18:1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks1 of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord,2 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs3 of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Footnotes
[1]18:1Or terebinths [2]18:3Or My lord [3]18:6A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen1 him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether2 according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 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? 25 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?” 26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Footnotes
[1]18:19Hebrew known [2]18:21Or they deserve destruction; Hebrew they have made a complete end
18:1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks1 of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord,2 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs3 of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Footnotes
[1]18:1Or terebinths [2]18:3Or My lord [3]18:6A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen1 him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether2 according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 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? 25 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?” 26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Footnotes
[1]18:19Hebrew known [2]18:21Or they deserve destruction; Hebrew they have made a complete end
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:
Well, good morning. I wanna invite you all to turn in your bibles to the book of Genesis, which hopefully will be a lot easier for us to find than the last 2 weeks in Habakkuk and Can't even say. Nehemiah. Today, we'll be looking at Genesis chapter 18. And this text for today, it actually comes near the end of our summer sermon series on great prayers of the Bible.
Speaker 1:
Next week, one of our elders, Thomas Ritchie, will be preaching our final sermon from that series, and then the following week, we will be diving back into the book of Acts together. But for today, we will be in Genesis 18, and we'll be looking at a prayer of Abraham. This is kind of a unique prayer, a little bit different from some of the other prayers that we have been looking at this summer, because Abraham has a face to face conversation with God. Now as we pray, it's the same way as most of the other prayers we've looked at. It's to God who is in heaven.
Speaker 1:
But Abraham has this really unique opportunity to speak to the Lord directly. So let's dig in this text together, and we will be reading in chapter 18 verse 1. The Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, 3 men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, oh lord, if I found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
Speaker 1:
And after that, you may pass on, since you have come to your servant. And after that, you may pass on, since you have come to your servant. So they said, do as you have said. And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah, and said, quick, 3 seahs of fine flour. Knead it and make cakes.
Speaker 1:
And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the young man who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. Skip ahead to verse 16. Then the men set out from there, and they looked down towards Sodom.
Speaker 1:
And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. Then the Lord said, because the out cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the out cry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.
Speaker 1:
So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom. But Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city, will you then sweep away the place, and not spare it for the 50 righteous who are in it? 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?
Speaker 1:
Far be that from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just? And the Lord said, if I find at Sodom 50 righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham answered and said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. I am but dust and ashes.
Speaker 1:
Suppose 5 of the 50 righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of 5? And he said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 there. Again, he spoke to him and said, suppose 40 are there? He answered, for the sake of 40, I will not do it.
Speaker 1:
Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose 30 are found there? He answered, I will not do it if I find 30 there. He said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the lord. Suppose 20 are found there?
Speaker 1:
He answered, for the sake of 20, I will not destroy it. Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose 10 are found there? He answered, for the sake of 10, I will not destroy it. And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Speaker 1:
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Pray with me. Lord, we come to you this morning. We are desperate for a word from you.
Speaker 1:
We need you to speak to us. Spirit, We need you to open up our ears, our hearts, our minds. I need you to open my tongue, my mouth to proclaim Your word. Lord, we come to You expectantly today. We know that You have a word for us.
Speaker 1:
We wanna hear it. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Now when we just read this text, I wonder what your initial gut reaction was. If it's anything like mine, it was utter shock.
Speaker 1:
I mean, kind of in disbelief about what is actually happening here. Abraham, a man, a mere mortal man, is having this risky conversation with God, the sovereign, supreme, holy, creator God. And as he's doing this, I wouldn't even say it's a conversation. Begin to see it's more of like a negotiation. I mean, I almost envision Abraham as some sketchy door to door salesman here, who's trying to twist God's arm into a shady deal or something, at risk of his life.
Speaker 1:
Now, I will admit that when I read this negotiation, it kinda rings a few bells for me. It sounds somewhat similar, because for better or worse, I have entered into a few negotiations myself. If any of you know me well, and I hear a few chuckles, or if you know my family even more so, this will be no surprise to you. I mean, the Castle family, if we are anything, we are a family of negotiators. Most of my family actually wears this as a badge of honor, and it's something I don't feel like I can really help.
