Covenant Fellowship in the Shadow of Sodom s Destruction (Gen ) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella March 22, 2015

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1 Covenant Fellowship in the Shadow of Sodom s Destruction (Gen ) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella March 22, 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. 2 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 3 and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on-- since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 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. 9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10 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 door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 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." 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that 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 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." 20 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 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." 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 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?" 26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 29 Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 31 He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. (Genesis 18:1-33 ESV) 19.1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square." 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9 But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. 12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away. 18 And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there-- is it not a little one?-- and

2 !2 my life will be saved!" 21 He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father." 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father." 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day. (Genesis 19:1-38 ESV) Introduction This may seem like a large text to cover ( ) in a single sermon, but we should do so because these two chapters make up a single textual unit that records events in the life of Abraham from noon one day to early morning the next. The two chapters narrate the activities of three persons who first, eat with Abraham and Sarah near the oaks of Mamre, second, one of the visitors engages in a separate conversation with Abraham, and third, two of the visitors go to the the city of Sodom. So, we have three scenes: at Mamre, on the way to Sodom, and in and about Sodom. Then the narrator gives an epilogue about Lot and his daughters. This account must be understood in the context of God s great purposes revealed in the events of Genesis 1-17 (especially ; 3.15). Our text gives more insight into the covenant with Abraham (recorded in chapters 13-17). Some twenty-five years have passed and Sarah still remains barren when the scene opens at the oaks of Mamre (here in 18.1). It is easy to identify the subject of our present textual unit to be the Lord who appears to Abraham in chapter 18 and takes action in chapter 19 through His messengers who say, the Lord [Yahweh, the covenant Lord] has sent us (19.14). This yields a three-fold outline with a covenant flavor: the Lord gives a covenant reminder; He discloses His covenant purpose, and He underscores covenant election. I. The Lord gives a covenant reminder A short interval of time exists between the events that take place here by the oaks of Mamre (18.1) and what preceded in chapter seventeen because in both the birth of Isaac is about a year away (17.21; 18.10). Abraham is sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, roughly midday, when he sees three men in front of him. He immediately welcomes them with a very hospitable spirit: 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs [measures] of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 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 (18.4, 6-8). This led to some meal fellowship by which it becomes clear that the Lord of the covenant is one of the men present there at the table: 9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10 The LORD said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son ( ). At this point the narrator tells that Sarah is behind and out of view, but listening to the Lord speak, thinking about His words, and responding: And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah [she has gone through menopause]. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and

3 !3 my lord is old, shall I have pleasure? ( ). So, the Lord speaks to Abraham about Sarah s laughing. Hearing this, she denies that she laughed, and and the Lord puts her in her place: 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 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." 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh ( ). In summary, the Lord appeared for meal fellowship to remind Abraham of the promise of a son by Sarah who overhears, laughs, denies, fears, and receives a rebuke. II. In the next scene, the Lord discloses His covenant purpose After the meal, the visitors leave and Abraham walks along with them in the direction of Sodom (18.16, Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way). As he sees them off, the Lord speaks to Abraham explaining why He takes him into His confidence about the near future, which has to do with His purpose for Abraham in the distant future. So, let s review why the Lord reveals what He is about to do, what the Lord reveals that He is about do, and Abraham s bold response to what the Lord reveals. A. Why the Lord reveals what He is about to do The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? (18.17). This question takes us into the mind of God to His contemplation and reasoning within Himself. Implicit is an intertrinitarian communication that precedes action. It tells us why the triune God in the person of the mediator on earth decided to reveal His plans for the imminent future of Sodom. The answer to the question of verse 17 is no, I will not conceal my plans from Abraham. The covenant Lord will not keep these things to Himself but will reveal them to Abraham for two reasons. 1. First, I will reveal my plans to Abraham because he will be a blessing to all nations I will not leave him in the dark because Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him (18.18). There is a link between what is going to happen to Sodom and the special place that Abraham has in God s covenant purpose to bless all nations. Immediately, we have to begin to ponder what that link may be. The Lord also gives a second reason. 2. Second, I will reveal my plans to him because he will teach the way of righteousness 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 (18.19). It should be evident here that as a father of many descendants Abraham has the significant role of instructing (of commanding, guiding, leading, pointing) his children and his children s children to practice the very opposite way of life than that practiced in Sodom. The last clause of verse 19 reveals the seriousness of covenant obedience in connection with the certainty of covenant fulfillment. The Lord adds another interlaced purpose, so that: so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. Abraham will become a great nation and He will be the father of the seed of Eve by which he will become a blessing to all nations, but the blessings that are promised will be received in the way of covenant obedience. Clearly, the disobedience of the children of Israel will bring judgment upon them while it remains certain that God will enable obedience so that all that is promised to Abraham will find fulfillment. This is part of the linkage of the covenant with Sodom in both the call to obedience and the reality of judgment. B. Next we have what the Lord reveals that He is about do 20 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to

