Last Sunday pastor Fedke told us about the flood God sent upon the earth because “the LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that ever inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”[1] Though Noah is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and a man who walked with God”[2], Pastor Fedke mentioned that Noah and his family carried that inclination toward evil with them onto the ark. It didn’t take long for the inclination toward evil to be revealed in Noah. The first thing Noah did when he stepped of the boat was build an altar to the LORD who had delivered him from the flood. But it seems the second thing Noah did was plant a vineyard, to make some wine and get drunk.
The inclination toward evil persisted among the generations of people that followed until finally that inclination becomes a way of life for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were the most prominent cities of the Jordan river valley. Archeologists continue to debate the exact locations of these cities but most point to the area around (or under) the dead sea. Today the area is a salt encrusted wasteland, but it wasn’t always that way. When the flocks and herds of Abram and his nephew Lot grew so large that the two had to separate, we are told “Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD”[3] In other words, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were located in a post flood version of the garden of Eden. These places must have been gorgeous, the climate was probably great, and the land was likely prosperous. Sodom and Gomorrah would have likely been ranked #1 and #2 on a list of the best places to live. Which means Sodom and Gomorrah would have been more desirable places to live than Johns Creek, GA. Last I saw Johns Creek was #16 in a list of the top 100 places to live. Johns Creek is nice. But it is not Sodom and Gomorrah nice.
However, you could argue, though Sodom and Gomorrah were located in a garden paradise, if you factored in the crime rate the two cities would quickly fall from the #1 and #2 positions. We are told “The men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.”[4] The sins committed by the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah were as vast and varied as the sins committed by the wicked people living in cities all across our own country. But there is one sin that seems to be associated with the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah more than any other. That sin was on full display among the men who gathered outside Lot’s front door.
Because “20 the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is [was] so great and their sin so grievous” The Lord sent two angels to destroy the cities. Lot, Abram’s nephew, sees the angels enter the city. Thinking them to be out-of-town travelers, Lot quickly offers them lodging for the night. The angels politely decline Lot’s offer indicating that they will spend the night in the town square as was the custom for travelers of that time. Lot, however, having lived in the city for quite some time knew the city square was not safe and he so strongly insisted on hosting them that they eventually accepted the invitation.
However, Lot was not the only one who noticed the arrival of the two out-of-town travelers. It seems there were many in the town whose eyes lingered on the out-of-town guests with the intent of offering them something other than hospitality. Soon those men surrounded Lot’s house. They pounded on Lot’s door and cried, “where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we…[5] (since I am retelling a Sunday School lesson, I will phrase it the way my old Sunday school book phrases it) Bring them out to us so that we can… do to them just about the most wicked, shameful thing one can imagine.” Lot then demonstrates that even a righteous man living among such men cannot help but be infected by their wickedness. In exchange for the two guests the men desired, Lot offers his two daughters as a way for the men outside his door to satisfy their appetites. –Let me pause for a moment here to say Lot’s suggested solution was sinful. What Lot suggested was just as sinful as what the men of Sodom and Gomorrah suggested. All of it is a breaking of the 6th commandment. Preventing sin by committing sin is never a God pleasing solution. —Thankfully the two angels intervene before Lot makes matters worse. The angels “reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.”[6]
The events that occurred in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are disgusting and disturbing to say the least. Having heard an example of what sort of grievous sins were committed by the wicked people inside these cities, it is clear to us why the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was so great; it is clear why the angels were sent to destroy those cities. And I understand if you are eager to hear the conclusion to this story; to hear about the fire and brimstone that rained down from heaven upon the wicked men of these sin-filled cities. But before we conclude with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, there is a much more interesting story occurring on a mountainside just outside the city limits.
There the LORD shares with Abram His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness and sin. Now, Abram knew all about the wickedness and sin that filled those cities. As a businessman Abram couldn’t avoid dealing with the merchants of those cities any more than you can avoid dealing with a broker on the New York stock exchange. As a civilian Abram couldn’t avoid dealing with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah any more than you can avoid dealing with a politician in Washington. Abram lived about 25 miles from Sodom and Gomorrah, he couldn’t avoid hearing about what was happening in the big city any more than you can avoid hearing what happens in Atlanta.
