Genesis chapter 18, I'd like
to look at verses 16 through 21. Now we had just looked last
time at the Lord appearing to Abraham and relating to Abraham
that he would have a son by the time of life this next year. This was when Sarah had laughed,
laughed in her heart, and she said, shall I surely have a son
at my age and my husband who is also old. And that was the message where
we dealt with Abraham being a picture of our mediator between God and
men. the man Christ Jesus. Now this evening, that conversation
of God's mercy has now come to an end. And now, the Lord is
getting ready to send these two angels into Sodom. And here's
where we pick up. Genesis chapter 18 verses 16
through 21, And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward
Sodom. And Abraham went with them to
bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide
from Abraham that thing which I do? Seeing that Abraham shall
surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of
the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him, that he
will command his children, his household after him, and they
shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that
the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of
him. And the Lord said, Because the
cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin
is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have
done all together according to the cry of it, which is coming
to me. And if not, I will know." Let's
pray together. Our Father, as we call upon you
this evening, we're so thankful that we can call you our Lord
and our God. And Lord, I ask you to have mercy
upon us. Lord, teach us. I pray you'd
bless the word to our understanding. I pray that Christ be honored. Forgive us where we fail you. For it's in the name of the Lord
Jesus we ask. Amen. The Lord has assured Abraham
of a promised son. And in that blessed promise to
give Abraham and Sarah a son, a son according to God's will
and purpose, covenant and grace, we behold the indescribable compassion
and mercy of God. But now we're going to look at
a few verses of Scriptures that are going to reveal that God
Almighty is a just God. He is just and will deal with
sin. The Scripture declares that God
will in no wise clear the guilty. He is the Savior. So beholding
the Lord as He is revealed in this book so far, this chapter
so far. Merciful, compassionate God to
grant mercy to an undeserving sinner and his wife because it
pleased Him to do so. But now He's getting ready to
send two angels into Sodom. The Scripture says in verse 16,
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom. And
Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. Now, you know that I've often
expressed the need to just look up the words. Look up these words
in a good concordance and find out exactly what is being said. The Scripture says, "...and the
men." These two angels who took Abraham have taken on the form
of a man. They're men. They're men. Not
only did they take on the form of men, They ate, they drank,
sat down and conversed with Abraham and the Lord, Jehovah. So when
it refers to these two men, these are more than men, they're angels. That's what 19.1 says. And there
came two angels to Sodom. So I know that they're created
beings. But now these two angels, now
being messengers of God, have a commission. They're going to
go in to Sodom, and the Scripture says they rose up from thence. They were talking to Abraham. They rose up from thence, and
the Scripture says, and looked toward Sodom. Now just reading
that at face value, you'd say, well, they got up, and they looked. But keeping with the context
of our passage, the definition of those words, rose up and looked
toward, are very revealing to give us some understanding as
to the intent of the Lord in sending them to Sodom. Blue Letter Bible, which is a
very, very good concordance, gives these definitions of these
words. rose up. They rose up. It means to rise,
to stand, to rise up, stand up, but it has the meaning of in
a hostile sense, to become powerful. So the usage of that word rose
up was first used in the book of Genesis. It was when Cain
rose up against Abel. That will give you a sense of
what it means, rose up against him. And then the second part
of that, the action of those angels, it said they looked toward.
It means to lean out, like leaning out of a window, by implication,
to gaze. to be looking downward, or against. And so, with the words used,
the word looked there, I'll tell you when it was used again. Whenever
the Egyptians were coming after the nation of Israel when they
were in the desert, and as the Egyptians were coming, and this
word looked right here, it said, and the Lord looked. at the Egyptians
as out of the pillar of the cloud. That look, that's the word. It's not just a guy, I'm looking
at you, I can see you. This word, rose up and looked,
has got the implication of these men are going to Sodom for a
specific reason. They rose up, that word again,
to stand, meaning in a hostile way, a hostile sense, and becoming
powerful and looking toward, it is to look toward, to look
down upon, that kind of look. So these two men rose up and
looked toward, or looked downward, to Sodom with a gaze of knowledge
concerning the reason for their visit. You know the story. They're going to get in there
and they're going to end up telling Lot, you've got to get out of
here. We're going to destroy this place. We're going to destroy
this city. God is not going to send the
fire from heaven until we get you out. We've got to get you
out first. So these men are going. with
a specific mindset. They know why they're going.
So, the scripture says that the man rose up from the fence and
looked towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to
bring them on the way. Now, Abraham went with. There's the
word we're looking for. He went with them, that is, in
fellowship. Our companionship to bring them
on the way. So Abraham surely based upon
the conversation, because I know you know the story so well. Our
Lord willing, next week we're going to look at a conversation
that begins actually in verse 23. And Abraham drew near and
said, Will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham knew. He knew what was going on in
Sodom and Gomorrah. He knew why the Lord had sent,
because we're getting ready to see something right here where
the Lord is saying, I'm not going to hide anything from Abraham.
So knowing the story as we know it, I'm just bringing out points.
