Genesis 18:18-21 - For I have chosen him

18:18,19

“Abraham will surely become a great nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through him”. This is a repeat of the promise that God made to him at the outset in Gen 12:2,3. God had a purpose for Abraham, and saw long into the future. God also knows the purposes He has for our lives. It was God who was going to make all this happen, remember that Abraham and Sarah could not, or their own abilities, have children. Yet while it is God who decrees these things, we are not passive. Abraham would direct his children and his household in the ways of the Lord. We are to do the same. When God gets hold of a man or woman, it is not just for their benefit (though they will of course benefit), but also so that that man or woman can take God’s word to others. Note that the way Abraham would do this is by “doing what is right and just”. “So that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him”. See the interplay between the sovereignty of God and human responsibility. We are forever wanting to give preference to one or the other, not understanding how they can both be true. The Bible has no such problem.

18:20,21

The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah had reached the Lord, and He would go down to check things out. We must be aware that anthropomorphic language is used here. God knew full well what was going on. So why did He not act sooner? God’s timing is usually very different from ours. Usually He seems a lot slower to act than we think is required, sometimes He acts a lot more quickly than we think necessary. God gives men time to repent (2 Pet 3:9). He has also given us responsibility. So we should bear all these things in mind. We should also note that when evil and immorality become rife people suffer and cry out to God, and God hears them.