The story of Abraham bargaining with God regarding the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is found in Genesis 18. This event provides insight into Abraham’s relationship with God and his concern for justice.
In Genesis 18:16-33, God appears to Abraham along with two angels who are on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah to investigate reports of the extreme wickedness of the cities. Abraham walks with them part of the way, and God decides to inform Abraham of the plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their grievous sin.
Abraham immediately becomes concerned about this plan. His nephew Lot lives in Sodom, and Abraham wants to ensure that the righteous will not perish along with the wicked. So Abraham approaches God and asks “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Genesis 18:23).
What follows is a negotiation between God and Abraham over the fate of the city. Abraham asks God if He would spare the city if there were 50 righteous people found within it. God affirms that He would spare the whole city for the sake of 50 righteous. Abraham continues to lower the number – first to 45, then 40, 30, 20, and finally 10. At each request, God agrees that He would not destroy the city if that number of righteous people were found.
Several important themes emerge from this story:
1. Abraham’s concern for justice
Abraham demonstrated moral courage in challenging God regarding the justness of destroying the righteous with the wicked. He appealed to God’s own standard of justice – “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25). Abraham wanted to ensure God would act rightly, not sweeping away innocent people in an indiscriminate act of judgment.
2. Abraham’s intercession for Sodom
Abraham interceded with God multiple times seeking mercy for the city. Even though the city was wicked, Abraham did not want Lot and his family to suffer the fate of the unrighteous people there. Abraham appealed to God’s mercy and compassion in hopes of sparing Lot.
3. God’s willingness to be entreated
God demonstrated patience and grace in listening to Abraham’s repeated requests. He did not reject Abraham for questioning Him or get angry at Abraham’s persistence. God allowed Abraham to appeal to Him and present bold requests. This shows God’s compassion and desire for dialogue with His people.
4. God’s justice and mercy on display
God’s justice was evident in His stated plan to destroy wicked cities and in His agreement to spare the cities if righteous people were found. His mercy was evident as He listened to Abraham’s intercession and agreed to spare the city for fewer and fewer righteous people.
5. Abraham’s trust and obedience
Though Abraham questioned and petitioned God, he also demonstrated trust and obedience. Abraham trusted that God would act justly. He obeyed God when told to depart and did not continue arguing once God had agreed to spare the city for 10 righteous people. Abraham sought justice but ultimately submitted to God’s will.
In summary, Abraham’s bargaining with God highlights key themes in Scripture – God’s justice and mercy, intercessory prayer, and righteous appeal for the helpless. Abraham sought to align God’s plans with God’s own righteous character. His respectful appeal and God’s gracious response model how believers can appeal to God in intercession and trust His compassion and justice.
Abraham’s Relationship with God
The conversation between Abraham and God also provides insight into their relationship and Abraham’s position before God:
1. Abraham’s favored position
That Abraham would approach God and repeatedly question and make requests of Him demonstrates the favored position Abraham held. God does not entertain just any person making demands of Him. But Abraham is in a special relationship with God, who has chosen him and made great promises to him.
2. God’s patience and affection
As already noted, God shows great patience and affection in indulging Abraham’s petitions and bargaining. He does not reject Abraham for his persistence but continues to respond graciously, demonstrating His love for His chosen servant.
3. Abraham’s faith
While Abraham’s requests could be seen as overstepping, they also demonstrated his faith in God. He trusted that God would listen to him and respond mercifully. Abraham’s actions were rooted in the confidence he had in his relationship with God.
4. Abraham’s intercessory role
Abraham’s appeals to God on behalf of Sodom also point to his role as an intercessor. As God’s chosen, he took on the burden of interceding for others – even the wicked – before God. Abraham served as a mediator between God and sinful humanity.
This account shows the intimacy of fellowship between God and Abraham. They conversed familiarly as friends. Abraham made bold requests of God without fear. Their relationship was marked by devotion, trust, and affection. For Abraham, no request was beyond bounds because of the steadfast love binding him to God.
Lot’s Residence in Sodom
Another significant aspect of this passage is why Lot was living in Sodom in the first place. The following points provide some context:
1. Abraham and Lot’s disputed lands
In Genesis 13, Abraham and Lot return to Canaan from Egypt but find that the land cannot support all of their flocks. Strife arises between their herdsmen over grazing land. Abraham graciously offers Lot his choice of land, and Lot chooses the fertile plain of the Jordan near Sodom despite its wickedness (Genesis 13:10-13).
2. God’s prior promises to Abraham
God had already promised Abraham the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7, 13:14-17). Yet Abraham surrendered rights to the land and trusted God’s promise would still be fulfilled.
3. Lot’s progression toward Sodom
In Genesis 13, Lot simply lives near Sodom. In Genesis 14, he is living in Sodom. In Genesis 19 he is a city leader sitting at the gate. Lot progressively compromises despite being aware of the city’s evil.
4. God’s mercy on Lot
Despite Lot’s spiritual and moral compromise in dwelling in Sodom, God remains merciful to save Lot from its destruction in response to Abraham’s intercession.