Speaker 1:
It's been bred in me for as long as I can remember. Going all the way back to my childhood, my family would go up to Philadelphia, where where they are originally from, and we'd visit my aunt and uncle, who have a garden center up there. And every Christmas time, we'd go up, and we would help them sell Christmas trees. But more importantly, this was the Castle family's school of negotiation. They would take us as young children, the ripe age of maybe 7 or so, and throw us outside in the elements.
Speaker 1:
It was usually snowing, sleeting, hailing, freezing rain, something of that nature, and they would tell us to sell trees. No price tags, no color codes, no anything. Just enough information to be dangerous, and then you go with it. And I mean, as a kid, you're trying to get everyone's approval, so you're trying to sell trees, but really, you can get a tip if you're good enough as well. So this is what I lived for as a kid.
Speaker 1:
It was awesome. Little did I know that it turns out this is perfect training for the real world. Now I don't know if any of you have ever traveled internationally, but there are these street markets that happen in a lot of places in the world. This is negotiation heaven. It's a free for all here.
Speaker 1:
Now my general rule of thumb personally is I will never pay more than 50% of what they initially asked. Now there's an art to this whole thing. Okay? You've gotta act interested, but not emotionally involved. K?
Speaker 1:
Then next, you take different quantities of bills, ones, and fives, and tens, and put them in different pockets. So that when you come to the end of this negotiation, they're asking your bottom dollar, you're not pulling out a big wad of cash and giving all your cards away. The final thing. The walk away. Always walk away.
Speaker 1:
They will call you back. Trust me. So my favorite negotiation, I think maybe I was ever a part of, I went to New York City on a trip when I was in high school, and I kinda laugh. I'm I'm a little bit embarrassed actually when I look back. I have no idea what I was thinking because I actually walked into a store.
Speaker 1:
This was not a street market. This wasn't in Chinatown either. There were price tags on things. There was electricity in here, and I decided that I really wanted this FDNY hoodie. And I pulled out all the stops with this guy.
Speaker 1:
I mean, I'm telling him, hey, my dad's a firefighter, which he was. I wasn't lying. I'm doing the whole bills in different pockets, the walk away. I do not know how, but miraculously, I got that hoodie for a fraction of the price that it was listed for. I don't know how.
Speaker 1:
I love that hoodie. I wore it probably way longer than I should have. At one point, the sleeves shrunk up in the wash, so what did I do? I cut off the sleeves. It's very versatile.
Speaker 1:
Now you have a sleeveless hoodie. I love that thing. Oddly enough, sometime around when I got married, it seemed to disappear. The point is that that type of negotiation is what this text kind of smacks of to me. When I read Genesis 18, Abraham doesn't seem to have any fear talking with the Lord in that kind of way.
Speaker 1:
And is he talking God down? I mean, he's even thrown a few jabs and low blows in the process here. What in the world is going on? Why is Abraham doing this? How is he not only surviving, but he's making headway with God in this conversation?
Speaker 1:
Well, let's let that question linger for just a moment. We will get there, but let's let this narrative unfold as we read through the text. And to help give a little bit of context about what's been going on so far in Genesis, and particularly in the life of Abraham, there are 2 very important events that I wanna tell you about. The first is in Genesis chapter 12, God's call to Abraham. Now I would not be exaggerating at all to say this is one of the most important moments in scripture.
Speaker 1:
God calls this pagan, godless man, Abraham, who is in the line of Adam and Noah, but does not have any association or knowledge with their God. He calls him, and he says, I want you to pick up your life, and I want you to move to this promised land that I'm gonna give you. He makes Abraham this massive promise, and he says, I am going to bless you, and through you, then, the whole world will be blessed. I'm going to make a nation out of you. This is no small thing.
Speaker 1:
This is the establishment of God's chosen people, the Israelites. God has called father Abraham. He's called him out of darkness, not knowing him, not having any relationship with him, and he has called him to himself. He set him apart. He's chosen him, and he's made these unbelievable promises to him.
Speaker 1:
And Abraham, in faith, takes God at his word, and he obeys. Now the second important event comes just a few chapters later in Genesis chapter 15. God takes this promise He's just made to Abraham, and He ratifies it. He goes into covenant with Abraham, and this is of absolutely no merit of Abraham's on his own. This is not because of his hard work, or his initiative, or his ability at all.
