Approachable God

Genesis 18:16-33

¹⁶Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

¹⁷The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

¹⁸seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

¹⁹For 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.”

²⁰Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

²¹I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

²²So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

²³Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴Suppose 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?

²⁵Far 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?”

²⁶And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

²⁸Suppose 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.”

²⁹Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”

³⁰Then 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.”

³¹He 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.”

³²Then 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.”

³³And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham and Abraham returned to his place.

I’ve said this many time before and I’ll say it over and over again – I love to study the Old Testament because on those pages we learn who God truly is. In the Old Testament we learn of His character, His justice, His love, His mercy, and His ways. There is no great tool for learning such things. In our reading for today, we also learn about Abraham. He has the temerity to stand before God – in an actual conversation – and seek mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s a fantastic event in the life of Abraham and an incredibly enlightening look at the God we love.

After playing host to The Lord and the two angels, Abraham sets them on their way. Before He leaves, God takes a moment to show Abraham that He respects the relationship that He has forged between them. He chooses to tell Abraham of His plans for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those two cities (located very close to one another) were the Las Vegas of the area. They were known for sexual orgies, intense parties, and anything wild you can imagine people doing. In fact, Las Vegas is probably incredibly tame by comparison. As God looks upon these cities, they ignite His wrath. Because He can stand it no longer, He has decided that it is time for them to be destroyed. Because Lot and his family have chosen to live there, Abraham decides to play upon God’s mercy, pleading for the cities to be saved if even 10 righteous people can be found there.

The timing of these events cannot be missed. God is patiently teaching Abraham about Himself. He has just spent time impressing upon Abraham the need for obedience and God shows Abraham the consequences of disobedience in a very startling way through the destruction of these cities. Abraham is just flat out bold. He actually has the courage to question God’s decision. And God doesn’t get angry at him for asking!!! There’s the point for the day. While God’s mind isn’t changed by Abraham’s words, He is willing to engage in conversation with Abraham about the decision. With this conversation, God is saying to his child, “This is who I AM, Abraham. Get to know me. I’m approachable!” We have a parent who is angered with us when we ask for something. We can, in fact, ask for anything. You can talk to God about everything, anything, all things. He is and always will be infinitely approachable. This conversation between God and Abraham is a shining example of what our own prayer lives can look like. God knew all along how this was going to turn out, but He is so loving and gentle with His children that He was willing to take the time to talk about it with His child. What an amazing God we live with and love.