Does God Care?
"Why did God tell the Israelites to kill all of those people? Just so He could give them land? That doesn't seem like Jesus."
When I read Genesis 18-19 all of these questions and statements came to mind, but it didn’t leave me wondering. It brought me clarity.
In Genesis 18 God in human form, Jesus, appeared to Abraham, telling him the good news that Sarah would be pregnant in a year. The conversation then takes a turn toward Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18: 20-21 The Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
I love the beauty that God, Jesus, is having this situation looked into before doing anything. The two angels that came with Jesus walked to Sodom to look into the situation. Jesus remained with Abraham and their conversation continued.
Genesis 18:22-25 Abraham stepped forward and said “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the judge of the whole world do what is just?”
Surely they’re not all bad. There has to be some good people. What if they’re just confused, but are good deep down? What if they’re just being influenced or have been hurt? Won’t you spare them?
Genesis 18:26-32 (condensed) The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake… I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there…I will not do it on account of forty… I will not do it if I find thirty there… I will not destroy it on account of twenty… I will not destroy it on account of ten.”
The story then goes with the angels in Sodom giving us a picture in a short period of the hearts of the people who live there. When the angels arrive in the evening, Lot, Abraham’s nephew, greets them. He immediately invites them to his house and says he’ll take care of them so they can wake up early and go on their way. In reflection, it’s as if he was saying “Find safety in my house and leave this dangerous place before anyone rises to find you.” The angles say they’d rather sleep in the square. They are there to observe after all.
Genesis 10:4-5 But Lot urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house…Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
Lot did not perfectly handle this situation, he did some questionable things and as the story continues he even went against what God instructed him to do. Yet, God has mercy on him and his family. God extends an invitation to them, an invitation of freedom from the destruction of Sodom.
Genesis 19:12,14 Then the angels said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get out of this place”….So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
The sons-in-law stood outside the door, part of the mob. Demanding Lot to have the “men” brought out. And still, God extended mercy to them. Sadly their hearts were closed off to God and they didn’t accept the invitation.
Genesis 19:15-16 At daybreak, the angles urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in punishment of the city.” But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him,the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.
Lot only had a partially opened heart to God’s invitation. That was enough for God. He extended His mercy to Lot and pulled him out of Sodom before it was destroyed.
As I read Genesis 18-19 I was reminded of Noah and the flood.
Genesis 6:5-6 7:1 When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved… Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.
In both stories, there was only one righteous person. God saved their unrighteous family too. God gives us abundant mercy and grace.
In both stories, all but one person was wicked to their core. God dealt with the evil at hand. He provides justice and steps in when He deems it necessary.
It’s easy to question God without the details. To believe the lie that Evil is winning. Just remember that Jesus defeated evil once and for all when He died and rose again. "It is finished." John 19:30
It’s easy to question God without the details. To feel uncomfortable about things in the Bible. Just remember that God in definition is goodness. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17
Let’s have a 90s kids moment. Think of Aladin stretching out his hand to Jasmine. “Do you trust me?” Aladin felt familiar to Jasmine at this moment, yet she didn’t know him. God is familiar to us, yet He is so infinitely big that we will never fully know Him. But will we trust Him when we don’t know all the details? In our moments of uncertainty and doubt, will we hold onto His outstretched hand and allow Him to take us on the journey He has planned for us? I pray that I do.
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