Sodom: Wrath or Grace Part 3

Several things happen in rapid succession after Lot and Abraham (by God’s grace) 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 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 to 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 and grace 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 the God of grace, 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 although He is full of grace. 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 and grace! 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 through His grace 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, despite the grace God had shown him? 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!