God’s covenant of love to Abraham and judgment to Sodom by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 

Weekly message: God’s covenant of love to Abraham and judgment to Sodom                      

By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music

Nov.15, 2020

 God’s covenant and promises to Abraham is an everlasting covenant throughout the generations.

           When Abram was seventy-five years old, the Lord had called him and said, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all people on earth will be blessed through you.”(Gen.12:1-3). The priest of God Most High, Melchizedek the king of Salem, a historical person, king of Jerusalem, who typified Christ (Psalm110:4), his name means “king of righteousness.” in appreciation of Abraham’s God Most High (in Hebrew called El Elyon, which emphasized God’s strength and sovereignty). Melchizedek also blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen.14:19-20).  The Lord came to Abram in a vision. “Do not afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your every great reward…Look up at the heavens ad count the stars- if indeed you can count them…so shall your offspring be.” (Gen.15:1,5).

Twenty four years later, when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord changed his name to Abraham, and established the covenant of love with Abraham, the Lord appeared to him and said

I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham. For I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you. And I will be their God. (Gen.17:1-8).

Abraham did everything the Lord commanded him to do, the Lord blessed him a son Isaac.  

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. And the Lord blessed his wife a name “Sarah” and a son named, “Isaac” in her old age. As the Lord said, “is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” (Gen.18:14). In Abraham’s age one hundred years old, his wife Sarah bore a son to Abraham and Abraham gave the name Isaac. To Abraham, God is sovereign Lord, in Hebrew called, “Adonai” means “Master, Lord, and Sovereign”, for Yahweh see through it. He acknowledged God Almighty is El Shaddai means “Mountain”, it illustrates God as the overpowering, Almighty One, standing on a mountain. Abraham didn’t doubt God’s promise and power to fulfill His covenant with him. The covenant is everlasting and includes possession of the land of Canaan. Therefore, Abraham did everything the Lord commanded him to do.

God’s judgment upon the city of Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality   

   The favor of God upon Abraham, the Lord unveiled  the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah  to him, “ the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sins so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” (Gen.18:20-21). When two angles visited the Lot, all the men of from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old surrounded the house; they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” (Gen.19:5). Because of their terrible sins, homosexuality is seen in the destruction of Sodom and sins so grievous, therefore, the Lord wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

God modified the judgment because Abraham pleaded persistently for saving the righteousness 

It was Abraham’s persistence, boldness, and great courage to plead for the Sodom and Gomorrah six times, he asked,

“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen.18:23-25)

The Lord answered,

 “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”(Gen.18:26)Then Abraham spoke up again:

 “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and   ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the    whole city because of five people?” The Lord said, “if I find forty-five there, I will not       destroy it.” (Gen.18:27-28)

  Abraham’s heart was persistent to plead Lord, he said, “ May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more, what if only ten can be found there?” The Lord answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”  

From the number of fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty to number ten righteous in the city, for the sake of ten, the Lord granted Abraham’s petition and saved his nephew Lot’s family. Two angels came to the city of Sodom and Gomorrah and said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here-sons in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here; get the out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it. (Gen.19:12-13). Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law that the Lord will destroy the city! However, his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(Gen.19:15). The Lord was merciful to Lot’s family, grasped Lot’s hand, and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. Then, the Lord swept away the city of Sodom and Gomorrah by the burning sulfur as punishment. The Lord commanded Lot and his wife and daughters to flee for their lives to a small town Zoar! Don’t look back. However, Lot’s wife looked back, and “she became a pillar of salt.”Gen.19:26). And Lot’s son-in-law perished because he thought Lot was joking when he told him. “The Lord is about to destroy the city.”      

Abraham’s irrevocable trust and faith in God had passed the test

While Abraham and Sarah’s joy were overflowing for God blessed a son Isaac in their old age, God tested Abraham’s faith if he loved Him more than he loved Isaac, and said to him, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Abraham had faith in God’s promise concerning descendants; He believed that on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. So he did what the Lord commanded. “He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven. ‘Abraham! Abraham! do not lay a hand on the boy, do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’  Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Gen.22:9-12).

Abraham passed God’s test of his faith to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. For God provided a ram to Abraham as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place the Lord will provide. In Hebrew called Yahweh yireh means “the Lord will see to it.” And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

 

The implication and application

a)      God’s calling is irrevocable. God is faithful in keeping His promises and covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.

b)      God’s timing is the best. The fulfillment of God’s promises, the waiting hours may be long. Abraham waited twenty-five years patiently from seventy-five years old to one hundred years old. God gave a son Isaac to him and his seed offspring as numerous as the stars in the heavens. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through Abraham. This promise was fulfilled in the coming of Abraham’s seed, Christ.(Gal.3:8,16).

c)      The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock and there is no wickedness in him.” (Psalm92:12)

d)     God is justice and will punish the sin of homosexuality. God’s attitude toward the sin of homosexuality is seen in the destruction of Sodom and in Lev.18:22, 29, 20:13 “do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable”.(Lev.18:22). “Everyone who does any of these detestable things –such persons must be cut off from their people.” (Lev.18:22). If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.(Lev.20:13). Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.(Rom.1:26). Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.”(1 Cor.6:9).  The city of Sodom and Gomorrah had disclosed by God that the sin of homosexuality led to God’s punishment and resulted dead in the burning sulfur.

e)      Don’t mock the Holy Spirit. Acknowledging God’s commands, decrees, laws, and listen to the voice of God. Lot’s son-in-law was perished and wasn’t able to spare from the burning sulfur, because he didn’t listen to Lot’s warning and thought that Lot was joking. (Gen.19:14). Lot’s wife didn’t listen to the Lord’s warning; she looked back and became a pillar of salt. God’s warning through the angel of Lord, prophets, ministers, messengers, prayer warriors, godly men, and women who fear of Lord are valuable. Do not neglect nor mock the Holy Spirit.   

f)       The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James5:6). Abraham earnestly pleaded to the Lord with boldness, yet, humble, he saved his nephew’s family.

g)      Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb.11

:1). Abraham’s faith and irrevocable trust in the Lord, he passed the test and gained a great name: “the father of many nations”. To Abraham, God is Jehovah –Jireh, and Yahweh yireh, in every consequence, the Lord will see to it, and on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. Faith is the foundation of salvation.