Genesis 18 Abraham Intercedes

Heavenly Father, we thank you for another opportunity to gather and open your word. It is the great treasure that we have, more precious to us than silver and gold.

Lord, it is like sweet drips from the honeycomb. Lord, your word is sweet to us. And now, Lord, we pray that you would be with Pastor John as he leads us in the word, and speak to our hearts in Jesus' name, amen.

In a family situation, there are often moments where perhaps close fellowship has been fractured.

And it's such a lifting to the spirit, to the heart when things get better.

And you can actually share time at a dinner table, perhaps enjoy a party time together.

There are very few things in our life that we get to experience. Like the restoration and joint of direct personal fellowship with a loved one.

There is a lot that goes on in the book of Genesis, but as we get into chapter 18, as I've reviewed it and looked at what it has to say, chapter 18 uniquely has

Abraham now, actually spending quality time with Yahweh.

Now, it's been a long time since there was quality time with Yahweh. There are events, and we'll look at some of those, and they're very, very special.

But think about it. So, in opening up, my comment is that God created man in his own image.

In the image of God, he created him male and female. I was approached with one of my fellow umpires while I was at Cooperstown saying, that was his favorite verse in the

Bible. And so, I said, so, what is it about that verse that makes it your favorite?

Let me ask you this question. What does it mean that man is created in the image of God? And he went down, because he has an

LDS Mormon background, he went down to the direction of, he's flesh and blood like we are, we look like him.

I said, that's actually not what it is. And I get to get away with making that kind of a comment, because of the

Cooperstown, the umpires know me as the Rev. So, if I can talk about the Bible, I have a certain authority level, if you would.

But I said, what it really means is that only man, of all of the creation of God, only man has the capacity to have direct fellowship with Yahweh.

The rest of the creation is creation. But man can have direct fellowship with Yahweh.

In fact, man enjoyed direct fellowship with Yahweh in the garden before the fall.

Unfortunately, sin damaged that ability. However, God does provide grace that man may once again enjoy that fellowship with God.

And so we're gonna see in chapter 18, this is an amazing unfolding of direct fellowship with God.

So if we go back and through, as we go through some scriptures, Genesis 1 .31, God created, and when he looked, he said, it was very good.

This was after the sixth day of creation. And then on the seventh day, he rested. On Genesis 12, we get the account of God approaching

Abram in the first three verses and giving him the covenant. And he says, you will be my chosen people.

Your offspring will be like the sands of the sea, he's told. And in fact, through you, all nations will be blessed.

And God communicates his desire to have a relationship with man, to Abraham.

And then in Genesis 14, it's just this incredible account where after the battle of kings,

Abram gets visited by Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Who do you think the king of Salem is,

Jeff? I think it's probably Christ pre -incarnate. We can't prove it, but I agree with what you've just said.

It is well accepted that this is Christ pre -incarnate actually coming and spending time with Abram there.

Yeah? There's also the idea that God is a spirit and those who worship him, he can manifest himself that way.

And so as we get into perhaps the new dispensation, where we are now, we don't necessarily spend time physically with God.

But there are so many opportunities that we have to be with God at the

Lord's table. We don't physically have him there. We don't believe in transubstantiation.

The wafer doesn't become the body of Christ, et cetera. But we know that we are fellowship. We do this in remembrance of me.

And we know that as we're in prayer, as we're meditating on him, we do. But this occurrence in Genesis 18 actually puts

Abram in a more intimate position. Now, Genesis 3, the fall occurs, and God sets a seraphim at the gates so that man will not return in.

And although man does have the, I believe, within him a knowledge and a general revelation of God, we get that from Psalm 19, we have a general revelation of God and understanding, a desire of God, that direct fellowship has been heard.

And in fact, as we get further on, the Jews can't even say the name Yahweh. And if the

Jews do something wrong in their approach to Yahweh, they actually die. And so it's pretty intense.

But Abram gets this opportunity. The fact that we have fallen into sin is resolved.

