Sermon Tone Analysis

“The men set out from [the oaks of Mamre where Abraham had set up his tent], and they looked down toward Sodom.

And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

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, 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.’

Then the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 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.’

“So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

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, 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?’

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, ‘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.’

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.’

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.’

And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.”[1]

Do you pray for wicked people?

Do you plead for those who have embraced wickedness?

Do you ask God to show mercy to those He identifies as being under sentence of death?

Are your prayers coupled with eager, earnest labour to tell lost people of the Saviour?

When you plead for God to show mercy to wicked people, are you specific in your requests?

How far will you go when asking God to show mercy on those who are undeserving of mercy?

God frequently informs His people of His plans before judging evil.

The response of His people to His revelations demonstrates their divine character and reflects God’s glorious presence with them.

God is merciful, and He expects His people to reflect that same mercy.

In our text, Abraham provides an exemplary model of compassion that encourages the people of God to pray and in particular to seek mercy for the wicked—especially pleading for those who do not deserve mercy.

Join me in studying the life of Abraham, focusing in particular on this singular demonstration of compassion as he prayed for the city of Sodom.

*Informed of God’s Plan* — After the Lord, together with the two angels that accompanied Him, had been entertained by Abraham, and following their announcement of the miraculous gift of a child to Abraham and Sarah,, the divine emissaries left to go to Sodom.

Ever the gracious host, Abraham accompanied his guests as they left his tent.

God has said in His Word,

“The Lord God does nothing

without revealing His secret

to His servants the prophets”

[*Amos 3:7*]

Indeed, that is the case in the study before us.

Looking down on Sodom from the highlands where Abraham pastured his flocks, we are informed that Yahweh Himself, the Living God, was one of the three guests whom Abraham had been entertaining.

God 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, 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” [*Genesis** 18:17b-19*].

The Lord—whom theologians accept to be a theophany, or the presence of the preincarnate Son of God—determined to inform Abraham what was about to happen.

Do not overlook an important truth in the information provided—God communicates His plans to His people.

I am not saying that simply claiming a relationship to God permits insight into His plans, nor do I mean to imply that we know precise details of what is going to happen next.

Nevertheless, God does communicate His plans to His people.

There is a general sense in which every individual possessing even a cursory knowledge of the Bible can know the plan of God.

We know that God is holy and that He will not permit sin to continue unchecked.

For the moment it may appear that egregious sinners act without consequence; often their evil acts seem untrammelled.

However, anyone who has read the Word of God, even in a perfunctory manner, knows that God will demand an accounting of each individual for his or her actions.

Intuitively, we know that there is ultimately an accounting for wickedness—we know that evil people must face God to receive their judgement.

As the world moves toward a climatic conclusion, God informs us that society will become increasingly wicked.

In the first letter to a young theologue, the Apostle Paul warns, “The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” [*1 Timothy 4:1-3*].

There will be a wholesale departure from the Faith at the same time new doctrines are invented to provide a façade of religious piety.

This alert accords with another that the Apostle also penned to Timothy that cautions, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” [*2 Timothy 4:3, 4*].

The new piety will have a patina that superficially looks like the old-fashioned Faith, but it is driven by a general demand for “user friendly” religion that affirms people’s feelings rather than providing the Word of God.

Those words which the Apostle wrote were in the context of a society that will grow increasingly wicked, and in their wickedness that society will become increasingly hostile to the Faith.

The Apostle has warned, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” [*2 Timothy 3:12, 13*].

Get the picture!

Society will exhibit greater adherence to religion even as it turns from pursuing the Faith that was once delivered to the saints.

In yet another instance, Paul wrote to urge those who follow the Saviour to stay alert.

“Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

For you are all children of light, children of the day.

We are not of the night or of the darkness.

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” [*1 Thessalonians 5:1-10*].

In a general sense, anyone can know what is taking place, for the Word of God informs us.

The Master provided similar instruction to all who follow Him.

His words address events occurring during the days of the Tribulation, but what is important for the purpose of the message is the final caution He offers.

“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.

For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” [*Luke 21:25-28*].

Take special note of the Master’s language.

“When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

He is providing a specific statement describing events so that those living during those times will know precisely what is happening and ready themselves for God’s imminent intervention in history.

It seems to me that with these words God is particularly providing encouragement for those who turn in faith during the Great Tribulation so that they can follow hard after the Master despite persecution.

It is obvious that God provides general knowledge concerning what is coming on the earth for anyone who heeds His Word.

The Word prophesies that the world will grow increasingly religious even while growing increasingly godless.

And those who dare follow the Faith will face increasing opposition from people that consider themselves religious, but who do not want to be overly fussy about obeying the Master.

Restraint will be increasingly cast aside as man convinces himself that self-actualisation lies in gratifying every desire.

There is another piece to the puzzle of knowing God’s will.

In the text, it is obvious that the Lord informs Abraham of what is about to happen because he is godly—because he obeys the Lord and follows Him willingly.

When God, through Amos, tells us that God does nothing unless He tells His servants the prophets, it is an indication that those who serve God with their whole heart are recipients of divine knowledge.

Therefore, we would expect that in a church marked by righteousness and godliness, God will reveal His plan to His people.