A Conversation Between Friends

, well, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18 for our time of study and God's word this morning, we're doing a verse by verse study through The Book of Genesis, and as we continue in our study of this book, we come today to Genesis 18:16, and my goal this morning is to cover verses 16 through 33. And if you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be A Conversation Between Friends. A conversation between friends, just a wonderful passage that hopefully we'll be able to do justice to.

I've shared this with you guys, before, but, just to tell it again because I like to hear myself tell it, I first became smitten with Donna, who is now my wife during my freshman year of high school. she was the prettiest girl that I had ever seen in my life and I knew that I had to step out of my comfort zone and try to get her. So I bought a greeting card and I walked up to her on a Wednesday evening after church and I gave that greeting card to her. We had a conversation there in the church parking lot that lasted for about 20 seconds.

And it lasted 20 seconds because it was right about the 22nd point that I ran out of stuff to talk about. So I said goodbye and I walked away. And that conversation between Donna and I was so amazing. That we did not have another conversation for another 2 years.

Even though we were in the same youth group. I think we were both just digesting that initial conversation. There was So much to process. But even though we didn't talk over that two-year period, I admired her from afar.

In fact, I so admired her that I was too intimidated to talk to her. It was during my junior year of high school that I heard from a mutual friend of both mine and Donna's that Donna liked me, but even still, I could not get up the nerve to go up to her and talk to her for fear that she had changed her mind between the time my friend told me that and the time I talked to her. So guess what happened? Donna came to me.

At a youth group skating event, she approached me and asked me if I would skate with her during a couple's skate. And I did. and it was at the end of that evening, that youth activity that Donna approached me again and asked me if I would go on a date with her. True story, not making any recommendations here for you gals, but I happily said yes and our relationship was born 36 years and 26 days ago.

Those early years were awkward for Donna and me. Communication did not come easily for us because we were both so immature. But in fits and starts, our relationship grew. After 7 years of dating, Donna and I married.

And over the last 29 years we've experienced a lot of ups and downs. At times we've had amazingly great conversations. At other times, we've had no conversations. And at other times we've had disastrously bad conversations that left both of us frustrated and hurting.

Yet by God's grace, our relationships survived. And it has grown, and it when I tell you. standing here today that there is no one on earth that I would rather be with and have a conversation with than Donna. I love her more than I ever have, and I'm thankful not just to call her my wife, but also my best friend.

She is the easiest person in the world for me to have a conversation with. I begin on this note because we have been Studying Abraham long enough now in the Book of Genesis to see that there has been similar growth. In God and Abraham's relationship over the last 24 years of Abraham's. Life stretching from Genesis chapter 12 all the way to Genesis 18, God initiated.

That relationship in Genesis 12:1. He called out Abraham and he made promises to Abraham, and Abraham responded. But since that time, there have been many high points, but there's also been low moments when Abraham failed to trust God and made wrong decisions that made life complicated for him and for others. We've seen Abraham in moments when he questioned God.

When he doubted God. And even once when he fell on his face and laughed at a serious promise that God had made to him. But little by little, Abraham's faith in the Lord has grown. And their relationship has grown, and our passage today shows their relationship.

In a, in a place of beautiful bloom. To give you some perspective, if I did my math correctly, if you go from Genesis chapter 12 verse 1, all the way to Genesis 18:15 that we finished studying last week. In all of that section, 24 years essentially of Abraham's life, he speaks a grand total of 44 words, English words to the Lord in conversation with him when he knew it was the Lord. that he was talking to.

44 words grand total. In our passage today, Abraham is going to speak in this one conversation, 170 words. And that's part of what's so wonderful about This passage, it's the most talkative that we have ever seen, Abraham. In a conversation with God and we're so privileged to be able to have a record of this and to listen in on this conversation between two longtime friends.

We saw last week how the Lord Appeared, the Lord and two angelic beings appeared at Abraham's home in the form of 3 men. they make an announcement regarding the birth of Isaac that will happen at this time next year. but then they reach a point where their purpose for being there is accomplished and the Lord and the two angels who were with him got up to leave. And it's here that a hugely significant interaction occurs between Abraham and God.

And we're blessed to get to listen in on this very personal interaction. Here's how we'll break things down this morning, 7 things. that we see happening during this conversation between God and Abraham. The first thing that happens as the story begins to unfold is, is that God and Abraham walk together.