Abraham was aware of what was going on. And so when Abraham
was said to go with them, that means in fellowship or in companionship. He knew basically what was taking
place. He knew something of the wickedness
of Sodom and he walked with the two. walked with them in submission
to that which the Lord would surely bring about. He was going
to bow to whatever the Lord was pleased to do. So he went with
them. He wasn't trying to do anything
other but be in companionship with them. So in the next few
verses, there's going to be a a precious relationship that's revealed
between the Lord and the vessel of His choosing and mercy. And
so the Lord is going to reveal not only to Abraham that which
He's purposed to do, but He's also going to reveal why He's
going to reveal. Now listen to verse 17, And the
Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham? that thing which I do."
Now, here we can only admit as to the reason why the Lord was
teaching Abraham his pleasure to send these two angels. We
know that the Lord is saying, I'm not gonna hide from Abraham
what I'm doing. The reason the Lord was going
to tell Abraham what He was going to do primarily was because it
pleased Him to do so. It pleased the Lord to reveal
to Abraham. Abraham was a sinner, saved by
the grace of God, but a sinner that was loved of God. and therefore
taught of God, Luke 10, 21. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced
in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
but hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in Your sight. So I know why, primarily, this
is the reason, because God was pleased to. Deuteronomy 29.29,
the secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things
which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever
that we may do all the words of this law. So the Lord doesn't
owe any man. the right to know his will. God doesn't owe that to anyone. Job 33, 13, Why dost thou strive
against him? For he giveth not account of
any of his matters. The Lord's not under any obligation
to show any man the reason for what He does. He's not under
any obligation to tell us the methods of His works. If God
is pleased to reveal anything to anybody, it's for His glory
and our good. The Scripture says, Daniel 4.35,
He doeth. according to His will in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand, or
say unto Him, What doest thou? So He does what He will, with
whom He will, as He will, and no one has the right to ask Him
why. No one has the right. for God
to give them an explanation. But the Lord knew best. That's what I can conclude. The Lord knew best. To teach
Abraham of his will, to deal with Sodom as he would, and to
fail to tell Abraham what he would do would be against the
will of the Lord. The Lord knew. that the knowledge of what he
was going to do in Sodom would be good for Abraham because he's
going to tell us something in just a minute. As I said, the
primary reason for God revealing anything is because it pleased
him to do so. That's good enough right there.
But God's going to give a reason for speaking to Abraham. The scripture declares Verse
17 again, Shall I hide anything from Abraham, that thing which
I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty
nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in
him? For I know him, that he will command his children and
his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the
Lord to justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon
Abraham that which he has spoken of him. This is what the Lord
said. Abraham will, without fail, be
found faithful. And he's going to be a consistent
father to command his household, and that's what he's saying.
Verse 19, I know him. He will command His children,
His household, after Him. They shall keep the way of the
Lord, to do justice, judgment, that the Lord may bring upon
Abraham that which He has spoken of Him." He said His household
is surely going to keep the way of the Lord. You can say those are wonderful
and marvelous promises. And they are sure, according
to God's Word. But that promise was given to
Abraham as a type of another. That promise was made in its
entirety. Now concerning Abraham, the Lord
through Abraham and his seed, his children, whoever out of
Abraham's posterity were the Lord's, they will hear the gospel. God will call them out. And any
consistency that we see in Abraham himself will be owing totally
to the good pleasure of God, who keeps us by the power of
God, through faith, ready to be revealed in the last time.
So any faithfulness that we see in Abraham, faithful is he who
calleth you, who will also do it. So where's the power coming
from when we're talking about Abraham being faithful? In Abraham? No, not in Abraham. The Lord
said, without me you can do nothing. I am not under any circumstances
doubting that Abraham was a good father. I'm not doubting that
he desired his family to walk in the way of the Lord. But knowing
the nature of men, this promise can only be made to one. who of himself, the Lord Jesus
Christ, will surely command his children and his household after
him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to justice and
judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has
spoken of him, the one in whom all the nations of the world
are surely going to be blessed. with spiritual blessings, the
one that God knows, that's what the Lord told him. Verse 19,
I know him. The Lord Jesus Christ was the
one that said, as I know the Father, the Father knoweth me.
And I lay down my life for the sheep. Speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ, Abraham is a type, type of our blessed Lord and Savior. Now this promise, was a promise according to God's
covenant of grace and mercy. That was that covenant that was
revealed to Moses in Exodus 33. Show me your glory. The Lord
said I'll have mercy. Compassion on whomsoever I will. That promise right there. So
knowing when the Lord is speaking right here, he's talking to Abraham. But listen to these promises.
I'm going to read 17 to 19 one more time. And only in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now you see these words and you
can see him now. And the Lord said, verse 17,
shall I hide from Abraham That thing which I do, okay, now who
did I say substitute? The Lord Jesus Christ. Shall
I hide from my servant, my beloved son, the mediator? Shall I hide anything from him?
