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Abraham and God talk about Sodom and Gomorrah - The Book of Genesis (2024) · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: For I know him, that he will command his children
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  Speaker 1: and his household after him, and they shall keep the
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  Speaker 1: way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that
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  Speaker 1: the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath
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  Speaker 1: spoken of him. Genesis 18.19 Lord, as I meditate and
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  Speaker 1: reflect on Genesis 18.16-33, I ask that you train my
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  Speaker 1: ears and my heart to hear the promises you've ordained
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  Speaker 1: for my life. In this very moment, strengthen my faith
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  Speaker 1: to believe as you do. Transform my heart to see
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  Speaker 1: opportunities in the midst of obstacles. Like the miracle you
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  Speaker 1: did for Abraham and Sarah, I too am choosing to
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  Speaker 1: believe that no matter how long I've had to wait,
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  Speaker 1: in a moment's notice, you will bring to pass all
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  Speaker 1: that you've promised. I declare that I will not laugh
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  Speaker 1: at the magnitude of my miracle, but instead will embrace
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  Speaker 1: the truth that you specialize in the impossible. As I
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  Speaker 1: wait to receive my promise, I will also intercede on
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  Speaker 1: behalf of all those who are lost and have yet
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  Speaker 1: to find your saving grace. I will stand in the
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  Speaker 1: gap for the lives of others like Abraham did for
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  Speaker 1: those in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: for your grace and faithfulness. Your love endures forever. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham and God talk about Sodom and Gomorrah. Before this story,
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  Speaker 2: we learned about how God made a covenant with Abram
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  Speaker 2: and renamed him Abraham. He renamed Sarai to Sarah and
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  Speaker 2: promised them a son despite their old age. Even in doubt, insecurity,
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  Speaker 2: and disobedience, God continues to make promises to Abraham's family.
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  Speaker 2: Now we revisit the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
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  Speaker 2: as God is about to judge those within the city
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  Speaker 2: and Abraham intervenes. Inspired by the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. When we last saw Abraham and Sarah,
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  Speaker 3: They were receiving their new names and a renewed affirmation
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  Speaker 3: of God's covenant to make a great nation through them.
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  Speaker 3: In today's reading, we'll find God paying a special visit
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  Speaker 3: to Abraham. And when he comes, he is not alone.
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  Speaker 3: Abraham bows before the Lord and welcomes the travelers with hospitality,
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  Speaker 3: sparing no good thing as he lavishes them with fresh
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  Speaker 3: food and drink. The first thing that God does is worship.
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  Speaker 3: Once again, reassure Abraham and Sarah of his promise to
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  Speaker 3: give them a child. But that's not all he is
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  Speaker 3: there for. There is a grave matter to which God
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  Speaker 3: must attend. The rampant wickedness of two cities. We've heard
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  Speaker 3: their names before. Sodom and Gomorrah. But now God's patience
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  Speaker 3: with the evil doing has run out. As we've seen before,
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  Speaker 3: evil cannot and will not go unpunished. Justice will be served. Must.
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  Speaker 3: be served. As you listen today, pay attention first to
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  Speaker 3: God's patient love towards Sarah, who is still very dubious
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  Speaker 3: of her prospects for motherhood. Notice how God does not
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  Speaker 3: become angry at her doubt, but instead reassures her as
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  Speaker 3: a loving parent does to a child. Then, as you
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  Speaker 3: hear the Lord and Abraham discuss Sodom and Gomorrah and
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  Speaker 3: God's plan to mete out His righteous justice on the
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  Speaker 3: great sin He is seeing Watch how Abraham intervenes. This
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  Speaker 3: is a great lesson in both humility and boldness before
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  Speaker 3: the Lord to be learned here in this passage. So
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  Speaker 3: let's listen in as God and Abraham talk about Sodom
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  Speaker 3: and Gomorrah.
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  Speaker 2: Under the shade of the trees in Mamre, in the
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  Speaker 2: heat of the day, the Lord appeared near Abraham's tent.
