Tough Choices

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.  I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard.  If not, I want to know.”  The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.  Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?  Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?  Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked.  Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same!  Surely you wouldn’t do that!  Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”  And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”  Then Abraham spoke again.  “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.  Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty?  Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”  And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”  Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”  “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”  Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”  Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time.  Suppose only ten are found there?”  And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”  When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.  Genesis 18:17-33

It was a tough decision all the way around.  For Abraham the problem was his nephew, Lot was living there.  For the Lord God, there were perhaps more than 100,00 of his loved ones, including Lot.  Abraham made his case, narrowing the decision from 50 righteous people to 10, probably equal to Lot’s family.

For the Lord, the difference between destroying a city, and even one person, did not change the ethical dilemma.  Ending a life is exactly opposite of the creative character of God; he gives life.  Yet, choosing against God’s ways of life-giving (we call it sin) is that dangerous freedom known-as free-will.  I’m as certain as a human can be that God, looking down on Sodom and Gomorrah, was torn with grief over what He knew would end in their destruction. 

The rest of the story tells us that God didn’t give up on them.  The Lord sent angels to Sodom, giving the entire city a chance to repent; they didn’t.  Every retelling of this account ends with God as the destroyer.  But that’s not the full story.  Destruction came upon the citizens of Sodom, because they used God’s gracious gift of free-will to choose their evil wickedness over God’s righteousness.  God had warned, and given them every opportunity to be saved; they wouldn’t, and the tough choice brought fire from above. In the end they committed eternal suicide, rather than confess their evil choice. 

That same thing has never ceased happening from the moment Cain lifted a rock against Abel, and it happens every day man draws breath.

For You Today 

The Holy Scriptures are often referred to as The Good News, because God’s mercy and grace gave us a Savior on a cross, taking our punishment so we could be saved.  But the “Good News” is only “good” because there is also evil.  The very definition of either good or evil is the dividing line between the two.  Hear and consider what Jesus said about all of it, and the choice we have:

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.  My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.  John 10:10

Satan, the thief, or Jesus, the giver…we all have that choice.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Pyxis Points  and  De-Railed  and  Fifteen Minutes of Spotlight – at What Cost?                                        

 

Title Image:  via Wikimedia Commons   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©