Chapter 18

THEME: God reaffirms His promise; God announces the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

 

Until you get to the New Testament, you may wonder why the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of Genesis are included in the Bible. They seem rather detached from the story of Abraham. They deal with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

Chapter 18 is a rather lengthy chapter in which God tells Abraham about the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham intercedes on behalf of the cities of the plain. This is an illustration, I think, of the blessed Christian life, of life in fellowship with God. But in chapter 19, down in Sodom and Gomorrah with Lot, we will see what I would call the blasted life -- all because of a decision that was made.

 

Unfortunately, we have both kinds among Christians today -- those living a blessed life and those living a blasted life. There are those who have really made shipwreck of their lives; they have gotten entirely out of the will of God. I would not suggest even for a moment that they have lost their salvation, but they sure have lost everything else. As Paul says, they are saved, ". . . yet so as by fire" (1Cor. 3:15).

God Reaffirms His Promise (18:1-16)

And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heart of they day [Gen. 18:1].

 

Abraham is living down there in Mamre, and he's an old man, by the way.

 

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground [Gen. 18:2].

 

Notice the hospitality that Abraham extends. The little story that I told in the previous chapter has a basis of fact, at least, although I don't think it ever took place. The point is that this man Abraham is a very gracious, hospitable man.

 

And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

 

Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree [Gen. 18:3-4].

 

It seems very strange to us to tell a visiting stranger to wash his feet and come in. We wouldn't quite say that today, but this is probably the oldest custom that is known. Remember that in the Upper Room our Lord washed the disciples' feet -- and there is a tremendous spiritual message there. Here Abraham says, "Wash your feet." It was a token of real hospitality when someone came into a home to have him take off his shoes and wash his feet. In that day they did not take off their hat, but they did take off their shoes. Today we have reversed it. When you come to visit somebody, you leaves your shoes on and take off your hat. I'm not sure which is right. I like the idea, myself, of taking off my shoes. I like to go barefooted in the summertime. I wish it were possible more often. When I am out in the Hawaiian Islands, I put my shoes away and wear thongs or go barefooted as much as possible. I don't put my shoes back on the whole time I am there. I love to go barefooted. I think this was a great custom. It sure would make you feel at home to take off your shoes, wash your feet, and rest yourself under the shade of a tree. Abraham is really entertaining these men royally.

 

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

 

And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

 

And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

 

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat [Gen. 18:5-8].

 

Isn't this a marvelous way of entertaining? Abraham has prepared a sumptuous meal. He took a little calf, a servant killed and prepared it, and the chef probably barbecued it. They had veal steaks or veal roast, I imagine, and all the trimmings that went with it. "And he took butter, and milk" -- my, it was a real feast! Abraham entertains these three guests.

 

Then we find that these guests are royal guests. In the New Testament it is suggested to us that ". . . some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb. 13:2). That was Abraham -- he didn't know whom he was really entertaining.

 

And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent [Gen. 18:9].

 

It was not proper in that day -- and even in the East today -- for the wife to come out and be the one to entertain, especially since there were three male guests there. But now they ask and make inquiry about Sarah.

 

And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him [Gen. 18:10].

 

I think Sarah had her ear to the keyhole and had been listening in. Both Abraham and Sarah now discover that they are entertaining angels unaware.

 

Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

 

Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? [Gen. 18:11-12].

 

That is, Sarah asks, "Is it possible that I will have a son?" -- and she laughs. Now what kind of laughter is this? I think this is the laughter which says that it is just too good to be true -- that's all. Again, I'm sure that most of us have had experiences like this. God has been so good to us on a certain occasion that we just laughed. Something happened that was just too good to be true, and that was the way Sarah laughed. She is saying, "This is something just too good to be true. It just can't happen to me!"

 

And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

 

Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

 

Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh [Gen. 18:13-15].

 

Sarah is frightened by the Lord's question and is certainly rather evasive, but she cannot avoid the truth.

 

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way [Gen. 18:16].

 

Abraham didn't have a front gate, so he walked out with them a little farther than the front gate to bid them goodbye. And as they walked out from where Abraham lived, they could look down to Sodom and Gomorrah. When I was in that land, it was amazing to me how far you could see on a clear day. I could see from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. And from the ruins of old Samaria, I could see Jerusalem, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Sea of Galilee. I could see Mt. Hermon from most anyplace -- it's tremendous. Abraham walked out a ways with these guests, and down below there, they saw Sodom and Gomorrah. They were the great resorts of that day, and they must have been very delightful and beautiful places to be.

God Announces The Coming Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah (18:17-33)

And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do [Gen. 18:17].

 

Up to this point, the Lord has not revealed to Abraham what He is going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah: He is going to destroy them. "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?"