Ezekiel 26, 36 is gonna say, I will place in you a new heart. And so there's this promise that, although Ephesians 2 says that we are basically in sin following the course of this world,

Ephesians 2, 4, but God, but if Ezekiel 26 is gonna say we get a new heart,

John 1, 12 is going to say that as many as receive him then they gain the right to become children of God.

Tim, this morning we were talking about Tim McCormick and Ann. What's happening with them this week?

They are looking to possibly adopt a child named Xavier. So keep in prayer, but they have a court case on Friday.

The reality that baby Z, I think as they call her, yeah, could by the end of this week be legally part of the

McCormick family. It blows our mind that that can be and the love and everything else.

But think about this, we who were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God, and now we become adopted as his children and as his heirs.

Matthew 5, 8 puts it this way. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see

God. And the word in the Greek there is actually a vision. It isn't

Jeff and I and Tim sat in the same room together. That's not what it means. It actually means

I can see God because my ability, the blinders have been removed.

And I know Tim, you and Jeff, you guys just took a whole bunch of them of Mount Sunrise. Sunrise Mountain.

Sunrise Mountain. And I imagine you would have seen the beauty of God. And to the extent that you are children of God, you actually are seeing the beauty of God.

I've had the privilege many times of being in the Grand Canyon with my brother and his other friend, all of whom are atheists.

Now they will see the Grand Canyon as something spectacular, but when I go down,

I see the awesome hand of God. I don't know how you can reach that when you can see the

Grand Canyon. How did it happen? Unless God did it, it would be chaos.

Somebody wanna answer Bob's question. How could somebody go through the canyon and not see that his hand's

God? Somebody wanna answer that. Ask your brother. I think you're blind.

They're blind. They are spiritually blind. It says, without the spirit of God, fleshly man cannot even understand the things of God.

And so Satan has blinded their eyes to the reality of God. But then Jeff, I love where you were

Sunday in Romans 1, verses 1 and 2. We who have the

Holy Spirit within us, we walk with peace.

We walk with access to God. And we walk with a new hope.

Now that's who we are. Now the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way.

The chief goal of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Now Abraham is declared righteous through his faith. After that, he now gets this beautiful opportunity in chapter 18 to have intimate, close fellowship with Yahweh.

Now it is stated in chapter 18 that the Lord come, that there are three.

There's some debate. Is this really the second person of God?

Are these all angels? And I'm gonna go on the authority of the word Yahweh. And if you look in the

Hebrew, the word Yahweh, it does show up twice in that chapter. It will show up in verse one.

When it says the Lord will come in the Hebrew, that is Yahweh. This is the second person of God.

And in verse 14, it will emphasize, is anything too hard for Yahweh? So when the pronouns are used there, he,

I think that there is valid justification to read that to say that this is the second person of God who is actually communing with Abraham.

So we're gonna take this into a couple of things. I think that God comes to Abraham in intimate fellowship.

And what a beautiful picture this is in the beginning. He then reveals to him in a very special way his sovereign rule over creation.

Then he's gonna reveal his righteous judgment against sin. And then he's gonna give

Abraham the opportunity to plead for mercy in prayer. What an amazing day that had to be for Abraham.

Now, putting this in time, chapter 17, we hear again the covenant promise re -given.

Abraham already has a son, Ishmael. Because quite frankly, it's been a long time.

He's 99 years old, and it's been a long time. Sarah is 89 years old.

And so Sarah has said, we need to fix this, go into my handmaid, who by the way is an

Egyptian, and they have Ishmael. And the dialogue in chapter 17.

And then God institutes their side of the covenant, which is the sign of circumcision.

Chapter 18 appears to come right on top of it. Because in both chapters you have the statement, in a year

I will come. And then in chapter 18, in a year I will come. Is it the same day?

I don't know that it is. But it's very, very close in time. So here we have a scene now, where God has had this interface with God.

Abraham has this interface with God. The restatement of the promise, Abraham has left. They get the circumcision, and Abraham circumcises the whole camp.