Speaker 1:
God actually takes Abraham, and He basically knocks him out, puts him in this sort of trance or dream, and God carries out the entire covenant himself. He reaffirms these promises to him. He says, I'm gonna bless you. I'm gonna give you descendants that number more than the stars in the sky, and the sand on the seashore. And through you, all the world is going to be blessed.
Speaker 1:
Now these two events are vital for us to understand, not only what's happening here in this passage today, but really in the whole narrative of scripture. God has chosen Abraham. He's called him his own, not because of anything in Abraham, but because of God's goodness. And he has established an intimate covenant relationship with him. He set him apart for his purposes.
Speaker 1:
So in light of that, now let's look again at chapter 18. We're gonna read from verses 1 to 3 again. And the lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, and he sat at the as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, 3 men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, oh lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
Speaker 1:
So the very beginning of this verse clues us in that this is the Lord who is visiting Abraham. And if you read on into chapter 19, we'll learn that his 2 companions are 2 angels. So we immediately recognize at the beginning that this is an important appearance. But whether or not Abraham really understands the true identity of his guests at the start here, it's a little unclear, and it's actually the topic of much debate for scholars. Now I believe that based off all the indications here, Abraham does not yet know that this is the lord who he is hosting.
Speaker 1:
He will gradually learn this as he converses with him, and by the time we get to his prayers, discussion with the Lord, he definitely knows that it's God he's talking to. But at first, when Abraham is surprised by these unforeseen guests, these strangers, it doesn't stop him from lavishing generous hospitality on these guests. Without yet knowing who has stopped in his house, which is actually God himself, he rolls out the red carpet and throws a mini feast for them. This is actually what the author of Hebrews is referring to in chapter 13, when he says, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some of you have entertained angels unaware. Even more importantly, what's going on here is that Abraham is seeing God pursue him.
Speaker 1:
God has called Abraham. He's made a covenant with him. Now he's visiting him at his home. He's sharing a meal with him. He's having table fellowship, something that is an indication of a close friendship.
Speaker 1:
Now after the meal and the announcement of Isaac, the promised child to come, which we're skipping over for the sake of time today, Abraham, ever the good host, he accompanies this trio of heavenly visitors as they are set out on their way. And as they're walking, they come to an overlook, where they're looking over the city of Sodom. And at this point, God decides that He is going to share His plan with Abraham. Now there are two reasons that He lists here, and the first is that Abraham has been chosen by him to carry out a plan for the whole world, and he is basically, as we see the author of, James, the book of James put it, he's God's friend. And God has decided, because of that privileged relationship, to share his heart with his friend.
Speaker 1:
The second reason is because God is teaching Abraham how he wants to establish his people, a people who follow after God's heart in righteousness and justice. And that's something that we're gonna see is actually contrasted by what we see in the city of Sodom. So God lays this plan out for Abraham, and he explains that the sin of Sodom is so great that it has come to his attention, and he's come down to see for himself and to judge it. Now this term that the lord uses here for Sodom's sin, that the sin of Sodom was very great or grave, It's the same term that we see earlier in Genesis, in chapter 6, when it says God looks down on the sin of the world and sees the increasing evil, and he decides to send a great flood to destroy the entire earth. That is the severity of the sin in the eyes of God that is going on here in Sodom.
Speaker 1:
At that point in Genesis 6, God decides that their sin meant that he was gonna wipe out the Earth, and here, he is going to wipe out all of these cities because of the sin of Sodom. Now we must stop here, and we must realize about the seriousness of sin in the eyes of the Lord. Scripture constantly makes reference back, time and time again, to this event, spoiler alert, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and refers to the great sin that was there. What was that sin? What what was so serious that the lord did this?
Speaker 1:
Two passages in particular highlight the nature of the sin there for us. Jude chapter or verse 7 says that the people there indulged in sexual immorality. This is further detailed if you read on in chapter 19 at the disturbing description of what happens to the angels who go into Sodom to visit. The second reason that we see in Scripture for Sodom's sin is Ezekiel 16:49, where it says, Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters had pride, excess of food, prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
Speaker 1:
They were haughty, and did an abomination before me. And this condemnation that we just read in Ezekiel, that's corroborated by the Lord's condemnation that he gives in Genesis 18. He says that the outcry has reached his attention. In the old testament, outcry is a term that's typically reserved for the poor, and the needy and the marginalized, calling out to their creator for help. And this is what we see happening in Sodom.