They walk together. Look at how The story begins in verse 16. It says, then the men rose up from there and looked down towards Sodom. Which would have been about 18 to 20 miles away.

And Abraham was walking with them to send them off. Abraham, the text says, was walking with them. Abraham could have just said his farewell at the door and let the Lord and the two angels go, but instead, he seems to want to walk with Jehovah as long as he can. Abraham may not have known that it was the Lord.

When the Lord first showed up at his house, but by the time their conversation that takes place up to verse 15 had ended, Abraham knew it was the Lord, and Abraham's thought is, if the Lord comes to visit my house and then leaves, then I will walk with him as long as I can while he is leaving my house to go elsewhere. I love this picture that is presented here of Abraham stretching out his time with Jehovah and walking with him. But I also love here the picture of God, a God who would condescend so low to appear in the form of a man.

And walk a dirt road with Abraham, so that the two of them could walk together on this occasion as friend with friend.

The conversation is going to occur between the two of them in this passage, but I just want to make note of the fact that this conversation will happen between God and Abraham while the two of them walk together. Let's learn here just a quick lesson about prayer. Guys, prayer is not running to God. When we have something we need to pray for, prayer is simply talking to God while you walk.

With him. Prayer is walking. Our prayer is talking while walking with God. Anyway, what happens next is interesting.

It's while Abraham was walking with the Lord and his two angels that the Lord gives voice to a quandary. And this leads us to the second thing that happens in this conversation between God and Abraham, two very close friends, and that is that God questions hiding his plans from Abraham. In other words, he questions the appropriateness of hiding. His plans of what he is about to do from Abraham.

Look at what happens in verse 17. Then the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Almost certainly, the Lord is saying this out loud to the two angels who knew what he was about to do. And he's saying this out loud to the two angels, allowing Abraham to listen in on what God is saying as he offers this question.

Shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? Notice that the Lord is not asking this question. About any other person on earth, but he is asking this question about Abraham. Shall I hide from Abraham?

What I am about to do. He's asking this because of their friendship. He's also asking this question because Abraham is walking with him right now. And it feels wrong to have Abraham walking with him and for him to withhold this from Abraham God also knows that if he does not speak up and tell Abraham what he is about to do with regard to Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities of the valley, then Abraham is gonna wake up the next day and he's gonna see that whole region destroyed by God.

And God knows that Abraham, upon seeing that, will be very concerned for Lot and his family who lived in Sodom. And God knows that Abraham. would then be thinking, why didn't God tell me about this? I just saw him yesterday.

But he withheld this from me. God is also asking this for another reason, and this brings us to the next thing that happens in this conversation between God and Abraham, and that is that God ponders aloud the great blessing. That Abraham will become. God ponders aloud the great blessing that Abraham will become.

God says, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Now look at the reason he gives for thinking it unwise to hide his plans from Abraham. He says in verse 18, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. God here is merely restating.

The certain fulfillment of two of the promises that he had made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2, God had promised to make of Abraham a great nation. In Genesis 12:3, God had promised to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham. And since God had made these promises, and since these promises are bound to come true, God is now here deciding that he should not hide from Abraham. What he intends to do with regard to Sodom and the surrounding cities.

And this should make sense to us actually. God promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham. Yet he's about to completely wipe out. The city-state of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities.

From that very list. Right now, God is thinking that he should discuss his plan with Abraham because it intersects with his promises that he had made to Abraham. But for now, I love the fact that here is God talking out loud and when he looks upon Abraham, he doesn't just see Abraham for what he is in the moment. He sees him for what he will become.

And God is the same way with us who are his children, us who have believed in Jesus Christ and who are now made friends of God through Christ. God doesn't just see us as we were in the past, in our worst moments, nor does he see us simply as we are in the present. But God sees us for what we will be, what he's going to make of us as he brings us to maturity. He sees us for what we will be in glory, and he treats us accordingly.

That's what a true friend does, and that's what God does with Abraham. Given what Abraham's going to become. Shall I hide What I'm about to do from him, God is asking. There's another reason why God questions the appropriateness of hiding his plans from Abraham, and this brings us to the 4th thing that happens in this conversation between God and Abraham, and that is that God ponders aloud why he befriended Abraham.

He goes back to the beginning of their friendship, as it were. And ponders that moment and why he even befriended Abraham. In the first place, look at the reason the Lord gives verse 19. He says, for I have chosen him.

