by Rev. Lachlan MacLeod
God Remembered Abraham
The substance of a sermon preached in Auckland on Sabbath, 13th July 1986, following the passing of a Homosexual Reform Bill in the New Zealand Parliament.
“And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.” (Genesis 19: 27 and 28).
Our text tells us that Abraham went “to the place where he stood before the Lord.” As we see from the preceding chapter, that place was where he “stood yet before the Lord” to intercede for Sodom, and where God had given him the promise, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. But as we know, there were not even ten righteous persons in the city.
From that place Abraham could see the terrible catastrophe that had overtaken the cities. “And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and behold, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” Then we read, “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.” I would like to dwell just now on this fact of God remembering Abraham.
First, we will consider the time when God remembered Abraham, namely when He “destroyed the cities of the plain.”
Secondly, what is meant by God remembering Abraham? It is obvious that He remembered Abraham mainly by answering his prayer for Lot.
The third matter is that Lot benefited from the fact that God remembered Abraham. “God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.”
First, we will consider the time when God remembered Abraham, namely, when He “destroyed the cities of the plain,” It was a time of fearful judgment upon cities that had been given over to terrible wickedness. In chapter 13 it is recorded that “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.” Chapter 18 tells us that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was “very grievous;” and chapter 19 shows how evil the inhabitants of those cities were.
When we are told that the men of Sodom were “sinners before the Lord exceedingly,” it means that their wickedness was extraordinary in God’s sight. In one sense, we are all sinners before the Lord, inasmuch as the eye of the Lord is upon every one of us; but when it is stated that people are sinners “before the Lord,” it means that they are sinners in a very bold and evil manner. It is recorded also of the antedeluvian world that it “was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” So the people of these cities were sinners in an outstanding way and were exceedingly evil. Chapter 18, tells us that the cry of the cities came up to God. “And the Lord said, Behold the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great because their sin is very grievous.” These words, “the cry,” indicate the enormity of the sin. Notice also that it is “sin” (and not “sins”) that is spoken of; meaning that a particular sin was rife in the cities. It was that sin which provoked God’s wrath and cried out, as it were, for judgment. What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, without mincing words, it was gross uncleanness in the form of sodomy. It is difficult, especially for a minister of the gospel, to speak of these things. One is ashamed to mention them, but they have to be dealt with.
This sin is a judgment in itself. This is something we must remember, that when a generation is given over to the sin of sodomy, it is a judgment in itself. In Romans, chapter 1, we read about the sins that were prevalent among the Gentile nations in the time of the apostle. He says that because they left God and turned to idols, “God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own heart, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. . . .” That chapter shows clearly the vileness of this sin; but the point I wish to stress is that God, in judgment, gave them up to this sin. They dishonoured God by turning away from Him to idols; and God, in judgment, gave them up to dishonour themselves. This was a judicial act on the part of Jehovah. Let us seriously consider this scriptural aspect of this vile sin: that it is a judgment of God that a generation should be given over to it.
It is also to be feared that where this sin is prominent, further judgment cannot be far away. When this sin is in a nation, it ought to make us tremble when we look at it in the light of God’s word. It is a sin that is thought little of today. You meet with it in many parts of the world, including Canada, the United States of America, Britain, Australia, and here in New Zealand; and everywhere it is lightly regarded and frequently condoned.
What should especially concern us today is that this sin is now “lawful” (and I put “lawful” in inverted commas because it is not lawful as far as the law of God is concerned). Here in New Zealand, your legislature made this sin legal last Wednesday. This means that a majority of the Members of Parliament in Wellington consider themselves wiser than God. That is what it amounts to. In several press reports it is clear that anyone who backed up an argument with Scripture (and very few took the Word of God into account) was mocked and ridiculed for being so backward as to take Scripture for a standard. Well, that speaks volumes and is a sad situation indeed. Some hope that the Bill will be repealed soon by another government, but I doubt it. When such laws are made, it is very difficult to get them repealed because — and we must remember this — when people go as far as this, God gives them over and leaves them to their sin, as He did in the days of the apostle. I fear that there will be terrible judgments upon this nation before these laws are repealed. The moral outlook for New Zealand is bleak. Sodomists and perverts should be restrained, according to the law of God. Never mind what the psychiatrists say in support of sodomy, for many of them are ungodly and have no respect for the Word of God.
