KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD
Genesis 18:16-33
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” (19)
chapter 18
16. When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17. Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18. Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19. For I have chosen him , so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22. The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
23. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24. What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25. Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26. The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27. Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
28. what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29. Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
30. Then he said, "May the LORD not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31. Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
32. Then he said, "May the LORD not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
33. When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. God was about to deal with Sodom, whose evil had been ongoing for a long time (13:13). God had a clear plan, but he included his friend Abraham in this. Why? God had chosen Abraham to be a great nation through whom all the earth would be blessed. But it would require directing his children and household to keep the ways of the LORD. God saw the situation with Sodom – and Abraham’s nephew Lot – as a time of revealing Abraham’s mind and heart. How would Abraham respond?
2. Hearing about God’s plan to visit Sodom (20-21), Abraham took it upon himself to plead for the righteous people in Sodom – not on the basis of their righteousness or his influence with God, but on the basis of God’s good and just character (25). It was hard for Abraham, who feared God, to continue to press the number down to ten, but he did so, and each time God fully agreed with Abraham’s request, even to spare the city for the sake of ten. In this way, Abraham demonstrated “keeping the way of the LORD by doing what is just and right,” as a good shepherd for his nephew. Jesus tells us our days are just like the days of Lot (Lk 17:28). We learn from Abraham how to model the way of the LORD in our times through crying out in mercy for sinners Jesus came to save.
Prayer: Father, thank you for your great mercy on me and my family. In days like these, help me cry out in prayer for even one lost soul today.
One Word: Justice tempered with mercy