May the mumbling commence!
The Lord speaks with Abraham about
Sodom and Gomorrah – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say goodbye.
Then God said, “Shall I keep back from Abraham
what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a
large and strong nation;
all the nations of the world are going to find
themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on
him as the one to train his children and
future family to observe God’s way of life, live
kindly and generously and fairly, so that
God can complete in Abraham
what he promised him.”
God continued,
“The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are
deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to
see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as
bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.”
The men set out for
Sodom, but Abraham stood in God’s
path, blocking his way.
Abraham confronted him,
“Are you
serious? Are you planning on
getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are
fifty decent people
left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d
do that, kill off the good with the bad alike as if there were no difference
between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”
God said,
“If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them.” (Genesis 18:16-26)
Now read the same passage from the
NIV translation:
When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom,
and Abraham walked along with them to see them
on their way. Then the Lord said,
"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will
surely become a great and powerful nation,
and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen
him, so that he will direct his children and
his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just,
so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
Then the Lord said, "The outcry
against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin 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."
The men turned away and went toward Sodom,
but Abraham remained standing before
the Lord. Then Abraham
approached him and
said: "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?"
The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the
city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their
sake." (Genesis 18:16-26)
Indeed, God had heard the outcry of
the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah. And
the Lord was going to investigate. God
did not hide this fact from Abraham.
Both the Lord and Abraham knew that
Lot and his family were in Sodom. And
the questioning begins. It will continue
tomorrow.
Now, there’s a lot of red up
there. There are a lot of differences,
but most of them have the same Spirit and heart of the NIV translation. Yet, there’s a single and huge bone of
contention that I have with the attitude of Abraham before God.
There’s a world of difference
between “standing in God’s path and blocking His way” (Peterson) and “remaining
standing before the Lord” (NIV).
Peterson almost puts Abraham on equal or even greater footing than
God. I have a problem with that!
This problem continues with how
Abraham speaks to God about what he’s struggling with. Does Abraham “confront” God (Peterson)? Or does Abraham “approach” the Lord
(NIV)? Again, Peterson puts Abraham at
least on equal footing with God in this conversation.
Abraham is in a position of
pleading with God in this passage… not confrontation!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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