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  Speaker 2: Only this time he did not come as he usually did.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham was visited by three strangers, seemingly divine in nature,
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  Speaker 2: and one among them spoke as the Lord. Abraham bowed
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  Speaker 2: to them, knowing that this was not a usual thing.
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  Speaker 2: He lavished them with a meal and worshipped God with
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  Speaker 2: his hospitality underneath the trees. After the men had their
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  Speaker 2: fill and were rested, one of them asked, Where is
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  Speaker 2: your wife Sarah? Sarah was close by in the tent
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  Speaker 2: beside the trees, listening to their conversation and trying not.
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  Speaker 3: To be heard.
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  Speaker 2: She is in the tent, Abraham responded, not sure how
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  Speaker 2: to speak with these strangers. The Lord once again spoke
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  Speaker 2: his promise to Abraham, knowing Sarah was listening through the tent.
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  Speaker 2: When I return to you about this time next year,
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  Speaker 2: your wife shall have a son. A faint laugh could
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  Speaker 2: be heard from the tent. Sarah, an old woman far
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  Speaker 2: past her childbearing years, could not fathom such a notion.
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  Speaker 2: The idea of two people nearly a hundred years old
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  Speaker 2: even having normal sex was a laughable idea.' After I
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  Speaker 2: am worn out and my husband is old, shall I
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  Speaker 2: even have pleasure?' Sarah chuckled to herself. God, hearing this,
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  Speaker 2: turned to Abraham and asked, Why does Sarah doubt that
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  Speaker 2: she can have a child at her age? Let me
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  Speaker 2: ask you this. Is anything impossible for the Lord? Is
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  Speaker 2: anything too hard for the creator of the stars and
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  Speaker 2: the mender of all things broken? Listen again. About this
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  Speaker 2: time next year I will return to you, and Sarah
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  Speaker 2: shall have a son. Sarah, now found out for her
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  Speaker 2: silent chuckling, denied ever having laughed or doubted. With a
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  Speaker 2: kind grin, as a loving father looks at his child
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  Speaker 2: who was caught sneaking around, said, Yes, you did. And
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  Speaker 2: then the three strangers began their descent towards Sodom and Gomorrah.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham walked with them to send them on their way.
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  Speaker 2: The three were speaking among themselves, and the Lord said,
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  Speaker 2: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
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  Speaker 2: Abraham will become a great and mighty nation established by me.
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  Speaker 2: I have chosen him to lead the way of the
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  Speaker 2: Lord by doing righteousness and justice. So God turned to
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  Speaker 2: Abraham honestly and spoke plainly. The prayers and the outcries
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  Speaker 2: of those suffering because of Sodom and Gomorrah have become great.
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  Speaker 2: They are a people corrupted and poisoned by selfishness, and
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  Speaker 2: their sins are grave. I am going down to observe
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  Speaker 2: them and measure them according to their deeds. If they
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  Speaker 2: are truly as sinful as reported, I will know. As
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  Speaker 2: the Lord and Abraham were talking, the two other strangers
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  Speaker 2: began their descent into Sodom. Whether Abraham was aware of
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  Speaker 2: it or not, a compassionate and curious heart came upon him.
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  Speaker 2: He inquired to the Lord, asking, Will you wipe out
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  Speaker 2: the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous
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  Speaker 2: people in the city. Will you then destroy the place
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  Speaker 2: and not spare it for the fifty righteous.
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  Speaker 1: Who are in it?
