16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.[a] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[b] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge[c] of all the earth do right?”
26 The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
There are two things that we can pull from this passage.
The first is that God is a just judge.
Here you see these two cities who are described by God in this way: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
These cities had become very sinful, and God is going to see if their reputation is truly as bad as he heard. But when Abraham hears what God is going to do, Abraham begins to ask God to not destroy the small remnant of righteous people in these cities just because the majority are sinful.
I heard a saying that goes, "90% of the rules are made because of 10% of the people." This saying implies that most of the rules are made because a small group of people are rebellious.
The exact opposite is true of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is asking God to spare destroying this place, even though the majority is sinful. And God agrees!!!
What we can learn from this is that God is overly merciful, as well as just. 2 Peter 3.9 says: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
That is why God agrees to not destroy the cities on behalf of FIVE righteous people. God is a very just God.
The second thing we can learn from this is that God actually will change because of our prayers.
Seriously?
Look at what happens in this passage.
God has a plan, and because of Abraham's prayers, God changes his plan.
WOW!!!
Now this does not demean God in any way, or make him any smaller. I think it does the opposite. God wants us to participate in his plan to redeem the world from evil. Because of this, he is able to allow our free will in his plans and use the choices we make to carry out his plan. We are not just robots or computers carrying out prearranged or programmed actions. We choose to do things, we live in relationship with God. And God is able to work out his plan including our choices.
Because of this, God actually listens to our prayers, and will at times, not every time, grant our requests and change his plans.
So how does this change your prayer life?
Today, pray to God with this kind of faith and boldness that Abraham prayed as well.
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