The Hebrew word that is translated, chosen in the new American Standard is the Hebrew word yada. Which literally means to know. so the word chosen is probably a weak translation of a theologically and relationally very rich word. Literally, God says, for I have known.

Hi And when used in a relational context like this, the word no means to have a relationship with someone or to acknowledge one as a personal friend. Derek Kidner in his commentary says that in saying what God says here, what he's saying is, I have made him my friend. Basically, God is saying here, for I have made Abraham my friend, and I brought him into a personal relationship with me. That's what God is saying by saying, I have known him.

He's not just saying I know about him and I know things about him, I relationally know him in a friendly way. But why? Why did God befriend Abraham? Here's one of his goals.

So that verse 19. He may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. Abraham's children, at least right now, include Ishmael. Within a year, it will include Isaac.

And then later, it will actually include another 6 sons that Abraham will have through his second wife, Kachura, whom he married after the death of Sarah. Beyond that, there were many servants. in Abraham's household, hundreds of them, in fact. Abraham had a bustling household full of hundreds of enterprising people.

And activities, and here God is saying that he, God, entered into a friendship with Abraham, a personal relationship with Abraham, so that Abraham would take the knowledge that God had given to him and command his children and his household members after him. To keep the way of the Lord. Notice the word. command.

So that he would command. His children after him. That's a good translation of this Hebrew word. God didn't want Abraham to be the household leader who just shared.

His faith with his family. He wanted Abraham to command his children and his household members after him. God wanted Abraham to use his God-given authority in his home to steer the members of his household in the way of the Lord, so that they would keep the way of the Lord. I love this phrase.

Notice God says that he wanted Abraham to command his children and his household after him. In other words, he wanted Abraham to keep the way of the Lord himself, and then call upon others to do so after him. Get in line behind me and follow me, and let us keep the way of the Lord together. So that you will even be keeping the way of the Lord long after I die.

That was Abraham's agenda. In leading his household. God did not want Abraham to just have a good relationship with God and be, then be the household leader who would say, well, I have my faith and my truth and my relationship with God, but I want my own children to make up their own mind about what they believe and I'm good with whatever they decide. Any dad who talks this way is not a friend of God.

Abraham was befriended by God to command his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. And how did God want Abraham to teach the people of his household to keep the way of the Lord? Here's how, by doing righteousness and justice. Doing righteousness means doing what God rightfully expects of you and commands of you.

Doing justice means treating other people the way God tells you to treat them. It means that you don't abuse or oppress or violate the rights of other people, and it means that you speak up for those who are oppressed and you come to their aid. And God is saying here, I've entered into a personal relationship with Abraham and I've made Abraham my friend, so that he would command his children and household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice.

And the same thing, men, that God says about Abraham is true for us as men today.

who are believers in Jesus and who are heads of households or who will be in a future day. God has saved us. He's entered into a personal relationship with us, not as an end in itself, but so that we can influence others for Christ and primary. Among those others that we influence for Christ are the members of our household that God has called us to lead.

I would challenge You men to read the book of Ephesians. In fact, during the time that you would have been at the men's leadership meeting, read the book of Ephesians. There you go. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.

He adopted us as his children. He forgave us of our sins. He redeemed us from sin, He gave us the gift of His Holy Spirit, and he did all of that, not as an end in itself, but in order that we might accomplish everything that we're then instructed to do in Ephesians 45 and 6. And one of those things that we're instructed to do as men.

is in Ephesians 6:4 where Paul says, Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but you bring them up. And the nurture and discipline of the Lord. So if you're a man, And you have a wife and children, or you will one day. It can be said of you that God has brought you into friendship with Himself.

For many reasons, one of which is so that, so that. You might instruct your household and your children after you to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. By you living that way and then calling them to do so after you, after the pattern that you set, and you say, man, I've been a terrible example. A terrible pattern.

Well, hey, part of doing righteousness and justice is repenting when you fail. Seeking forgiveness when you fail. Confessing your weakness, your ignorance, and your failings, and being the biggest repenter that your wife and your children know, that's righteousness. And if you have failed, now you have a chance to do that form of righteousness and repent and be an example of repentance.

