TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:6-7
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. - Philemon 1:6
TODAY IN THE WORD
D. L. Moody once said: “If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents.” Yet “average” ability may be one of the things that keeps Christians from sharing their faith. Many are intimidated by the thought that they are ordinary people given the extraordinary task of showing the love of Christ to others.

The good news is that we don’t have to be super heroes or have all the answers in order to share our faith effectively with others. In fact, Paul prayed that Philemon would be active in sharing his faith, so that he would have a greater understanding of all that was his in Christ. In Philemon’s case, however, “sharing” involved more than simply stating the facts of the gospel. It’s possible that the sharing Paul had in mind consisted of acts of hospitality or financial generosity that were prompted by Philemon’s faith in Christ.

In verse 7 Paul praises Philemon for being an encouragement by “refreshing” the hearts of the saints. Philemon had used his resources to provide relief for other believers, perhaps by opening his home to them as they traveled from one city to another. Some commentators suggest that the “sharing” mentioned in verse 7 might even refer to the faith Philemon had in common with the rest of the church. If this is the sense, then Paul’s prayer would be that Philemon would grow in his understanding of the mutual treasure of faith that was his along with other believers.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
How can you share your faith today? It may be by telling someone else the good news of Jesus Christ. Or, God may give you an opportunity to provide momentary relief to someone else. Don’t be discouraged if you feel as if you are just an “average” Christian with little to offer. Most of those who have had extraordinary ministries have been ordinary people who allowed our extraordinary God to use them. All who are active in sharing their faith learn more about the faith that they share.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:8-9
Although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. - Philemon 1:8–9
TODAY IN THE WORD
During the Civil War a woman sent Abraham Lincoln a letter asking for his autograph. She also requested that he include a sentiment with the autograph, perhaps hoping for something like “Best Wishes” or “Your Faithful Servant.” Lincoln was annoyed by the

selfish nature of her request and wrote back: “Dear Madam: When you ask from a stranger that which is of interest only to yourself, always enclose a stamp. There’s your sentiment, and here’s my autograph. A. Lincoln.”

Paul wrote to Philemon also to ask him for a favor, but the apostle’s request was not prompted by self-interest. Paul’s motivation was his concern for Onesimus and for the church. Onesimus had come to faith in Christ while Paul was in prison. It’s possible that Onesimus was himself a prisoner at the time. As a fellow Christian, this would have been reason enough for Philemon to rejoice. But the language Paul uses in describing Onesimus’s conversion is designed to remind Philemon of other things he and his former slave had in common. They both had Paul as their spiritual father. Now Paul was asking for a favor.

Yet Paul did not want Philemon to forgive Onesimus merely out of obligation. It’s true that as Philemon’s spiritual father and as an apostle, Paul had spiritual authority. “I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do.” But Paul wanted Philemon to comply with his request willingly, not under compulsion: “I appeal to you on the basis of love.” Still, the apostle did make it clear that Philemon was also obligated to do what Paul asked.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Philips Brooks said, “Duty makes us do things well; but love makes us do them beautifully.” What do you have on your agenda today that might qualify as a duty? Do you plan to fulfill it out of a sense of grudging obligation or will you be motivated by your love for Christ and gratitude for all that He has done in your life? Choose at least one task on your “to do” list and consider how being motivated by gratitude will change the way you approach it.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:10-11
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. - Philemon 1:11
TODAY IN THE WORD
When he was young, Dan wasn’t expected to become interested in the Bible, let alone become the pastor of a church. Widely known as the “town drunk,” Dan had a reputation for hard fighting and heavy drinking. Then a local pastor began to pray for Dan and patiently share the gospel with him. When Dan trusted Christ, his life began to change. In time, he felt God calling him to prepare for the ministry. He left the small town where he had grown up and attended a Bible college. When the pastor who had led him to Christ felt called to the mission field, Dan returned to his hometown and replaced him as the church’s minister.