I'm gonna give him a few days to recover from that. But, it's gonna start out now, where they're just relaxing in the day, outside the tent.

Perhaps enjoying the beauty of the day. And so we're going to start out, give me the first eight verses,

Jeff, if you would, of Genesis 18. And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth.

And said, oh Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and that you may pass on, since you have come to your servant.

So they said, do as you have said. And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah, and said, quick, three seeds of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes.

And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.

Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf, that he had prepared, and set it before them, and he stood by them, under the tree, while they ate.

God is going to come to Abram, and it says here, during the day, during the heat of the day, so it's midday, if you would, and he is going to actually dine with Abraham.

Now, scripturally, this is a picture of intimate, intimate fellowship, one with the other.

If you go to Luke 22, verses seven to eight, Jesus is gonna tell his followers, go prepare a room that I might dine with you, and we go to the

Last Supper. And over that Last Supper, we have some of the most amazing teaches that God gives.

We do learn about Judas. He washes their feet. He shears the cup.

He shears the wine. He tells them what's to come. Revelations 3 .20, behold,

I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice, I will enter unto him, and we will watch a football game together.

I will dine with him, and he with me. The picture here is one of close, when you open your heart and God comes in, that picture of close fellowship.

So here we have Abraham. It says he's sitting by the oaks of Mamre. He sat at the door.

So he is at rest right now. He has had chapter 17. He has obeyed, and he's done.

And so now he is just sitting by the door of the tent. Sarah is inside, but it's during the heat of the day by the oaks of Mamre.

And he looks up, and there are three people coming to him. Now, because one of them must be

Yahweh. I get that from verse one. The Lord appeared to him in verse 14. Again, it's going to say, that is anything too hard for the

Lord? There is a definite implication that one of these three is actually the second person of Christ in flesh, but the other two are angels that are gonna come with him because they're gonna have a mission to do that God is gonna send them on.

So the three of them come approaching to him, and Abraham lifts up his eyes, and here comes three people who he has no idea who they are.

Now, one of them he's already seen once before, as Melchizedek. And I find it amazing that God comes to them in the way that he should come.

And his response was, Lord, if I have found favor in your sight.

Now, remember in chapter 17, Abraham almost argues with God, can

Ishmael be the one? God says, no. And God says, you're gonna have a child, and Abraham laughs.

And so now he gets the circumcision, and he's sitting there, and here comes the three. And when he says, oh

Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, that is not

Yahweh in the text. This is more of an acknowledgement of somebody of superiority.

But I believe that it's appropriate for us to say that Abraham recognized that this was

God, who is coming to share this time with him. He says, oh

Lord, if I have found favor in your sight. He says, can I please prepare a meal that we can spend time together?

I've thought at times past, what would I do if Jesus appeared to me in the flesh?

How would I react? I think part of it would be the way Isaiah reacts when he is somehow transported into very throne room of God, and he falls down and he says, oh my,

I'm of unclean lips. I probably would do that. But here's Abraham who has this, this reality that God is there to be with him.

He says, if I have found favor in your sight, let me prepare for you. John. Yeah.

Verse three. Yeah. When he says, my Lord, you know, there's some recognition that it must have happened.

Yes. You know, it's not like these three guys just came along the road there. He's recognized, like he's mentioned about when it comes to that, he recognizes the superiority.

When he says, my Lord. I agree with what you're saying. Culturally, it would not be inappropriate at that time for somebody to have a visitor of superiority and for the one person to say, my

Lord, because this is not any name of God. This is just a recognition of somebody of special import.

But because of the entire setting, I think we can say that Abraham sees that there is something going on here.

But you just said, Lord, meant Yahweh. No, no, no, not in this verse. Not in verse three.

That's a different. My Lord. Oh, it's a lowercase

L in my Bible. And some will put uppercase L and some will put lowercase

L because it is not a word used to describe God. But I do believe

I have in front of me the ESV printed out. I think they've got it right. I think he recognizes that he is in front of God.

