..To Ancient SDA's ............ To "What's New?"
by
Ron Parsons
The aim of this series:
“Then He said to them, ‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:25-27.
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Internet: http://NonConformist.MyChurch.com
Genesis 18b
That conversation!
This is a most interesting section of our story so let’s look at it again.
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Genesis 18:
16 And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
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Because he loved his LORD and wanted to spend as much time as possible with Him, Abraham walked a short way along the road with Him to say farewell. Because of that love, we have a record of the following conversation which gives a great insight into our Saviour’s character.
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Genesis 18:
17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I 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 know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him.”
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Again we have the thought that obedience brings the blessing. It is only as we obey the word that we can be helped. And that influence shows up very well in our children and descendants, for how did Abraham become a “mighty nation”? He taught his children to keep “the way of the LORD” to “do justice and judgment” (i.e. be fair and honest), and the result followed. They weren’t perfect, but they were the best of a bad bunch. (See note 1.)
More than that, we are told, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him.” Psalm 25:14. Abraham had honoured God, and the LORD honoured him, taking him into His counsels, and revealing to him His purposes. So if we do the same, Jesus will give us great understanding of what is going to happen, and, more importantly, why, and how!!
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Genesis 18:
20 And the LORD said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
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What a great God! He knows what is going on, but He behaves as we would do, so that we can see that He does! He didn’t NEED to go to Sodom, but it makes it more believable for us that He did.
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Genesis 18:
22 And the men turned their faces from there, and went
[ahead] toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, “Will You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?24 Peradventure
[maybe] there be fifty righteous within the city: will You also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from You to do after this manner [its not in Your character], to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from You: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”*************** (End quote)
Courageous, loving Abraham! He was prepared to speak his mind to his Friend, carefully and prayerfully, but honestly. “That wouldn’t be fair”, he said, “and I know that You are absolutely just. So what’s going on here?” And the man of faith pleaded for the inhabitants of Sodom.
Once before he had saved them by his sword (Chapter 14, Reading #89). Now with better understanding he endeavoured to save them by prayer.
With deep reverence and humility he urged his plea. Himself a sinner, he pleaded in the sinner's behalf. All who approach God should possess such a spirit. Yet Abraham manifested the confidence of a child pleading with a loved father. He came close to the heavenly Messenger, and fervently urged his petition. There was no self-confidence, no boasting of his own righteousness. He did not claim favour on the ground of his obedience, or of the sacrifices he had made in doing God's will. He simply clung to his Saviour’s character.
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Genesis 18:
26 And the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
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And that’s the pattern. Where there are righteous ones (fair and honest people who follow the LORD) Jesus is still be able to protect to a degree. The degree depends on the number of righteous. Not a majority necessarily, but enough to outweigh Satan’s plans by their obedience. How that works I don’t know. But I do know that when the leading Jews wanted to kill the disciples after the crucifixion, just one of God’s men on the council, named Gamaliel, managed to stop it. A just and righteous man, he put an unanswerable point to them, for our God fights only with words. He too, uses the sword of the word. Hebrews 4:12. (Check out Isaiah 49:1-3 also).
This is how it happened:
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Acts 5:
33 When they heard that
[Peter’s speech], they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. 34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space [an act of courtesy to the council]; 35 and said to them [the council], “You men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do as touching these men. 36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody [a Messiah]; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.”37 “After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing
[at Jesus’ birth], and drew away much people after him [as another Messiah]: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.38 And now I say to you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 but if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it; lest haply you be found even to fight against God.”
40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
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So Abraham kept talking.
Not to twist the arm of his LORD, but because he couldn’t stop himself. The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ. The Son of God is Himself the great Intercessor in the sinner's behalf. He who has paid the price for its redemption knows the worth of the human life. With an antagonism to evil such as can exist only in a nature spotlessly pure, Christ manifests toward the sinner a love which infinite goodness alone can conceive. So He talked and acted. In the agonies of the crucifixion, Himself burdened with the awful weight of the sins of the whole world, He prayed for His revilers and murderers, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. It is written of Abraham that “he was called the friend of God,” “the father of all them that believe”, and this is why. James 2:23; Romans 4:11.
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Genesis 18:
27 And Abraham answered and said, “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the LORD, which am but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure
[maybe] there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: will you destroy all the city for lack of five?” And He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”29 And he spoke to Him yet again, and said, “Peradventure there shall be forty found there.” And He said, “I will not do it for forty's sake.”
30 And he said to Him, “Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there.” And He said, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there.” And He said, “I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.”
32 And he said, “Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there.” And He said, “I will not destroy it for ten's sake.”
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Abraham had at first seen in his guests only three tired wayfarers, little thinking that among them was One whom he might worship without sin. But the true character of the heavenly Messenger had been revealed. Though He was now on His way as a minister of God’s “wrath”, yet to Abraham, the man of faith, He spoke first of blessings and protection.
Though the Son of God is strict to mark iniquity and to allow transgression its result, He takes no delight in vengeance. The work of destruction is a “strange work” to Him who is infinite in love, and here we see it. Isaiah 28:21.
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Genesis 18:
33 And the LORD went His way, as soon as He had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.
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Note that it was Abraham who terminated the conversation. He thought he had “pushed” far enough and so he stopped before he got to “one”. But Jesus loves those who love their fellowmen, so He was enjoying this “face-to face” and would have continued.
Enough for now, I’ll be back next week, God willing.
Ron
Some of the comments in these readings are adapted from books in my library. No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own.
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To Ancient SDA's ............ To "What's New?" To the top of this page
From my library:
1 Another message came to me from the LORD in late November of the fourth year of the reign of King Darius [possibly 420BC].
2 The Jews of the city of Bethel had sent a group of men headed by Sharezer, the chief administrative officer of the king, and Regemmelech, to the LORD’s temple at Jerusalem, to seek His blessing, 3 and to speak with the priests and prophets about whether they must continue their traditional custom of fasting and mourning during the month of August each year, as they had been doing so long. [They were remembering and mourning the destruction of the temple.]
4 This was the LORD’s reply:
5 “When you return to Bethel
[the house of God], say to all your people and your priests, ‘During those seventy years of exile when you fasted and mourned in August and October, were you really in earnest about leaving your sins behind, and coming back to Me? No, not at all!6 “And even now in your holy feasts to God, you don’t think of Me, but only of food and fellowship and fun. 7 Long years ago, when Jerusalem was prosperous and her southern suburbs out along the plain were filled with people, the prophets warned that this attitude would surely lead to ruin, as it has’.”
8 Then this message from the LORD came to Zechariah.
9 “Tell them to be honest and fair – and not to take bribes – and to be merciful and kind to everyone. 10 Tell them to stop oppressing widows and orphans, foreigners and poor people; and to stop plotting evil against each other.
11 “Your fathers would not listen to this message. They turned stubbornly away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing Me. 12 They hardened their hearts like flint, afraid to hear the words of that God, the LORD of hosts, commanded them – the laws He had revealed to them by His Spirit through the early prophets. That is why such great wrath came down on them from God.
13 “I called but they refused to listen; so when they cried to me, I turned away. 14 I scattered them as with a whirlwind among the far-off nations. Their land became desolate; no one even travelled through it; the Pleasant Land lay bare and blighted.”
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Living Prophecies, The Minor Prophets paraphrased, by Kenneth N. Taylor, 1965. Back
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12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Back
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1 Listen, O isles [nations], to Me; and hearken, you people, from far; The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the bowels of My mother has He made mention of My name. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand has He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft [a special arrow]; in His quiver has He hid Me; 3 and said to Me, “You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Back
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