The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – Part 3, ‘Begging Mercy for Sinners’
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In our last Devotion, we wondered what Abraham saw as he looked into the Lord’s face; the Lord had just told Abraham that He was going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. What was the Lord’s expression as He told Abraham what was about to unfold? In an instance, Abraham’s life had taken a turn, and he was confronted with a new reality. Today we continue looking at these verses to study Abraham’s reaction to the Lord’s news. Through his reaction, we learn much about Abraham, and we have an opportunity to learn about ourselves.

As soon as the Lord tells Abraham that he will destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham tries to intercede in the circumstances and has the following conversation with the Lord,

	23 …"Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" 26 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account." 27 And Abraham replied, "Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 "Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?" And He said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose forty are found there?" And He said, "I will not do it on account of the forty." 30 Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?" And He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 And he said, "Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the twenty." 32 Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the ten." 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
	Genesis 18:23-33 (NASB)

This is an interesting conversation between Abraham and the Lord. Think about this for a moment; it’s clear that Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked places, and Abraham does not dispute that when he is speaking with the Lord. Abraham is well aware of the sinful nature of these cities; he had lived near them for some time, and he understands how the people in those cities were living. Further, Abraham never suggests that the cities shouldn’t be judged. Abraham understood that the sins the people were committing had consequences, so we are left wondering why Abraham would ask the Lord to spare these cities?

Certainly, Abraham would want any righteous people in those cities to be spared, but if we review the text closely, we find that cannot be Abraham’s only goal. First, Abraham doesn’t think that the Lord will find many righteous people in the cities. That’s why Abraham asks the Lord to spare the cities for fewer and fewer righteous people. Abraham first asks the Lord to spare the cities if He finds 50 righteous people within them; however, after he thinks about it, Abraham realizes the Lord won’t find 50 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah. By the end of the conversation, Abraham has asked the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for 10 righteous people, but if there are only 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, why didn’t Abraham just ask the Lord to save those 10 people? It would have been a simple remedy for the situation: “Please Lord, remove the righteous people from the cities before you destroy them. They are people who love you dearly, so please spare them.” As well, Abraham’s nephew Lot lived in Sodom with his family, but the Bible never tells us that Lot is a man of good character. By his actions in life and through his interactions with Abraham, we can make a strong case that Lot was a man of poor moral character; he was seduced by Sodom, and he was captive to its sinful ways. Lot could not fall into the category of the righteous Abraham hoped the Lord would find in Sodom, but we can believe that Abraham would want Lot spared because he is family. If we have a family member who has gone astray, we don’t wish the wrath of God to fall upon them. We pray for God to grant them mercy until they repent, and Abraham is praying for God to grant mercy to everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah in hopes that they repent.

A review of Abraham’s life will help us to understand why Abraham is begging mercy for these sinners. Recall that Abraham begins his journey in Ur of the Chaldeans,

	31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.
	Genesis 11:31 (NASB)

He then settles in Haran, and this is where the Lord first speaks to Abraham, “So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Genesis 12:4 NASB)

Abraham is on a physical journey that begins as the Lord calls him to a different country, but this is also a spiritual journey for Abraham. This spiritual journey is one that will eventually lead Abraham to believe in God, but that does not occur until years later as recorded in Genesis 15:6: “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (NASB) Abraham was not a believer when he began his journey from Ur of the Chaldeans, and he was not a believer when he left Haran at 75 years of age. Given the land he came from, he had probably grown up worshipping idols, and might have been every bit the sinner that those people in Sodom and Gomorrah were. With this type of background, we can understand why Abraham might have felt sorrow and compassion for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah; he realized that, were it not for the grace and mercy of God, he would still be a lost sinner. Abraham is asking God to have the same mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah that he had been shown: the same mercy you and I have been shown.

At the beginning of this Devotion, we wondered if we would have the same reaction Abraham had to the news of Sodom and Gomorrah’s pending destruction. Would we have begged the Lord to spare them, or would we have applauded and said, “Well done Lord and good riddance to them.” As Christians, we’re called to love everyone to the best of our abilities: the people who love us and those who hate us, but even for Christians, if the truth were told, there’s probably a group of people, a city or country that anger us. In our weaker moments, we would be happy to have the Lord wipe these people off the face of the Earth, and while these might be very human feelings, are they the correct feelings? More importantly, are they Christian feelings?

Have we Christians forgot that we were all lost sinners on a collision course with the wrath and judgment of God? Have we forgot that our sins were every bit as distasteful to the Lord as the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah? Have we lost our awe and amazement that God could save such sinners as us? Have we forgotten that we are to be merciful as God was merciful to us? Remember the words that Jesus spoke,

	35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
	Luke 6:35-36 (NASB)

Abraham’s reaction to the pending judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah teaches us much. We learn about the type of person he was; he had a heart full of mercy and compassion for the lost sinners around him. No doubt, Abraham was offended by the sins and lifestyles in Sodom and Gomorrah, but that did not stop him from begging God to spare the people in the two cities. More importantly, Abraham is a good example for us to follow. While we should be disgusted by sin, we should keep the sinners in our prayers; pray for the Lord to show them mercy. We were once like them, and then the Lord entered our lives and spared us from the wrath to come. It’s the Lord’s grace that saved us, and it’s His grace that keeps us all. Perhaps, the person, city or country that angers us, might also come to know the mercy, grace and peace of our God. It’s worth our prayers.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always…

***Words of Jesus Christ in red



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