Charles Spurgeon once declared, “The most useful members of a church are usually those who would be doing harm if they were not doing good.” This was certainly true of the apostle Paul. Prior to trusting in Christ, he was a persecutor of Christians.

The same was true of Onesimus. In Greek the name Onesimus literally meant “useful.” In an ironic play on words, Paul admits that formerly Onesimus had been “useless” to Philemon. In fact, Paul uses one more word play here. The word translated “useless” is similar to the Greek word Christless. When Onesimus was Christless, he was useless. Once he came to know Christ, his life was changed, and he became useful, both to Philemon and to the Lord Jesus.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Have you become more useful to God and to others since you trusted in Jesus Christ? Has anyone expressed surprise at the change in your life? Think about these questions. Ironically, those who have experienced such a change can sometimes be the most skeptical about the possibility of God’s grace impacting others in the same way. Think of one such “hopeless case” that you know. Pray that by God’s grace they will come to know Christ, become His useful servant, and show God’s love to others.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:12-14
I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. - Philemon 1:14
TODAY IN THE WORD
Hobbits, the fictional inhabitants of Middle Earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien, are fond of giving gifts. Instead of receiving gifts on their birthday, they give gifts to other Hobbits. “Actually in Hobbiton and Bywater every day in the year was somebody’s birthday,” the author explains in The Fellowship of the Ring, “so that every hobbit in those parts had a fair chance of at least one present at least once a week.” As they were required to give so many gifts, some Hobbits recycled them. What was received from one Hobbit was passed on to another on one’s birthday. For Hobbits, this habit of gift giving “was not a bad system.” We, however, might get offended if we knew that someone had given us a “recycled gift.”

Paul had a similar concern about the request that he was about to make of Philemon. Onesimus had become so useful to Paul in his ministry that he would have liked to keep him with him. However, he did not feel that he could do so without Philemon’s permission. He decided, instead, to send Onesimus back with his letter and let Philemon decide what must be done.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
God is also concerned about the gifts that we give to Him. He commands us to offer ourselves to Him but wants us to do so willingly. We should see the command to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice as “reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). Those who serve as leaders in the church are to do so because they are “willing” (1 Peter 5:2). This is also to be true of those who offer their finances to God (2 Cor. 9:7). How would you rate your willingness to serve Christ today on a scale of 1 to 10, if 1 is grudging and 10 is eager and willing?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:15-16
Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good. - Philemon 1:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
One of the most destructive results of slavery has been its tendency to dehumanize its victims. Slaves had monetary value in the eyes of those who bought and sold them, but their value as human beings was diminished. They were viewed as objects and often treated as such. Although some masters treated their slaves with respect (as Philemon seems to have done), others were abusive (1 Peter 2:18).

The New Testament did not condemn the practice of slavery outright, but its principles undermined the values that made slavery acceptable. Its assertion that in Christ there is no such thing as slave or free and that every believer is a brother or sister in Christ sowed the seeds that would eventually lead to the abolition of slavery.

Paul wanted Philemon to appreciate Onesimus’s true value. As a believer Onesimus was “no longer a slave.” Even though society may have regarded him as such, in God’s eyes he was a free man (1 Cor. 7:22). The believer who was not a slave had no right to look down on the Christian slave because the free man was Christ’s servant. Those who owned slaves were to recognize that they also had a master in heaven (Col. 4:1). At the same time, a new position in Christ did not give Christian slaves the right to be disrespectful. Slaves were to obey their masters with a sincere heart, out of reverence for the Lord (Col. 3:22).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We do not own slaves, but we do sometimes undervalue those around us. Although sin and character flaws may have rendered some “unprofitable servants,” these same people were so valuable that Christ shed His blood for them. Perhaps God brought these “difficult” people into your life for you to share the love of Christ with them. They have inherent value as people created in the image of God. Ask God for an opportunity to tell them about Christ, so that they can find their true worth in Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:17-21
If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. - Philemon 1:18
TODAY IN THE WORD
A woman who had a long-standing grudge against her sister was describing her plan for revenge. “I’ve kept a list of every mean thing she has ever done to me,” the woman explained. “I keep it in my safe deposit box with instructions that it be given to my sister when I die.” When someone suggested that she was being bitter, the woman denied it. “I’m not bitter,” she declared. “I just want her to know what she has done.”

