E415: Far Be It From You - A Study in Genesis

Unknown Speaker (0:00): Such a beautiful song. Thank you for being here this morning. We're gonna be talking about prayer. If you have your bible, open it up, please, to Genesis chapter 18. We'll begin there in just a moment.

Speaker 0 (0:11): As you're turning there, I just wanna talk a little bit about our Thursday night class, our bible basics class that Braden and I are teaching. We've had a great time. This coming Thursday will be week number 12, and we've already made our way through Genesis, the Old Testament, and we ended really in the beginning parts of the gospels in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John talking about Jesus. We looked at a timeline of the Bible and this Thursday, we're gonna be beginning a new series of studies called getting to know your Bible. I wanna invite and encourage everyone to come to this study each Thursday night from 06:30 to 07:30.

Speaker 0 (0:48): In our Bible Basics class, we've talked a great deal about Abraham and rightfully so, going back to Genesis chapter 11 and also Genesis chapter 12. We can always learn a great deal from Abraham, what it means to walk by faith, the the danger of self preservation and bargaining with god, trying to figure things out on our own and maybe even surprisingly, something about prayer and more about the character of god. I say that because of what we see, this interaction between the Lord and Abraham in Genesis chapter 18 verses 22 through 23 or 33. The title of this lesson is called Far Be It From You. This is language that Abraham used as he spoke to the Lord.

Speaker 0 (1:36): This interaction that Abraham had with the Lord, it meets the basic definition of prayer, speaking to God, and also including intercession, which is one of the most frequent forms of prayer. Prayer has also showed up on our survey, and so I thought it would be appropriate for us to talk this morning about prayer. We're not gonna talk about every element of prayer, but there's some valuable lessons for us to be reminded about prayer in this text. Prayer reminds us that God desires a relationship with his people and we know that Abraham had a very close, intimate relationship with god. Nathan Ward in his book, Our Eyes Are On You, a book on prayer that Braden and I are studying talks about a lot about prayer and he uses this point here where he says as human relationships teach us deeper relationships include deeper communication, including difficult conversations, brutal honesty, and a willingness to let the other see us at our worst.

Speaker 0 (2:37): We understand that from a physical standpoint, and that has great application when it comes to how we go to God in prayer as well, with trust, with honesty, and also with vulnerability. We're gonna come back to Genesis chapter 18 and see what we can learn about prayer from Abraham and this interaction that he had with the Lord. I wanna first begin with the context to understand why Abraham is having this interaction with the Lord to begin with. We know going back to Genesis chapter 12 that God called Abraham, and when God called Abraham, he obeyed. He gave Abraham great promises.

Speaker 0 (3:17): Now the Lord said to Abraham, go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. He gave him promises like the land promise, a great nation in verse two. And then through Abraham, all families of the earth would be blessed. By the way, about three or four weeks ago, I did a sermon from Genesis chapter 12 called the state of the Jewish nation. This past Wednesday, there was a visitor.

Unknown Speaker (3:46): She may be here tonight. If so, fantastic or today, fantastic. But the question she had as we talked were specifically about that sermon. I just wanna encourage you. If you didn't get a chance to listen to that sermon, to go back and listen to it because it will help us as we, interact with others.

Speaker 0 (4:02): These great promises God gave to Abraham, and this is gonna begin a journey of twenty five years of walking by faith with his wife, Sarah. And we know the rest of the story. We studied this already. And what we find is that in Genesis chapter 18, if you turn over there, Abraham is 99 years old, and there is still no child of promise. But in chapter 17, God had spoken to Abraham and told him that indeed he would have a child, that Sarah would have a child.

Speaker 0 (4:40): And what's amazing about Genesis 17 and verse 17 is that Abraham laughed at God. How is this going to work? And so now in chapter 18, we're gonna see another interaction with Abraham and the Lord. The Lord is gonna come to Abraham. Why?

Speaker 0 (4:59): For a couple of reasons. Let's begin reading. Three individuals appear in verse number one. Now the Lord appeared to him by the Oaks Of Mamre while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him.

