A WORD FOR TODAY, January 12, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 12, 2021
“The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. Yahweh said, ‘Will I hide from Abraham what I do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.’ Yahweh said, ‘Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.’ The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh. Abraham came near, and said, ‘Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?’ Yahweh said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ Abraham answered, ‘See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes. What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?’ He said, “=’I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ He spoke to him yet again, and said, ‘What if there are forty found there?’ He said, ‘I will not do it for the forty’s sake.’ He said, ‘Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?’ He said, ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?’ He said, ‘I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake.’ He said, ‘Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?’ He said, ‘I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.’ Yahweh went his way as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:16-33, WEB
This week’s question to ponder comes from the negotiation between Abraham and the Lord about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham asked, “Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Today’s story follows the encounter Abraham had with the LORD, when God promised Abraham that he’d have a son within the year. Sarah laughed because at her age the promise seemed impossible. After serving dinner to the LORD and the angels, the LORD wondered if He should reveal to Abraham what was on His mind. He had heard the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah; He was going there to see firsthand the sins of the city. Their sins were great enough to warrant God’s personal attention, whether the cries came from victims or were simply too blatant to ignore.
We wonder about this, because we know that God is omni-everything. He knows, so why does He have to go to see? This is comforting because God’s cautiousness shows His mercy. We see that He won’t destroy a city without ensuring that what He is doing is good, right and true. “I will know” He said based on what He will see; He makes decisions based on His knowledge, on His mercy, on His grace.
One of the most difficult questions facing Christians from non-Christians is the question of what will happen to those who die without faith. “Who is going to heaven?” We even have difficulty believing that God will abandon the “good” people who aren’t faithful. Some choose to err on the side of leniency and believe that all will go to heaven. Some suggest that those of other faiths will be in heaven even though they will get there by other roads. Christians believe that we will only enter heaven by faith in Jesus Christ and we worry about those who are following a different path. We wonder about those who have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. What will happen to those who do not believe in Jesus?
We ask these questions, but there is no way we can answer it. That’s above our pay grade. That’s why we need to answer today’s question with an emphatic “Yes.” The Judge of all the world will do what is right. God’s Word is clear: He is merciful and He is the righteous Judge. We can’t read anyone’s heart, but God can. We might just be surprised at the people we find sitting at the eternal banqueting table, we might even be surprise by those who are absent. Some will not make it into heaven, but we can live in the hope that God will be more merciful than we would be. The scriptures assure us that God does not want any to perish and He will do whatever He can to save those He has chosen to save. Just as He went into the heart of Sodom and Gomorrah to ensure that the reports were true, He delves deeply into the souls of all people to test their hearts. Though He found fault in the two cities, God saved those in whose hearts He found a spark of faith. He will judge rightly, and He will be merciful according to His good and perfect will.
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