Although we may not be as careful about keeping accounts of what others have done to us, most of us do keep a mental list of the offenses we have suffered. Although we know we should forgive, it’s not always easy. We know that the offenses we have suffered are real and we are reluctant to let others “get away with murder.”
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The feeling that a debt is owed when others hurt us is real. True biblical forgiveness is not saying that the offense another has committed is “nothing.” There must be an accurate reckoning of the offense in order to give true forgiveness. Unlock the mental safety deposit box where you keep the accounts of all your offenses. Look at the ledger and honestly calculate the debt. Now compare that to the price paid by Christ to forgive you. Shouldn’t you show the same kind of mercy to others as Christ has shown you?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:22
Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. - Philemon 1:18–19
TODAY IN THE WORD
On one of James Hudson Taylor’s journeys, the sailing ship in which the pioneer missionary to China was traveling passed dangerously close to a reef. The ship’s anxious captain kept hoping for a favorable evening wind to carry them away from certain disaster. When no wind came, the captain said, “Well, we have done everything that can be done. We can only await the result.” “No,” Taylor replied, “there is one thing we have not done yet.” “What is that?” the captain asked. “Four of us on board are Christians,” Taylor continued. “Let us each retire to his own cabin, and in agreed prayer ask the Lord to give us immediately a breeze. He can as easily send it now as at sunset.”

After a brief time of prayer, Taylor felt so sure that God would grant his request that he could pray no longer. He went up on deck and asked the first officer to let down the mainsail. An unbeliever, the first officer refused and scornfully said, “What would be the good of that?” “We have been asking God for a wind,” Taylor declared. “It is coming immediately and we are so near the reef that there is not a moment to lose!” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Taylor saw the uppermost sail of the ship begin to stir, moved by a fresh breeze. They lowered the mainsail and within minutes the ship was steering toward safety.

Paul had the same confidence that God would answer his prayers for release from prison. He was so certain, in fact, that he asked Philemon to prepare a guestroom for him. Was this presumptuous? Not in view of the passages of Scripture that urge us to expect answers to our prayers. Jesus taught His disciples to pray with the assurance that God knew what they needed before they asked Him (Matt. 6:. Jesus also taught His disciples to be persistent in prayer (Luke 18:1).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Examine your prayer list today. How many of your requests do you expect God to answer? Are there reasonable steps you should be taking to prepare for His answer? Remember, however, that God always reserves the right to answer our prayers in His own time and way. An answer of “No” or “Wait” is still an answer. When asked about delayed answer to prayer, Hudson Taylor explained, “If we are kept waiting, the spiritual blessing that is the outcome is far more precious than exemption from the trial.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philemon 1:23-25
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. - Philemon 1:25
TODAY IN THE WORD
Jill Briscoe tells of the time she sat at a table with three attractive young women and felt very insecure. “I felt fat, forty, and somewhat futile,” she writes. Then she sensed the Lord speaking to her. “Why do you think everyone is so tense?” In a flash, she understood the reason for the unease she had sensed between the women as well as her own insecurity. “Competition,” she replied to the Lord. “I distinctly heard his next words,” Briscoe writes, “ 'Jill, you’ll never be competition.’ For the first time I thanked God for my ordinary good looks. I could be a big sister to women, a friendly mother, an aunt. I could relax, knowing I would never threaten anyone. God had made me just right for my ministry of teaching women, and that was all that mattered.”