 

Notice now the reason that God is not going to hide it from Abraham.

 

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? [Gen. 18:18].

 

Abraham is going to have a tremendous influence. He is going to influence multitudes of people, including the succeeding generations. That is true right now today. As I write and as you read this book, Abraham is influencing us -- we cannot avoid it.

 

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him [Gen. 18:19].

 

God says, "I'd better not hide it from Abraham because he will get a wrong impression of Me." Notice by the way, that this man Abraham had discipline in his household.

 

And the LORD 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 they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know [Gen. 18:20-21].

 

In other words, God is saying to Abraham, "I know the situation there, but I'm going down to investigate." God never does anything hurriedly or hastily. It is a good thing that God told Abraham He was going to destroy these cities, because otherwise Abraham would have gotten a wrong impression of God. He would have thought that God was rather dictatorial and vindictive and that He was One who apparently showed no mercy for or consideration of those who were His. Abraham would really have had a distorted and warped view of God, and so God lets him know what He is going to do. Abraham now has time to turn this over in his mind. It is also a good thing that God told him because he did have a wrong idea of God and of Sodom and Gomorrah -- he was wrong about many things. This is one of the reasons that God is telling us as much as He is. There are a lot of things that He does not tell us, but He has told us enough so that though a man be a fool and a wayfaring man, he needn't err therein.

 

And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD [Gen. 18:22].

 

Abraham is now waiting before the Lord.

 

And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? [Gen. 18:23].

 

What is the first thing that enters Abraham's mind? The first thing that enters his mind, of course, is Lot. He had rescued Lot once, and now Lot is again in danger down there. I think that Abraham had wondered many times about Lot and his relationship to God, but at least he believes that Lot is a saved man. He is asking God, "What about the righteous?" I believe that Abraham would have told you that he thought there were many people in the city of Sodom who were saved. He could not understand why God would destroy the righteous with the wicked. What a picture we have here!

 

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? [Gen. 18:24].

 

Abraham begins with fifty. He says to the Lord, "Lord, suppose there are fifty righteous down there in Sodom. Would You destroy the city if there were fifty righteous?"

 

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? [Gen. 18:25].

 

That is still a question that many people ask: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" And there is an answer to it. The rest of the Bible testifies to the fact that the Judge of all the earth always does right. Whatever God does is right, and if you don't think He is right, the trouble is not with God, but the trouble is with you and your thinking. You are thinking wrong; you do not have all the facts; you do not know all of the details. If you did, you would know that the Judge of all the earth does right. We are wrong; He is right.

 

And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes [Gen. 18:26].

 

And Abraham thinks this over.

 

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

 

Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it [Gen. 18:27-28].

 

In other words, Abraham says, "If there are forty-five righteous left, would You destroy the city for forty-five?" And God tells him, "If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it." This makes the man a little bit bolder, and he says to the Lord, "Suppose there are forty?" The very interesting thing is that God says, "I will not destroy it for forty." And Abraham keeps on bringing the number down. He says, "How about thirty?" God says, "If there are thirty there, I still won't do it." Abraham says, "Suppose there are twenty there?" God says, "I'll not destroy it." Abraham is overwhelmed now, and he takes another plunge: "Suppose there are ten righteous there. Would You destroy it if there are ten?" And God says, "If there are ten righteous in the city, I will not destroy it."

 

And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place [Gen. 18:33].

 

Now the question arises: Why didn't Abraham come on down below ten? I'll tell you why: At this point he is afraid that Lot is lost, and this disturbs him a great deal; so he is not going to come down any further. But he could have come down to one. He could have said, "Lord, if there is one in that city who is righteous, would You destroy the city?" Do you know what God would have said? He would have said, "If there is one who is righteous in that city, I am going to get him out of that city, because I would not destroy a righteous man with the city." How do I know that is the way it would have been? Because that is the way it worked out. There was one righteous man there -- Abraham didn't believe it, but God knew him -- and that one was Lot. God said to Lot, "Get out of the city. I cannot destroy it until you are out."

 

Do you know that the Great Tribulation period cannot come as long as the church is in the world? It just cannot come, my friend, because Christ bore our judgment, and the great tribulation is part of the judgment that is coming. This is the reason that the church cannot go through it. This is a glorious picture of that truth. We are going to see that Sodom and Gomorrah are a picture of the world -- and what a picture! What a condition the world is in today -- it is very much like Sodom and Gomorrah. That does not mean that the Lord is going to come tomorrow. I do not know -- and no one else knows -- when He will come. But He could come tomorrow, and it certainly would be in keeping with the carrying out of the picture which is before us here in Genesis.