Genesis 18:20-33

2007.Jun.16 20:21

How Many Righteous

And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
(Genesis 18:20-22, NASB)

So Jehovah explains his intentions to Abraham. There’s been a lot of sinning going on in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, enough to produce a great outcry to Jehovah, whatever that means. Insofar as I do believe in God’s omniscience, I don’t suppose this next part is quite necessary, but God is going to go there (at least to Sodom, anyway) and see if the outcry is accurate. At some point in this, Jehovah possibly communicates to Abraham that he will destroy these cities if their sin is indeed so great. That, or Abraham assumes this, which is a pretty interesting point to ponder. This passage does not make that intent explicit.

I really like the idea that God investigates personally (or has his messengers investigate personally; I really ought to learn Hebrew so I have a better chance of figuring out these details). He’s not going to wipe out this city based on what other humans say about it, or even what he just knows. He actually sends a research party physically there, possibly including himself. Jehovah’s justice is just. It is not distant and unknowing.

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 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? 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?”
(Genesis 18:23-25, NASB)

When following Abraham’s reasoning here, it’s worth remembering that his nephew, Lot, has chosen to live in the vicinity of these cities, and that, as revealed in Genesis 19, Sodom is Lot’s current residence. In other words, this is not an impartial cry for justice for it’s own sake. And, yet, there’s a lot to be learned from the times when our decisions come as much from emotion as from “reason”. I admire Abraham for his care for his relatives, but I also remember that Lot made this decision, chose this path, based largely on the physical benefits of the land while apparently accepting or ignoring the prevailing unrighteousness.

For Abraham to judge Jehovah like this is pretty amazing. But Jehovah’s reaction is so much more impressive. In choosing to confide in Abraham, among humanity, this plan, Jehovah reveals that he values Abraham’s input and reactions, even if only for the sake of his own glory. Jehovah listens to Abraham’s complaint, which is the basic “justice means fairness” argument where fairness is defined as the terms of the person speaking, and he says, “Okay.” Abraham is not content with this, possibly because he knows that few in Sodom, and possibly not even any of his relatives, will hit the righteous mark. He dwindles the justice mark down to ten righteous.

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.” As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
(Genesis 18:32-33, NASB)

Jehovah again accepts. He already knows how many righteous there are, so this is sort of a moot discussion. But he’s also proving to Abraham that he is in fact just. This is all the more important because Jehovah has set up Abraham to be the establishing patriarch of a religion and nation that ought to be Jehovah-centered. Of course, it will fail in that, but then, that may be the point: not even a religion or nation can save us, but Jehovah alone. Or maybe that’s another stretched interpretation.

Genesis 18:16-19

2007.Jun.09 20:55

In God’s Confidence

Read Genesis 18:16-19 | Full Chapter

I’m going to throw in a summary here of a rather short passage just to help me get my head around what exactly is going on (although I don’t anticipate succeeding). Previously, three men show up, possibly including Jehovah, or possibly all messengers from him. Abraham has them stop by his tent, gives them food and drink, they discuss geriatric child-bearing, yadda, yadda. Now, the men get up to leave and Abraham walks with them for a time. Jehovah, besides informing Abraham and Sarah that their long-awaited child will be born in a year, is planning to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God asks himself whether he ought to tell Abraham his intentions.

God does tell Abraham and in my next entry, I’ll look at Abraham’s response. But I want to look now at Jehovah’s rationale for confiding in Abraham his intentions.

Abraham will have many descendants, among which will be a powerful nation (assume, Israel)
Abraham’s line will bless the entire earth (although not the only way in which it does so, to me this particularly reflects the offer of salvation to all through Jesus Christ).
God has chosen him for these things.
Abraham will teach God’s law to others.

In other words, Abraham is going to influence a lot of people, throughout generations. So, God’s choosing to confide in him is probably as much about Abraham sharing his personal tales of God’s justice, righteousness and power as about God simply wanting to confide in Abraham.

And yet, that second point, that Jehovah does confide in Abraham should not be overlooked. Jehovah often chooses to work through the weak, it is true, but the weak must be at least somewhat willing. And there is a key (or maybe just a stretch of logic–you decide!): Jehovah confides in Abraham because Abraham and Sarah (whose part in this is essential) have proven themselves willing to walk in faith and do as Jehovah commands; not perfectly, to be certain, but in their weaknesses, they have consistently returned to God after their failures and grown through the experience. Abraham and Sarah are excellent examples of what God can and will do with broken but willing vessels. He does such impressive things throughout their lives, and he talks personally with them, often confiding in them and reassuring them as a friend.