Speaker 0 (5:17): And when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, my lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. What Abraham is going to do is gonna tell tell Sarah to get things ready and he's gonna make food for these three men And what we're gonna see is that there are two big reasons why these three men, the Lord is going to appear to Abraham. One, he's going to reiterate the promises or the promise of having a child. If you drop down to Genesis chapter 18 and verse number nine, the Bible says, then they said to him, where is Sarah your wife? And he said, there in the tent.

Speaker 0 (6:01): And as I've studied this, it appears that they're gonna appear more so for Sarah. He's already talked to Abraham in chapter 17, but also for her sake and potentially for her own unbelief. In verse number 10, listen to what he says. He said, I will surely return to you at this time next year. And behold, Sarah, your wife, will have a son.

Speaker 0 (6:26): And Sarah was listening at the tent door which was behind him. I want you to notice the the response that she has. Now, Abraham and Sarah were owed advanced in age. Sarah was past childbearing. She, Sarah laughed to herself.

Speaker 0 (6:46): Verse 12 saying, after I have become old, shall I have pleasure? Talking about that physical relationship, my lord being old also. She's laughing within herself. How is this ever going to work? I want you to notice a couple of thoughts.

Speaker 0 (7:04): One, I love the fact that she calls Abraham in her heart lord. That is showing us something about Sarah's heart that even when she was by herself, she had the proper attitude, respect toward her husband. Keep that in mind for future sermons that are coming up with respect to to our marriages. But Sarah showed respect even when she was by herself. And yet there's also some doubt.

Speaker 0 (7:29): How is this going to work? We're both owed. And the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh saying, shall I indeed bear a child when I am so old? So, even though she was in the tent by herself, there's nothing that she could hide from the lord and that is true for us right now. There is nothing we can hide from god.

Speaker 0 (7:52): Is anything too difficult for the lord? At the appointed time, I will return to you at this time next year and Sarah will have a son. This was the promise going all the way back to Genesis chapter 12. She denied it, however. So, she lies about it.

Speaker 0 (8:12): She denied it, however, saying, I did not laugh for she was afraid. And I find it interesting what fear often will do for us or to us in certain situations. That's exactly what happened with her. And she is rebuked in verse 15. No, but you did laugh.

Speaker 0 (8:32): So, part of the reason the lord and these men are going to appear and these men in chapter 19 and verse one are described as angels is that they're going to remind Sarah, you are going to have a child of promise. Abraham is going to be 100 years old and Sarah next year is going to be 90 years old But they also came to investigate a matter. And there's gonna be an interaction that the Lord is going to have with Abraham. If you look at verse number 16, then the men rose up from there and looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham was walking with them to send them off.

Speaker 0 (9:08): In Genesis 19, we find Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was introduced back in chapter 12. He was the nephew of Abraham and he's going to pitch his tent towards Sodom in Genesis chapter 13. He's gonna be taken away into captivity or taken away, because of a war in Genesis chapter 14 with the others in Sodom And he's there now in Genesis chapter 19. And these two men come in verse 16 and they're gonna be sent off by Abraham.

Speaker 0 (9:38): Notice what the Lord says in verse 17. The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? So, they're going to investigate and the lord is also going to share with Abraham. Again, pointing to this friendship, this intimacy that they had, what I'm 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.

Speaker 0 (10:06): For I have chosen him. That word chosen is the word known. I have known him and again, it points to a level of intimacy between god and Abraham. I have chosen him 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. These two men are going to investigate what's gonna happen there or what's happening actually at that moment.

Speaker 0 (10:38): God has already reiterated these promises and he's not going to hide from Abraham what he is about to do. There's an outcry from the people seeking divine intervention. When you go back to Genesis chapter 18 and verse number 20. The lord said, the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great and their sin is exceedingly grave. There are already multiple lessons we can learn about our god.

Speaker 0 (11:07): One, there's nothing too difficult for our god and two, our god is going to be a righteous judge as we will see. When he sends the men and he talks about this outcry, it's not that he doesn't already know what's taking place but rather this action shows his righteous justice. He will not execute judgement on a capital case without the testimony of two witnesses and these two men are gonna go there. We read all about two or three witnesses in numbers in Deuteronomy. It is showing us that god is not hasty to condemn and like an ideal judge, he is merciful by preference.