4 !4 me. And if not, I will know." 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD ( ). Clear to Abraham is that Sodom and Gomorrah are about to be judged by the Lord because they are guilty of great and grave sins. So, two of the visitors went toward Sodom while Abraham stood before the LORD. We should not miss the marvel of this entire account in which the Lord God appears in the form of a man to fellowship with Abraham at a meal and to speak with him face to face. This is a wonderful display of condescending love by the Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And there is more to wonder about yet to come in the response of Abraham and the dialogue that occurs. C. Abraham s bold response The Lord invites Abraham to respond to the pending judgment of Sodom: that is surely why He did not hide his purpose and why He remains with Abraham as the two messengers go on to Sodom. Moreover, He allows Abraham to bargain and negotiate with Him. Abraham does so on the basis of some important premises, namely, the Lord is the Judge of all the earth (18.25); He will not sweep away the righteous with the wicked (18.23); He will do what is just (18.25). Listen again to this outstanding dialogue of a human being with God Almighty: 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 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?" 26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 29 Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 31 He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place ( ). Thus, because of Abraham s intercession, the Lord revealed His purpose to spare Sodom if at least ten righteous can be found there upon investigation by His messengers, the two other visitors presently on their way to Sodom. III. The Lord underscores covenant election Now the Lord is active through His messengers who arrive in Sodom in the evening and are met immediately by Lot sitting in the gateway to the city (19.1-3). Perhaps less pronounced than Abraham s hospitality, nonetheless, Lot urged them strongly to enter his house, feast with him, and spend the night. So, the stage is set for them to discover the depth of Sodomite wickedness. What unfolds is a mob s action, Lot s rescue, Abraham s perspective, and the narrator s epilogue. A. Mob action reveals the wickedness of this city and its negative influence on Lot. Thus, in , the entire population of men, both young and old seek to commit homosexual rape of the visitors. Having surrounded the house, they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them [sexually]. Lot s shocking and pathetic response reveals his own degraded view of family love and marital intimacy by seeking to protect the visitors by debasing his daughters; he says: 7 I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof (19.7-8). But they reject his suggestion and would have broken down the door if the visitors had not pulled Lot into the house. By blinding mob, the messengers diffused the situation leaving the men groping in the dark ( ). By this account, we are given insight into the pervasive

5 !5 lawlessness of the people of Sodom that made them ripe for divine judgment.the truth is that not even ten righteous persons can be found in the city. In fact, it is hard to conclude that there is even one righteous person among the inhabitants of Sodom. B. The messengers rescue Lot and family from the impending judgment of Sodom It comes about in stages that take us from the late evening scene to sunrise the next day. 1. The announcement of the coming destruction Coupled with their announcement that the Lord has sent them to destroy the city is instruction to Lot to inform all his family members of what is about to happen ( ) and Lot follows this instruction but is rebuffed and ignored: So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law [to be] who were [planning] to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his [proposed future] sons-in-law to be jesting (19.14). 2. The deliverance of Lot In the morning, Lot, his wife, and two unmarried daughters had to be practically dragged out of the city: 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city ( ). Notably, Lot was rescued despite his lingering because the Lord was merciful to him (v. 16). Left to himself, he would have died there. 3. The negotiation of Lot for a place of escape Lot is instructed to escape for dear life by leaving the vicinity of Sodom: Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away (19.17). But Lot just cannot follow the instructions of God s messenger. Instead, he pleads to escape to the little city of Zoar apparently at the edge of the valley ( ). His request is granted and Lot arrived there shortly after sunrise: The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar (19.24). 4. After his arrival at Zoar, Sodom, and Lot s wife were destroyed 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt ( ). Because she disobeyed the word of the Lord delivered through His messenger, Lot s wife faced an unusual judgment for she became a pillar of salt. In the NT, we are told to remember what happened to Lot s wife, but other than that we have no further explanation. C. Next, the scene shifts to Abraham s perspective After reporting the (guilt proving) mob action and the deliverance of Lot, the narrator allows us to look through Abraham s eyes toward the valley early the same morning when Lot arrived at Zoar and the covenant Lord destroyed Sodom with fire out of heaven ( ): 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. Now we come full circle to the link between the fulfillment of God s covenant purpose through Abraham and the destruction of Sodom. Remembering Abraham means that God kept His covenant with him to make him a blessing to his household and the nations. He kept covenant by sending Lot out of the midst of the overthrow (19.29). God does not destroy a single righteous person along with the wicked at Sodom, no matter how much he may walk in a way that is not worthy of his calling. Importantly, He delivers him for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, and with Eve, to save a family of redeemed image bearers. In other words, the deliverance of Lot from the destruction of Sodom reveals the profound fact that covenant fulfillment involves the redemption of Abraham s children in all their generations by the election of a remnant from among a fallen, wicked, depraved, and degraded human race.

