Episode 273 - "Will the LORD sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" - Genesis 18:16-33

Gen. 18:16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

Gen. 18:22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 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? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Gen. 18:27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 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.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 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.” 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

In our last episode, three “men” appeared to Abraham. Somehow, the LORD is represented in the presence of these men. Abraham showed them great hospitality, and the LORD revealed that he would visit about the same time the following year and that Sarah would have a son.

We are picking up where we left off. The men are still with Abraham. But they are about to leave and go to Sodom, where Lot and his family reside. As they departed, the LORD spoke again. In my opinion, his speech is not unlike his question to Abraham, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” I argued that the LORD knew where Sarah was, but asked the question to direct attention to Sarah. These apparent strangers knew Sarah’s name and her relationship to Abraham. Certainly, they knew where she was. Asking this question suggests that part of their mission concerns Sarah. The progress of the narrative works because Sarah is listening to the conversation as the LORD continues and says that Sarah will have a son.

In verse 17, the LORD asked the question, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” Am I mistaken, or does this question not direct our attention (and Abraham’s) to the plan the LORD has to do something significant? The LORD is not taking a poll. To the question, he adds an explanation of his great plans for Abraham, but that he is going to Sodom and Gomorrah “because their sin is very grave.” (v. 20) Without saying explicitly, “I am going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah,” Abraham gets the message.

In verses 22-33, it is Abraham’s turn to communicate a message by asking questions. There are two related questions that we need to notice to understand and appreciate the LORD’s plans and actions. The answers to these questions are relevant to people throughout time. The first is, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (v.23) The second is, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (v. 25) People today question whether God, if a god exists, is fair? Abraham asserts that the LORD must be fair and just and certainly would not treat those the LORD has deemed righteous as he does the wicked.

The means to make this point is by a series of hypothetical questions asked by Abraham. What if there were fifty righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah? Would the LORD destroy them along with the wicked? The LORD replied that he would not destroy the whole place if there were fifty righteous. (v. 26) What does that suggest? As wicked as they were, God would be patient and merciful to the whole city if there were fifty righteous. Abraham’s continued line of questioning reduces the number with each question, and the LORD’s response is the same until finally, Abraham asks if the LORD would destroy it if only there were ten righteous people within the city. The LORD again affirms, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” (v.32)

What does this tell us? It answers those key questions, doesn’t it? The LORD is just. He will not treat those he deems righteous as he does the wicked. In fact, I would suggest the LORD is probably a lot more patient than we would be.

There are terrible things that happen in this life. We hear about a child who dies from a terminal disease or a mass shooting that kills innocent people, and we naturally ask, “Where was God?” or “If there were a loving and just God, why would he let this happen?” I think the most appropriate answer is, “We cannot understand many things about God, and why he allows or does not prevent such things.” But I personally believe that the effects of disease and the hateful violence of some people are not the work of God judging people as he would do with Sodom and Gomorrah. Instead, like Cain’s violence against and murder of his brother Abel, Cain acted out of his own broken free will. Everything that is wrong in our world comes from humanity’s sin. When these terrible things happen, we should not blame God or think of him as unjust, but trust that he is just and merciful and that the LORD alone can fix the problem. That is what the Good News of Jesus is all about.