Speaker 0 (11:47): He doesn't hide what he's going to do with Abraham. Twice in, in Isaiah chapter 41 and verse number verse number eight, rather here in Isaiah 41 and verse number eight, I love how Abraham is described. It says, but you Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, my friend. He was a friend of god and god is not going to hide what he was going to do. It's very similar to what Jesus said to his apostles in John chapter 15 and verse number 15 as well.

Speaker 0 (12:19): In John chapter 15 and verse number 15, he said, no longer do I call you slaves for the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends for all things that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you. And the Lord is going to make known to Abraham what he is about to do and what is taking place there in Sodom. And Abraham knows something about God. Surely, where he was living, this outcry would have reached him as well about the sinful conduct that was taking place in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Speaker 0 (13:00): And he knows about the righteousness of God. He knows about the justice of God. And look at verse 21. I will go down now and see if they have done entirely according to this outcry which has come to me and if not, I will know. Then the men turned away from there and went towards Sodom while Abraham was still standing before the lord.

Speaker 0 (13:21): Notice in verse 23, what Abraham does, he came near to the lord. Abraham came near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? This is where we find this interaction between Abraham and the lord. It's an interaction that many are familiar with and maybe have questions about. Where where Abraham is gonna talk to god and he's gonna ask him in verse number 23, verse number 24.

Speaker 0 (13:50): Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city. Will you indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous who are in it? And he's gonna go from 50 to 45 to 40 and he's just gonna keep going lower and lower until he gets to the number 10. Reading different commentaries and different thoughts. Sometimes, people view this as Abraham haggling with god.

Speaker 0 (14:17): But I like what one person said, the right word is exploring. Abraham is feeling his way forward in the spirit of faith. He knows something about God. Look at verse number 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.

Speaker 0 (14:37): Far be it from you shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly. He knows that god is judged not just over a particular geographical location but of all the earth And every time how God interacts with people, it is always righteous and just in nature. And Abraham certainly is gonna grasp the range and rightness of God's rule, humility, and his whole mode of address and of love demonstrated in his concern for what was taking place there in Sodom. In this discussion, god's position is not being altered but rather in fact, he's proving Abraham's statement of verse 25 to be true. That he is not unjust in any way and that god is going to go to great lengths to show this truth to Abraham.

Speaker 0 (15:34): Something else that's interesting when you look at verses 22 all the way down to 33 where Abraham is gonna continue to ask god. Look at verse 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? So, the lord said, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account And Abraham replied, now behold, I venture to speak to the lord, although I am but dust and ashes.

Unknown Speaker (16:09): Suppose a 50 righteous are lacking five. Will you destroy the whole city because of five? And he said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 there. He spoke to him yet again and said, suppose 40 are found there. And he said, I will not do it on account of the 40.

Speaker 0 (16:28): Then he said, oh may the lord not be angry and I shall speak. Suppose 30 are that found there and he said, I will not do it if I find 30 there. And he said, now, behold, I ventured to speak to the lord, supposed 20 are found there. And he said, I I will not destroy it on account of the 20. Then he said, oh, may the lord not be angry and I shall speak only this once.

Speaker 0 (16:54): Suppose 10 are found there. And he said, I will not destroy it on account of the 10. As soon as he had finished speaking to Abraham, the Lord departed and Abraham returned to his place. You know what I don't see in those verses? I don't see god being displeased at all with the numerous request, with the please, with the petitions that Abraham keeps on offering and asking for.

Unknown Speaker (17:27): In fact, after each one, after each of these petitions, god would say, yeah, I will grant that if that is the case. And that shows us something else about her great god. A lot of people have questions. I have at least five answers in my notes. Why did Abraham stop at the number 10?

Speaker 0 (17:51): Was it because he dare not go further? That's what one person said. God, number two, withdrew as soon as he stopped at 10. That's actually a really great point because after he asked for 10 in verse 32, as soon as he finished speaking to Abraham, the Lord departed. That may be a good answer.

Speaker 0 (18:08): But another potential answer was, was it because he knew god did not spare the wicked with eight righteous souls in the days of the flood? Did Abraham know about the righteousness of God to know that anything below 10 is no longer an act of mercy to those few righteous who remain? Or perhaps Abraham knew that any number lower than 10 would have degraded a worthy intercession into a narrow plea for one's relatives only. Which one is it? I have no idea.

