Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Genesis 18:17-19a, 23-32 – The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him …” Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will You then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked! … Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will You destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to Him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “… Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “… Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
I’m fascinated by the way this story starts. God asks Himself: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” Apparently not, because just a couple of minutes later, Abraham is arguing like a used car dealer, trying to stop God from destroying the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham has good reason, because he has relatives living there, and he wants to save them; and obviously God knows that fact. In fact, it looks to me like that’s the whole reason God told him—because He wanted Abraham to argue with Him! He wanted Abraham to ask for mercy for the people of the city, even though they were evil—because God does not enjoy bringing judgment on people, even people who totally deserve it. And so He tells Abraham, so Abraham can act as their defense lawyer.
It makes me wonder how often the Lord brings a situation in our world to our attention because He wants us to pray for those people—wicked as they may be, enemies, misguided, far from God—still, He loves them, He made them, and He gave His life for them on the cross. Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for all people, not just for us—and He wants us to pray for them. That’s our job as Christians, following in Abraham’s footsteps. Because God is merciful, and He wants us to be, too.
WE PRAY: Lord, teach me to pray for my enemies as well as my friends. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
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