Along with the sin of sodomy in Sodom there was the sin of pride. Scripture says, “Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom pride, fulness of bread and abundance of idleness was found in her,” Ezekiel 16: 49. Where there is this vile uncleanness of perversion and sodomy there is pride along with it. You could see that even in some newspaper pictures last Thursday morning. Pride is condemned by God and denounced in the Scriptures. It is a sin that God hates; and “those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” Pride goes before destruction, and this was certainly true regarding the cities of the plain.
Sodom also had “fulness of bread and abundance of idleness,” that is they were well off as a people. How does fulness of bread become sin? It is not wrong in itself to have fulness of bread, but they made it sin by misusing it. They had a high standard of living and comparative ease. Their land was one of the most fertile spots on earth, “well watered everywhere . . . even as the garden of the Lord,” an earthly paradise of beauty and plenty; but instead of being thankful to the Lord for His goodness they forgot Him, rebelled against Him, and sinned grievously. Do you know that it is written in the Bible, “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them”? When people are prospering in the world they should be on their guard. We need prayer at all times but in prosperity we need more prayer than ever. If we are not kept, prosperity will destroy us because there is folly in our hearts. In New Zealand you have a wonderful land; a beautiful land of plenty; a land that in many respects is like the garden of the Lord. You cannot deny that; but the question is, Has the goodness of the Lord led you to repentance? and, Has the goodness of the Lord led the inhabitants of New Zealand to humility before Him? It is to be feared not. The apostle asks, “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” How often we misuse His goodness! When we get much of the goodness of God in providence, unless the Lord in His mercy will prevent it, we will lose sight of God and forget the Giver of all good.
What did the people of New Zealand do last Wednesday through their representatives in Parliament? Did they honour God? No, they did not! They forgot God; they despised God. Well, God is not mocked! Remember this, friend: God is not mocked. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah forgot God, but that did not mean that God forgot them and that their sin went unnoticed by Him. God said He would go down to “see”, (the Lord is here speaking after the manner of men). The Lord saw their vile sin, and the result was that He sent His angels to destroy the place. The angels said to Lot, “For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” And the cities were destroyed by fire and brimstone raining down on them from heaven.
What a fearful judgment was that rain of brimstone and fire!
Before this it was ordinary rain that God sent as they needed it. Their plain was “well watered”. God gave them rain, not too much, not too little, but just what was necessary to make it “as the garden of the Lord.” But they abused it, rebelled against God, and committed sin that was “very grievous”; and now judgment came. “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” Sodom and Gomorrah were turned into a furnace.
This fearful judgment came suddenly.
The morning of that awful day was a good morning. We are told, “The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.” It was just like any other morning to the people of Sodom as they went about their work. Scripture tells us that they “did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built.” Suddenly, destruction came! “It rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all,” Luke 17: 28, 29. Never a thought of God did they have — never a thought of asking God to prepare them for their latter end. Do you ever think of your latter end yourself? Do you ever think that here you have no continuing city, that you need preparation for death, and that there is no preparation for death but the grace of God? Do you ever think of the grace of God? Do you ever think of your need of being changed, and your need of the gospel of the grace of God being blessed to your soul? Well, in Sodom they had no thought of that; and the city was turned into a furnace.
That was the awful sight that Abraham saw early in the morning when he looked towards Sodom. What were his thoughts as he saw that “the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace”? He may have concluded that his prayer had not been answered — that his prayer had been ignored by the Lord. He had prayed, but now he was seeing this fearful sight, and he probably thought “The Lord did not hear my prayer.” But that was not the case. Just then, as the Lord was raining fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, He was remembering Abraham. “It came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham.” God, in the midst of wrath, was remembering mercy.
Again and again the Lord has done this. He remembered mercy in the midst of the terrible judgment of the Flood by remembering Noah in mercy. He remembered the Children of Israel in the midst of the destruction of Egypt. Habbukuk was praying in his own day, “O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” This is a prayer that you and I should have for New Zealand at this time in its history: “O Lord revive thy work, . . . in wrath remember mercy.” If there is anything New Zealand needs it is a revival of true religion — a revival from heaven, and that the Lord would “in wrath remember mercy.” Well, all that Abraham could see was destruction and he was probably concluding that his prayer was not answered. Maybe someone here is praying much over some matter, and perhaps, because of what you see happening in providence, you are concluding that your prayer is not answered. Abraham could see only utter destruction and God as a consuming fire, but yet, at that very time, “God remembered Abraham.”
Secondly, what is meant by God remembering Abraham?