God here right now is talking out loud in front of Abraham. He's letting Abraham listen in and be reminded of why God befriended him and entered into a personal relationship with him. And that is so that Abraham can command his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. But even that is simply a means to a greater goal and the greater goal.

of God having Abraham command his household to keep the way of the Lord was so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about him. In other words, God wanted to make of Abraham a great and mighty nation and bless all the families, all the nations of the earth through him, and part of how God wanted to accomplish that goal was by having Abraham lead his household in the ways of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. And imagine how good this is for Abraham to hear God.

Pondering aloud.

His reasons for saving him. This would be a good reminder. For Abraham as he stands now within a year of having his son Isaac. God has befriended Abraham so that Abraham can lead his household in a way that is engineered to facilitate this global mission of God.

That would arc through the generations to follow to bless all the nations of the earth all the way down to the present day. Think about it. How much good would it have been for Abraham to pray for God to bless all of the nations? Yet Abraham failed to raise children who were keeping the way of the Lord.

Failing to raise children who were doing righteousness and justice, that would be a huge part of that blessing. So God is saying, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do and he's pondering the reasons why he should not hide his plans from Abraham. And among those reasons is because I've befriended him with this global mission in mind for him to train his household. And for all the nations of the earth to be blessed through him.

So this is a pretty strategic man in my plan, and I should not hide from him. What it is that I'm about to do. So that leads us to the 5th thing that happens in this conversation between God and Abraham, and that is that God discloses his plans to Abraham. Look at what God does in verse 20.

It says, and the Lord said, The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. The Jewish commentator Nehem Sarna says that the word outcry, it's a key word here in this passage and it's, it's used to speak of the anguished cry of the oppressed. The agonized plea of the victim for help in the face of some great injustice. The word outcry implies the suffering of those who were being exploited by the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sodom and Gomorrah were a place of oppression. A place of tears for those who were trafficked and exploited to serve the whims of the wicked people of Sodom. And the outcry has ascended to the Lord. The accusations voiced by those oppressed have reached the Lord.

Also in verse 20 God speaks about the people of Sodom and Gomorrah says their sin is exceedingly grave. Literally, he's saying their sins were very heavy. Indicating that they were weighed down with sins that brought them to depths of depravity from which there would be no rising. God already knows this about Sodom, so he's voicing this to Abraham.

But look at what he says he's going to do, verse 21. He says, I will go down now and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to me. As one commentator says, this is God assuring Abraham that he does nothing without first being in full possession of all the facts. We often say and do things.

Without knowing all the facts, right? And then we're like, oh, that's a mistake. I didn't know that. God never makes such a mistake.

He does nothing Without first being in full possession of all the facts, and that's why God says at the end of verse 21, and if not, I will know. I'm gonna see if they have done entirely according to the outcry and which has come to me and if they haven't, I want you to know, Abraham, I will know. God is no reckless sovereign. If the outcry against Sodom does not match the reality, God will know that and he will refrain from wrongly judging Sodom based only on the outcry.

God doesn't judge people based on accusations leveled against them. He judges them based on the degree to which the reality of their sin matches the accusation. Well, Abraham is listening to this from God. He takes it in and processes it.

And then he responds and gets very talkative. And this brings us to the next thing that happens in this conversation between God and Abraham, and that is that Abraham speaks frankly to God, calling upon him to do justice. Look at what happens in verse 22. Then the men, speaking of the two angels who were with Jehovah, turned away from there and went towards Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.

Imagine what Abraham is feeling at this point. He knows that his nephew Lot and his wife and two daughters live in Sodom. Abraham is no doubt concerned for them. And it is concern for them that lies at the heart of what Abraham is about to say.

But his concern is bigger than just Lot and his family. He's concerned for anyone in Sodom who is righteous. Before God So Abraham essentially begins to pray. And what a prayer he prays.

He wrestles, as it were, with God. He speaks boldly to God. As one commentator says, I love this, he says, before our astounded gaze are unfolded, the details of a plea that stands without parallel in the annals of history. Never mortal prayed as this mortal.

does in this passage. Look at what Abraham does in verse 23. Abraham came near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? In other words, he's saying, so you're going to destroy these entire cities and in the process, you will destroy the righteous who live there also?

So look at his request. He says, suppose there are 50 righteous within the city. Will you indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous who are in it? Keep in mind that God never told Abraham that he was going to destroy these cities.

He just told them he was going there to inspect. But Abraham knows what God is going to find. If the outcry of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah have reached heaven, then it surely has reached Abraham, who lives about 18 miles away. And Abraham is thinking, knowing God the way that I do, and knowing the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as I do.