He says, Lord. What is the ESV? Is that capital L? Did they give it capital L? Yes, they did. Hey, Bob, real quick on that.

The tetragrammatron, the four letters, Y -H -W -H, that's when you get the all four caps.

So where it's L -O -R -D and all of them are capitalized, that's Yahweh. So if you look at verse one, 18 .1,

that's the tetragrammatron, but verse three is not, as John said. It's probably Adonai.

I can look it up real quick. Yeah, but yeah, that would, I think that's really right. And 14, yeah, and I think 17 as well.

Yeah, you'll get that wherever it's the capitals, that's Yahweh. Yeah, okay. So I didn't think, yeah, you gotta read after you're done.

Yeah, yeah, I didn't look it up until you corrected me. Yeah, there are helps and aids that you can look into if you can't read the

Hebrew, but there are helps and aids that almost help expand what this is saying. He is now, he has three visitors and he recognizes,

I believe, that one of them is a very special guest. And so he says, let me get some water and wash your feet.

And what a picture that is of the servant heart of Abraham. Let me wash your feet and you rest under the tree because my wife and I, we're going to do something for you.

Tim and Jeff and I, we usually start out reading a scripture before we start our prayer time and talking things.

And today was Proverbs 31 .10. Tim, Proverbs, you don't have to look it up.

It was something along the lines of, wives are more valuable than all treasure.

I don't have the exact wording. Maybe Jeff knows it. I wrote it here in my notebook. She is far more precious than jewels.

Far more precious than jewels. That's our wife. But that's just an aside. Huh? That's right.

That's just an aside. I said it right. He says, rest yourself while I bring a morsel of bread.

The reality is he's going to ask Sarah to make the bread for him, but he's the one that's actually going to serve it, that you may refresh yourselves and after that pass on because you have come to your service.

And then he says to Sarah, please do as I said, quick, three

C's of fine flour needed and make case. Then Abraham runs and he gets one of the best calves of the flock.

And they butcher it and they prepare it and then they take curds and milk and the calf and he sets it before them.

Did you catch this here? This is, to me, a fascinating thing. Okay, you got

Abraham by now and Sarah, who's in the tent. She never comes out. Maybe she hands the bread now,

I don't know. But he is with the three. According to this passage, who actually eats and enjoys the meal?

The three. It says that he set it before them and stood by them while they ate.

He didn't even presume to sit with them to eat this meal.

That's why I believe he recognized the insignificance of who this third visitor was, that he didn't even presume to sit with them and eat with them.

But imagine what it would be like to have somebody so special come that you could wash their feet, that you could prepare a meal, that you could sit them down and you could actually serve them food while they ate.

I can only imagine what the conversation would have been like. But this is very close, intimate fellowship.

We get into the next one. Rick, if you would take us nine to 15. God's sovereign rule over creation.

They said to him, where is Sarah, your wife? And he said, she is in the tent.

The Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year and Sarah, your wife, shall have a son.

And Sarah was listening at the tent and were behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah are old, advanced in years.

The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, after I am worn out and my

Lord is old, shall I have pleasure? The Lord said to Abraham, why did

Sarah laugh and say, shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old? Is anything too hard for the

Lord? At the appointed time, I will return to you about this time next year and Sarah shall have a son.

But Sarah denied it saying, I didn't laugh, for she was afraid. He said, no, but you did laugh.

Although God knows it all, he chooses to ask and he challenges

Abraham about Sarah's faith. I think about, where's your husband?

You know, God asks the woman at the well, where is your husband? He already knows the answer to so many of these questions.

Who do men say that I am? He already knew the answer to these questions. But I love this one too and he looks right at Peter in the eye and he says, but you, who do you say that I am?

God already knew the answer, but God already knew what Peter's answer was gonna be. But he says, but what about you?

Who do you say that I am? See, the reason for that question wasn't so that he would learn who

Peter said he was, but so that Peter would recognize who he said that Jesus was.

It's safe to say that all of God's and Jesus' questions are rhetorical.