So while Abraham trusted God completely, Lot trusted in his own choices, drifting toward sinful Sodom and eventually suffering loss.
The Outcome for Sodom and Gomorrah
In the end, God determined to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah after the visiting angels were unable to find even 10 righteous people in Sodom, which was the minimum Abraham requested God to spare them. The messengers help Lot, his wife, and two daughters escape the city before God rains down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them completely (Genesis 19).
Key points about the cities’ destruction:
1. The extent of their wickedness
Their sin and depravity must have been extreme for God to issue such total judgment (cf. Genesis 18:20). No one except Lot was worthy of deliverance.
2. The righteousness of God’s judgment
God patiently allows time for repentance from sin. But His holiness and justice demand He ultimately judge wickedness. His judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah was righteous and deserved.
3. A warning to future generations
God’s swift and complete annihilation of the cities serves as a sobering warning against persisting in extreme wickedness and rejection of God. No one can escape God’s judgment forever.
4. God’s power on display
The utter decimation of the cities demonstrates God’s supreme power and ability to enact His will. No one can resist when He moves in judgment.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as a paradigm of God’s righteous wrath against the unrepentant. But the cities might have been spared through the intercession of the righteous, highlighting God’s great mercy in responding to intervening prayer.
Theological Significance
This account provides helpful insights into the nature of God and how believers should relate to Him:
1. God’s justice and mercy
God earnestly desires to show mercy but His righteous nature demands justice against unrepentant sin. Believers can appeal to both God’s mercy and justice.
2. God’s patience
God is longsuffering, providing time for repentance. But His patience does eventually come to an end. No one should presume upon the patience of God.
3. Intercessory prayer
Like Abraham, believers have a responsibility to pray and intercede on behalf of others – even for those who seem beyond hope. God may show mercy in response to righteous appeals.
4. Righteous living
Lot’s compromise and Abraham’s integrity illustrate the importance of pursuing righteousness and rejecting worldly influences that can lead to sin and spiritual ruin.
5. Hope for the repentant
Though mired in a wicked place, Lot himself was delivered from destruction, pointing to the hope offered to all who turn to God in repentance and faith.
The account of Abraham interceding for Sodom provides a model of relating to God in boldness, faith, and humility. Believers can confidently appeal to the mercy and justice of God, even on behalf of the undeserving.
Key Lessons for Believers Today
This passage provides several important lessons for modern believers:
1. No one is beyond God’s mercy
If God was willing to spare Sodom for the sake of 10 righteous people, no person today is beyond the reach of His mercy. Believers should persistently intercede for even the most unrighteous.
2. Persistence in prayer
Like Abraham, believers should persevere in praying for others, rather than resigning themselves to apparent lost causes. God may graciously respond to persistent prayer.
3. Appeal to God’s justice and mercy
Believers should appeal to both God’s compassion and His righteousness, as Abraham did. God wants to dispense mercy, but in harmony with His moral excellency.
4. Do not presume upon God’s patience
Wickedness eventually incurs God’s wrath. So believers must not interpret God’s patience as indifference to sin, or take it for granted.
5. Value righteousness
Abraham’s integrity and Lot’s compromise illustrate the importance of pursuing personal holiness and influencing society for good, rather than conforming to wicked culture.
Just as Abraham pleaded for the righteous in Sodom, believers should intercede on behalf of others. God acts both justly and mercifully in responding to such prayers.
Questions Raised by the Passage
Abraham’s intercession raises some additional questions for interpretation:
1. Would God really have spared the cities for 10 righteous?
God’s repeated affirmations that He would spare the cities seem to indicate He was sincere in this. God would have relented fully from judgment had 10 righteous been found.
2. Why didn’t Abraham ask for higher numbers?
He may have already pressed the matter far enough for his comfort or for God’s patience. The dramatic decrease also highlighted God’s mercy in agreeing to spare the cities for just 10 righteous.
3. Why didn’t God just spare Lot alone?
By requiring more righteous beyond Lot’s family, God maximized the opportunity for mercy toward the many. He patiently provided opportunity for repentance among all the inhabitants before judgment.
4. Could the judgment have been avoided?
If more of the city’s inhabitants had turned to God in repentance and righteous living, they might have averted catastrophe. Their persistence in sin left no other recourse but destruction.
5. How could a just God destroy children?
God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). He always judges righteously. Had children perished, God could restore them in the afterlife. But Scripture does not definitively say children were killed.
These speculative questions invite exploration into God’s mercy and justice. But the central lessons on intercession, righteousness, and repentance are clear for believers today.
Conclusion
The account of Abraham interceding for Sodom provides rich insights into the nature of God and how believers should relate to Him. Key lessons emerge about the power of persistent prayer, appealing to God’s mercy and justice, the danger of sin and compromise, and God’s faithfulness to deliver the righteous. Abraham provides an exemplary model of one who draws near to God in reverent trust, worships Him through sacrifice, and selflessly intercedes for others. Though righteous judgment came to wicked Sodom, this passage offers hope that no sinner is beyond the reach of God’s mercy if they repent and turn to Him.