In Genesis chapter 18, God comes to earth to visit with His chosen prophet, Abraham. He appears in the form of a man, accompanied by two angels. Such a rare event is known as a Theophany, and some scholars view this moment as the appearance of the Son of God, Jesus. In the Genesis account, Abraham addressed Him as Lord – Adonai – and he addressed the angels using the same word. Yet the author, Moses, wrote of the person as Yahweh – the Lord – even though He appeared as a man.

The Theophany must have been prompted by a major impending event to warrant such an unusual encounter. Two things come to mind. The first is the revelation of God’s salvational plan for mankind through the offspring of Abraham. Now Abraham was 99 years old, and his wife, Sarah, was 90, well past childbearing age. The child of the promise would be their only son born to both of them, not the elder child born to a slave. Naturally, both Abraham (in Genesis 17:17) and Sarah (in Genesis 18:12) could not stifle a laugh at the announcement that she would bear a son to Abraham. But God had the last laugh, naming their future son Isaac, meaning He laughs. Through Isaac’s descendants came the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1).

The second major impending event was judgment on Sodom, Gomorrah, and the pervasively wicked cities of the plain of Siddim to the east. The Lord rose from His meal with Abraham, and His angels departed in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham stood alone before the Lord, and the Lord said that the outcry was very great against the sins of the cities of the plain. They looked eastward, down the mountain in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain. In the distance lay Sodom on the verdant, lush land of great wealth that had lured Lot, Abraham’s nephew, to stake his fortune and his life amidst so much depravity. The Lord then said to Abraham, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Genesis 18:17) God was speaking of impending destruction. In essence, the Lord gave Abraham permission and the opportunity to discuss and question the Lord on this severely important matter that touched the lives of Lot and his family.

Abraham pleaded for the lives of the righteous. “Surely the Lord will not sweep away the righteous with the wicked.” Humbly he begged, would you spare the city if there were 50 righteous? Yes, the Lord, said, He would spare the city if there were fifty righteous. Now Abraham repeatedly asked the same question as he whittled the number down to forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, then ten righteous souls. When the Lord gave affirmation to spare Sodom at ten souls, He departed from Abraham. The promise did not stop the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain, for only Lot and his immediate family were righteous. Lot would indeed be rescued by the two angels (chapter 19), but then total destruction would come.

Abraham’s pleading, however, set a precedent for later prophets to plead with the Lord for the clemency of God on their people, who were far from perfect. In the Bible, Moses, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk also pleaded for sinful Israel and Judah. Habakkuk asked why the Lord would crush the people who were seemingly less sinful than their tormentors (Habakkuk 1:13). Judgment from God comes after warnings and a hearing, as in a court of law, and the Lord wants His righteous ones to plead for people. In the end, judgment will be meted out after due process and the fulness of time, by which the mercies of God have been exhausted, so that no one has an excuse. Looking at nature as the general revelation of the sovereign power of God the Creator, mankind has no excuse. As the Apostle Paul wrote,

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. -Romans 1:20

The Lord’s angels rained down fire and sulfur on the cities of the plain in a unique and unprecedented fashion. To this day the destruction is visible in the wasteland that remains, as explorers may yet see and touch the white sulfur rock, the purest brimstone in the world that may be torched into a bright blue flame by simply striking a match. The one small town that God spared, Zoar, where Lot fled for refuge, has no such sulfur residue, a testament to the targeted destruction narrated in Holy Scripture. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah reminds the world of the inevitable judgment of God against abject, unrepentant wickedness in the face of all the evidence that pleads His case against them. In His mercy, He is telling us, repent! Do not be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Do not defy the Living God and sin as though there were no coming judgment. In the fulness of time, all will give an accounting before the throne of God. Each of us is a heartbeat away from eternity, and your personal “fulness of time” may be here already.

God spoke of entering His rest, in which the Promised Land for the Israelites of old serves as a mataphor for heaven itself:

Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” –Hebrews 4:3 (quoting Psalm 95:11)

And further from the same passage,

God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” –Hebrews 4:7 (quoting Psalm 95:7-8)

Christians are privileged to enter God’s eternal rest, where there is no sorrow or pain, but not so for the wicked. Even in this painful world before we are carried into the joys of eternity, Christians may experience the riches of Jesus through our friendship with the Savior, but not so for the wicked. God is patient, but only to a point. Do not be deceived by the lure of this world. Here is God’s attitude:

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. –2 Peter 3:9-10a

Approach this topic with a sense of urgency, especially if you waver in your faith walk or compromise you faith before the watching eyes of the Lord of Creation. Have you defied or mocked God or refused to believe? He looks down on the thoughts and deeds of humanity to see who obeys Him, and who willfully sins. He sees all we do. God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good or evil (Jeremiah 20:23-24; Ecclesiastes 12:14). Therefore, repent to the Holy God and receive His salvation freely offered.

The good news for the waiting and repentant heart may be found in these gospel verses:

• Genesis 3:15 (From the beginning, Christ was prepared to come and destroy the works of Satan.)
• Isaiah chapter 53, along with Acts 8:26-34 (Christ would lay down His life for the transgressors.)
• Daniel 7:13-14 and Matthew 17:9 (Christ the Son of Man is king of His eternal kingdom.)
• John 3:16; 6:29; 11:25 (Christ is God’s gift to us, and the resurrection and the life for believers.)
• Ephesians 2:8-10 (We are saved by God’s grace through our faith, not of works; but we are created in Christ to do His good works.)
• 1 John 1:9 (Christians may sometimes err in their faith walk, but have the assurance of restoration through confession to the God of mercy.)
• Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9-10; 8:1; 12:1-2 (The “Roman Way” gives the simple steps to eternal salvation and our new life in Christ.)

These verses, and many more, lay out the gospel from ancient times through the life of Christ, and into the current age. May the Lord richly bless you.