Yeah. Yeah. And many times these questions are given to let us see our own heart and then to a certain extent to see the sovereignty of God at work and then for another extent to grow our faith.

So in this case, he says, where is your wife? He knew that she was in the tent.

But it was a rhetorical question. It was a rhetorical question and he said, well, she's in the tent. But then he goes on and he says something that he's already said in the previous chapter.

I'm gonna come back next year at this time and your wife is gonna have a son. This time,

Abraham doesn't laugh. Maybe he learned his lesson in the previous chapter.

But this time, he doesn't laugh. But it says now that Sarah was listening in from inside the tent and she hears he was

Abram's old, she's old, she can no longer have children, she's barren.

And so she laughed and said, am I gonna have this kind of a pleasure? I'm not gonna ask a woman how much fun it is having childbirth.

I don't think that's what she meant. I think it's to have the promised heir come from her.

And it's interesting that he asks Abraham rather than Sarah directly.

In this case, there is a strong implication of the spiritual economy that God has within a marriage.

Rick, you are spot on with that. And so the Lord asked Abraham, why did your wife laugh?

Why did she laugh? Instead of asking Sarah, to your point, he wants to see what he's going to say.

But he goes on and he doesn't even give him a chance to answer that question. And he goes, why did she laugh?

Why did she say I'm too old? And you wanna have a great screensaver for your computer, just put these words down.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? What a reality of power that there is.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? I go to Job. Now, in Job 38,

Job has been questioning about what's going on. His friends have been giving him a hard time.

And what does God say? Sandy, if you would read Job 38 verses one to four for me.

And Diane, if you would get Job 42 verses one to two, if you would get those for me.

The phrase, is anything too hard for the Lord? Places, everything in perspective.

And Jeff, I think that ties in so strongly to your message Sunday. I understand that you guys were using part of that message on your hike yesterday.

I guess it was to a certain extent arduous. Seven and a half miles up and down the hills on the mountain.

It was more than we expected it to be. And how did you use Romans one and two, five, one and two?

Romans five, three and four, we had the kids call out when they started suffering. Suffering produces endurance.

And endurance produces character. That's right. And character produces hope. So we call that out to each other to encourage one another not to give up.

Keep going. There are times of physical endurance where this definitely applies.

But we have a group of guys, Jeff, Tim, Joe, and Phil are gonna be going into Philadelphia into the lion's den at Penn University to speak about the gospel and encourage people to get out and vote for truth.

I don't think you're going to be met with open arms in every case.

I think you're gonna be met with opposition in every case. So the reality is, is anything too hard for the

Lord? It's not. Sandy, what do you have out of Job? Job 38, one to four.

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

A man. And I will ask you and you instruct me. Where were you when

I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding.

If you got big enough that when you don't understand why things are happening in your life, in your family's life, in your job, is your

God big enough that he is in control, that he is sovereign? And God says,

Job, where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? I am God, I am

Yahweh. Diane, what do you have? Then Job replied to the

Lord, I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

If you want a verse to memorize coming out of today, I'm going to challenge you to memorize

Job 42, one and two. I know, I know that you can do anything.

There is a head knowledge. I ascend to the fact that you can do anything.

That's a head knowledge. In Spanish, that'd be conocer. I acknowledge the fact that you can do.

Saber. This is a experiential knowledge. I've experienced it.

And because I've experienced it, I have total reality in me that you can do anything.

Have that in your heart. And so God tells Abram, yes, your wife has laughed, but here's the thing.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? And then he says, I will.

I will return. At the appointed time, I will return.

It hasn't been the appointed time yet. In God's design and in God's plan, he allowed them to become 100 years old before they would have

Isaac. That's a long time since they were called. I think they were 85 and 75 when they left and headed into the promised land.

That's a lot of years. And then they waited and then eventually they had Ishmael, but God said, in my appointed time,

I will return and you shall have a son. Now Sarah's faith wavers a little.

