Sunday Evening, February 21, 2010,

This evening, Bro Joe led a discussion about the cries of Sodom and Gomorrah. His report is provided below:

In Genesis 18:20-21, we read about the Lord’s inquiry of Sodom and Gomorrah before He left from speaking to Abraham.  “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. “   

What was this cry (i.e., shriek or outcry) that came to the Lord’s hearing?  If we look closely, we may find it to be a cry of sin, dissatisfaction, of hatred and lust or some other selfish motive.  The reason I think this is the fact, is that the Lord did not find even ten righteous people in it.  Not that God makes a practice of destroying whole cities that are filled with evil, but in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, He did.  

In Genesis 18, we find two cries going on; the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham’s cry to save it.  It may not be clear as to the exact motive for Sodom’s cry, but as for Abraham’s cry, it is clear he wanted no righteous person to perish there.  

The point is, the Lord took into consideration both ‘cries’ and took, as He saw it, the appropriate action.  God is righteous and just. 

I’m assuming now.  Perhaps when the Lord examines each one of us, if He sees anything honest in our hearts to work with, He’ll do just that, because He is a God of mercy.  But, if there is nothing about us that the Lord can ‘till-up’ and create good soil, He may not destroy us, but He sure may lead us to our own destruction in spite of His interventions.