I know that if God is paying a personal visit to those cities, I know that he's probably going to respond to what he sees by unleashing absolute and total judgment. Upon these cities to where everybody dies. And Abraham is immediately concerned for the righteous people who are in the city. So look at what he says to God, verse 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.

The expression, far be it from you is literally We could translate it, it would be a desecration. Is what Abraham says. The word used here is a word that is used to speak of something that's profane. Abraham is telling God that it would be a profanity for God to destroy the righteous with the wicked and to treat them both alike.

And the judgment that he would inflict upon these cities. You have to read carefully. What Abraham is saying in this entire exchange, cause it's not immediately obvious, but Abraham If you read carefully, it's not merely pleading for the righteous. Who are, might be in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah.

He's also asking God to spare the place. Later he will use the expression the whole place, meaning the whole city, the whole region. This means that Abraham is concerned for all of the inhabitants of Sodom, even those who are wicked, and he's hoping here that the presence of 50 righteous people. would result in the deliverance of everyone from God's judgment.

Perhaps giving them time to repent. As they are exposed to the influence of the 50 righteous. So Abraham repeats what he's just said, almost as if he's giving God a prohibition. He says, far be it from you.

Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly. He's saying, far be it from you, Lord, to destroy the righteous with the wicked, shall not the Judge of all the earth do justice. And that's the same expression that we saw earlier. Back in verse 19, we see that God wanted Abraham to teach his household.

To keep the way of the Lord by doing justice, and here Abraham is calling upon God to make sure that he does justice in the way that he executes his judgment. Now to his credit, Abraham here is, if you look at his language, he's recognizing that God is judge and Abraham is not. Abraham is also recognizing that God is the judge of all the earth. God is no tribal deity in Abraham's theology.

He is the judge of the entire earth who has the right to rule over and to judge the nations and the cities of the world, however he deems best. But Abraham also knows that God is a just God. God has taught Abraham the whole meaning of justice. And so Abraham is appealing to God on the basis of God's justice, and he's urging God to behave consistently with who he is as a just God and to not destroy any of the righteous inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And he's even asking God. To preserve the entire population on account of the 50 righteous. Who are there. On one level this seems brash of Abraham to talk this way to God, but guys, at least he comes to God and pours out his thoughts.

And pours out his heart to God. God loves that. That's a good thing. What Abraham says here though also sets us up to appreciate how God is going to surprise Abraham with his answer.

He's gonna surprise Abraham with his mercy, and this is going to set us up to appreciate how Abraham as the conversation continues, is going to roll with that. And allow his whole orientation to change from being worried about whether or not God is going to be just. To then just simply exploring the depths of God's mercy. And this brings us to the final thing that happens in this conversation between God and Abraham, and that is that Abraham searches out the depths of God's mercy.

That's his whole obsession at this point. He's not even worried about justice. He's just, I wanna get to know God and I wanna know the bottom of his mercy. To Abraham's first petition.

The Lord replies in verse 26, it says, so the Lord said, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place. On their account. The word that is translated spare is a translation of the Hebrew word for forgive. God here is telling Abraham that if there are 50 people in the city of Sodom who are righteous, then God will deliver the whole place, including the wicked from the justice that they deserve for their sins.

In other words, he would let the righteousness of the 50 result in the suspension of the just sentence. Deserved by the wicked inhabitants of Sodom. Now to understand what happens next, I think it's good for us to keep in mind that when Abraham presents the number 50, Speaking of 50 righteous people to God, He's thinking that in giving that number, he's probably pushing God down to a lower number than God would prefer to go. Abraham probably was expecting God to respond by saying, No, 50 is not good enough.

The number I'm looking for is 100. And if that's how God responded, then Abraham figured that, that he and God could go back and forth until they reached a mutually agreeable number somewhere maybe around 75. That's what you do when you bargain. With someone.

You start low and then you hear the higher number that the other person replies with and then you try to find the middle ground, which in this case would be somewhere above 50. And Abraham probably would have walked away. Feeling happy With even the number 75. But God surprises Abraham by immediately replying and saying, if there's 50 righteous, I will spare the whole place.

On account of the 50 And once Abraham hears this surprising answer from God, he's suddenly regretful. He realizes that he underestimated the mercy of God, and this immediately changes his whole orientation. Far from his mind now is worrying about God being just. Now Abraham's focus shifts to adventuring into an exploration of the depths of God's mercy.

