The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – Part 4, The Merciful Heart of God
2007 : February  |  Website Version  

Our Bible verse from the last devotion is the same Bible verse for today’s message: Genesis 18:32. While last devotion we focused in on the heart of Abraham as he prayed for sinners, today we’ll review this story to see what it can teach us about our Lord. This story from Genesis is interesting. On one hand, it shows Abraham pleading with the Lord to spare the cities, and, on the other hand, it clearly shows the Lord is willing to be merciful and spare them. The cities, however, do not want God’s mercy, or, for that matter, anything to do with God.

Abraham intervenes and asks the Lord to spare the cities six different times. Each time that he asks the Lord to spare them, Abraham lowers the expectations for what God would have to find for them to be spared. Perhaps surprisingly to us, each time that Abraham asks God to spare the cities for fewer righteous people, God agrees to do so:

	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."
	Genesis 18:24-32 (NASB)

The Lord had agreed to spare these cities for as few as ten righteous people: entire cities spared if even a few men could be found. The verses reveal the merciful nature of our God; even there, even in the midst of such wicked and vile people, God would have let His mercy shine at the request of one of His chosen ones. He would have continued to endure the sin of these cities to appease Abraham; what a wondrous God we have.

These verses also show us how responsive and attentive God is to our prayers. He does not push Abraham aside and ignore his prayer requests; instead, God listens attentively to Abraham’s prayers. He stands right before him, patiently, listening to what he has to say until Abraham has finished. Further, God does not dismiss Abraham’s requests as foolish. He understands Abraham’s heart and that the requests are coming from a place of mercy, so God gives heed to those requests. He does not chastise Abraham for pouring out his heart in prayers that are grand. Instead, lovingly, God promises Abraham He will spare the cities for a few good people. This should be great comfort and encouragement to the Christian; God listens to all our prayers, as He listened to Abraham’s prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah. No request is too big for Him, and no request is too small for Him; He hears them all. David understood this to be true, and it was a great source of peace and strength for him. We see this expressed in Psalm 28:6-7:

	6 Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
	Psalm 28:6-7

This is our God: He is attentive to our prayers; they are not ignored, so we can trust in Him and let our hearts exalt joyously. It will help us to remember that we, like Abraham, are standing before God when we are in prayer. While Abraham was standing before the physical appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, we stand before the Holy Spirit whenever we go to God in prayer. God is standing right before us, listening, caring and loving us as we pray.

These verses also show us that our God is longsuffering, patient and forgiving. He is willing to endure the sinful nature of humanity while His plan for redemption unfolds. God could destroy all the wicked people, as He did in the times of Noah; however, He has a plan of salvation for some of the lost. Instead of destroying all sinners, He endures their rebellion for the sake of those He has chosen to save.

Despite God’s mercy and promise to Abraham, will He find that handful or righteous people when He visits the cities? The cities had slid into sin and wickedness and refused God’s way. Their sinful ways can be seen in the first 10 verses of Genesis 19. In this repulsive incident, the men of the town come out to have sex with the angels that the Lord has sent to the city:

	4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."
	Genesis 19:4-5 (NASB)

Take note of the fact that those who would commit this crime are from every walk of life: young, old, rich and poor. The city is so wicked and lost that there is no good left. Instead, the entire culture has turned their paths towards sin and wickedness. We remember the words found in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…” (KJV) This is what the Lord found when He looked down on Sodom and Gomorrah; wicked fallen cities and not even a handful of righteous people within them; everyone in rebellion. Are we so different? Would we act any differently if God’s grace wasn’t keeping us and protecting us?

When we think of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, we can lose sight of the fact that God would have liked this story to have a different ending. God had endured these people for a time, and He hoped they would turn back to Him. He had watched them repeatedly sin and repeatedly push Him out of their lives, yet, even to these people, God would have extended a hand of mercy. God’s love, mercy and patience are deep. Do you know this love and mercy, or are you lost and wandering the sinful streets of this fallen world, testing God’s patience and waiting for the wrath of God to fall upon you? Turn back to God. Repent and be saved, for it is better to feel God’s love and mercy then His hand of discipline and wrath: one leads to divine bliss and love, the other to divine judgment and eternal damnation. As it was for Sodom and Gomorrah, the choice is yours.

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