Speaker 1:
So Sodom's sin is great. God is aware of it, and Abraham seems to be aware of it. He's not only aware of the sin, he is aware of their due judgment because of that sin. Notice what Abraham's argument here is not about. It is not this.
Speaker 1:
Now, god, I know that Sodom, it's kind of a sketchy place. Is it really that bad? I mean, do you need to completely destroy it because of their sin? Can't you just kinda slap them on the wrist or just punish them a little bit? No.
Speaker 1:
He doesn't question God's verdict about their sin. Abraham very clearly understands that because of the wickedness and the sin in the people of Sodom, they deserve judgment and death. What he does ask God about is if there are some righteous there as well who seek the Lord. Is there any hope for mercy for Sodom because of a few outliers, Or is everyone going to be punished the same? And this really bothers Abraham.
Speaker 1:
So it's at this point that we see something very interesting. Look again at verse 22 and 23 with me. So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near. Stop there.
Speaker 1:
Abraham, he stands before the Lord, waiting. He doesn't flee at the severity of what the Lord has just said, saying that God is unjust or heavy handed. He doesn't wallow in a pit of self pity or even respond aggressively to the Lord. He just stands in the presence of God, lingering before him, and then he draws near. Don't miss it.
Speaker 1:
He draws near to God. When everything inside of him probably was screaming that he should react in some other way, that he should resort to some other emotion or response, he decides to draw nearer to God. Now is this how you respond when something bad happens in your life? Do you draw near to God, or do you pull away? If you're suddenly plagued with doubts about scripture, or maybe even about God himself, do you turn and walk, or even run away from God?
Speaker 1:
Or do you allow it to draw you nearer to him with your questions? If you're confronted with an unexpected or a hard circumstance, how do you respond? We see from Abraham that our response should be to draw near to God in these times. Like Abraham, we should come to God with our questions, with our fears, with our doubts, with our frustrations. And so Abraham begins this discussion, this prayer with God, in a way that almost seems like a high stakes hostage negotiation at first.
Speaker 1:
You're just kinda holding your breath, even cringing at times. When Abraham says things, you're like, oh, that isn't gonna go well for you, bro. But it's amazing. God does not seem to mind. God does not immediately smite him dead.
Speaker 1:
As the conversation goes on, Abraham is the one who seems to be getting more and more nervous, not God. In this dialogue with the Lord, Abraham goes back and forth with a request to the Lord, 6 times. He starts out and says, God, just if there are 50 righteous in Sodom, just 50, will you spare the whole city? 50. Then, okay.
Speaker 1:
What about 45, 40, 30, 20, 10? Every time we do not see the lord show one hint of rebuke for Abraham. I mean, this blows my mind. Not only does God not rebuke him, but he actually agrees to each one of his appeals. Part of the reason this probably shouldn't be that surprising to us is because Abraham's drawing near to God is actually a response to the lord's initiation.
Speaker 1:
Now remember, the lord is the one who has just shared this news with Abraham. He's the one who has stuck around, even after we've seen the angels depart. He is the one who seems to be inviting Abraham to engage with him, to respond to him, not just to sit there unresponsibly. Think about it this way. If I were going to make a major life change, some sort of decision in my life, I would probably do something somewhat similar to this.
Speaker 1:
I'd probably call up a close friend, arrange a time privately, and I would share the news. I wouldn't immediately walk away as soon as I'd shared that news with him, and I wouldn't want him to immediately walk away. I also wouldn't be offended if he immediately started asking me all kinds of questions, even digging into my motivation and my reasoning for everything. I'm actually expecting this kind of response from him, this conversation. I'm desiring it.
Speaker 1:
So when Abraham responds to God, it's not seen as a bad thing, because the Lord seems to have purposed for this to happen, and is even waiting for Him to come to Him. Hear me. God desires for you to come to him in the same way. He desires for you to draw near to him. He isn't intimidated by your questions.
