For the sake of 10

Lot chose the lush green lands to the east, which included Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham would ask the Lord if he would spare these cities for the sake of 10 righteous men. 

In this text we find the Lord is speaking to one of his human children.  Perhaps He has not done this since Noah. Perhaps He has not had this intimate level of discussion with a man for 10 generations. 

 

 Abraham has shown his visitors good hospitality, but now it is time to depart. If we read farther than the selected scripture, we note that these three men are also described as God and two angels. But they walked as men on the earth, and when they left Abraham’s home, he walked with them for a ways. They were walking towards Sodom. 

 

If you recall in the 13^th chapter of Genesis, Abraham and Lot, his nephew, went separate directions. Abraham had been the more magnanimous of the two and gave Lot his choice. Lot looked upon the lush lands of the Jordan to the east and claimed them for himself. They included Sodom and Gomorrah. 

 

Abraham had rescued Lot from captivity in this land he chose once before. But by this time, Lot was no longer living in a tent near Sodom, he was living in Sodom.

 

As all walked in the direction of Sodom, God revealed to Abraham what would take place. Then the two men or angels that accompanied the Lord continued towards Sodom, and the dialogue that we read earlier ensued.

 

Abraham asks, “Would you destroy the righteous with the wicked?”

 

This seems to be a fair question. He could have asked if he would just spare his nephew and his family, but instead his question seeks the nature of God’s heart. This is followed by some conjectural questioning and what seems like some conditional negotiating or bargaining.

 

“What if there are 50 righteous people? Would you sweep away all and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous?”

 

Abraham continues with his plea. “Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked—treating the righteous and wicked alike.”

 

Abraham continues beyond his plea to a challenge, “Will not the Judge of the earth do right?”

 

For those of you who read your Bibles frequently, you might recall a conversation recorded in the Book of Job. Where after reading through most of the story of Job asking to plead his case before God, when the moment comes, Job realizes that his argument doesn’t hold water and he isn’t ready for the answers that God will provide him. 

 

The Lord said to Job, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”

 

Do you remember Job’s reply? “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.”

 

God replies: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?”

 

If you read on, you find one of the most comprehensive chewing outs in history, delivered mainly in the interrogative.

 

Abraham, asks God—reminds him that He is the Judge of the earth—then goes on to frame his question stating that far be it from you to sweep away the righteous with the unrighteous, and finally gets to his question: Would you spare these cities for the sake of 50 righteous people.

 

And God says, “You betcha.” This is not exactly verbatim, but perhaps conveys the ease at which this apparent concession comes from God.

 

Abraham then asks, “What about for the sake of 45?”

 

Abraham doesn’t wait for an answer. He reframes the question.   For a difference of 5 people, would you still wipe out these cities? Abraham has obviously been watching too many late night infomercials.

 

And God replies, “Sure.”

 

“What about 40?”

 

“OK”

 

“Now don’t get angry, what about 30?”

 

“Yup, 30 is a good number.”

 

Now at this point, you have to wonder, does God not understand negotiating and bargaining. Abraham is supposed to say 50, then God says 100. Then Abraham says, I could go 60. God says, 90. Abraham says 70, and I will throw in a to-go box of that choice beef you hand for lunch. That’s how it’s supposed to go, isn’t it?

 

Every 5 year old knows how to bargain.

 

Mom says eat your carrots.

 

The kid says, I don’t wanna.

 

Mom says, they are good for you.

 

The kid says, I don’t like them.

 

Mom says they are good for your eyesight.

 

The kid says, that is a WWII myth started by the allies. It’s lutein that gives you good eyesight and that comes from green, leafy vegetables.

 

Dad says, no carrots, no dessert!

 

The kid says, OK, I’ll eat 2 carrots.

 

Dad says 10.

 

The kid says 3.

 

Dad gives in quicker and says 8.

 

Eventually you agree on 5 of which mom and dad will each eat one on the kid’s behalf.

 

The kid says, great, I have already eaten two. Gulps down one more and says, bring on the cake.

 

We negotiate with ourselves and alarm clocks in increments of 5 or 10 minutes especially when they go off at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.

 

But it seems that God doesn’t know anything about negotiating. Abraham gets God down to sparing these cities for the sake of 10 righteous people. That’s just one righteous family in each city.

 

But truly, there has been no negotiation here at all. God knew what was going on in these cities and that none would be redeemed, though Lot and his family would be rescued, sans the men pledged to marry his daughters and a wife who physically left the city but whose heart would not come with her.

 

What was going on in these wicked cities? Most would say sexual immorality, and surely that was plenty of that. But if we were to read on to the visit of the two men or angels to the city, we would see that what Abraham had done well, these cities had despised.

