Genesis 18:33 Commentary and Bible Study

Finally the Lord withdraws. What did Abraham think: that the Lord would not now destroy Sodom? That the city would no longer be destroyed, because he had prayed? Will you destroy it for 10? God had said, No. Abraham knew there were 10 in Lot’s family, and so, he thought, the city would be preserved, undeserving as it was. He knew it was just to destroy it. He says, ‘Will you spare the city?’ That is a very revealing word. It shows that Abraham agrees totally that the city ought to be destroyed. He speaks of sparing it. Will you spare the city? So it is going to survive for Lot’s sake. Yes, but a little later he goes out and he sees the smoke ascending from its destruction. He had asked for its preservation. God hears Abraham but knows he will destroy this city. According to Abraham, the only solution is to save the city. That is what he has in mind. But God has another way that has not occurred to Abraham. God answered by taking out to godly; removing them, that is; and rescuing them, and then destroying the city. That is not quite what Abraham asked for, but the purpose of Abraham's prayer was the preservation of the godly, and that was honoured and answered. So it actually is an example of prayer being wonderfully answered, but not in quite the way we imagined it would be, not quite as we expressed our prayer. God's wisdom prevails. He answers the prayer, according to his superior wisdom and judgment .Peter relates this event, and says that God ‘turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished’ (2 Peter 2:6-9). This is extremely important and relates to Abraham’s question or statement: ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’. Yes he will.This is the lesson that God wanted Abraham to learn and why he shared with him what he would do. It was an invitation for Abraham to enter into heartfelt prayer, to intercede for Lot, a righteous man living in a sinful place; it was God’s demonstration of his perfect justice; and it made clear to Abraham and his descendants that the people of God must be separate from the world. All that followed was in God’s mind when he chooses to share with Abraham what he is going to do.We may treat the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as a type of the final judgment at the end of the world. As such, it exhibited God’s perfect justice for all to see and God punished the wicked and delivered the righteous.