𝗩𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗮/ “𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱”
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟭𝟴:𝟭–𝟮𝟮:𝟮𝟰
I cannot believe how much I have missed through my years of 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 the deep study of the 'Old Testament'. There are so many beautiful stories and themes which we see play out in what we term the 'New Testament', which is really just the 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁. This weeks Portion is filled to the brim with such revelation!! Let's jump in!
The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢.” And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” - Gen 18:17-21
We find ourselves still within the story of Abraham and Sarah, just receiving the news of the promised son to come within the next year. Sarah, of course laughs at the news believing she is too old (as is Abraham). But then we get into an interesting shift in the story, as today's verse reveals. The LORD has a conversation with Himself, it seems. "𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰?" As I read those words a verse, Amos 3:7, rang in my spirit: "𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴." We then see the LORD begin to share with Abraham that He is going to verify the news of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah - as it has come to Him that it is 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚 [𝘬𝘢̄𝘣̱𝘢𝘥̱ - to be heavy; grievous]. Abraham understands this to mean that the LORD, if the outcry is true, is going to bring 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. I want to point out something here, before we move on. Do you find it interesting that the text says "the outcry 𝗢𝗙 Sodom and Gomorrah"? To me, it shows the land crying out for 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 over the sins being committed there. Just like when the LORD tells Cain in Gen 4:10, "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥." The earth doesn't conceal our sin, it cries out because of them!! WOW!
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺; 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵? 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. 𝘍𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘠𝘰𝘶! 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺?” - Gen 18:22-25
And so we begin a great discourse between Abraham and the LORD over the planned destruction. In the above verse and the next several, we see Abraham ask the LORD if He would spare the city based on 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally if 𝟭𝟬 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 are found there. The LORD confirms each time, that He would indeed spare the city should that number be found within it. I want to highlight one thing here before I get to the summation of this message today. Notice Abraham stopped at 𝟭𝟬 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀. In all my previous years, I always wondered why he stopped there. I mean, what if he had just said one? He himself could have stood in the city and it would have all been saved for his sake, am I right? Abraham was considered 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 before Him. But this time, the significance of the number 𝟭𝟬 revealed a beautiful prophetic picture to me. As I have shared previously, we have now come to know and understand that there are 𝟭𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 of Israel. As I pondered over that, I was reminded of the promise throughout the Scriptures, that 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 the LORD will gather all of Israel back together, from all the nations where they have been dispersed. And it was like I now understood that the earth was currently being saved, because of the 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 belonging to the 𝟭𝟬 and those from the nations who have 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 that 10. But in the 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀, when all of Israel (Jew and Gentile alike) will be pulled out from the earth, it will be utterly destroyed by fire and sulfur, just as Sodom and Gomorrah. WOW!! You cannot make this stuff up, friends!
Where I want us to land today though, is the significance of Abraham playing a part in this discourse with the LORD. It reminded me so much of when Moses interceded with the LORD over the newly formed nation of Israel, after the golden calf incident. But here, is the first time we really get a glimpse into how the LORD 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 His children. It started with our first verse for today - the LORD says He has chosen Abraham, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚. Think about that for a moment. He wanted Abraham to command his family to keep the way of the LORD by doing 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚. But how does He teach Abraham what that is? By inviting him to wrestle with Him over the impending judgment about to come to Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham does!! He begins to remind the LORD of His own character! A character defined by not dealing with the righteous and wicked alike! Abraham calls on the mercy of GOD to triumph over His judgement, for the sake of 𝟭𝟬 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀, should they be found. As one commentator noted, this is a call to 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹! To wrestle with the LORD when faced with the injustices of the world! To plead for His mercy over the spheres of influence He has granted us! Abraham and Sarah had just received news of the promised son - he could have just relished in that and not cared one iota for the cities of the wicked, but he didn't. Instead, he chose to remind GOD of His character, the same character which he himself relied on! Friends, if that isn't amazing grace I don't know what is! Hallaleu-YAH!!
His Word abounds with love, mercy, truth and yes, justice. It is His 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗱, His lovingkindness and mercy which draws us to repentance. Oh what a good, good Father we have! I pray this message blesses you - and inspires you, to plead with the LORD wherever you see injustice, because He longs to partner with you, too! Ultimately, we see Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed, as one day this earth will be. Yet, until that day comes, we are called to bring His Kingdom into every area of our lives. Have you experienced it yet? Are you ready for what is to come? I sure am! To Him belongs the glory, forever and ever! Amen!
