Psalm 138 / Genesis 18:20–32

Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

How Many Righteous?

Abraham and Lot

Genesis 13:8-11 “Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.”

The wickedness of Sodom

2 Peter 2:7-8 “and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);”

Ezekiel 16:49 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.”

Jeremiah 23:14 “But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.””

It’s never just one thing.

We pick on certain sins as being causial, when they are most often symptoms of a more systemic issue the way a fever is not the problem, but rather the result of an underlying infection.

So too sin. wickedness. unrighteousness. Evil is a pernicious plague in this broken world that finds many harmful ways to manifest.

The Justice of God

Genesis 18:24-25 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?””

Abraham’s concerns are:

The people of Sodom

Justice

His kin

God’s concerns are:

His creation

Justice

His People

Romans 9:21 “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”

Romans 3:4 “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.””

John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Find More Righteous!

We are NOT alone, and we never have been!

1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.””

Evangelize Evangelize Evangelize

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Be found Righteous!

Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble”

John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Church family, we do not have perspective to know how many truly righteous are in our land or our world. Nor do we have perspective to know when any people or nation will be finally judged. What we do have is a mission to be, and to seek righteousness here and now, and a merciful God who is in the rescuing business. Praise be to God!