I had devotions with my son, Lucas, this morning. We’re reading through the Bible from the beginning. Lucas had been given a Bible from our church when he entered 1st grade. It’s the New International Reader’s Version for early readers, so it puts the text in terms children can better understand.
This morning, we read Genesis 18. In the second half of the chapter, Abraham is talking to God while they overlooked Sodom and Gomorrah from a distance – two cities filled with all sorts of disgusting evil. God tells Abraham that their wickedness is so great, and Abraham surmises that God plans to destroy the cities.
Abraham tried to intercede on behalf of any righteous people that may be found in the cities. He was thinking about his nephew, Lot. He asked God, “If you find 50 people who are godly, will you save the city?”
God said, “If I find 50 people, I will spare it.”
“How about 45 people? Will you still spare it for 45 people?”
God said, “If I find 45 people, I will spare it.”
The Bible says that Abraham knew he was bordering irreverence by continuing to plead with God. But he continued anyway, pleading on behalf of 40 people, 30, 20, and then 10 people, for God to spare the city. And each time, to each number, God said he would not destroy the cities.
In the conversation between God and Abraham, a few things came to mind. First, the personal attention God gave Abraham. Just yesterday, I listened to a woman on YouTube discuss the differences between the God of Christianity and other gods. Consistently, the God of Christianity is a personal God. In other religions, their god is lofty. So lofty that he doesn’t *come* and converse with his people. He’s untouchable and impersonal. Though I’m not sure what it looked like, God came to Abraham personally and spoke with him.
Secondly, I was moved by God’s patience. For nine verses, Abraham persisted, asking God to spare the cities for the godly people who resided there. “Will you save it for 50 people?” “Yes.” Will you save it for 40?” “Yes.” “Will you save it for 30? 20? 10?” “Yes. Yes. Yes.” God was and is patient and long-suffering.
Lastly, I was moved by how this pertains to our time today. We are living in wicked times. The Bible repeatedly speaks about the depravity of man. And the things listed in the Bible written over 2,000 years ago are EXACTLY what’s happening today. And I thought to myself…will I be Abraham? Will I ask God to spare our world on behalf of the righteous who inhabit it? Christians know an end will come. It’s only a matter of time. But in the meantime, will I be overcome by my righteous indignation? Or will I pray for mercy?
The answer is a simple one, but not an easy one. I pray for mercy because I’ve been shown mercy. Were it not for the grace of God, I would be one of those who cast God aside, living a life of sin. That was me years ago. And I’ve been shown grace and mercy–so much more than I deserve.
So, I call on all of us who are believers to pray for God’s mercy – to pray for our unsaved friends, that God would open their eyes to the truth of His Word–that they would recognize their need for a Savior.
God saved Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family. But Sodom and Gomorrah burned. He will only tolerate so much wickedness. We’d do well to remember that.