Does that make sense? Like think about it this way, Imagine that you're looking for a car to buy. And You, you size up the car and you think the seller of the car is probably gonna try to sell you the car for 10,000. You don't know the price yet, but you're thinking he's going to want to sell this to me for $10,000.

So as you're processing that, you don't want to offer to buy it for $10,000. Right away because then he'll talk you up to 11. Right? So instead, you say to him, would you give me this car for 8000?

And you're thinking in your own mind, this is low, but this is a good way to start the conversation and imagine that he responds by saying, sure, you can have the car for 8000. How would you respond to that? You'd probably respond by wondering. How low of an amount.

He would have sold you the car for. But now you don't know how low of an amount that would have been. And you would also realize that it's too late. To state a lower amount.

Oh, I'm sorry, did that sound like I said 8000? I meant 6000. What was that? No, it's too late to do that.

And that's where Abraham is, but to his credit, he's not ashamed. To explore further and search out. The limits of God's mercy. So Abraham does the unthinkable, and he changes his request.

Look at verse 27. And Abraham replied, Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. Suppose the 50 righteous are lacking 5, will you destroy the whole city because of 5 who are missing? Notice Abraham's.

Humility. As much as he's a friend of God, he's not unmindful of how great God is. The chasm between him and God and how little he himself is. He says, I have ventured to speak to the Lord.

This is amazing that I can talk to you. Although I am but dust and ashes, and you are not Lord. He's saying I am from the dust and my mortal body is destined to become ashes. Yet here I am speaking to Jehovah.

The judge of all the earth. And he's saying, please show me mercy if I am speaking wrongly, Lord. That's the basic vibe here that of Abraham's words to the Lord. So Abraham has dropped the number by 5, which brings them to the number of 45 righteous people in the city.

And Abraham's basically saying, would you spare the whole place if there were 45 righteous? And in verse 28, God said, I will not destroy it if there are 45 there. And then he just leaves Abraham to wither in the wind and figure out where, where do I go from here. I love the fact that the Lord didn't say, didn't just blurt out whatever his answer would be.

He lets Abraham go there. With his heart expanding with each question as he's exploring the mercy of God. Abraham really wants to know the heart of God, so he explores further, how far would God's mercy go. So look at verse 29, and he spoke to him, Jehovah, yet again and said, suppose 40 are found there, and God replies at the end of verse 29, and he said, I will not do it on account of the 40.

Abraham is realizing that he thought too little of God's mercy, so he decides here to go lower, but he also fears overstepping the bounds of God's mercy towards him. So look at what he does in verse 30. Then he said, oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak, suppose 30 are found there. It's interesting to me that Abraham is afraid that he might provoke the Lord to anger by asking him about sparing the city if there are 30 righteous people in the city.

We're gonna see as the conversation continues to unfold that not only is God not angry at Abraham's request, but Abraham is only half as far as he's going to end up going. He's nowhere close to the finish line and reaching the bottom of the depths of God's mercy. Abraham is gonna learn here that God is more merciful than he initially thought, and this mercy from God will cause Abraham to keep growing in boldness before the Lord. Again, remember, Abraham started off by pleading with God to be just and now he's forgotten about justice and his only concern is to explore the extent of God's mercy, which keeps surpassing what he's asking.

So look at how God responds in verse 30. And God said, I will not do it if I find 30 there. If God had responded by saying, absolutely not, Abraham, or if he said 30 and no lower. Abraham would know the bottom of God's mercy.

But God's answer still leaves Abraham unsure where the bottom of his mercy is, so look at what he does in verse 31. And he said, now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord. Suppose 20 are found there. And he, God, responds and said, I will not destroy it on account of the 20.

One final time, Abraham waxes more bold in exploring the limits of the mercy of God. And verse 32 tells us, then he, Abraham said, oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once. Suppose 10. are found there.

I imagine Abraham, after saying this, I imagine him wincing and being afraid to make eye contact with the Lord as he's waiting for a reply. of maybe the Lord being angry. That he would even dare ask. Or maybe the Lord's gonna tell him, no, 15 is the bottom.

Yet the Lord is not angry. And he replies, and he said, I will not destroy it on account of the 10. And it turns out that Abraham makes no more requests. He stops at 10.

And is still left unsure where the bottom of God's mercy is. It turns out that Abraham was not able to outmercy God. God out mercied him. So look at what happens at the end of this exchange.

