Genesis

Genesis 18: God is powerful and just

Begin in prayer

Before we read God's promise to Sarah and His judgment concerning Sodom, let us come humbly before the Judge of all the earth. Ask Him to show us His power, expose our unbelief and lead us to the mercy found in Christ.

For Yahweh is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.

Psalm 11:7

Father in heaven, please open our eyes to understand Your power and Your justice. Show us Jesus, whose sacrifice brings mercy to guilty people without leaving sin unjudged. Make us more like Him, trusting Your Word and praying for others. Please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The LORD appears at Mamre, where Abraham welcomes three visitors with water, shade and a generous meal. Sarah hears a promise of a son next year and laughs inwardly because both she and Abraham are old. The LORD knows her laughter and corrects her fearful denial, assuring her that His word does not exceed His power. He then speaks about Sodom's grievous sin and Abraham's charge to command his children and household to keep the LORD's way. Abraham pleads with the Judge of all the earth, asking Him to spare the city for the sake of righteous people. The requests fall from fifty to ten, and God agrees to spare the place if the righteous are found.

As you read Genesis 18, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God keeps His promise by His power and judges the earth with justice and mercy.

The LORD appears at Mamre and receives Abraham's welcome, coming near before the host has offered any service. Shade, water for dusty feet and food were a traveler's needs, yet Abraham's hurried feast gives far more than his promised morsel. The promised son is announced within Sarah's hearing, although both are old and she has passed the age of childbearing. Her private laughter is open to the LORD, whose correction exposes both her unbelief and the lie she tells from fear. He repeats the appointed time, so the promise rests on His power rather than the strength of her confidence. God has chosen Abraham in love to command his children and household in righteousness and justice, making obedience His purpose. When He speaks of investigating Sodom's outcry, He shows that judgment rests on complete knowledge, with no wrong hidden or misjudged. Abraham then pleads for the whole city to be spared for the righteous, lowering his requests from fifty to ten. The Judge agrees to spare the city if the righteous are found, revealing mercy fulfilled in Christ, who bears judgment for His people.

How does Genesis 18 show us that God keeps His promise by His power and judges the earth with justice and mercy?

God comes near and Abraham answers with a generous welcome.

The LORD appears while Abraham sits at his tent, and the host welcomes the three visitors with water, shade and a meal. Foot washing refreshes travelers, while the feast exceeds Abraham's offer of a morsel of bread. His service follows God's approach and the grace he has already received.

God knows Sarah's thoughts and has power to keep His word.

Sarah hears the promise and laughs within herself because she and Abraham are old. The LORD knows her hidden thought, and He corrects the denial she makes out of fear. His repeated promise rests on His ability to do what He has said, beyond the couple's natural power. God's power later guarantees the Savior's promised birth, as the angel tells Mary (Luke 1 verse 37).

God hears Abraham plead for mercy as the Judge who does right.

God has known Abraham so he will command his children and household to keep God's way, doing what is right and just. The outcry against Sodom calls for judgment, and Abraham asks whether the righteous will be swept away with the wicked. He asks from fifty down to ten, and the LORD agrees each time to spare the city if they are found. Calling himself dust and ashes, Abraham pleads for mercy and entrusts the city's future to the Judge who always does right. Christ brings justice and mercy together by bearing His people's judgment, giving sinners a righteous basis for asking forgiveness.

Memorise

Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?

Genesis 18:25

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, whose sin have I condemned without asking Jesus to show them mercy?

Sarah laughs at the promised birth, yet the LORD asks, “Is anything too hard for Yahweh?” As Sodom faces judgment, Abraham asks, “Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?” The God who can keep His promise will judge every wrong with justice.

We need mercy because He knows our sin as fully as He knew Sarah's hidden laughter. At the cross, the righteous Son willingly bore the punishment His people deserved. Paul explains that God remains just while declaring believers righteous, because of Christ's atoning sacrifice (Romans 3 verses 25 and 26). Jesus rose bodily, and His completed sacrifice is enough to make guilty sinners welcome before God.

Turn from the unbelief and hidden wrong He sees, and trust Jesus Christ. All who repent and believe in this risen Savior receive full forgiveness. If you trust Him, please bring others before Him in prayer, asking for the mercy you have received. The Judge who hears you has provided the righteous Savior whose work can never fail.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God keeps His promise and hears humble prayer as the Judge who always does right. The risen Jesus gives forgiveness to everyone who repents and trusts Him, having borne the judgment His people deserved. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His power, justice and mercy, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so invite each one to ask Him for mercy for a person or place if they want to.

whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance; to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:25-26

Lord God, thank You that Your promise cannot exceed Your power and Your judgment never fails to do right. Please lead us to repent of unbelief and trust Jesus, who bore judgment for His people. Give us humble hearts that teach Your ways, confess hidden sin, and ask mercy for others this week. Amen.