Speaker 0 (18:46): I don't know. But I do know something about this story. And I know something about this story that will help us as we think about our fellowship and relationship with God in prayer. There are a lot of connections that we can take away as we think about prayer, as we think about approaching god in prayer. Number one, I want you to think about openness with god.

Speaker 0 (19:09): Again, we're not gonna touch in every aspect of prayer but make no mistake, there are some valuable lessons for us to learn. Abraham from the beginning was open with god. Even to the point in chapter 17 where he's laughing after the lord had told him what was going to happen. If you look at this interaction between god and Abraham, Abraham is bold in his request to god. He does not hold back with the request that he makes.

Speaker 0 (19:38): He didn't stop at 50 but went all the way down to the number 10. The reality is it would have done him no good to stop or to hide because god already knew his thoughts. He already knew what Sarah was thinking when she was in the tent by herself. I love the fact in Genesis chapter 18, after the two men did you catch this in verse number 23? After the two men left in verse number 23, Abraham came near and said to the Lord.

Speaker 0 (20:10): He was close to God, and he was open with God. What a great example for us as we think about our prayers. Consider Hebrews chapter four as we think about this openness with god and this confidence before god and this boldness that we have to go before god in prayer. As a Hebrew writer talks about our great high priest in heaven, a high priest that can sympathize with who we are in this Earth. In verse 15, we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin.

Speaker 0 (20:47): Therefore, let us, here it is, draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. As we consider prayer, that needs to be our response as well. Going to God and openness, going to God with great confidence. Abraham speaks to God's justice and he asked God to reconsider his plans. I like what one person said about friendship, that friends share their thoughts with one another.

Unknown Speaker (21:30): That's exactly what Abraham is doing with god. He is sharing his thoughts. He is asking him to intervene, to intercede for the righteous there. Should we not be fully open to the lord as we go to him in prayer? Jesus already answers the question in Matthew chapter six and verse number eight.

Speaker 0 (21:52): In Matthew chapter six, when he was teaching about prayer, you remember what he said in verse number eight? About what the lord already knows? He said, your father knows what you need before you ask him. So, why not be open with our God in heaven? With our fears, with our doubts, with our concerns, with our requests.

Speaker 0 (22:20): And yet, as we think about this openness with God and this confidence, please do not mistake me. That as we go to God in prayer, we also need to make sure that we go to god in prayer with humility. This is not about arrogance as we go to god in prayer but rather with respect to humble boldness. We must always approach the true and living god with humility. The one who will judge the entire earth.

Speaker 0 (22:48): Abraham viewed himself in this way. Did you pick up on the language? Let me turn back to Genesis chapter 18. Notice how when Abraham is talking to the Lord, how he described himself and what a great pattern for us to think about and to understand who we are as we approach the throne of grace in heaven. In Genesis chapter 18 and verse number 27, Abraham said, I am but dust and ashes.

Speaker 0 (23:16): And that's exactly who we are. And Abraham knew who he was talking to. He came before him with reverence and fear. Later on in the same text in chapter 18 and verse 30, he said, may the lord not be angry and I shall speak. Abraham spoke to god not out of arrogance or a or in a negative way but with humility.

Speaker 0 (23:43): He was bowed with his request and yet he did so with the proper heart. And as we think about going to God in prayer, that must be always our disposition. It has to be our disposition because we're talking to the true and living god and we've learned a great deal already about who the true and living god is. Did you pick up on some of the attributes and qualities? One of the things that Braden and I are talking about in those classes every Thursday night as we go through a timeline of the Bible to help people to understand the Bible story, we we don't wanna just understand it.

Speaker 0 (24:18): We have to understand it but we also wanna understand who god is and all of our Bible studies, whether it's the evangelism class in the high school or a heart like Jesus here or the young people, we want to learn more about who is god. And from this one interaction between Abraham and the Lord, we know a lot. We know that our father in heaven, he is just in every way. And that's why he's going to appeal to his justice and to his mercy. Abraham's going to appeal to his standard, to god's standard and not his own.

