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Abraham

             When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.  For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:16-19)

Again, this passage begins a familiar story. The thing God chooses not to hide from Abraham is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham tries to talk God out of it based on the number of the righteous in the city. What makes it such an important story is that it shows that God doesn’t fall apart when someone respectfully argues with Him. In fact, Abraham might almost be said to whine. If we had spent more time in the story of the plagues on Egypt, we could note that the Pharaoh does the same thing. He argues with God through Moses. The difference is that the Pharaoh is arrogant about it, expecting God to capitulate.

God seems to invite these discussions and to be willing to “change His mind.” Some people think this means He’s not omniscient, because He doesn’t know what He’s actually going to do. Others think it’s a weakness of character. I see it as a teacher or parent presenting a problem to a child so the child can learn to work through it and value time with the teacher/parent. In other words, God can and does invite us into situations where He allows us to have a say in what happens. He won’t tolerate our dictating to him as the Pharaoh did, but neither does He seek Yes-Men. 

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