When God had finished
announcing the news of the son Sarah would bear a year later, He and the two
angels departed to go down to Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham being the gracious
host accompanied them on the way to send them off. This text tells us that
Abraham had a special relationship with God. He was chosen by God to be the instrument
through whom the rest of the world would be blessed. So God had a great purpose
and plan for Abraham, and He wouldn’t hide from him anything that had to do with
him. So here the Lord mused to Himself, asking, “Shall I hide from
Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great
and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be
blessed?
Abraham was a friend of God.
And friendship with God is truly a wonderful thing. He wants to reveal His plan
to His friends. And we have all become God’s friends when we make Jesus our
Lord. As His friends, He will preserve us and give us the privilege to know His
plan for our life. That’s why Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, God will reveal
to us concerning His plan through His Spirit, the “Things which eye has not seen and
ear has not heard, and
have not entered the heart of man, all
that God has prepared for those who love Him.” What a privilege!
God
had a desire for Abraham and his children. Verse 19 explicitly said what God’s intention
for them was. He said, “For I have chosen him
(Abraham), so 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 upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” God had great expectation for Abraham. He wanted him to teach his
children to walk with the Lord, and to keep His ways. They must also act
righteously and justly, so as to see the promise to him be brought into
realization. Just as God expected of Abraham to do right, He will also want us
to emulate him.
Nothing
is hidden from God’s view. God is all seeing. He has a holistic revelation and
He already sees the end from the beginning. So He knew exactly what’s happening
at Sodom and Gomorrah. He is everywhere present, so He was already aware of Sodom
and Gomorrah’s acts. The purpose of verses 21-22 is not to suggest that God must
go down to the twin wicked cities to know what’s going on. It is to tell us
that God never act unjustly without having full knowledge of what’s going on.
He saw the wickedness of the twin cities from the very beginning. Just as God knew
everything about Sodom and Gomorrah, God knows what’s going on in the world and
in our life. He will bring justice to everything. It will do us well to heed God’s
instruction through Paul in Ephesians 5:15-20. He said, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but
as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. …do not be
foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. …be filled with
the Spirit…making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving
thank for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the
Father.”
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