For me, this passage is amazing, one of the most amazing in all of Scripture. I say this for two reasons, first because we see into the mind of God as he considers what to do next and second because we see Abraham actually influencing to some degree, God’s plan through his intercession.
The visit mentioned in the previous post has ended and the Three are leaving Abraham’s place to go into town, for they have received information about the terrific conditions in the city of Sodom; they intend to investigate these allegations. As they are walking, the Lord considers whether or not He should tell Abraham what their mission is (18:16-19). Then the Lord seems to have decided to brief Abraham and he 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.” (18:20-21)
For most of us, we think of Sodom and Gomorrah as places full of wild sex parties of all sorts, but that wasn’t what the “outcry” was really all about. If you read carefully the passages dealing with Sodom, you will see that these wild carrying-ons included mass rapes involving children and whole families; this place was no pleasure den, it was a house of horrors. Yet there was an outcry so not everyone was willing to indulge, and hence, the Lord wants to investigate before acting.
In 13:22-33 Abraham enters the picture and asks God not to judge the innocent with the guilty, asking that he spare the city for the sake of 50 righteous, then 40 and step by step on down to 10 righteous, and God agrees. God’s purpose in judging remains the same; if this is true, then He will put a stop to it, but He will spare those who were not part of the debauchery.
Abraham was cited multiple times in the New Testament as a model of faithfulness. Abraham had a relationship with God, a covenant relationship, and when he went to God to intercede on behalf of the righteous of Sodom, God granted Abraham’s requests; He answered Abraham’s prayers.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a relationship with God, a covenant relationship. We also can have access to His presence to bring intercession for the righteous in various situations. What does this story tell us about God’s willingness to hear our prayers for the righteous?
Yes, exactly, there’s some Christmas hope for you!
Life Project Blog 
I have always been encouraged by Abraham’s relationship with God and that interchange (bartering) with God. Another part of the theme of speaking boldly with God. Thanks for your thoughts here
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Interesting post and an interesting negotiation. I’d be interested in your take on my two blogs on “creative” negotiations. I am only trying to open people up about negotiating with each other; not with God. — John
Issue Resolution.
Perhaps the experience of others was different, but I learned very little in formal school classrooms about ways to resolve conflicts. Yet, much is known beyond simple compromise, using external authority or force of arms. This posts focuses on some of those with pointers to longer descriptions of the techniques.
https://petersironwood.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/issue-resolution/
Resolution: Create!
This post encourages a more creative look at issue resolution. I believe that more progress can be made by people working together than by even a 10x increase in Facebook posts to convince everyone else that they are wrong.
https://petersironwood.wordpress.com/2017/11/26/resolution-create/
I think you’ve done excellent work Peter. You approached these issues in a way that is practical, useful and reasonable; thank you!