She says, I didn't laugh. He said, yeah, you did. Yeah, you did.

And wouldn't that be kind of convicting to have or when you deny what you did and he goes, yeah, you did.

But I'm not gonna be too hard on Sarah at this point in time. Let's go on because God is now going to continue his dialogue and his revelation personally with Abraham in verses 16 to 21.

Candy, if you've got that, please. Then the men set out from there and they looked down toward Solomon.

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 - I'm sorry, are we in the right verse? Yeah. It's a little bit different in the translation,

I think. Okay, go ahead. I'm sorry, go ahead. 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 Solomon 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. Okay, scene. We've now had the dinner.

We've had the servant heart of Abraham. We've had the proclamation. You're gonna have a son and we have had that teaching.

Is anything too hard to the Lord? And then the Lord sends the other two to Sodom to see what's going on there.

And then he says, should I hide what I'm gonna do to Abraham? And then he has this section in here that comments on the fact that Abraham, I've chosen him.

I've chosen Abraham and that he would command his children to keep after and then he's gonna tell them about the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah.

If I'm Abraham thinking God is now gonna go down to Sodom and Gomorrah and he is going to be judging the wickedness of the people in Sodom and Gomorrah.

I went to Egypt and I didn't do too good. Abraham is a fallen man.

He is a sin man. But that is not stopping God from giving a special revelation, a special communication to Abraham because you see, after Egypt comes the phrase that Abraham believed and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

I just wanna encourage you that you have your morning devotion or you pray before you go to bed and you recognize that the way you dealt with the situation wasn't pleasing to God.

Confess it, repent it, he is faithful and just and can cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He is desiring to have a relationship with you.

Abraham has fallen and he has sinned but he talks to him about I have chosen him after him to keep the way of the

Lord by doing righteousness and justice. God sees the heart of Abraham through the faith of Abraham and is willing to show him.

But here's what he's gonna tell him. Sodom and Gomorrah's sin is very great and I am a holy and a righteous

God. I need to see what has happened because sin will be dealt with.

Behind the scene, Abraham, you have sin. Behind the scene, Abraham, you did laugh at me when

I told you you were gonna have a child. Behind the scene, you did listen to the fleshly solution to having an heir.

You did go in at Hagar and you did have a son. Behind the scene, these are true. I have not lost those, they are true.

But in front of the scene, you have faith and it's counted unto you for righteousness.

And God did not come down to spend time with Abraham to judge him and to punish him.

But he does tell him that sin must be. I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me.

Is God surprised at the fact that they have sinned? No, he has not.

Yeah. Why is Abraham paid for Sodom and Gomorrah because that was where Lot went?

Abraham is being told what's going to happen there. And I think that this dialogue here, yes,

Abraham gave Lot the choice. Lot chose the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It was gonna be a lot easier. It was gonna be more suitable to, and so Abraham goes into the hill country in the tougher situation.

Lot goes there and he ends up surrounded by wickedness.

And Abraham goes up here. So yes, but God is going to remind Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah is a wicked city and I am going to judge them.

But he didn't go there. No, he didn't. Abraham didn't go there. Yeah, right. But the sin is there.

I'm gonna jump ahead and do what I was gonna do in the next paragraph. Habakkuk one. Habakkuk is a prophet and he sees that the people are not following after God.

And in fact, they have fallen and their sin is plentiful. And Habakkuk says, this is paraphrasing,

God, aren't you even looking? These people are really, really wicked. Aren't you gonna do anything about it? And what does

God say to Habakkuk? Quit complaining.

No, he does not say that. He says, I've seen the sin and I am going to send the

Babylonians, that great and hasty nation. By the way, the Babylonians didn't exist at that point in time.

But he was going to send them. And then in chapter two, he says, I'm gonna sit and watch and see what the

Lord is going to do. And God says, I am going to do it. So here

God speaks to Abraham. Sodom needs to be judged.

And he sends his two angels to go down and see what is going on. And he says, so that I might know.

