Merciful Judgment

God invited Abraham to intercede on behalf of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a perpetual reminder that his desire is always mercy first, judgment last. It also reminds us that he invites our intercession for the evil cities in which we live as well. In fact, he is counting on us to stand in the gap on their behalf. Jesus said, “You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world?” The truth is, the darkness of our world will grow darker, and people only will grow in their hatred of God’s justice. But don’t forget: the door for his mercy remains open. And we are the doormen for that mercy. If we don’t or won’t embrace that calling, our world has no hope.

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 18:20-25

So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know…” Then Abraham approached the Lord and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

What was so bad about Sodom that would lead God to utterly annihilate an entire city? Genesis 18:18 tells us: it was a brazen and willful disregard of God’s design for human sexuality: “Their sin is so flagrant.”

What was the sexual sin? In the next chapter, Genesis 19:5, we find that it was homosexuality and sexual violence. Now, in my opinion, it is not the sin, but its brazenness that draws God’s judgment. Isaiah 3:9 (HCSB) says,

The look on their faces testifies against them; like Sodom, they flaunt their sin. They don’t conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves.

Sin, no matter what it is, is always problematic. But where you have human beings giving God the middle finger, belligerently telling their Creator, putting it nicely, to “bug off,” judgment will come! It may be slow in coming—thankfully—but it will be sure.

However, that is not the main point of this story—though some Christians, unfortunately, have tried to make it the main point. The main thing here is a greater revelation of God’s nature as well as a clearer picture of our covenant calling to be a blessing to the world. This is what the Sodom and Gomorrah narrative reveals about our Creator:

First, we learn that God always initiates and invites. The very first thing we see in Genesis 18:17 is the Lord asking, “Should I hide my plan from Abraham? …so the Lord told him.” Then notice the very last thing we see in Genesis 18:33 is, “When the Lord had finished his conversation, he went on his way…” The Creator begins and finishes all conversations with the created—including you and me. Don’t forget, whether walking day-by-day in covenantal fellowship or connecting with God in a specific moment of prayer, it all starts and ends with God.

Too often we bring our plans and needs to God for him to bless without first finding out what he desires to bless. Rightly approaching prayer means acting on the prior assumption that God has initiated a plan and has invited our partnership in accomplishing it. That’s why we are to begin our prayers, as Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer, with, “God, it is your kingdom. So accomplish your plan.” When we have understood that, our interaction with God becomes what C.S. Lewis described: “Our prayers are really His prayers; God speaks to himself through us.” That is what’s going on with Abraham; that is what is motivating this “pushy” interaction with God: God initiated the conversation and invited Abraham into it. God is speaking to himself through Abraham.

Second, we learn that God’s justice is always clear and unimpeachable. In Genesis 18:20: the Lord says, “I’ve heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I’m going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I’ve heard. If not, I want to know.”

This language is to accommodate us, since obviously, God doesn’t have to “come down” to hear, see or know anything. After all, he is “the Judge of all the earth.” (Genesis 18:25) God sees and hears everything with utter moral clarity. Everything! Nothing is hidden from him; no persistent, willful sin escapes Divine justice. And even if our culture is uncomfortable with it, as people who have been called into a covenant partnership with God, we need to take our stand upon that truth. We can not be a conduit of covenantal blessing if we don’t. Let’s never forget: God is the Righteous Judge of all the earth—he sees, he hears, he knows—and he’s just!

Yet third, we learn that God’s desire is always mercy first, judgment last —and that is the heart of this story. As this intercession ends in Genesis 18:32, Abraham asks, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time: suppose only ten righteous people are found there?” And the Lord replied, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

Now we know the wages of sin is death, as Romans 6:23 says, but that is not God’s heart. Ezekiel 33:11 (NLT) says, “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live.” What is Ezekiel telling us? Mercy is always extended before judgment falls; judgment is always God’s final option. “God is unwilling that any perish, but that all come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9, cf. Joel 2:13, “He relents”; Micah 7:18, “he delights to show mercy.”)

At the end of the day, God doesn’t choose judgment; people choose judgment by refusing to submit to his rule. Keep in mind, as Sodom’s destroyed, you are seeing God’s loving mercy first in Abraham’s intercession. But in Sodom’s steadfast and arrogant godlessness, the only alternative is justice. Ultimately, God executes justice, but it’s with a broken heart; his mercy can’t overrule his just nature. Yet even then, his mercy pays the penalty his justice demands, providing forgiveness freely for the repentant.

The fourth thing we learn about God is that his plans are always affected by our passions. God said to Abraham in Genesis 18:32, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the ten.” Now God knew there weren’t even ten righteous people in this city—Abraham knew that, too—nonetheless God allowed Abraham to mediate for Sodom.

Did Abraham change God’s mind? No! And while his intercession didn’t change God’s plan, it did affect God’s timing. God withheld judgment long enough for Lot and his family to be spared. Our intercession doesn’t force God’s hand; but it does express our passion for what God already cares about.

When we do that, our prayers become God’s prayers; he speaks to himself through us! So the basis of Abraham’s intercession for Sodom was the mercy of God. He knew all about the ungodly, arrogant, flagrant stuff going there, yet he prayed for them anyway. He knew God would never destroy the righteous with the wicked.

But what he is asking God to do now is to spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous. And in that, he has captured God’s heart; he has tapped God’s mercy; he has prayed God’s prayer! And we have just seen our covenant calling as Abraham’s children—which is simply and primarily this: that like Abraham with Sodom, we would make it hard for our city to go to hell.

Jesus taught as much in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:13 (LB), he said, “You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world?” The truth is, the darkness of our world will grow darker, and people only will grow in their hatred of God’s justice. But don’t forget: the door for his mercy remains open. And we are the doormen for God’s mercy. If we don’t or won’t embrace that calling, the world has no hope. Yet if we will pray for God’s mercy upon our sin-filled city, we will become the conduit of his covenant to bless our world through us. We will become God’s partners; we will be Abraham’s true offspring.

And perhaps God will spare our city for the sake of our righteousness.