Speaker 0 (24:56): When I was reading this, I think we could sum it up with your will be done. Abraham knows a god and we can see from god in this interaction here that our father in heaven, he's long suffering and he is patient. He is also sovereign and a god who will judge appropriately the wicked. I love a nice summary that someone said, the lord investigates the accusations thoroughly. He ensures two objective witnesses.

Speaker 0 (25:27): He involves the faithful in his judgment. He displays active compassion for the suffering and prioritizes divine mercy over indignant wrath. Not to be destroyed if even 10 are righteous. That's the god that we are approaching in prayer and this story helps and reminds us about how great our god truly is. Let us never forget who our god is and the one that we are talking to as we go to god in prayer and that becomes important as well because you see this intercession that Abraham is making.

Speaker 0 (26:04): His desire to intercede was because he was aware of Sodom's wickedness and god's righteousness. I find it interesting in Genesis 14 and verse 14. This is the second time he's gonna seek to intervene on behalf for Sodom. He's gonna help rescue Lot back in Genesis chapter 14. And yet he's thinking and hoping maybe there are more righteous people there than just merely Lot.

Speaker 0 (26:27): He starts at 50. And yet Abraham's spirit of love and justice are derived from god as surely as it strove with him. Abraham was made in god's image and as a righteous man, he would seek to do the very things god would do. He sees the need for justice clearly but wants to show as much mercy as possible as he seeks to intercede. And this also means that his intercession would not be rooted and couldn't be rooted in their innocence or an appeal to God to simply ignore their transgression.

Speaker 0 (27:01): Instead, he bases his appeal on god's justice and his mercy. He appeals for if there's 50, if there's 45, if there's 40, if there's just 10. But Abraham doesn't have the full story as god does. But Abraham was going to learn just how bad it really was in Sodom. And just how few righteous there really were.

Speaker 0 (27:26): And God is going to show them that with the judgment that comes upon them in Genesis chapter 19. What we do see is Abraham seeking to intercede on the behalf of others and this is a type of prayer that we need to be engaged in as well. It could be sometimes that we think about intercessory prayer with respect to physical conditions and certainly there's nothing wrong with that. But there's also other ways and things as we think about praying in this manner. In first Timothy chapter two, if you remember there in first Timothy chapter two verses one through four, Paul reminded Timothy in first Timothy chapter two depending on what translation you're reading.

Speaker 0 (28:09): In first Timothy chapter two and verse number one, Paul said, first of all then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions, some translations will say intercessions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men. For kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of god, our savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He gives us a pattern to follow when it comes to making petitions or intercessions even for our leaders, for all men. And if you think that's challenging, then what about Matthew chapter five and verse 44?

Speaker 0 (29:06): Where Jesus says he talks about enemies and how a Christian is to respond. Notice what he says in Matthew chapter five and verse number forty three and forty four. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven for he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. Look how good our god is.

Speaker 0 (29:51): And he sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? I think that's a challenging aspect of prayer for us to think about, of making intercession, petitions, even for those who may persecute us. This kind of prayer to our great god in heaven, it will force us to engage in prayer that's not always about self but about others.

Speaker 0 (30:27): And we know that this kind of prayer will help us to be on solid footing because we know that this kind of prayer is part of the will of God. And John reminds us in first John chapter five and verse 14 and verse 15, this is the confidence which we have before him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us And we know that he hears us and whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him. And we know that these kinds of prayers are indeed appropriate. We know something else. We know god desires to hear from us, that he's given us access to come near to him and as we conclude here this morning, a thought to ponder is that knowing the character and all these details and facts and realities about god, that should drive us to our knees even further.

Speaker 0 (31:30): To cast our cares to him, to trust in the one who is righteous in every way. I'm thankful for the fellowship that we have in Christ and maybe there's someone here this morning, you're not near to god. You can become near to god and have fellowship with him and be in Jesus Christ if you're willing to trust what he says in his word. If you're willing to be a person of faith which entails belief and obedience and respond to the gospel message. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.

Speaker 0 (32:08): And what a blessing it will be to have access to the father through Jesus and forgiveness of sins. This week, let's be people of prayer even more, and let's look for as many opportunities to pray for one another and for all men. Let's stand. Let's sing.