Genesis 18:16 – 26 ”When the men got up to leave they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off. And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.” Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous, I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”
And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there? Far be it from You to do such a thing! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”
God is visiting Abraham and has already informed Abraham that Sarah is going to bear the son of the promise, although she is carrying her Social Security card. Two angels appearing as men have accompanied the Lord and now they are go on to visit Sodom and Gomorrah to verify the degree of their wickedness. God remains behind to inform Abraham about His intentions for Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, is still living in Sodom, even though morally things are falling apart.
In an effort to save his nephew, Abraham begins to bargain with God. “Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there? Far be it from You to do such a thing! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
Abraham starts out asking God to save Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 50 righteous people, but then he has second thoughts…and third thoughts….. By the end of the passage, Abraham has gotten God to agree to save Sodom and Gomorrah if He can find at least 10 righteous people there. Perhaps Abraham is mentally counting the number of people in Lot’s household and figuring that at least God will spare Lot and his family.
How is this passage an example of forgiveness?
1. Abraham has forgiven Lot. Remember Lot, the junior guy who grabbed the best land for himself? the guy who had to be rescued after being captured? the guy who, as far as we know, never even said “thank you” to Abraham? Abraham has obviously forgiven Lot for all those things because here he is pleading for God to save Lot and his household. (Perhaps at this point, Abraham is also crossing his fingers and hoping that Lot has not already gotten caught up in all the horrible practices of the inhabitants of Sodom!)
2. God has forgiven Abraham for deceiving Pharaoh about Sarah, failing to inform Sarah about God’s promise of a son, and also allowing himself to be enticed into taking Hagar as a second wife.
3. God has had to forgive Lot for ignoring Him. Presumably, Lot is righteous, or certainly more righteous than his neighbors in Sodom. But nowhere in any of the scriptures is it mentioned that Lot had any relationship with God or that Lot worshiped God.
“ Far be it from You to do such a thing! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” Amazing! Puny little human Abraham is reminding the Creator of the Universe that He is a just judge! This verse is one of the keys to the entire passage. At various times, Abraham was a liar, a deceiver, a wimp, and a manipulator. BUT Abraham knew who God was and honored God. And because of Abraham’s faith, God forgave him and answered his prayers.
APPLICATION: Think about the number of times you have done wrong things and have tried to excuse yourself. We are very willing to overlook our shortcomings but oh so ready to attack others for minor infractions. Ask God to help you confess your own sins and then to forgive anyone against whom you are holding a grudge.
PRAYER: Father God, open our eyes to see our own shortcomings and our own failures. Help us to see the times we have wronged others. Help us to make a clean breast of these things to you and to seek forgiveness from those whom we have wronged. And then help us to forgive anyone against whom we have a grudge. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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