anything, while we should also be discerning that the answer that God provides comes from His perspective, which is not always in accordance with our assumptions?
Only God knows the whole narrative of our lives. Is it safe to say that we are without any response to the petition since we have not thought about any conceivable response other than the one that we are anticipating?
How many righteous people are present?
For further reading:
How Do We Fit into God’s Righteous Judgment?
How Is the Prayer of a Righteous Person Powerful and Effective?
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