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

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  Speaker 1: And there came two angels to Sodom at even. And
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  Speaker 1: Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot, seeing them,
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  Speaker 1: rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with
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  Speaker 1: his face toward the ground. Genesis 19.1 My Lord, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for constantly showing me grace when I'm surrounded and
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  Speaker 1: tempted with the pleasures of this world. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: protecting me from myself. and from foolish decisions I've made
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  Speaker 1: when I wasn't thinking in alignment with your word. Help
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  Speaker 1: me to move with critical obedience when you give a command.
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  Speaker 1: I will no longer hesitate when I know the direction
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  Speaker 1: you're calling me to go. I will no longer look
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  Speaker 1: back at my past, longing for the things that move
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  Speaker 1: me off the path of my destiny. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: that when you close one season of my life, like
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  Speaker 1: Lot and his family, you will provide a safe space
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  Speaker 1: for me and my loved ones to dwell in. I
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  Speaker 1: thank you for your protection, your justice, and your mercy
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  Speaker 1: towards me. I can move in full confidence knowing that
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  Speaker 1: you've placed your angels like a fence around my life.
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  Speaker 1: I am protected because I am yours. 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 cities,
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  Speaker 2: And Abraham intervenes, inspired by the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, There are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org When we last saw Abraham and Sarah, they
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  Speaker 3: were receiving their new names and a renewed affirmation of
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  Speaker 3: God's covenant to make a great nation through them. In
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  Speaker 3: today's reading, we'll find God paying a special visit to Abraham,
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  Speaker 3: and when he comes, he is not alone. Abraham bows
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  Speaker 3: before the Lord and welcomes the travelers with hospitality. sparing
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  Speaker 3: no good thing as he lavishes them with fresh food
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  Speaker 3: and drink. The first thing that God does is once
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  Speaker 3: again reassure Abraham and Sarah of his promise to give
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  Speaker 3: them a child. But that's not all he is there for.
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  Speaker 3: There is a grave matter to which God must attend,
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  Speaker 3: the rampant wickedness of two cities. We've heard their names before,
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  Speaker 3: Sodom and Gomorrah. But now God's patience with the evil
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  Speaker 3: doing has run out. As we've seen before, evil cannot
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  Speaker 3: 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 1: 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 toward 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 who are
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  Speaker 2: in it? It does not sound like you to do
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  Speaker 2: such a thing, to put the righteous to death with
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  Speaker 2: the wicked. Far be that from you, you are the
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  Speaker 2: judge of all the earth, should you not do.
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  Speaker 1: What is just?
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  Speaker 2: This was a bold inquiry coming from Abraham, as he
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  Speaker 2: was speaking face to face with he who causes the
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  Speaker 2: seas to rise and fall with the moon, and cradles
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  Speaker 2: the 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? I will not. Please do not get
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  Speaker 2: angry with me, Abraham said. But what if there were
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  Speaker 2: only thirty righteous people in the city? I will not
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  Speaker 2: do it if I find thirty there, God replied.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty?
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  Speaker 2: For the sake of those twenty, I will not destroy
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  Speaker 2: the city. Please, Lord, I know that I am just
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  Speaker 2: before you. Do not be angry with me, and let
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  Speaker 2: me ask this last question. What if there were only
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  Speaker 2: ten righteous among the city? Would you spare the city
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  Speaker 2: if there were ten righteous? The Lord looked again finally
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  Speaker 2: at Abraham. His chosen hero was speaking before him with
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  Speaker 2: boldness and humility. The man he had chosen to be
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  Speaker 2: father of nations was was now displaying a heart to
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  Speaker 2: see the righteous upheld and the innocent spared. He answered
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  Speaker 2: Abraham tenderly, and one final time he said, For the
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  Speaker 2: sake of ten, I will not destroy it. And the
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  Speaker 2: Lord went his way toward Sodom, and Abraham returned.
