Bargaining with God
The movie paused and that infernal circle of dashes went round and round—buffering AGAIN!
My middle daughter raised her eyebrows and stared at me. “I can fix that if you want.”
I sensed a negotiation cranking up, so I made the first offer. “I’ll give you this twenty-dollar bill if you get it to stop buffering.”
Before we go any further in this story, let’s look at a time when someone had the fortitude to bargain with God. This negotiation took place almost 4,000 years ago. The man pleading with God was Abraham.
You can read the account in Genesis 18 and 19.
You may remember God determined He had no choice but to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The people in those two cities were so evil and sinful, God knew they would not turn to Him. He sent angels to warn Abraham’s nephew Lot of the impending destruction and had an interesting conversation with Abraham on the way.
When Abraham learns God’s intention to destroy Sodom, he begins to bargain with God. He starts at asking God to spare the city if there are 50 righteous people. God agrees. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but it seems that Abraham wasn’t so sure there were 50 righteous people, so he begins lowering the bar.
How about forty-five? Forty? Thirty? Twenty? And finally, ten. God agreed each time, ultimately telling Abraham He would spare the city if there were but ten righteous people. In the whole city.
Knowing God is a God of love, longsuffering, and mercy, I know He would much rather have saved the people in those cities. He would have preferred that ten would recognize Him as their God. But they didn’t. And so, as a just God, he destroyed them, but not before warning Lot to get his family out.
“So it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the surrounding area, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” (Genesis 19:29, NASB)
God will not permit his creation to stay turned from Him. Eventually, He will mete out His justice. The hope we have is in the good news of God’s Son providing the way to God.
Have you made that decision?
Oh, by the way, I don’t remember what my daughter did, but the buffering stopped, we finished the movie, and she walked away with that $20 bill.
Bargaining with God #hope #joy #writingcommunity Share on XToday’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.
Some people see in that story an angry and vengeful God. But I see a very patient and loving God. God could have destroyed those two cities immediately, but God knew Lot lived there. God was patient. Maybe God hoped Lot would reach the people to turn away from their evil (but hard to say with an all-knowing God who knew Lot would not succeed) so we will never know why God held off that destruction. Maybe God knew Abraham would plead for his family’s safety by bargaining with God hoping maybe there were some who were righteous. But because God waited for Abraham to ask and allowed Lot to leave tells me of a loving and patient God.
Right there with you Teresa. When talking about God, the question some times comes up… “Is He a loving God, or a vengeful God?” I say “He is loving and just.” He wants all to come to Him, but He cannot tolerate turning from Him. It’s not that He is in a hurry to judge, He is patient, but as an all-knowing God, He knows if we are not going to change. I believe He knew that about Sodom and Gomorrah. Thanks for your comment.
That story is so important. The thought that God listened and stayed patient throughout when Abraham kept asking… what about this number, or this one, is so amazing to me. God knew how awful the place had become but He was kind to Abraham and Lot and waited for them to be ready for what was coming. And, He is so kind to us, to give us so many chances to repent. Thank you for reminding us of God’s love and patience for all of us:)
Thank you Jane. You are so right. Even though He knows the future, He listens to us and is patient with us in our limited view of the world.