Genesis 18:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

NIV: The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.

NASB: Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.

CSB: The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.

NLT: The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.

KJV: And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.

NKJV: Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

In the previous verses, the Lord in human form had revealed to Abraham His plans for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. As they stood at a high vantage point overlooking Sodom in the distance, with two angels standing nearby, the Lord told Abraham that the sin of the people of those cities was very great. The outcry of their victims had reached His ears. The Lord was preparing to go and see the city for Himself to confirm what He had heard and, by implication, proceed with executing His judgment against it. All of these are stated in human terms, in order to highlight God's point. Like a parent who already knows what has happened, God asks rhetorical questions and speaks of "investigation" for the sake of His children.

Now the two angels turn and walk toward Sodom. Abraham and the Lord remain where they are. Abraham's nephew Lot lives in the city, and Abraham is about to question the Lord more specifically about Sodom's future. The answers he receives will not be pleasant.

Genesis 18:22–33 describes Abraham's negotiation with the Lord for the city of Sodom, where his nephew Lot and his family live. Previously, God spoke from a poetic human perspective, saying that He would judge Sodom and Gomorrah if their sins were as awful as they seemed. Here, Abraham recoils at the idea that the Lord would annihilate righteous people along with the wicked, beginning a sort of negotiation with God. Of course, God does not need to negotiate with man, and already knows how depraved Sodom is. This conversation with Abraham has nothing to do with changing God's mind; it has everything to do with proving, beyond all doubt, that God's actions here are just. God says He will spare Sodom for the sake of just ten righteous people; later passages show the city fails that test.

Abraham hurries to offer respect and hospitality to three men who appear near his tent. Over the course of the chapter, the men reveal themselves to be the Lord and two angels in human form. As He had told Abraham in the previous chapter, the Lord now reveals to Sarah that she will have a son within the year. Later, the Lord poetically says He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham's nephew Lot lives. Abraham asks, and the Lord agrees, not to destroy Sodom if God finds 10 righteous people there.

God appeared to Abraham in the previous chapter revealing, in part, that Sarah would bear Abraham a son within a year's time. Now the Lord appears again, this time in human form and accompanied by two disguised angels. He reveals to Sarah the same promise. She laughs, and the Lord insists that even her age isn't too hard for Him to overcome. Next the Lord reveals to Abraham that He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham receives the Lord's promise not to destroy Sodom (where Abraham's nephew lives) if He finds 10 righteous people in the city. Unfortunately, the city is beyond saving, and the next chapter details its utter destruction.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 11/22/2024 12:23:35 AM