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  Speaker 1: 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 at unable
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  Speaker 3: to yet imagine how this could possibly happen. But notice
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  Speaker 3: that God doesn't get upset or offended by this. Instead,
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  Speaker 3: he simply asks if there is any doubt that he
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  Speaker 3: can truly do what he said. Even after Sarah tries
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  Speaker 3: to deny her doubt, the Lord does not grow weary
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  Speaker 3: of her or chastise her. All he says is that
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  Speaker 3: he knows she laughed, as if to say, I know
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  Speaker 3: you did, I know you laughed, but don't worry. The
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  Speaker 3: Lord and his travel companions then begin to leave. Headed
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  Speaker 3: down south to Sodom and Gomorrah, God has plans for
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  Speaker 3: these evil cities. So he shares his plans for justice
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  Speaker 3: with Abraham, his chosen man, this man who was to
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  Speaker 3: pave the way for God's redemptive plan. The evil and
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  Speaker 3: the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah can no longer be tolerated.
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  Speaker 3: God is going to wipe out those two towns. These
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  Speaker 3: are the cities where his nephew Lot, Abraham's nephew Lot,
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  Speaker 3: lives with his family. But otherwise, they're of no great
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  Speaker 3: consequence to Abraham. That's why what happens next is so amazing.
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  Speaker 3: Abraham intervenes. He intervenes by asking God to allow for
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  Speaker 3: an opportunity for these cities to be spared. He asks
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  Speaker 3: God to find just 50 righteous men in Sodom, and
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  Speaker 3: if he does, to relent from destroying them. Throughout his life,
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  Speaker 3: Abraham has seen that God's plan will not be stopped.
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  Speaker 3: And yet here he is boldly asking God to change
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  Speaker 3: his mind. God agrees, but Abraham wants more. Fifty might
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  Speaker 3: be too many. He has, after all, been living in
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  Speaker 3: the area and knows of the wickedness of the people
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  Speaker 3: of these cities. So he suggests a lower number. What
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  Speaker 3: I love about Abraham's second request is the humility with
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  Speaker 3: which he approaches God, even as he is being so
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  Speaker 3: incredibly bold. Genesis 18, 27 to 28 records this conversation.
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  Speaker 3: And Abraham replied, Now behold, I have ventured to speak
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  Speaker 3: to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
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  Speaker 3: Suppose the 50 righteous men are lacking five. Will you
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  Speaker 3: destroy the whole city because of five? And he said,
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  Speaker 3: I will not destroy it if I find 45 there. Now,
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  Speaker 3: here is a wonderful lesson on boldness and humility at
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  Speaker 3: the same time. Abraham has asked God for a huge thing,
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  Speaker 3: and God has agreed, but he wants to take it
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  Speaker 3: a step further. Notice how he handles this. First, acknowledging
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  Speaker 3: his position relative to God, I'm but dust and ashes,
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  Speaker 3: and that's who we are compared to the greatness and
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  Speaker 3: the glory of God. We are dust and ashes. And
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  Speaker 3: then boldly and clearly making his request. This is how
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  Speaker 3: we are to approach God in prayer. first recognizing God's
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  Speaker 3: immense greatness and power and glory and our smallness by comparison.
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  Speaker 3: But then we can make our request with confidence, confidence
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  Speaker 3: because we know in Jesus Christ, God has promised to
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  Speaker 3: hear us. Here, God once again agrees with the proposition.
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  Speaker 3: And this goes on several more times until Abraham is
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  Speaker 3: able to whittle the number down to just 10 righteous men,
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  Speaker 3: just 10. The Lord then turns and heads to Sodom
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  Speaker 3: in search of a few righteous men who can spare
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  Speaker 3: this wicked city. We'll find out the next time what happened.
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  Speaker 3: Lord God, thank you for this passage and how we
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  Speaker 3: can learn so much. Thank you for your loving patience
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  Speaker 3: with us and for the times when you reveal your
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  Speaker 3: great plans in detail to us, as you did with
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  Speaker 3: Abraham and Sarah. We know you do not have to
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  Speaker 3: do this, but you choose to do it for our sake.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, Lord, that we can approach you with boldness
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  Speaker 3: and humility, that we can ask for our heart's desire.
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  Speaker 3: Help us to trust you more, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, and before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
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  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's JackGraham.org.