Briscoe’s experience is not unusual. Many Christians, both men and women, feel as if they are in competition with one another. We silently compare our jobs, children, homes, and even our spouses. Worse yet is the competitive spirit one often senses in churches. How happy are we when the church down the street begins to gain more members than our own? Such success is more likely to generate an attitude of jealousy rather than an occasion for rejoicing. If there’s a competition between us, we need to remind ourselves of our heavenly Master who looks at us all as fellow workers.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As you pray for your church and its ministries this week, why not also consider praying for the “competition”? Think of another Bible-believing church or Christian ministry and ask God to bless their efforts. Also ask God to make you sensitive to any areas of your life where you may be competing with others. We don’t always need to be the best. Indeed, the basic principle of life in the body of Christ is found in 1 Corinthians 12:26: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Judges 8:1-35
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. - 2 Timothy 4:7
TODAY IN THE WORD
In January 2001, a judge sentenced a man in San Fernando, California, to 45 days in jail. He had attacked the coach of his son's Little League baseball team when his boy was taken out of the game early; he felt that his son was not getting the respect he deserved as a player.

The tribe of Ephraim reacted in a similar way. They were gifted in battle, as they successfully controlled the Jordan River and captured two Midianite leaders. But if we imagine that this were a baseball game, their complaint to Gideon might sound like, “How dare you waste all this talent by not playing us the entire game?”

At this point Gideon has already had to challenge his family and town by destroying Baal's altar, and he's in the middle of pursuing the Midianites. Now he has to contend with some grumpy and uncooperative tribes who are supposed to be on his side! Ephraim wants more recognition, and Succoth and Peniel don't want to get involved unless they can be sure that the Midianites won't come back. The writer of Judges is highlighting for us the increasing tension between the tribes; not only does Gideon kill the oppressing kings, he also destroys the two Israelite towns for their lack of support.

The earlier judges had legacies of peace in the land, and Deborah also has a song of praise as part of her legacy. Gideon's legacy is more complicated. The land did enjoy peace while Gideon remained alive (v. 28), the last time we'll see this in the book of Judges. But Gideon also made sinful choices with horrible repercussions for his family and the nation. The same man who destroyed the altar of Baal now made a gold ephod and allowed the people to worship it.

Gideon rejected the offer to become king, but apparently he didn't reject the lifestyle. Not only did he accumulate gold and goodies (v. 26), he also maintained a large harem (v. 30). His son, whom we'll study tomorrow, even had the name Abimelech, which means “my father is king.”
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
What sort of legacy are you leaving? When people reflect on your life, will they remember your acts of faithfulness? Or are you characterized by hypocrisy, saying that you don't love the things of the world while at the same time accumulating stuff and status? The words of the apostle Paul are a helpful reminder to us: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Psalm 145
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face. - Psalm 11:7
TODAY IN THE WORD
For many in the Western world, a discussion of justice quickly conjures up the image of a well-known statue. A blindfolded woman holding scales adorns courthouses across the United States and embodies the American ideals of fairness and equality. The objective nature of justice is symbolized by her blindfold, and the scales speak about every person getting their due reward or punishment. These intentions are honorable, but they stand apart from the concept of justice revealed in the Bible.

Today’s Scripture reading is a psalm of praise for what God is and what He does--and one of these attributes is justice. But as noted theologian A. W. Tozer told his Chicago congregation in 1958, “When you talk about God, language staggers.” And this predicament can be seen clearly when discussing God’s justice. It’s easy to think and talk of justice as though it is a standard of conduct that is apart from God and to which He must ascribe. For example, many Christians would agree that “God must be just.” But this phrase is misleading. Justice is not something outside of God, it’s an essential attribute of God. His very character defines justice. In our day, courts strive to attain justice, but in Scripture, God Himself is justice.

Psalm 145 is an acrostic, meaning that in the original Hebrew, the first letter of each stanza begins with the next letter of the alphabet--fitting for a poem that offers such a comprehensive list of God’s attributes. The words “righteousness” and “justice” had virtually the same meaning for the biblical authors. And so we learn in verse 7 that God’s justice is closely linked to His goodness, and this is a cause of joyful song.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today we begin a month-long survey of justice in the Bible--from the Old to the New Testament, to the manifestation of God’s justice in Jesus Christ. As you go through today’s reading, meditate on this additional verse, Micah 6:8: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Pray that in the coming weeks God would reveal to you some specific ways that you can live out this verse in your home, church, and community.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 3
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. - Psalm 36:6
TODAY IN THE WORD
It’s fitting to begin a study of justice in the Bible at the beginning--the Garden of Eden. Again, it’s important to acknowledge widespread notions about justice as we explore what the Bible has to say on the subject. Our modern attitudes have been strongly shaped by the Greek and Roman periods of our history, when righteousness or justice was an ideal, an absolute ethical norm, against which actions could be measured.

