Today’s mini-sermon is the first of a short series on Sodom and Gomorrah.
“‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.'” (Gen 18:32)
Sodom and Gomorrah — that wicked pair of cities in the land of Canaan. Their evils were so atrocious that God had to intervene. He had to do something to curb the horrendous acts of the Sodomites. God planned to destroy the city. But because God never does anything without first revealing it to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7), messengers were sent to Abraham in the form of two angels and the Son of man. Just before the men go on their way, the Lord revealed to Abraham what He was about to do: “the LORD said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.'” (Gen 18:20-21)
And Abraham’s response? “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing–to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:23-25)
A rather bold response, don’t you think? After all, Abraham is speaking to the God of the universe, and he knows it! Yet, no doubt driving by love for his nephew as well as for all the lost souls of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham boldly tells the Lord: “Far be it from you to do such a thing . . . Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Can you imagine speaking in this manner to God??? Yet Abraham did speak so to God, and for his efforts, he wasn’t even chastised. Rather, the Lord’s response was: “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” (Gen 18:26)
At this point, I might have said, “Whew! God allowed my insubordination this time . . . I better quit while I’m ahead!” But not Abraham. No, Abraham didn’t seem to know when to quit! “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?” (Gen 18:27-28) And he goes on begging the Lord of the universe, four more times!
What does this story teach us today? So many of us speak to God as if He were some distant entity, some far away dictator. Yet we are told by Paul to: “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16) And this is exactly what Abraham did, didn’t he? He came boldly before the throne of grace to obtain the Lord’s grace to help in time of need!
My friends, God isn’t some distant dictator. He is a loving, caring God who has chosen to use mankind in His purposes. Not only does He allow us to ask Him things, He tells us to do so (Matt. 7:7, 7:11, 18:19 6:22,23, etc). And the story of Abraham helps us to understand that He welcomes our input, He longs for the chance to commune with us, to tell us things, to listen to our concerns, and to intercede on behalf of those we present to Him in prayer. So let’s let Abraham be our example. Let’s follow Jesus’ commands and Ask. Let us today “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16).
The world is in need of Abrahams — Christians who are not afraid to intercede on behalf of the world. Won’t you join in and be an Abraham today?
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org
(To access the entire “Sodom and Gomorrah” mini-series, please click here.)