September 6, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“When the Men got up to leave, They looked down toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with Them to see Them on Their way. Then the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I AM [is] 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. In so doing the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.’” (Genesis 18.16-19)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Before moving forward with the story of Isaac following his birth to Abraham and Sarah, it is time to return to the events which will serve as the foundation of having faith in a Sovereign God. After the Lord has confronted Sarah with her laughter and the denial of doing so, His eye turned in a different direction. That description of “turning in a different direction” is the way the repentance is described. We first heard the concept in the story of Noah and the Ark. In Genesis 6.6, God says “I repent that I ever made humankind.” We do not think of God’s “repenting” in the same term as when we are called to repentance. It is not that God had sinned by creating humankind. Nothing would be further from the truth. God’s remorse at that time was more in line with sorrow for the burden which humans would face in the world knowing that freewill could and would give opportunity for the negative consequences of living apart from God’s plan of righteousness (faithful obedience to His word) to be realized. That choice, as we saw in the Garden of Eden where Adam refused to intervene between Eve and the Serpent leaving Eve to be vulnerable against the attack of the Enemy, was actually a choice between life and death. There were two trees in the middle of the Garden which God had created and put Adam, first, and then Eve after she was made from Adam. One tree was “the tree of life.” To taste of the fruit of that tree, which was not forbidden, would have given Adam and Eve and their descendants the right to live forever in the Garden of Eden. Would it have meant they would have never tasted death? That is something that is not fully acknowledged in scripture as its design. To assume it does would be simply that- an assumption. The other tree, of course, was “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” It quite literally was the province which should only belong to God. However, if love, as God is Himself, to be love, the posits of life and death must be offered. Would Adam and Eve believe that God was all they needed to have life and have it abundantly? Would they naturally make the right choice having little to no experience with death and its causes? We all would think we are able to handle such knowledge because humans want to see things as an either/or. We think without true dimension of thought so as to take in all angles and possibilities, caveats and unexpected occurrences. We do not see what is around the corner very well. Too often we simply round the corner at “full speed ahead” and come what may. I believe this is, more than anything, what God meant when He declared repentance or remorse for making humanity. It was not making humanity in the literal sense but making humanity with the unavoidable gift of choice. Of course, as I said before, it would not be a loving relationship without including choice.

In today’s scripture reading, God (as Three in One) is left to consider what to tell Abraham about His intention. I have no doubt, because his nephew Lot lived in Sodom, that Abraham was oblivious to what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah. The reputation of such a place would spread far and wide into every culture within earshot. Its sick appeal would draw all men to it, literally. Lot had taken up residence there after being redeemed earlier from captivity at the hands of a ruthless king. How Sodom and Gomorrah came to be a den of iniquity and sexual perversion, I have not yet discovered. What is know is that it was and the perversion was so great that they would disrespect even God and His ambassadors; as we would soon discover. It is hard to believe that God would need to actually visit Sodom and “see for Himself” what was happening and what the conversations were about that reached His ears. Perhaps, as in the story of Job, it was Satan who brought word to the court of God in Heaven. He would have certainly been bragging of his success in corrupting mankind to such low depths and depravation. The geographical setting of the Dead Sea would be fitting. What flowed in as living water became a virtual cesspool dead end with no escaping. It is no wonder there is a sense of “turning around.” God may have “repented” in thinking of the days of Noah and the perversion of humanity with the co-mingling of dark angels and the daughters of men. God certainly repented, or relented, when it came to Adam and Eve who broke God’s command and instruction and ate of the forbidden fruit (literally or figuratively). The penalty was death- their own. Yet God offered a sacrificial lamb to atone for their sin and penalized them by sending them out of Eden to live on earth in the world. The rest is history! God’s intention is made clear than a harsh penalty must be exacted for those who have perverted God’s design for male and female. They turned their bodies into unholy sacrifices and perversions far from what they were intended. They had become a cancer that had to be removed. Warning would be given. The question was not even about Lot but for Abraham. What would be his decision? Again we see Abraham the “bargainer.” He seems to have a habit of doing this in many parts of his life…and usually the consequences are borne by others but the burden by him because he should truly know what is right.

This is why this is a story of repentance. We may not see it at first glance which is why I want to take this day for the next fews days to explore and explain and present to you, mighty ones of God, for now and future reference.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.