seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 18:22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[d] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 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?”
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “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.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “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.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
d. Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
e. Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26
I sent to the blueletterbible.org site to find these comments.
We see the two men are actually the angels who visited Sodom in Genesis 19. The third "man" in the party is actually the LORD Himself.
Abraham came near to the LORD. Effective intercession is a matter of drawing near to God so we can pray with His heart.
Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? In discussing this question, Abraham "reminded" the LORD of His own nature and principles (shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?) Abraham thought that God, as a righteous Judge could not punish the innocent the same way as the guilty.
Abraham came near to the LORD. Effective intercession is a matter of drawing near to God so we can pray with His heart.
Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? In discussing this question, Abraham "reminded" the LORD of His own nature and principles (shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?) Abraham thought that God, as a righteous Judge could not punish the innocent the same way as the guilty.
Humans today ask this question all the time now. "Would God also destroy the righteous with the wicked?"
Now the principle is established - God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked - now it is just a matter of numbers. How many righteous peole will God spare the city for?
Abraham's intercession was effective because it was specific. He talked about specific numbers with God, not in broad, general terms. Often our prayers are ineffective because we really don't ask the LORD to do anything. Instead we often just toss wishes up to heaven.
Abraham's intercession was effective because it was specific. He talked about specific numbers with God, not in broad, general terms. Often our prayers are ineffective because we really don't ask the LORD to do anything. Instead we often just toss wishes up to heaven.
We wonder if Abraham should not have contined the negotiations because there were only four righteous in the city. Would God have spared the city for four if Abraham had asked? Perhaps Abraham felt Lot would surely have brought six people beyond his own family to God in his time in Sodom.
I want to go back to the cave where Noah got drunk and passed out naked. [Genesis 9]. I found an article that connects that incident with the sin in Sodom.
There are only eight humans on the planet. And the first recorded account of their life in the new world, after having experienced an unimaginable judgment of God for sin, the first recorded event is sin. Which tells us that no matter how hard they may have tried to control their lives, they were fallen people.
Rotten... Rotten...
