Given a Peek into the Plan

 

Given a Peek into the Plan

Genesis 18: ¹⁶ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. ¹⁷ And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, ²¹ I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

 

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JESUS and the angels had another reason for showing up. While they told Abraham and Sarah, they would miraculously have a child, they also came to judge Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

My Observations:

• GOD did not have to tell Abraham about the plan, but informed him, possibly as a warning to everyone.
• GOD gave Abraham directions on how to act by telling him to “keep the way of the LORD.”
• GOD made sure the future of Abraham’s children would continue if they did “righteousness and justice.”

 

GOD allowed people to freely sin, possibly showing grace that humans would question. HE does not mention the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in these words, but later Abraham knew that’s what was going to happen. GOD’s grace for sin seems strange to those who want to see HIM apply HIS judgement, but what’s missing in this blind view is maybe GOD is showing you, the reader, grace to give you time to turn to HIM.

 

The people in Sodom and Gomorrah had sinned enough. GOD’s ways are not our ways, so HE allowed the sin to reach a certain point, then HE said to Abraham, HE was going to put an end to it. This group of people were intelligent enough to create the human’s version of the Garden of Eden. Wells watered the plants so there was plenty.

 

But where there was plenty, there was sin. They had done everything without following GOD or listening to HIM. Eventually they had reached a level of depravity that was so great, GOD had to put an end to it. GOD intervened and included Abraham in on the plan.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think GOD waits to intervene when we sin?
• Are you busy questioning why GOD does things the way HE does without seeing if HE is giving you grace?
• Are you willing to surrender your thoughts, ways and actions to GOD, so JESUS can be LORD of your life today?