It is obvious that He remembered Abraham mainly by answering his prayer for Lot. On the whole, the Lord remembered Abraham for good. More particularly, He remembered Abraham by remembering Abraham’s intercession for the righteous in Sodom. Had ten righteous persons been in Sodom, it would have been saved in answer to Abraham’s prayer, but they were not there. However, Lot was there, and Lot was a righteous man. We say that on the authority of the Word of God which describes him as “that righteous man”. Lot with all his faults was a righteous man and therefore he was in the intercession of Abraham. That meant that nothing could happen to Sodom until Lot was out of it. “Haste ye, escape thither,” said the angel to Lot, “for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither.” God remembered Abraham’s intercession.
The Lord also remembered Abraham by remembering His promise to him that He would make him a blessing. “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing.” It is amazing grace for any sinner to be blessed by God. It is more amazing still to be made a blessing — to be used by the Lord for the blessing of others. At this time God remembered Abraham by making him a blessing to Lot. Abraham prayed for Lot and God answered that prayer by remembering His promise, “Thou shalt be a blessing.” Now this, in a measure, is true of every one of the Lord’s people — of all who are the spiritual seed of Abraham, that as well as being blessed themselves they are made a blessing to others by being made the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Not only are they made a blessing in this general sense but also in particular cases. When Andrew himself was blessed he went to find Peter to bring him to Christ. What a blessing Andrew was to Peter! Peter, being blessed by the Lord, was then made a blessing to thousands on the day of Pentecost. Paul was blessed by the Lord and then made a blessing to thousands in the cities of the Gentiles. Down through history this has been the case thousands and thousands of times.
The Lord’s people are also made a blessing by their prayers for certain people. Many a godly mother or father is a blessing to their family in this way. It is reasonable to think that the father of the prodigal was praying for his son as he left home; and that he continued praying for him, expecting him to come back (for he was looking out for him). You may be tempted to say, because of certain happenings, that your prayers are not being heard. Abraham probably thought so that morning, but that was the very time God was remembering Abraham to make him a blessing to others; and it could easily be the same in your case. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”
Lastly, we shall consider how Lot benefited because of God remembering Abraham.
Lot did not perish. God “sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow” because He remembered Abraham. I was wondering if Abraham ever knew that Lot was saved. There is no word in the Bible that Lot and Abraham ever met again in this world; and there is no indication that Lot ever knew that Abraham prayed for him. How many blessings we receive that very likely are answers to prayers that we never knew about. Well, Lot certainly benefited from the fact that the Lord remembered Abraham. The fact that God remembered Abraham was the real reason why Lot was delivered. Here we have a case of “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man” availing much. As I said, we are not told if Abraham ever knew if Lot was saved. Indeed, the next thing we read about Abraham is that he journeyed “towards the south . . . and sojourned in Gerar.” As far as I can see, that was a long way from Zoar; but what a blessing it was for Lot that he had this godly man taking an interest in him and praying for him.
Eternity alone will reveal what blessings have been the result of the prayers of others: of the prayers of godly fathers and godly mothers for their children; of the prayers of godly men and godly women for others for whom they were burdened and who did not know of these prayers. Even in this world itself these things come to light. There was a certain Royal Navy ship in the Mediterranean during the last war and there was a young lieutenant from Canada on the bridge. Suddenly he saw ahead of them a mine floating in the water, and the ship was making straight for it. There was no time to be lost. Although he was not the officer in charge, he immediately took charge and gave an order to alter course; and in that way the ship was saved. The officer in charge saw what happened and realised that the young man had saved the ship and all the lives aboard; and when the emergency was over he asked him, “How did you notice that mine?” The answer the young man gave was, “I believe it was in answer to my mother’s prayers.” He knew his mother back in Canada was praying for him. When that danger was ahead of the ship, the Lord remembered the mother and they were saved.
That was how Lot was saved — because Abraham’s prayer on his behalf was remembered by the Lord. We know from 2nd Peter that Lot was a righteous man, and he was therefore safe as to his soul; but, as far as I can see, he would have perished with the rest, were it not that “God remembered Abraham.”
So there is encouragement here for praying men and women in New Zealand, and elsewhere, to look to the Lord, and to continue looking to the Lord. He is encouraging them to be casting their burden upon Himself, and to faint not, however discouraging things may be. I’m sure that Abraham’s hope went down when he saw the place burning. He thought that Lot was gone; but, No! he was not gone. “God remembered Abraham.”
May the Lord add His blessing.