Ge. 18: Abraham the Negotiator

Wow, man....chapter 18 is fascinating all the way through. I've read some amazing stuff through the course of this study, but this is pretty cool.

So, one day, Abraham is just chilling under a tree when the LORD appears to him. Abraham saw three men standing there, and must have connected them as messengers from God. He hurries over to them, and starts getting lots of water, cheese, milk, the fatted calf and a whole lot of bread.

While these guys were eating the food, Abraham stood by like a nice waiter, and watched.

"Where's your wife?" One of them asked?
"There, in the tent," Abe replied.

The LORD then promises that this time next year, Sarah will bear him a son. Now I imagine what would happen if my Grandma Gamble was told that she was going to have a son, she'd crack up. Sarah does the same thing. Old ladies would laugh if they were told they would have a kid, especially at their advanced age. Sarah even comments how old Abraham is.

Still, she would be given the pleasure of having a kid. And she laughed. And God heard her laugh. He asked Abraham why she all the sudden had a sense of humor.

Abraham probably threw up his hands as if to say, "Don't ask me."

So God asks Sarah why she laughed. Out of fear, she denies it. God isn't one to be lied to. "Yes you did," He replies.

After that, Abraham, God and the three men are walking toward Sodom. God reveals to Abraham His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God says that Abraham is the chosen one to lead his people and his nation after him to walk in the way of the Lord, so that Abraham's descendants would fulfill their end of the covenant. God's covenant contingent on their obedience? Apparently this was not so in Sodom and Gomorrah. I'm not sure what S & G have to do with Abraham and his house, but I'm guessing that Abraham had a lot of family living there...not just Lot and his wife.

Something I learned about Sodom and Gomorrah was that God heard an outcry for and from Sodom and Gomorrah. There must have been a lot of people crying out to God there, as victims. So God wanted a firsthand look at what was going on, and to see if it was really as bad as the cries reaching His ears. I'm sure God could have seen those grievous sins all right from where he was, but he wanted Abraham on hand with Him to see what He would do.

The three men make their way to Sodom, while Abraham stands in front of God, asking Him if God would sweep away the righteous with the wicked. A really, amazing honest question, that I'm not sure I would have the guts to ask. Abraham goes for it though, and in this chapter shows some amazing intestinal fortitude in pressing God lower and lower on the amount of righteous people who, if found, will stay God's hand of judgement on the city. Abraham keeps going lower and lower, each number not as probable as the next....50...45...40...30...20...10? He could. Go. All. The....Ten? Ten righteous people in two whole cities? No?

Abraham must have either had some satisfaction that there must be at least ten decent people in two cities that size, or he chose not to press God further. He probably was figuring how many people Lot had with him by now, and probably assumed that his own family would at least be righteous. I think this happens to us. "They're with me, they're ok." And we see them through the eyes of family, overlooking

Abraham went home, while God continued on His way to Sodom.

Questions for God:
1. What were the three men like?
2. What was that meal like?
3. Were you kidding around arguing with Sarah over whether or not she laughed? Did that offend you?
4. What set Sodom apart so much than other cities that were probably crying out to you?
5. Were there other cities crying out to you?
6. Was Abraham's line the only one that was trusting you? Thus the importance of Sodom because of Lot?