That He Might Relent
By Nicky McCall
Ten generations after the prophetic words spoken by Noah regarding the future of his sons (Genesis 9:26), we find Abram, descendant of Shem, pitching his tent in the land of Canaan. During a long journey from the city-state Ur in southern Mesopotamia, he suffered the contempt and mockery of the ancient world who would have assumed that something dishonorable had forced him to leave his home. It was those circumstances that tested and forged Abram’s faith. A man of humble nature, “a stranger and sojourner” in this world, was called a friend by His Creator (James 2:23). To him, God made promises outside the human reach. To him, He provided protection and vast wealth. To him, He revealed a vision of future generations while he had no son of his own, and his body was as good as dead.
The story of Abram is intertwined with the story of Lot, the son of his deceased brother. Lot grew up in the shadow of his faithful uncle, of whom God said: “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…”(Genesis 18:19). Thousands of years later, apostle Peter testified of Lot’s character, as a righteous man who dwelled among the wicked (2 Peter 2:7-8).
Lot’s story leaves the modern audience to wonder: How did this righteous man find himself in the midst of Sodom and Gomorrah’s depravity? Lot made his decision to associate with these vile and repugnant cities when he encountered the metaphorical and literal crossroads of Canaan, in Genesis 13. Abram, his wife Sarai, and Lot had returned from Egypt, the place where they found refuge during a time of severe famine in the land of Canaan. Doubtless, Egypt with its lush vegetation around the Nile, the gift of God to that country, spurred the imagination of a young Lot. Returning into the land of Canaan, the two wealthy men found themselves unable to live together due to the sheer number of livestock, silver, and gold and resolved to part ways. Lot was given the first choice of land, and beheld “…the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt…” (Genesis 13:10).
It is not hard to envision that the same bountiful resources had attracted generations of people before him, which granted them prosperity and an easy lifestyle. Comfort left unchecked by lack of gratefulness to its Creator, leads to debauchery. And that is exactly the path that this idolatrous society took (Genesis 13:13).
Memories of altars built by Abram every place they stopped on their journey, sacrifices that he brought as thanksgiving for His protection and provisions, prayers and promises that he witnessed, must have preserved the faith of Lot as he started raising his family with a woman who would become a cautionary tale. Despite the wickedness around him that tormented his righteous soul, Lot stayed true to his God.
Although they parted ways, Abram and Lot’s bond was never severed. When a coalition of kings attacked Sodom and Gomorrah and took all their goods and their people, Lot included, Abram did not hesitate to arm his three hundred and eighteen trained servants, born in his household, and to go in pursuit of the enemy. God gave victory to Abram that day, and he returned all the spoil and the people to the king of Sodom. In all likelihood, Abram got to witness the human affection of families restored and the joy renewed when all seemed lost. Abram hoped that such a marvelous deliverance would work in many of them a true repentance and was moved by a sense of compassion towards these people.
What is the base of these assumptions? The petition that Abram made to the Lord when the Lord revealed His plans to sweep away those two wicked cities: “Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” (Genesis 18:23). Abram’s noble intercession is not just on behalf of his nephew Lot but the whole city. The great principle that is at the heart of this intercession is that the action of God cannot be arbitrary but only in accordance with the perfect standard of justice and mercy. He did not plead that the wicked may be spared for their own sake but for the sake of the righteous that might be found among them.
The language that he used is that of a loving son with his heavenly Father. Abram spoke with boldness and confidence, and yet with great reverence for His divine majesty. The patience of the Lord is matched by the perseverance of Abram. With each request accepted by God, from “Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city?” all the way down to “Suppose ten should be found there?”, his earnestness is emboldened.
Compare Abram’s compassion for the people of Sodom with Jonah’s contempt for the people of Nineveh. When Jonah was “displeased exceedingly” (Jonah 4:1) that God relented from the disaster that He said He would bring upon Nineveh, God reminded him that those people were His creation, worthy of pity and mercy. That generation of Assyrians believed God and showed works of repentance. In consequence, the “gracious, merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2) postponed the destruction of that great city. The same cannot be said about the inhabitants of Sodom. The wickedness of that city was prevalent, “both old and young, every people from every quarter surrounded [Lot’s] house” (Genesis 19:4), and the only righteous soul in that city was insulted and scorned. God acted justly by reducing Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemning all the people to destruction.
The end of Lot’s story answered Abram’s question: “Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” The righteous Lot and his family were spared from God’s wrath. Tucked away, almost as a detail into the story of Lot’s rescue, we find the reason why: “the Lord being merciful to him” (Genesis 19:16).
All through the Bible, we are reminded repeatedly that God is in the midst of suffering. We find Him in the brimstone and fire of Sodom, we find Him in the lion’s den, we find Him in the fiery furnace, and in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. He is present in our pain, taking hold of our hands, aware of what got us there and providing salvation.
Abram knew God intimately. He knew Him to be just, holy, approachable, kind, loving, and merciful. With that knowledge, he made his request with boldness and confidence, yet deferring the answer to Him who rules the heavens and earth.
What is the lesson for us today? God stepped into our world, in the midst of sin and death, and made us His own. We have the mind of Christ that provides an intimate knowledge of the One who gave it all. His desire is that we come boldly to His throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).