6 !6 D. Finally, the narrator s epilogue reveals more degradation in the family of Lot In , we read of Lot s move from Zoar to live with his daughters in a cave because of fear. Apparently, his association with these Sodom-like sinful people reminded him of all that transpired at Sodom including God s judgment, so he partly followed the visitor s instruction to flee to the hills (but near Zoar). Once settled there, his two daughters feel isolated from men and thus prevented from raising up offspring from their father. So they devise a scheme in which they get their father drunk so that on two successive nights, as they put it, we may go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father (19.32, 34). Having executed the plan, we read in that both daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. Finally, the narrator traces the descendants of Lot to the Moabites and the Ammonites of the days of Moses (37-38). Concluding applications How shall we apply these pungent chapters? We could draw many lessons from the conduct, good or bad, of the main characters: Abraham, Sarah, Lot, the townspeople of Sodom, Lot s wife, daughters, and sons-in-law to be (1 Cor 10). Of course, we must remember that the Lord is the main character who is active throughout. Concerning Abraham, he has grown in faith, shows himself to be the friend of God, and bold intercessor. In prayer, he reasons boldly with the Lord to spare the righteous if some can be found there beginning with fifty and ending with ten. He is respectful but definitely persistent. We can find many things in his prayer life to emulate. But we will have to think carefully about how this might guide our intercessory praying. As for Sarah, she continues to be an enigma and hearing God s reminder of His promise of a son, laughs at the idea given that she has gone through menopause; so the idea is too hard, even impossible. Lot is even more of an enigma than Sarah. He has a terribly degraded view of family love as well as a deeply degraded view of God s will for marital intimacy. If we are shocked to hear him offer his own daughters to mob abuse, we may be even more shocked to hear Peter call him a righteous man (2 Pet a). But Lot s example is a warning about earthly attachment and how bad associations have a corrupting influence: Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." (1Co 15.33). Here is an example not to follow, but wisely consider how the Lord may leave his children at times to the corruption of their own hearts for lessons about their former sins, the hidden strength of the corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled (WCF V, 5). We might reflect on the whole account by this question: what is the purpose of the visit of these three men, one the Lord and the other two His angels? The Lord makes this visit to confirm the covenant promise of a son through Sarah, to reveal his special love for Abraham by meal conversation and unique dialogue to share His thoughts with His chosen servant. Moreover, He comes to emphasize that He is just and the Judge of all the earth who freely decides when to execute swift and severe judgment. And even in judgment, He makes known His power, justice, and sovereign election in showing mercy. His justice means that judgment will fall on the nations but because of His gracious covenant of redemption through Eve, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah, it has been and is now even more clearly revealed that He will save all families of the earth in a remnant pictured here in the rescue of Lot from a city in which not even ten righteous people could be found. But God is free in how He works with His people when they have but a few righteous among them as in the case for example of the righteous Daniel who is carried away in the judgment of Israel. So, was Abraham s intercessory prayer effective? No and yes. It became evident that the thought of fifty righteous persons in Sodom is far beyond proper expectation; there are not ten,

7 !7 and even one is questionable. So, the Lord did not spare Sodom as Abraham earnestly requested: the condition of the bargain to which God agreed was not met. But yes, God remembered Abraham; He remembered his intercession and He remembered His covenant with him that He would bless him and his household. Thus, what was surely the core of Abraham s desire regarding the righteous among the wicked - his desire that his nephew Lot be spared from destruction - was granted by the Lord. It was granted in a way that reveals the unworthiness of Lot who had to be literally dragged by the hand out of the city with judgment impending; dragged by the Lord s free and sovereign mercy. Covenant fulfillment is messy business. Thus, Peter gives an encouragement to all believers who live among the ungodly in an a fortiori argument: if He spared Lot in his careless association with the ungodly, how much more does He ably and willingly spare those who avoid the way of Lot in their walk with God (2 Pet a). What follows if we think big picture and see in Abraham his greater son, Jesus our mediator after the order of Melchizedek (Gen 14)? Then we hear the gospel-good-news of the absolute efficacy of His high priestly intercession. His intercession does not leave the people of His desire unnamed as did Abraham. He intercedes for those given to Him by the Father in the eternal covenant of redemption. Like He called Zacchaeus, He calls each one by name. His five bleeding wounds cry out for their salvation: forgive them, forgive them they cry; do not let a single ransomed sinner die! In this city of Sodom and that land of Canaan, He has a remnant that He will save by His intercession. Among the nations of all the earth, He has a remnant people that He will deliver from the fire of divine wrath that will overtake the wicked. His people are unworthy sinners living among the unworthy, but God is rich in mercy. If you walk with God here today, it is because the Lord took you by the hand and dragged you out of the city of destruction to take you on a pilgrim journey through life on this earth, on a journey to the city of salvation, to the city that has foundations true and sure whose maker is God. Therefore we must praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him in prayer, even in intercessory prayer. Working with this text is like having one foot in Romans 11 and no doubt Paul writes Romans 11 with one foot in Genesis 18-19: note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you (Rom 11.22). Therefore, we must fall down before the majesty of God in doxology: Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" 35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (Rom ).