As soon as or a better translation just simply when he had finished, when Jehovah had finished speaking or communing with Abraham, the Lord departed, and Abraham returned. To his place. This is humility on Abraham's part. He trusts Jehovah to do what's right.

And he knows now that God is going to be Super aboundingly merciful. He can freely let the Lord go. And he can return to his place knowing that God will do the just and the merciful thing. So a question that commentators ponder and careful readers of a passage like this ponder is, why didn't Abraham bring the number all the way down?

To 5, or maybe to 1. Or 2 Some say he stopped at 10 because in his mind, if there are no more than 10, then yeah, wipe, wipe the whole place out. That's possible. My speculation is that Abraham didn't go any lower because He didn't need to He had heard enough To know that God would not only deal justly, but he would be merciful in a way that would exceed Abraham's highest hopes.

Sometimes, guys, we honor God by the questions that we ask Him, and sometimes we honor Him by the questions. That we no longer need to ask. Because we trust him. His justice and his mercy fully.

I think Abraham is thinking God has outmercied me 6 times. In this conversation. Shirley. I have enough to go on to know that he will be abundantly merciful and just in how he handles Sodom and Gomorrah.

And any righteous people that may be in those cities. We're actually gonna see in the coming weeks in chapter 19 that God's mercy. was even greater than where Abraham stopped. God will deliver.

He will destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But he will deliver 3 people from destruction. Which is Lot and his two daughters, only one of whom the Bible says was righteous, and that's Lot. In 2 Peter chapter 2.

He's described as righteous. We'll also see in chapter 19 that Lot The angels will be telling him, get out of here, we can't do anything before you leave. And so flee to the mountains and get out of this whole region and Lot is gonna say, I don't know that I can make it up across those mountains. how about you let me flee to this little town over here nestled in the hills.

And that little town was a city that was later called Zohar. It was one of the cities of the valley that was supposed to be. One of the cities that God was destroying. Under his judgment But we'll find in chapter 19 that God spared the city of Zohar because Lot fled there.

So on that account, God does even better than what Abraham dared to even ask. The entire city of Zohar was saved. Because of the presence of one righteous man. A man whose righteousness was pretty suspect at that.

God is a merciful. God. There's so much for us to learn in this chapter. Let me just throw a few things, your way as we wrap things up.

the first we learn here to pray for others. We learned from Abraham's example that we should pray for others, both the righteous and the wicked. This is part of what it means to be a friend of God and a friend of man. We use, if we're friends of God who now have access into the presence of God, we can come into his throne room and ask anything that we want.

We should want to use our access to God. To pray for other people. For the righteous. And even for the salvation of the wicked.

We also learned in this passage that When we combine it with chapter 19 that not everyone we pray for will ultimately be saved. But we can trust that God Whatever happens is merciful, and he's just in all of his ways and we can praise him for that. We're also blessed to watch Abraham undergo an evolution in his praying. He started off postured in one way, worried about whether or not God was gonna be just in his judgments.

But Abraham allows the Lord to shift his focus. From justice to an exploration of God's mercy. See, prayer is not coming to God and trying to get God to bend to our will. Prayer is coming to God in a pliable way.

And letting him change us while we pray. And sometimes, and you, many of you have experienced this, you come into God's presence to pray and you're angry, you're upset, you're depressed. And you're just pouring out your heart. And somehow 20 minutes later, you're still praying, and your heart's in a totally different place.

How did that happen? That's God's power. When you come into God's presence to pray, just, Lord, I'm just gonna pour out where I'm at right now. Listen to my heart, but I'm pouring it out and asking you, To bend me to your will.

And to mold and shape me and take me to a better place. It's exactly what Abraham allows God to do, but he does it boldly. Abraham was a friend of God and friends take risks in trying to get to know their friends better. And that's what Abraham does as he's exploring the mercy of God.

But try as Abraham might, his prayers never go as deep as God's mercy will end up being. Abraham cannot outmercy God. Abraham's intercessions for the inhabitants of the cities of the valley remind us. Of one greater than Abraham who intercedes for the unrighteous.

And the prayers of this one never fall short. While on the cross, when Jesus was being crucified, Luke 23:34 tells us that Jesus, while on the cross, interceded for the unrighteous who were crucifying him and literally the text says he kept on saying, Father, forgive them. For they don't know what they're doing. In fact, coming back to Genesis 18, imagine if Abraham in this prayer, in this conversation had said to God, Lord, I know that you're a just God and that you judge wickedness.