Speaker 1:
He has actually initiated things, and he wants you to respond to him. John Calvin, in his commentary on this passage, he says this about coming to God with our questions. So whenever we have different temptations contend with our mind, and some appearance of contradiction presents itself in the works of God, only let our persuasion of His justice remain fixed, and we shall be permitted to pour into his bosom the difficulties which torment us, in order that he may loosen the knots which we cannot untie. Christian, take your questions, take your fears, take your frustrations to God. When Abraham engages with God, it's kinda hard to not see him actually come out of the gate swinging here.
Speaker 1:
He is actually even accusatory with God. He basically says, god, are you unjust? How could you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? His whole argument is basically, god, I know that the sin in Sodom is great, and I know that they deserve judgment, but aren't there some there who worship you, who aren't so wicked? Abraham is obviously thinking about his nephew Lot, who lives there, and he's probably banking on the fact that there are others there who serve the lord as well.
Speaker 1:
Now his appeal here is really to God's character, and I want us to take note of this because this is how we should pray as well. Abraham says, God, I know that you are just. Aren't you? I mean, you are the judge of all the earth, for crying out loud. How is it just to punish the righteous with the wicked?
Speaker 1:
I need you to act justly here. And in this moment, when Abraham doesn't seem to know up from down or what to ask, he falls back on who God is, on his character. He says, god, I know that you are just, and so I know therefore you will act justly. And he says this in the same way as the man in the book of Luke who comes to Jesus, asking for his daughter to be healed, and he says, lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
Speaker 1:
Now have you ever been in this place where something is going on that just doesn't seem to make sense to you? Injustice is running rampant and unchecked. Bad things are happening to good people. There's pain, and sorrow, and loss and unfulfilled desires. Where is God?
Speaker 1:
Does he care? How can he allow this to happen? Friend, turn to God. Draw near to him, and simply remember who he is. Even if you don't know anything else, call back out to the thing to him the things that you know to be true from his word.
Speaker 1:
Things like, he is in control. Not a hair on your head can fall to the ground without him knowing. He is loving. His steadfast love endures forever. He's patient.
Speaker 1:
He's slow to anger. He is near to the brokenhearted. Child of God, he doesn't hold your sins against you. He separates them as far as the east is from the west. Remember the truths of the character and the nature of God, and bring them to Him.
Speaker 1:
Now as Abraham continues, we see that he's actually appealing for 2 different groups of people here. Simultaneously, he is praying for the righteous and the wicked. He's praying for God's people who he's hoping are in that city, and he's also praying for all the wicked in the city to be spared because of the righteous. So he's praying for protection for God's people, and mercy for the lost. Now this is pretty unique.
Speaker 1:
There are a lot of prayers in the Bible where people intercede for the righteous, for God's people to be spared, But Abraham is praying for the wicked. He's praying for the wickedest people in the world at this time, potentially, in Sodom, and he's praying that God will save them. He is already living into his calling to be a blessing to the whole world. Abraham intercedes for Sodom, for the wicked and the righteous alike. May we be a people who intercede for both believers and for the lost.
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May we pray for our brothers and sisters in this room, for our brothers and sisters around the world serving the serving Christ and His purposes. May we call on the Lord for our neighbors, for our coworkers. Do we pray for the city of Birmingham? May we pray for God's people. Abraham realizes that God has shown him mercy, that he didn't deserve any of it, and so he's praying for these people who don't deserve it.
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Do we realize that we don't deserve it? That but for the grace of God, there go I. May we intercede for a lost world. Abraham is putting himself on the line here, trading words with God. He's praying for people that he doesn't even know.
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We are called to be a blessing to those around us, not just to engage in good jobs, and good work, and moral upright living in this city, but we're called to be on our knees in prayer for our city. We must be a people who intercede for the lost. So what does Abraham pray to God? He appeals to God's character, reminding himself and being comforted by who God is. And 2, he prays, interceding for the lost and for the righteous.
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But notice not just what Abraham prays, but how he prays. We can see 3 very brief things about how Abraham speaks with the Lord. 1, he speaks boldly. 2, he speaks with humility. And 3, he speaks with persistence.