 

Lot went to extreme measures to protect his visitors. They were under his roof, under his protection. When the crowd rushed Lot and his front door demanding that the two be sent out so they could have sex with them; Lot offered his virgin daughters in their place. 

 

I have often thought that I don’t know if I would want to be Abraham’s son—being taken up as a sacrifice. Now, I’m not a big fan of DHS intervening in family situations, but if I had been Isaac, I would have been screaming,”Somebody call DHS. This isn’t normal parent behavior.”

 

And I’m also thinking, I wouldn’t want to have been one of Lot’s daughters. “Sorry guys, my duty is to protect these visitors. Here, take my daughters in their place and do with them what you want.”

 

We know that in the end, everything came out well for both Abraham’s and Lot’s kids, but we should consider that the sin so grievous and the outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah might have come less from their sexual immorality and more from their disdain of their fellow man.

 

The traveler should have come under the protection of any household in those cities; yet the hearts of these people were hardened and callous and sought only self gratification.

 

The conversation between the Lord and Abraham is not about numbers. It is about the steadfast love of God. For the sake of 10, he would have spare all—even the unrighteous. God knew that there were not 10 righteous men within these cities. The two angels were sent as witnesses.

 

The message here comes early in the passage. God asks the question, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”

 

Abraham would be the Father of many nations. The world would be blessed through him. Many would come to righteousness through him.

 

God chose to reveal to Abraham more than promises, more than blessings, more than abundance. He revealed his will to him. His will that none should perish but that there is judgment.

 

We have been given the same revelation as Abraham. It comes from these scriptures and more. We wrestle to try and understand a grace that is truly irresistible and human free will than can produce a heart hardened to God.

 

We do know good and evil.

 

Sometimes we crave the innocence of Adam and Eve before the fall. Perhaps ignorance is bliss.

 

But God has permitted us to continue knowing both good and evil.

 

God has continued to permit us free will.

 

There are consequences for a life of sin.

 

Judgment may come in this world and certainly in the next.

 

God has revealed more of his will to us than He did to Abraham. God desires none to perish, but we have been told how God will accomplish this. We have been given the seed of Abraham in Jesus Christ.

 

Yes, there is a judgment, a judgment seat, a judgment day where some will be separated from God because of their sin.

 

God made no one for the purpose of being separated from him. All are called to repentance and to redemption.

 

What if there was only 1 righteous person left in Sodom when it was destroyed? What about that single righteous soul caught up in the destruction?

 

On August 9^th, 1945 70,000 people died in a few seconds in a city called Nagasaki. This was not a judgment, but an act of mankind. In the mind of the nation, it was a reasonable act in a time of war. There were Christians among the population. Missionaries had been there for about 200 years. In the half century before the bombing, Nagasaki had become the Catholic center of Japan.

 

Surely among this city must have been 50, 100, 1000 or more righteous people. Surely 500 had come to righteousness through faith in Christ.

 

Rain may fall on the just and unjust alike. War may kill Christians and pagans in the same blast. But judgment belongs to God.

 

In his first letter, Paul reminded the church in Thessalonica that the Day of the Lord would come like a thief in the night. He went on to say that you are not in darkness so that day should not surprise you.

 

God revealed to Abraham a judgment that was to come. Abraham was a friend of God. He got the bad news and the good. He would not live in blissful ignorance. He would know that God would bring this judgment.

 

God would let Abraham ask his questions without rebuke.

 

And Abraham knew that the judgment of the Lord was just.

 

The last verse in this pericope tells us that the Lord left and Abraham went home. Abraham accepted God’s judgment as just. He could have run to Sodom and urged all to repent, to leave, to take cover, or at least to up their insurance coverage—especially life and homeowners insurance, and to make sure there were no exclusions for Acts of God.

 

But he didn’t. He went home.

 

We struggle with losing loved ones, when many die in a natural disaster, when children and infants die, and many of the tragedies of life, but we should not wrestle with how a loving God can judge and send souls to destruction or separation.

 

We know that his desire is for none to perish, but that his judgment is just. This is perhaps a dichotomy that is beyond the comprehension of the human mind.

 

For those who are in Christ, we will never know condemnation. God’s judgment has fallen upon Jesus for our sin. The price has been paid. Love and mercy have triumph and justice has been satisfied.

 

We do not live in ignorance. We know our sin. We know we should be condemned for our sin. We know that Christ stood in our place and paid the price for our sin. 

 

And we should remind ourselves that God desires none to perish and that his judgments are just.

 

God desires none to perish.

 

His judgments are just.