Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Sodom and Gomorrah - Time for a reunion

Genesis 18:22-28 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. Abraham came near and said, Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" So the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account."

I received a friend request on my facebook from my old college roommate. I was so excited. I haven't spoken to her in a long time and it's been over 15 years since I've seen her. I've heard people say they can go years without talking to a best friend and then pick up again right where they left off like no time has passed. I think sometimes it's a little awkward right up front, but then you get to talking and remember how great the relationship is, you can just go from there.

When I read these verses, the thing that kept sticking out to me was the relationship between Abraham and the Lord. Yes, I know, a lot is at stake and we're talking about the destruction of a whole city - but I'd like to take a look at the conversation.

First of all, Abraham is standing face-to-face with the Lord. It's not set up as the loyal servant bowing before his almighty master. Although Abraham is His servant and He is the almighty Master - it's just not set up that way for us in these verses - it's showing the common, intimate relationship between the two. Abraham shares his opinion and asks in all honesty - 'will you kill the whole city if there are good people there?' Abraham even gives it a number - he says '50'. The Lord listens to Abraham and says - 'ok' - 'I agree' - 'If there are 50 of my people there, I'll spare the whole city.'

Is this not the type of relationship we should be striving for with God. One where we can stand face to face and share our concerns and have Him answer. God wants this type of relationship with us, and if its been awhile, it can be just as strong, if not stronger than it was before - like an old friend. Because - When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word what a Glory He sheds on our way....

4 comments:

Greg C said...

That must have been what I was remembering when I asked the question if everyone in the city was bad. For some reason it stuck in my head.
It rememinds me of a preacher I once saw who always dropped to his knees when he prayed. He would say: God doesn't require it, but He deserves it. I thought that was a wonderful way to look at it.

Kelly said...

What a relationship to have! Yes, Lord!

Our Sword said...

I love that conversation between Abraham and God! I wrote about that on my blog as well. Such a powerful lesson. Keep it up!

sailorcross said...

This conversation between Abraham and God--I love this--it's just like a conversation between friends. And this is what God is asking for--us to just speak to Him--tell Him what's on our minds--no matter how trivial or small it may seem to us, it's important to God because He loves us so much!!

Trust and obey 'cause there's no other way--I remember that song from when I was just a little girl!! I haven't heard it in years--thanks for sharing this!! I sat here and sang along!

Beth