Sodom: Wrath or Grace Part 3

Several things happen in rapid succession after Lot and Abraham
parted ways, and there is a tremendous amount of information to consider
which falls outside the purpose of this study. So then, for brevity we
will need to move quickly through these next few concepts.



Gen 18:1-8



Then the Lord
appeared to him (Abraham) by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was
sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes
and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw
them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the
ground, and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do
not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and
wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a
morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may
pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as
you have said." So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said,
"Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make
cakes." And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave
it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and
milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he
stood by them under the tree as they ate.



Abraham seemed to know that this was God the Lord, the Second Person
of the Trinity, which at that time was the pre-incarnate Christ. How do
we come to know that this is so? Abraham calls one particular traveler "my Lord" which is from the Hebrew word Adonay.
This term was used exclusively for God, and so for Abraham to use it in
addressing this One particular traveler he showed that he understood
that he was speaking directly with God.



Gen 18:9-15



Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent."



And He said,
"I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and
behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the
tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well
advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore
Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I
have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the Lord said to Abraham,
"Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am
old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will
return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a
son." But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was
afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!"



A distinction is made between these travelers in that "they" asked where Sarah was, but "He" said "…I will return to you…and Sarah shall have a son."
This special claim was made twice, to emphasize the miraculous nature
of the thing that would be performed. The fact that the Lord said He
would return meant that God Himself, the Second Person of the Trinity,
would supernaturally intervene in Sarah's body to produce a son.
Although continuing in normal sexual relations, Abraham and Sarah were
unable to have children because Sarah had gone through menopause. God
the Son announced that He would revive Sarah's body so that she would be
able to conceive a child! And not only would this miraculous birth be a
blessing to Abraham and his family, but "…all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 12:3; 28:14).
I think it is absolutely fascinating (and just like the Father) that
Christ would be the One sent to work this miracle in Sarah, especially
considering it was a type, or prelude, to what would be done in Mary the
future mother of Christ!



Gen 18:16-21



Then the men
rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to
send them on the way. And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what
I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty
nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I
have known him, in order that he may command his children and his
household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do
righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He
has spoken to him." And the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom
and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go
down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the
outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."



This passage provides us with further proof that Abraham was addressing God, as the traveler states things like "…I am doing," and"…I have known him…" and "…the outcry against it that has come unto Me…"
It also shows that this Person could not be the Father because, unlike
the Father, this Person is not omniscient. He needs to verify things and
search things out. We need to be reminded here that this fact is still
true regarding the Son, as even He does not know the day or hour of His
return (Mark 13:32).



Gen 18:22-33



Then the men
turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood
before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said,



"Would You
also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty
righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not
spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to
do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that
the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the
Judge of all the earth do right?"



So the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."



Then Abraham
answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken
it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than
the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of
five?"



So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it."



And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?"



So He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty."



Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?"



So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."



And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?"



So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty."



Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?"



And He said,
"I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." So the Lord went His way as
soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to
his place.



This is probably one of the greatest examples in Scripture regarding
the efficacy (effectiveness) of intercessory prayer! God Himself was in
conversation with a mere man, and allowed that man to have influence in
the way He was to decide His involvement (or in this case the lack
of involvement) in future events. It also shows the understanding
Abraham had concerning God's righteous anger toward unrepentant sin and
rebellion. This passage sets up - even at that 'late stage' of the plan
to judge Sodom and the surrounding cities - the possibility for God to
avert the continuance of divine justice and, instead, show mercy.



Gen 19:1-3



Now the two
angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of
Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself
with his face toward the ground. And he said, "Here now, my lords,
please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash
your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said,
"No, but we will spend the night in the open square." But he insisted
strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made
them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.



Why do you suppose Lot "insisted strongly"
that these two should stay with him that night? Could it be that even
Lot realized he lived in a morally depraved and dangerous city? Perhaps
Lot thought he had a 'ministry' to the people of Sodom, and perhaps he
did. His insistence gives us strong evidence to believe that Lot knew
that there was a significant chance for bad things to come. Regardless
of his personal reasons, what quickly followed was a disaster which
quite possibly never should have happened in the first place. If only
Lot had gone somewhere other than Sodom, these things would never have
happened.



This is Part Three of a multi-part series. Keep an eye out for the next installment!