The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 18:23-33, Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”
30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.”

Did you ever engage in conversation with someone who didn’t know how to quit speaking? Of course, when the other person is notable, you exercise patience as he speaks. Patience is necessary, too, if you are to grasp the full meaning of the other person’s position. This passage above is long, but it is necessary in order to demonstrate the gentle, gracious patience our all-knowing God possesses.

Sodom was a notoriously wicked city, and the LORD had determined to destroy it completely! It might not have bothered Abraham, except this his nephew, Lot, and Lot’s family lived there. Lot had made a serious mistake in sojourning into Sodom. Those of us who have lived in numerous places, know that the geographical area where you live has a unmistakable bearing on your family.

Abraham hurried his initial words, almost as if he had forgotten that he was speaking with God.
He began his plea sighting 50 supposedly righteous citizens, but quickly reducing that number by five. Receiving the LORD’s assurance that He would not destroy the city for the lack of five good
people, Abraham cautiously reduced the number by five again. And again the LORD’s promise held good that He would not destroy the city if 40 righteous people could be found there.

Receiving again the LORD’s promise, Abraham now reduces the number by 10. The LORD’s promise continued to hold. Gaining some boldness, Abraham continues to reduce the number of potentially righteous people all the way down to 10. And the LORD continued to agree.

All of this tells us that the LORD is reasonable! He didn’t have to “play games” with Abraham! After all, He created the world and the people living in it. We should not be brazen in our communion with the LORD; still, He is loving and willing to deal tenderly with those who recognize His superiority. Don’t be afraid to approach the LORD! He tells us over and over to “call unto Me.”
Quite often, “we have not because we ask not.” We simply have to be His children first. Are you truly His child? You can be! Just ask Him to be your Savior.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom