Gen. 18:19-3319For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. 23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. 30And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. 32And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. 33And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. (Genesis 18:19‑33)
“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” vs. 19. This was a lovely tribute the Lord paid to Abraham. Be encouraged, Christian parents, to bring up your household in the truth and guidance of God’s Word. He will not be unmindful of such faithfulness and, where done in dependence on Him, you may be certain of His blessing. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place,” and He is lovingly watching every activity in the households of His people, ready and willing to pronounce His pleasure on such.
“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.” vv. 20, 21.
In Psa. 14:2,32The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:2‑3) we read: “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Ever since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden man has been under the power and deceit of Satan. Except his heart be turned to God he is powerless to overcome his evil ways, which only grow worse and worse from one generation to the next. Man has a conscience, but is not pleased to listen to it; or, if he does he merely devises some means of his own to “improve” himself and the society in which he lives. Thus there have been many “reform movements” undertaken throughout’ the world’s history and numerous schemes and restrictions imposed in vain attempts to control evil where it gets so far out of hand as to cause fear and terror. Yet all such schemed come to nothing when God is left out.
In our present chapter, as two of the heavenly visitors turned toward Sodom, Abraham remained behind, standing before the Lord, concerned about Lot and his family. “And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are within?” “And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” vv. 23-26. But Abraham knew there were not fifty righteous to be found and asks for 45; then for 40; then for 30; then for 20; and finally for 10. God’s gracious answer is ever the same—the city will not be destroyed if such are found.
Abraham’s courage went no further. He dared not ask for less than ten. Yet it proved there were but four who escaped and Lot alone was actually called righteous (2 Peter 2:88(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) (2 Peter 2:8)).
The world is spared today from God’s wrath, because He has His righteous ones here. But soon He will take all His own out of this wicked scene, after which judgment will fall. Will you, dear reader, be among those delivered from the wrath to come?
ML 09/05/1965