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  Speaker 2: It does not sound like you to do such a thing,
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  Speaker 2: to put the righteous to death with the wicked. Far
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  Speaker 2: be that from you. You are the judge of all
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  Speaker 2: the earth. Should you not do what is just? This
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  Speaker 2: was a bold inquiry coming from Abraham. as he was
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  Speaker 2: speaking face to face with he who causes the seas
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  Speaker 2: to rise and fall with the moon, and cradles the
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  Speaker 2: heavens in the span of his hands. The Lord, however,
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  Speaker 2: spoke plainly and compassionately with Abraham, saying, If I find
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  Speaker 2: in Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare
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  Speaker 2: everything for their sake. Abraham had more questions. HE WAS
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  Speaker 2: UNSATISFIED WITH HIS QUESTION BEFORE. NOW COMING TO REALIZE WHO
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  Speaker 2: HE WAS SPEAKING TO, ABRAHAM APPROACHED THE SUBJECT AGAIN. ONLY
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  Speaker 2: THIS TIME WITH MORE REVERENCE. HE ASKED, I KNOW WHO
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  Speaker 2: I AM SPEAKING TO, AND I AM BUT DUST AND
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  Speaker 2: ASHES IN FRONT OF YOU, AND NOT WORTHY. BUT SUPPOSE
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  Speaker 2: THERE ARE FORTY-FIVE RIGHTEOUS IN THE CITY. WILL YOU DESTROY
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  Speaker 2: THE WHOLE CITY IF THERE ARE FIVE LESS RIGHTEOUS THAN BEFORE?
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  Speaker 2: The Lord looked again at Abraham and answered, I will
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  Speaker 2: not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous. What about
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  Speaker 2: forty righteous? Suppose there are only forty. Will you destroy
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  Speaker 2: the city then?
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  Speaker 3: I will not.
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  Speaker 2: Please do not get angry with me, Abraham said. But
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  Speaker 2: what if there were only thirty righteous people in the city?
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  Speaker 2: I will not do it if I find thirty there.
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  Speaker 2: God replied, Twenty? For the sake of those twenty, I
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  Speaker 2: will not destroy the city. Please, Lord, I know that
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  Speaker 2: I am just before you. Do not be angry with me,
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  Speaker 2: and let me ask this last question. What if there
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  Speaker 2: were only ten righteous among the city? Would you spare
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  Speaker 2: the city if there were ten righteous? The Lord looked
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  Speaker 2: again finally at Abraham. His chosen hero was speaking before
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  Speaker 2: him with boldness and humility. The man he had chosen
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  Speaker 2: to be father of nations was now displaying a heart
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  Speaker 2: to see the righteous upheld and the innocent spared. He
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  Speaker 2: answered Abraham tenderly, and one final time he said, For
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  Speaker 2: the sake of ten. I will not destroy it. And
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  Speaker 2: the Lord went his way toward Sodom, and Abraham returned
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  Speaker 2: to his home.
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  Speaker 3: Our passage today opens with a visit by God to
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  Speaker 3: Abraham and Sarah's tent. But this was a different kind
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  Speaker 3: of visit, and we see God is joined by two
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  Speaker 3: others who are heavenly beings, angelic beings. These were angels
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  Speaker 3: that would later visit most likely Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham
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  Speaker 3: immediately recognizes this is an important visit and rushes to
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  Speaker 3: greet the Lord, then extends great hospitality, lavishing his guests
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  Speaker 3: with bread, milk, curds, and a freshly slaughtered calf. One
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  Speaker 3: cannot help but be reminded again of Abel and of
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  Speaker 3: his sacrifice of the best of his flock, an offering
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  Speaker 3: which the Lord was pleased. What comes next is another
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  Speaker 3: reassurance that what God has promised is always true. God
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  Speaker 3: will give a son to Abraham, born by his wife Sarah,
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  Speaker 3: but now God gives her an actual timeline by this
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  Speaker 3: time next year. You see, God doesn't always reveal his
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  Speaker 3: timing to us. In fact, most often he does not
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  Speaker 3: reveal his timeline, but that doesn't mean he can't or
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  Speaker 3: won't give you an idea of his timing. He knew
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  Speaker 3: how much this couple had endured, and this was the
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  Speaker 3: final stretch. God wanted them to keep holding fast to
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  Speaker 3: the promise because it was just about to happen. The
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  Speaker 3: newly renamed couple is continuing to trust and have faith,
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  Speaker 3: but this doesn't prevent Sarah from laughing incredulously, unable to
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  Speaker 3: yet imagine how this could possibly happen. But notice that
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  Speaker 3: God doesn't get upset or offended by this. Instead, he
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  Speaker 3: simply asks if there's any doubt that he can truly
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  Speaker 3: do what he said. Even after Sarah tries to deny
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  Speaker 3: her doubt, the Lord does not grow weary of her
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  Speaker 3: or chastise her. All he says is that he knows
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  Speaker 3: she laughed, as if to say, I know you did.