And it's not so that God might know. It's so that the testimony, the report of wickedness would be made known and be made clear, even to Abraham for what's about to happen.

And I kind of get that out of the next section, because Abraham's gonna go into negotiation mode. By the way, see if they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me.

What is really being said in there isn't that there are righteous people in Sodom that are calling out to the

Lord because of the wickedness in the city. That's really not what's being said there. What's really being said there is that the wickedness of Sodom actually is coming in front of the

Lord. That's the outcry, just the evidence, just the horribleness of the wickedness is in front of the

Lord. If that outcry, if that wickedness is true, we're gonna know what to do. That's really what's being said there.

So now Abraham is looking at Sodom. He's looking at the

Lord, and he goes, is there anything I can do about this?

Judy, could you read for me, please? 22 to 33. Could I pass to you?

Sure, Tim, 22 to 33. 22 to 33. And I may cut you short because of time.

Okay. Go ahead. So the men turned from there and went towards 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 50 righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the 50 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 50 righteous in the city,

I will spare the whole place for their sake. Okay, let's leave it there because this is gonna be repeated several times.

The Lord says, if I find 50 people, then he says, well, how about 45?

Do I have 45? Do I hear 40? 40, do I hear 35? And at the end of it, he gets down to, if there are 10, starting in verse 32, oh

Lord, be not angry with me, and I will speak. But once more, suppose there are 10 found, and he answered, for the sake of 10,

I will not destroy. The Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

See, God already knows the extent of the sin that is there in Sodom.

He did not need to send the angels to find out if that was true or not. But what's interesting is he allows

Abraham to engage in a debate, to engage in a negotiation.

He allows him to intercede with those who actually might be righteous. I think

Abraham knows he has no right standing in front of God, but God allows him to come to the throne and plead.

My brothers and sisters, we have the right to come before the throne of God, and to plead for our friends, our relatives, people in Penn University who are fallen.

We have that right to stand before God and to plead on the basis of what transpires here.

God desires our prayers to come up to him and intercession for them.

We must do it. Now, we recognize there weren't even 10. In fact, there was only a couple, three that actually survived.

I think Lot and his two daughters. The wife leaves, but she turns back and she becomes a pillar of salt.

So there was not that righteousness in there. But we have an obligation and a right to even plead for those.

I'm gonna close with these thoughts. I think in this section here, and I was gonna teach it from this perspective, but I think seeing the fellowship that God gave to Abraham was more important.

The attributes of God are on display. If you go through this, you can see many of the attributes of God on display as he graciously fellowships with Abraham.

He is a personal God. We, as his children, can have a personal relationship.

It was lost in the garden, but now we have the opportunity to have a personal relationship with God.

Go to the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes and see, blessed are those, blessed are those.

We have so much. And verse eight is one of my favorite verses. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see

God. He is faithful and he keeps his promises. This is our God. He is faithful and he keeps his promises.

He promised that Abraham would have an heir, that Abraham would have an heir. And even though they're old, and they're gonna be 100 years, he's gonna be 100 years old before he's changing diapers with Adam.

And he is sovereign, he keeps his will. He is holy. Sin must be and is judged, yet he is merciful to those who turn to him.

These attributes of God are so encouraging to us. And then

God accepts the prayers of a faithful man who's served us with his will.

His priestly prayer, Jesus said, and the glory which thou has given me, I give to them as children.

That they may be one just as we are one, that we would have this unity with Christ. I in them, thou in me, that they may be perfected in unity and that the world may know that thou didst send me and didst love them, even as thou didst love me.

We have that fellowship with an awesome God. Jeff, you wanna close? Yes. Father God, thank you so much for the fellowship we have with you through the

Son, Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to walk with you. Help us to pray, to intercede, Lord, that we would plead with you and trust you.

Lord, we do look to you today and give you all the thanks and glory for this relationship in which we stand.

It was all based on your grace, Lord, the grace in which we stand, not anything that we brought to the table.

But Lord, thank you that we can dine with you and go to the Lord's table and remember the body and blood.