Hold your place right here and turn over to John 15, 15. And
here's an amazing passage of scripture. John 15, 15. The Lord
speaking, now remember back in Genesis 18, 17, and the Lord
said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? And looking
at Abraham there as a type of Christ. Listen to what the Lord
said in John 15, 15. Henceforth I call you not servants,
for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called
you friends. For all things that I have heard
of my father, I have made known unto you. All things that I have heard
of my father. Now, behold the humility of the
servant of Jehovah. Behold the submission of Christ
Jesus the Lord. He Himself speaking says, the
source of those things that I have heard as the mediator. Now, as God, as the omniscient
God, He's taught nothing. He is God Almighty. Listen to
Psalm 147.5. Great is our Lord, and abundant
in strength. His understanding is infinite. So what will he ever learn? Nothing. He's God. God omniscient. But as back in Genesis 18, 17,
when the Lord is speaking, and here's a picture now of this
covenant. Shall I hide anything from Abraham,
my servant? Shall I hide from Christ? According
to God's everlasting covenant of grace, here is the Lord Jesus
Christ. I can believe this by faith,
but still, when I speak of His humanity, Neil, I think, Lord,
as you say it is, it is. It is. As the Scripture says,
He grew, He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with
God and man. You know what that means? He
increased in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and man. He
said, the things that I tell you, the things that I've heard
of my Father, in His submission unto the Father as the Man, Christ
Jesus, shall I hide from Abraham, seeing that Abraham, seeing that
Christ, shall surely become a great and mighty nation. We just looked
last Sunday. I'm not going to preach last
Sunday's message. You know, blessed is the nation whose God is the
Lord. That nation, that nation of His
people. He shall become a great mighty
nation. All the nations of the earth
shall be blessed in Him. All the nations, Jew and Gentile,
Out of every nation, kindred, and tribe, and to all of them,
going to bless. For I know Him. I know Him. This is my beloved
Son, whom I'm well pleased. You hear Him. I know Him. He
will command His children, His household after Him. They shall
keep the way of the Lord. Why? Because He's going to keep
them. To do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon
Abraham, that He might bring upon Christ that which is spoken
of Him. as the mediator, as the great
high priest. But that beautiful picture of
Christ, here we behold the great high priest before God, God unteachable,
and God the man taught of God. He surely shall become this great
nation. But then the scripture says in
verse 20, and the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom and
Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I
will go down now and see whether they have done all together according
to the cry of it which has come unto me. And if not, I will know. Here the Lord has revealed that
there is a cry that has come up unto Him. Word is a shriek. A shriek. There's a cry or a
shriek of Solomon Gomorrah and it was great. That means that
it was multiplied and cast together. Now, the writers that I was looking
at, looking at the words, I can look at it, I can see what it
says. It means shriek. The cry has come up to me. And
whether or not that cry that has come up unto the Lord means
either the crying or the prayer by Lot whose righteous soul was
vexed daily with the filthy conversation of the wicked. Or, and you can
turn over to Ezekiel 16, 49 and 50, or whether that crying was
actually the cryings of the inhabitants that we're going to read these
two verses over, the poor and needy who suffered at the hands
of the filthy acts of others. But look, Ezekiel chapter 16.
Ezekiel 16, verse 49 and 50. Here's what Scripture has to
say. Behold, this was the iniquity
of thy sister Sodom. Pride, fullness of bread, abundance
of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she
strengthen the hand of the poor and needy, and they were haughty
and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away
as I saw good." The Lord has told Abraham, He said, because
the cry of Solomon Gomorrah is great, and because their sin
is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have
done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto
me. And if not, I will know." The
cry of Sodom was great. Their sin, according to the Scriptures,
was grievous. And the Lord said, I will now
go down and see what you've done. And he said, I'll know. The Lord deals with sin. based upon his personal knowledge
of that sin. When Almighty God sets forth
and pours out judgment, it's fair. God knows. I'm going to go down now and
I'm going to see. These things that were taught
to Abraham as a picture of our Lord, I began to think on this
as I was coming to the end of my notes, and I thought, how
marvelous it is that God would teach. I'm going to teach you
something. I've shown you mercy and compassion
to you and your wife. You see that I am a compassionate
and merciful God, but I'm a just God. By God sending these two
angels into Sodom, and telling Abraham, I'm not going to hide
anything from you. The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah
has come up before me. Your sin is grievous, and I'm
going to go in now. I'm going to go down now, and
I'm going to see if these cries be so. That's an amazing conversation,
talking to a man, the omniscient God, but this is the Word of
Scripture. And I think to myself, he told
this, he said, I'm not going to hide anything from Abraham
because Abraham is going to come a great nation, he's going to
be blessed. Think of the mercy of God to teach any of us, anything,
of the indescribable mercy of God and justice of God. I can
say from these scriptures right here, hearing what the Lord has
said, I'm not going to hide anything from you. I'm going to tell you.
But I can, without apology, without controversy, God has mercy on
whomsoever He will have mercy. But I can tell you according
to the scriptures. woman that leaves this world
without Christ. Listen, according to these scriptures,
judgment is the only thing that's left. Why will you die? Why will you
die? I pray God have mercy upon us
this evening. Blessing the partaking of the
Lord's table as we eat and drink together for His glory and our
good. Amen. Amen.