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So we've already noted Abraham's boldness before the lord. He comes and speaks in a way to God that few would dare. How can he do this? It's based off of his intimate covenant relationship with God. Don't forget, God has given him a clear picture of who he is in light of God.
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He's made covenant with him. He's dined with him. He has spent time with him. Abraham is bold because he is confident in his standing and his relationship with the Lord. And we, too, we can come boldly to God for the same reason.
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If we are in Christ, our identity is in him, not in anything else fading or temporal in this world. We are also in an intimate covenant relationship with God. When the father looks down on us as Christians, he doesn't see our sin. He sees the righteousness of Christ. We are not just called friends of God.
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We're heirs. And now we can come boldly. God's spirit guides our prayers, and we can come to the father about anything. But Abraham isn't just recklessly bold or or irreverent here. He's humble.
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He realizes that he is but dust and ashes. And he goes to great efforts throughout this entire conversation with the Lord to make it clear that he doesn't think of of himself as more than he knows himself to be. He knows that even undertaking to speak to God is a mercy. So though he comes boldly, he doesn't come belligerently or in his self righteous point of view. No.
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He comes reverently, submitting himself under God while still asking the tough questions. So too we must never forget who we are in light of God. We're helpless to fix our own situations, much less to fix anyone else's. But when we come to him in genuine humility and prayer for others, we need never be afraid of how God will respond. Finally, Abraham is persistent.
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His compassion for the lost drives him to keep praying, not just once, not just twice, but continually. Friends, are we so passionate for the gospel to go out that we continue to beg God, even for things that seem too big? Do we plead with the Lord boldly? Now some of you guys may have been praying for family members or friends for so long that it just seems pointless. Keep coming to God boldly in prayer.
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Beg him to act. Remember that he is the God who brings dead things to life. He has brought your dead heart to life. This reminds me of a story that I once heard about a great prayer warrior named George Muller. If you've never looked him up, you should.
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He lived his whole life in dependence on the Lord, solely through prayer. And he wrote in his journal one time that the Lord convicted him he should pray for 5 lost friends that he had. Every day, without fail, sickness or health, travel or home, he was gonna pray. He prayed every day faithfully. He didn't see a sign of movement for 18 months.
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Finally, the first of those 5 came to know the Lord. He prayed for another 5 years before the second came to know the Lord. 11 years before the third, every day. He prayed for 52 years for the final two friends every single day, and he died believing that the Lord would answer his prayers about drawing those 2 to him, which the Lord did right after his death, one of them through his funeral. How amazing is that?
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Isn't the lord so good? Isn't he so big? Do we pray and passionately for the lost like that? We know in 2nd Peter that God doesn't wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. First Timothy says that God desires for all men to know Himself.
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May we be driven to prayer by these truths. Now if you read on, we see that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed despite God complying with Abraham's requests. There weren't even 10 righteous in Sodom, and God's just judgment on sin was carried out. Though, we do learn in chapter 19 that for the sake of Abraham and his prayers of intercession, God rescued Lot, his nephew. You see, Abraham didn't have it completely right.
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Although he plead for the wicked to be saved for the sake of the righteous, His estimation was off. We learned from Romans 3 that there is no one righteous, not even one. Do we see our sins in this light to be just as serious as the sins of Sodom, just as due eternal punishment? We all are found wicked and condemned because of our sins. Abraham was searching for this magic number that would save the wicked because of the righteous.
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And that number is 1. It wasn't 10. It was 1. Jesus Christ, the only man who ever lived a perfectly righteous life, the God man. Because of his righteousness, we too can now have an intimate covenant relationship with the Father.
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We know that our sins are covered up because of His righteousness, and now we can come boldly, we can come humbly, and we can come persistently to the Father, praying for a lost world. We too are called to be blessings to the whole world for the sake of Christ. Pray with me. Lord, we thank you that, though you show us how great our sin is, you show us how much greater you are. Lord, we could get lost in the depths of our sin, but, oh, how much more we could get lost in the goodness of Christ, what you accomplished on that cross through your death and your resurrection.
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Lord, we praise you for that. We are new creations in you. Lord, we thank you for what you have accomplished for us, and we pray that it will drive us to pray for the lost who do not know you. In the name of Christ. Amen.