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  Speaker 3: I know you laughed, but don't worry. The Lord and
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  Speaker 3: his travel companions then began to leave. Headed down south
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  Speaker 3: to Sodom and Gomorrah, God has plans for these evil cities.
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  Speaker 3: So he shares his plans for justice with Abraham, his
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  Speaker 3: chosen man. this man who was to pave the way
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  Speaker 3: for God's redemptive plan. The evil and the sin of
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  Speaker 3: Sodom and Gomorrah can no longer be tolerated. God is
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  Speaker 3: going to wipe out those two towns. These are the
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  Speaker 3: cities where his nephew Lot, Abraham's nephew Lot, lives with
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  Speaker 3: his family. But otherwise, they're of no great consequence to Abraham.
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  Speaker 3: That's why what happens next is so amazing. Abraham intervenes.
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  Speaker 3: He intervenes by asking God to allow for an opportunity
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  Speaker 3: for these cities to be spared. He asks God to
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  Speaker 3: find just 50 righteous men in Sodom, and if he does,
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  Speaker 3: to relent from destroying them. Throughout his life, Abraham has
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  Speaker 3: seen that God's plan will not be stopped. And yet
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  Speaker 3: here he is boldly asking God to change his mind.
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  Speaker 3: God agrees, but Abraham wants more. 50 might be too many.
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  Speaker 3: He has, after all, been living in the area and
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  Speaker 3: knows everything. of the wickedness of the people of these cities.
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  Speaker 3: So he suggests a lower number. What I love about
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  Speaker 3: Abraham's second request is the humility with which he approaches God,
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  Speaker 3: even as he is being so incredibly bold. Genesis 18,
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  Speaker 3: 27 to 28 records this conversation. And Abraham replied, Now behold,
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  Speaker 3: I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I
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  Speaker 3: am but dust and ashes. Suppose the 50 righteous men
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  Speaker 3: are lacking five. Will you destroy the whole city because
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  Speaker 3: of five? And he said, I will not destroy it
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  Speaker 3: if I find 45 there. Now, here is a wonderful
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  Speaker 3: lesson on boldness and humility at the same time. Abraham
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  Speaker 3: has asked God for a huge thing, and God has agreed,
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  Speaker 3: but he wants to take it a step further. Notice
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  Speaker 3: how he handles this. First, acknowledging his position relative to God,
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  Speaker 3: I'm but dust and ashes, and that's who we are
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  Speaker 3: compared to the greatness and the glory of God. We
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  Speaker 3: are dust and ashes. And then boldly and clearly making
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  Speaker 3: his request. This is how we are to approach God
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  Speaker 3: in prayer. First, recognizing God's immense greatness and power and
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  Speaker 3: glory and our smallness by comparison. But then we can
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  Speaker 3: make our request with confidence, Confidence because we know in
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ, God has promised to hear us. Here, God
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  Speaker 3: once again agrees with the proposition. And this goes on
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  Speaker 3: several more times until Abraham is able to whittle the
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  Speaker 3: number down to just 10 righteous men. Just 10. The
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  Speaker 3: Lord then turns and heads to Sodom in search of
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  Speaker 3: a few righteous men who can spare this wicked city.
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  Speaker 3: We'll find out the next time what happened. Lord God,
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  Speaker 3: thank you for this passage and how we can learn
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  Speaker 3: so much. Thank you for your loving patience with us
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  Speaker 3: and for the times when you reveal your great plans
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  Speaker 3: in detail to us, as you did with Abraham and Sarah.
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  Speaker 3: We know you do not have to do this, but
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  Speaker 3: you choose to do it for our sake. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 3: that we can approach you with boldness and humility, that
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  Speaker 3: we can ask for our heart's desire. Help us to
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  Speaker 3: trust you more, Father. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
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  Speaker 3: Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
• 16:39
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  Speaker 3: be sure to visit jackgram.org. God bless you.