Genesis 18:9-15

2007.Jun.04 01:29

Laughter

Read Genesis 18:9-15 | Full Chapter

Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will be sure to return to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old. They had lived many years. The way of women had stopped for Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Will I have this joy after my husband and I have grown old?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘How can I give birth to a child when I am so old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” But Sarah said, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
(Genesis 19:9-15, NLV)

And God says, “Hey, y’all are gonna’ have a son”. And they’re like “uh, news flash, we’re geezers”. Again.

Trivia question: What percentage of the book of Genesis is about God promising Isaac to Sarah and Abraham? Because it seems like a lot. For a couple that exhibits a great deal of faith throughout their lives (and some failures), Jehovah seems to belabor this point. And Abraham and Sarah do reveal that their faith is not total, by having an increasingly hard time taking this seriously. What with prior discussions with Jehovah, Abraham seems to have accepted this promise. As far as I can tell, he simply accepts this time. Sarah, having not been around during Abraham’s most recent discussion with Jehovah, laughs. Hey, this is crazy. This is a by-no-other-means-than-God situation.

God–or a messenger of God, but I think actually God–makes the point that this is not impossible with Jehovah. Sarah, in her fear, claims she did not laugh. A moment before, she had said that having a child would be a joy, but she quickly turns to fear. Instead of being honest with God about her doubt, and her joy, she lies due to her fear. But God corrects by stating that she did laugh, whether she admit it or not.

This then is a situation of great, but incomplete faith. Sarah might have laughed and then explained her laughter instead of trying to hide it. She might then have chosen to believe regardless of the apparent absurdity. One way or another, she shortly does believe, and I think quite possibly before actually becoming pregnant. But in the immediate, she lets fear get in the way of letting her faith chase off her doubt. And for what? God does not smite her. In fact, he seems to simply leave it at ‘Yes, you did laugh’.

So, this is in part about faith overcoming fear, and specifically fear of punishment from Jehovah. How silly it seems from the outside to not act in faith just because earlier I had doubt, or even because I was disobedient, and yet I’ve done so. Letting guilt disrupt faith: not in God’s plan. But perfecting faith is in his plan, and that sometimes means taking those who are walking in a lot of faith and pushing them harder that seems right in order to grow them that next step. Something I’ll probably write a lot about when I get to Job…in say, forty years…

Genesis 18:1-8

2007.Jun.04 01:06

Hospitality

Read Genesis 18:1-8 | Full Chapter

Hospitality, let’s say, is not one of my forte’s. I’m a bit shy mixed with a lot of loner. Having people over is never the first thought on my mind. Inviting a guest into my home in order to help them out, whether stranger or no, is even farther. I could blame this on my aforementioned character traits or on my culture, but blame buys me nothing with God, save perhaps a slap upside the head.

Abraham quickly went to his tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get a large sack of flour and make some bread.” After saying this, he rushed off to his herd of cattle and picked out one of the best calves, which his servant quickly prepared. He then served his guests some yogurt and milk together with the meat.
(Genesis 18:6-8, CEV)

Let me set this up. Abraham is ninety-nine years old here (See Genesis 21:2,5). It’s a "hot summer afternoon" (Genesis 18:1, CEV) . Three guys show up. Abraham now runs around getting a meal prepared along with his wife, Sarah. Remember, 99 years old, hot summer afternoon. Why? Well, this passage starts off "Now the LORD appeared to him…When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him" (Genesis 18:1,2, NASB) . Having looked at several versions, I think Abraham had a vision of Jehovah, and when the vision was over, looked up to see these three men. Alternately, perhaps verse 1 is just a summary of what is about to happen. Still, unless Jehovah, in the vision, specifically said “Three men are coming, treat them well,” I could well understand Abraham ignoring them.

But he doesn’t. Abraham actually goes to these men and asks them to stop by, so that he can bless them, by giving them food and water to wash their feet. And while they eat, Abraham stands nearby and waits. And I find myself again so admiring this trait of Abraham, that he uses the blessings Jehovah has poured out on him to bless others. In this case, it happens to be Jehovah and/or messengers from him (I can’t tell which), but it is a lifestyle of blessing others that ensures that Abraham does not ignore this sacred visit.

Perhaps that is the root of true hospitality. A lifestyle of blessings others as God blesses me. And one of the neatest things here is to note that this is a family and household trait, as Sarah and at least one servant share in the preparation.

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