Read: Genesis 18:17-33
Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? (v. 25)
The story of Abraham shows us much about God, no doubt, but surely it doesn’t look as far ahead as Judgment Day and the end of the world?
Yes, even that is here. Along with all God’s other titles Abraham learns to call him Shaphat, the Judge. This Judge has passed his sentence on Sodom: Destruction. And it is no arbitrary whim of a callous, amoral god, for he has first reached his verdict on that disgustingly wicked city: Guilty.
But Lot is living in Sodom; and in his anxiety for his foolish nephew, Abraham realizes two great facts about God’s justice. One is that the Judge must play fair with every individual, not just a community of people en masse. We shall actually hear God say to Lot, “I cannot destroy Sodom until you are safely out of it.”
The other fact revealed here is that God is Judge of the whole human race, which means that one day everyone, from every nation and every age, will appear before his judgment seat. Justice for each . . . and justice for all. Happy are those who know that although they should be justly condemned as sinners, they are already justly forgiven for Jesus’ sake. —Michael Wilcock
As you pray, thank God for his reign of justice, already real though hidden, and one day to be revealed.
About the Author
Rev. Michael Wilcock was formerly director of pastoral studies at Trinity College, Bristol, and vicar of St. Nicholas' Church, Durham. He is now based in Eastbourne, England, as a writer and speaker.