But this is not how the Hebrew authors of the Bible thought about justice. For them, justice was an innately relational concept. As James Dunn and Alan Suggate explain in their book, The Justice of God, “In Hebrew thought righteousness is something one has precisely in one’s relationships as a social being. That is to say, righteousness is not something which an individual has on his or her own, independently of anyone else--as could be the case with the Greco-Roman concept. Rather, righteousness is a matter of responsibilities which arise out of social relationships.”

Today’s passage brings us into the first relationship between God and man. And immediately that relationship is under attack from Satan (John 8:44, 2 Cor. 11:3). Eve is approached by a serpent and tempted to do the one thing God has forbidden. And she gives in.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Adam and Eve ate the fruit of a forbidden tree and broke their fellowship with God. Is there something in your own life that you have done or said that has hurt your relationship with God? While you probably don’t have a forbidden tree in your backyard, we all have areas of temptation that threaten our intimacy with God. Take a few minutes to make a list of your areas of weakness. Tuck the list inside your Bible and refer to it once a week. When you see areas in which you’ve failed, confess them and restore your relationship with God.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 6
He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. - Isaiah 42:4
TODAY IN THE WORD
Social critic H. L. Mencken once wrote, “Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.” This comment could easily apply to today’s Scripture reading. In Genesis 6 we see that Adam and Eve’s descendants increased, but all of them were unrighteous. They were comfortable in their lifestyle of injustice, and God’s plan to restore justice would do more than sting--it would change the world as they knew it.

The story of the Flood is familiar, but controversial nonetheless. “As the water surged around Noah’s ark, so debate surges around almost every aspect of the Flood account,” says one commentator. And it’s true that the biblical account of the Flood presents several interesting questions about its logistics and extent. Add to this a peculiar story about intermarriage between “sons of God” (some commentators say they were angels) and women (vv. 1–4), and you have a glimpse into what was literally a different world. But there is no question as to what caused the Flood--wickedness. “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (v. 5). People had abandoned their relationship with God, without which there was no incentive to live justly. Corruption was inevitable and profound. Violence reigned and God grieved to see His creation ruined under a load of lawlessness and decadence. Once again, it was God who sought to restore justice on earth.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Two by two. That’s how we picture the animals entering the ark. But did you know that God told Noah to gather seven pairs of some kinds of animals? Or that Noah was 600 years old when the Flood began?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 9:1-17
He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. - Psalm 9:8
TODAY IN THE WORD
In the early 1990s, the leaning Tower of Pisa began to lean too far. Seeing that the 180-foot-high tower would soon become dangerous, engineers designed a system to salvage the twelfth-century landmark by holding the lean constant. First, the engineers injected super-cold liquid nitrogen into the ground to freeze it and thereby minimize dangerous ground vibrations during the work that followed. Then they installed cables to pull the structure more upright. Engineers hoped that the underground cable network will pull the tower toward center by at least an inch.

Our world resembles the leaning Tower of Pisa, tilting and heading to catastrophe. To prevent total anarchy, God established governments to maintain order. Governments and the laws function like the steel cables that will hold the leaning tower. The tower still leans. It’s not perfect. But the cables prevent total destruction.

In Genesis 9:1–17, God delegated the authority to maintain justice on earth to man. In many ways, God’s covenant with Noah mirrored creation (v. 1; cf. Gen. 1:22, 28) with one important distinction--people’s hearts were now evil. And with this new condition, God set out to make His will clear.