Abram knew all about the wickedness and sin that filled those cities, but instead of pulling up a chair to enjoy the show, Abram approached the LORD and asked, “23… 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 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 of all the earth do right?” Pretty bold, right!?! In effect what Abram is saying is, ‘LORD, I hear you say you are going to destroy those cites and I understand why you would do it, but I think you should reconsider. If, out of the hundreds if not thousands of people who live in those cities, there are 50 believers, I think you should not destroy those cites.’ Remarkably the LORD agrees and says, “26 If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Now, you would think Abram would quite while he was ahead, but Abram is just getting started. He continues to haggle with the LORD. “What if there are only 45?” “What if there are only 40?” “What if there are only 30…20…10?” Abram gets the LORD to agree to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there are only 10 believers in the entire city. It is likely that Abram stops asking at 10 because he figures Lot and his wife make 2 believers, their daughters make two more, their future sons-in-law make two more leaving only 4 believers to be found in the entire city. Even in the most corrupt city in America I would guess that you could find 4 believers, I understand why Abram stopped at 10.
Abram was probably pretty confident his haggling with the LORD had just prevented the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But the question is, ‘why’? Why would Abram stick his neck out like that? Why would he pray so boldly for a city that was so obviously deserving of destruction? I think it is too cynical to say Abram’s prayer was self-serving; that he didn’t want to have his business disrupted or that his prayer was all about the preservation of his nephew Lot. I think a better explanation is found in the name used to describe the one to Whom Abram prays. Abram prays to the LORD, capital L O R D. The sermon theme I put in your bulletins is “Abraham haggles with God”. But I should have put Abram haggles with the capital L O R D. This is the covenant name of our God who shows undeserved love to His people. Abram knew in his heart what you know in your heart that we are no better than the people of Sodom, we know our sins are just as damnable as the sins of the people of Gomorrah, like you Abram knows undeserved love has already been shown to him. Notice how Abram haggles with the LORD. He starts out by appealing to the LORD’s love for the righteous. He then confesses that he, Abram, is nothing but dust and ashes. He begs the LORD not to be angry with him and he acknowledges that his prayer is bold. Abram’s haggling is successful because his haggling is based on the LORD’s mercy not his own merit.
I think one of the reasons Abram asks the LORD to show undeserved love to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is because Abram recognizes the LORD has already shown undeserved love to him. I think another reason Abram prays for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is because of Abram’s love for the people living in those cities. We have already acknowledged Abram had family living in the city, but it is not absurd to think that Abram would have also had friends living in the city; people he spent time with socially, people he helped and helped him in return, people he cared about and prayed for. When I think about the friends I have in my own neighborhood, who I care about but who don’t know God, it is easy for me to imagine why Abram would pray for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But even if Abram didn’t have a single friend in the entire Jordan river valley, I can’t help but think of the little children in my wife’s kindergarten class who don’t know Jesus. It breaks my heart to think about what is going to happen to those adorable children and all the moms and dads, grandpas and grandmas who die without faith in Jesus as their savior. It breaks my heart to think about what is going to happen to the unbeliever when they die. I think it broke Abram’s heart too and that’s another reason I think he prayed for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. I think he prayed for their time of grace to be extended as long as possible so that some of them, any of them, one of them might repent and be saved.
I think y’all get where I am headed with this but let me spell it out as obnoxiously as I can just to be sure. The sins that were so prevalent in Sodom and Gomorrah are becoming more and more prevalent in our cities. Increasingly the cities of our land are resembling Sodom and Gomorrah. Which means now more than ever the cities of our land are in need of men and women who will humbly yet boldly approach the LORD in prayer on behalf of those cities. Now more than ever there is a need for men and women who know what it feels like to be shown undeserved love. Now more than ever there is a need for men and women whose hearts break for the lost. Now more than ever there is a need for you. We could just pull up our chairs and wait for the destruction the wicked men in our sin-filled cities deserve or we could, like Abram, haggle for every moment of grace that can be given so that some of them, any of them, one of them might be saved.
Sadly, not even 10 believers could be found in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the end there were only 3; Lot and his two daughters and even those 3 were so corrupted by the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah that from them came the Moabites and Ammonites; two morally degenerate nations that became bitter enemies of God’s chosen people. That’s what three survivors of Sodom and Gomorrah did. If God had not destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah imagine the evil that would have plagued the earth. And now that I think about it that is probably the third reason Abram prayed so boldly. Abram trusted the LORD. After haggling with the LORD, we are told Abram returned home confident that the LORD would only answer his prayer in a way that would bring blessings.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as a chilling warning for all the wicked whose grievous sins cry out to the LORD. But I hope you see more than that. I hope you see a man who so badly wanted to share the undeserved love of God with others that he was willing to haggle with the LORD on their behalf. And I pray that you who also know the undeserved love of God are willing to do the same. Amen.
[1] Genesis 6:5
[2] Genesis 6:9
[3] Genesis 13:10
[4] Genesis 13:13
[5] Genesis 19:5
[6] Genesis 19:10-11