Lord, here's my request of you, if you could just take your justice, your just wrath, and if you could cause that wrath to fall on me, I'll take that judgment if in taking that judgment, it would allow the inhabitants of Sodom to be freed from your judgment. Abraham didn't ask that. But Jesus did. Jesus, the great intercessor, who prays greater prayers than Abraham ever did.

Abraham also could have listened to what God is saying here, it's like, OK, 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, he could have grabbed 10 righteous people from his household. And sent them racing to the city of Sodom. To ensure that God would spare the city on account of 10 righteous people from Abraham's household, Abraham himself could have raced to Sodom. To be among those 10.

But Abraham didn't do that. He never went down to Sodom, nor did he send anyone there, and that's fine. We're not judging him for that. I'm just saying that to point out the fact that God sent His Son to earth.

And Jesus willingly left heaven and came to this broken world. And was Willing to be crucified and have the just fury of God unleashed upon him. So that through his death his blood would be shed and atonement could be provided. For sinners like you and me.

We also see in this passage that there is a greater righteousness than Lot's righteousness. Many of us know how things are gonna go in chapter 19. We know that Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities are gonna be utterly destroyed because there were not 10 righteous people in these cities and we're saddened to ponder even now as we read this conversation, to know that there was not enough righteousness in the city to save the city. But this story does make us appreciate the sufficiency of Christ righteousness.

He lived a perfectly righteous life and the presence of his righteousness alone is enough to bring about the deliverance of hundreds of millions of sinners throughout the ages. Including us today. 2000 years later. As Paul says in Romans 5:19, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.

Through the righteousness of Christ, not only are we who believe in Him spared of God's judgment, but we ourselves are actually made righteous, declared righteous by God. On account of his righteousness. Millions of people around the world. have been rescued from the wrath of God.

And so, we think about what Abraham said to God, far be it from you, Lord. Abraham was offended at the notion that God would allow The righteous to be caught up in the judgment of the wicked, so he says, far be it from you, Lord, to do such a thing. That would be a profanity to let the righteous suffer. With And for the wickedness of the wicked.

Little does Abraham realize. That in about 2000 years from this conversation, God will send forth one of Abraham's descendants. And allow this ultimate son of Abraham to get swept away by the judgment of the wicked on the cross. In order that sinners might be spared.

God's just fury. And be saved. God is a God of perfect justice and mercy. It's at the cross where we see God's justice and mercy, kiss each other.

And be reconciled so that God can through Christ give salvation to all who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus and call upon his name. Calling upon him, believing in him to be their Lord and Savior and to thereby escape the judgment of God that will fall upon all who reject Jesus Christ. If you're here today and you've never believed in Jesus and called on his name, For salvation, I, I plead with you to call upon his name today. God will be pleasured to lavish his mercy on you and to make you his friend.

And let you walk with him and talk with him. Just as he does for Abraham here in this passage. I don't know your story. I don't know where you're at in your journey.

I just know that if you've never called upon the name of Jesus, And seen your bankruptcy and brought your sin to God and Confessed your sins to him. And looked at Jesus. And said to him, Lord, I need a savior. I need a perfect righteousness.

That I can't produce, be my Lord, be my Savior, I believe in you today. I know that God would not only forgive you. And show you his mercy, but he would be pleasured to do so. Let's pray together Lord, we Stand in awe of your mercy.

As it's displayed in this passage and, and to even greater degrees at the cross. And we're thankful for how this passage points us to Jesus. Whose intercessions are greater than Abraham's and whose righteousness is greater than Lot's. And we're thankful for the price you paid, that a way of salvation would be provided for sinners.

Lord, give to us in this room the humility and the brokenness to see this way of salvation and love it rather than to be offended by it. Humble every heart in this room. Before the cross. That they would see that this is salvation.

And those who receive it are saved and those who don't receive it are lost. You are a God who judges and a God who stands ready to extend mercy, and may you extend mercy to all of us today. And may our hearts be rendered such by you that we would welcome. Your mercy.

We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity that is ours to give of our offerings to you. At this point in our service, receive these funds, Lord, do much with every. Penny that is given. For the spread of the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We give ourselves to you, Lord, in the name of Jesus and all God's people said,