A short review of history up to this point reveals the violent inclinations of mankind and a God who has just vanquished all life save one family and two of every animal species. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that God had little regard for life. But in reality, the exact opposite is true.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
God established human government on earth, and the Bible requires believers to pray for their leaders. Being in leadership is no easy task. Elected officials are often saddled with the job of satisfying constituencies that are deeply divided on what they want. Remember to keep the members of the government in your prayers. Also, write a letter to one elected official and thank them for their service. Encou-rage your mayor, district attorney, senator, or even the president to be always just, as they carry out their duties.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 15
Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. - Psalm 106:3
TODAY IN THE WORD
Despite what some skeptics might say, faith is central to all of life. For example, you go to a doctor whose name you can’t pronounce and whose degrees you’ve never verified. He gives you a prescription you can’t read. You take it to a pharmacist you’ve never seen before. He gives you a chemical compound you don’t understand. Then you take the pill according to the instructions on the bottle. All in trusting, sincere faith! Faith in your doctor--earthly faith--might help you recover from illness, but it’s useless for spiritual matters. Today’s passage shows us that only having faith in God will be counted as righteousness.

Abram’s relationship with God begins in Genesis 12, and it isn’t until chapter 17 that his name becomes the more familiar Abraham. This man would become the father of God’s chosen people, through whom the Lord would teach the world about justice. One could easily excuse Abraham for being more than a little dubious about God’s plans for his life. First, God told him to leave his home without telling him where he would end up (Gen. 12:1). Then God told him that his descendants would be a great nation (12:2). On top of this blessing, God added the promise of land (12:7, 13:14–15). But then Abraham and Lot, his nephew, who had come with him on his journey, had to part ways (13:8–9). And then Abraham had to turn around and rescue his nephew from captivity when Lot got caught in the middle of a battle between feuding kings (Gen. 14). By the time we get to chapter 15 of Genesis, Abraham is an old man with an old wife. He has no children, and God is still telling him that his descendants are going to be as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:6). So what does he do? He believes God.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The Abrahamic covenant is foundational in God’s relationship with Israel. But God also has a covenant with you. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” If you have believed in Jesus Christ, you have eternal life. Write this verse on a piece of paper and sign your name at the end to signify your own faith in God’s promise. If you have not yet decided to put your faith in Christ, make this covenant with God today.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 18:16-33
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. - Proverbs 21:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
Celebrated author Hannah Hurnard once described an intercessor as “one who is in such vital contact with God and with his fellowmen that he is like a live wire closing the gap between the saving power of God and the sinful men who have been cut off from that power.” This vivid picture shows the correlation between a strong relationship with God and the power of prayer. One who is in “vital contact with God and with his fellowmen” could also be described as one who is just.

Hurnard’s observation is proved true in today’s Scripture reading. In today’s passage God appeared at Abraham’s tent in the form of a man, with two angels, also in the form of men. God once again assured the aging couple that they would indeed have children. But He soon shifted His focus to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The following verses provide a rare look at prayer from God’s perspective. Through anthropomorphic expression, the literary device of ascribing human thought and emotion to God, we can “listen in” as God thinks through whether or not He will confide in Abraham (vv. 17–19). The importance of an intimate relationship with the Lord is clear from these verses.

As God told Abraham of the trouble in Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham’s immediate concern must have been for his nephew Lot, who had settled in that region (14:12). And based on his solid faith in God’s righteousness, Abraham challenged God. The phrase, “far be it from you” was repeated several times during Abraham’s conversation, or prayer, with God and reflected the firm belief that God is good (Ps. 100:5). God honored Abraham’s petitions, and agreed to spare the cities if only 10 righteous people could be found there.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The Arab proverb says, “One hour of justice is worth 100 hours of prayer.” But a biblical interpretation of justice would reveal that prayer itself is a form of justice. Are there people in your life who have turned away from God? If you don’t have personal acquaintances in this situation, pray for public figures in whose lives you can see rebellion against God. Then spend one minute interceding on behalf of each person. Pray that their hearts would be softened to God’s love and that they would come into a right relationship with Him.