Biblical literature is teeming with flawed people. Drunkards, prostitutes, cowards, adulterers, murderers and a host of other seedy folks reside in those sacred texts as heroes!
Well, to be sure, it is not their moral failures and shortcomings that make them heroes. The fact is these flawed characters knew they were flawed. They sought forgiveness. Despite their failures, in their heart they wanted to please God above all else.
And that brings us to Abraham.
Now if you have ever read the book of Genesis in the Bible you will find that Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, was quite a flawed character himself. In fact we could compile a short list of character flaws and moral failures to choose from. Cowardice, lying and adultery are all a part of his portfolio.
Yet there is an epic failure in his life that is rarely, if ever, mentioned. It occurs in Genesis 18.
In Genesis 18 the Lord, accompanied by two angels, appears to Abraham and tells him that he is on his way to investigate the wickedness of the city of Sodom. Abraham is well aware of Sodom's wickedness and pleads with God on behalf of the city. Something of a negotiation begins.
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."At this point in the conversation Abraham gains a little boldness and continues to negotiate with God to spare Sodom. His closing negotiation was as follows:
... 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." [Gen 18:23-26, 32 ESV]That is a pretty good negotiation. Now let me show you the "Epic Fail".
There! Did you see it? Chances are you missed it. When the conversation was over, "Abraham returned to his place."
And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. [Gen 18:33 ESV]
What do you suppose would have happened had Abraham gone to Sodom before the Lord got there? Is it possible that Abraham could have preached to them about pending judgment? Is it possible that ten people would have repented of their sins?
I think so. We see another such city many centuries later with a similar pending judgment. It was a city called Nineveh. God sent a prophet named Jonah. Many of the Ninevites repented, and the city was spared.
Now, back to Abraham and Sodom. You see, Abraham had credibility in Sodom. If we back track to Genesis chapter 14, we will find that Abraham and his band of personal soldiers had literally saved their hides not long before. Armies from the north had invaded, looted the city and taken the residents of Sodom captive. Since one of those residents was Abraham's nephew Lot, Abraham sprang into action and saved them all.
Then he refused to take payment for the rescue.
Sodom owed Abraham. Big time. They would at least have listened to him, I think, but Abraham turned around and went home.
Now, before we cluck our tongues too loudly at Abraham, I'd like to pose a question.
Have you ever prayed and interceded for someone who was facing eternity without God? Have you ever pleaded with God to show mercy to someone's soul? To soften their heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ? To send someone their way who would lead them to salvation?
If you have pleaded with God to have mercy on someone's eternal soul, I promise you he has heard you. It is also quite likely that you are the person God has chosen to carry the message of grace and redemption to that soul.
You see, if you love them enough to spend time in prayer for them you probably have credibility with them. Please, use it wisely. Eternity is a very, very long time. Take someone to heaven with you.
[NOTE: I realize it is possible that you may be reading this and have no idea what I am referring to when I write about "salvation". In that case, please visit this website http://followchrist.ag.org/decision.cfm]
