Is Abraham more merciful than God?

We were just cruising through Genesis when my professor gave us an assignment: “Read Genesis 18 and give a written response.  Please explain why Abraham is more merciful than God.”  So go ahead, you do the assignment and I’ll do the assignment and we’ll compare notes.

The Bible is sometimes called “The Good Book.” I think that’s because it talks about God’s love for the world, and tells us that we should be nice to each other, and if we are faithful to God life will be all butterflies, rainbows, and puppies.  Right?  I hope there’s more to it than that.  In fact, if we do take the Bible seriously, I think we have to deal with the sometimes dark side of Scripture.  While there exist stories and passages that are so beautiful and true to life, it’s hard not to be moved by the words, there also exist stories and passages that reveal the darkest capacities of the human person and human societies.  If we aren’t careful, we may even see a God that is angry and outright maniacal.   It is our responsibility to understand why these stories exist at all, and how they should form us. 

Genesis 18 may not be the darkest example from Scripture, but if you did the assignment (you will send it to me right?) you will see that it’s hard to understand why Abraham has to try so hard to change God’s mind about destroying two cities.  God is supposed to be the all loving, most merciful Father right?  Why is Abraham the hero trying to stop the wrath of God?  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Well here was my best shot at the assignment:

The final portion of Genesis 18 tells the story of God’s intention to judge Sodom and Gomorrah.   A cursory reading makes it seem like God intended to completely destroy both cities, and if it were not for the intervention of Abraham, the just would perish with the unjust.   Rightly were the questions raised at the end of class:  Why is Abraham more merciful than God?  Why is Abraham so courageous in approaching God, when in the past he was content to listen and obey?  How does he get the idea to intervene?

A more careful reading of verse 21 would show that God’s intention was to assess the situation, not necessarily to destroy the cities.  “Therefore, I will go down now and see whether or not they are carrying out the outcry coming to Me concerning them.”  It is the reader’s assumption that God would destroy everyone if He concluded that the cities would be destroyed.  We do not know what God would have done about the presence of the righteous.  Abraham slowly worked God down to spare the city if only 10 righteous were found.  Considering the violent culture of the patriarchs and monarchs, it is unlikely that Abraham was concerned for the lives of the unrighteous.  Rather, he was most likely solely concerned for the survival of his nephew Lot.  Lot was found to be one righteous person in the city.  While this does not meet the agreed number of ten to spare the city, God does not wipe out the righteous with the unrighteous.  Lot and his family are spared.  Even further, on account of Lot’s plea, God spares the city of Zoar.  The text suggests that God’s intention from the beginning of the episode was not to destroy all.  Instead God meant to save the righteous from the hands of the unrighteous people of the city of Sodom (Genesis 19:11-16).

Still, we are left with this interesting encounter between God and Abraham in chapter 18.  Abraham is acting as a model of intercession and participation in the mission of God.   First we see in Abraham a genuine concern for those he intercedes for.  It is this concern that gives him the boldness to approach God. 

We see Abraham’s humility.  “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord” (v 27).  He does not presume to know better than God.

Abraham acknowledges that God is indeed just (v 25).  While we might be inclined to use accolades to butter someone up so that she would hear us, Abraham is exemplifying prayer, not coercion.

Finally Abraham acts in a way that resonates with our own experience. When we see a situation that seems unjust, we want to effect change.  God is willing to listen to Abraham’s prayer, and in doing so allows Abraham to participate in His mission to save the righteous of the city.

In class, my professor offered a different view.  I’m not saying his is better…yes I am.  Take a look at it, and let me know what you think.

A common perception of God and God’s decision making process, was that He was like a king (not an unfamiliar image) who consulted with an advisory council.  As a heavenly king, God consulted a council of angels.  The best example that comes to mind from class was back in Genesis 1:26 when God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.”  Have you ever wondered who God was talking to?  Some folks insist that the “our” refers to the members of the Trinity.  That would be a convenient route to go if the Trinity was already revealed.  However, our Jewish brothers and sisters read this text without any notion of the Trinity.   My professor suggested that here was evidence of the heavenly, angelic council being consulted.  Back to Abraham.  God had already made a covenant with Abraham, and brought him into His inner circle.  It was after considering that Abraham will one day be a great nation through whom all the nations will be blessed that God decided to consult with Abraham (vv. 17-19). He was being brought into the heavenly court for consultation.

When was the last time God asked you for consultation?  I have a sense that if God were to consult me about something, how I respond may say more about me than it would about what is the best course of action.  Abraham had encountered God, and entered into covenant with Him, and now we get to see if anything changed for Abraham.  How had the covenant changed him? 

The text says that “Abraham remained before the Lord.” (v. 22).  How would you proceed if you stood before God as an advisor?  “Destroy the sinners?”  “Make them pay for their crimes?”  “You can kill all the unrighteous, but just save my nephew?”  Or perhaps you would feel ill-equipped (like me) and just go along with whatever God says.  Not Abraham.  Abraham allowed his covenantal relationship to inform his “advice.”  He stood before the Lord, a phrase that is very priestly, to intercede not just for his nephew, but for the cities.   His relationship to humanity was different because of the covenant.  And rightly so.  If all of the nations of the world would be blessed through him, he needed to start showing compassion toward all the nations.

We the readers are covenanted with God.  How merciful will we be?  The text challenges us to be like Abraham.  How merciful was he? With a literary device we learn that Abraham was more merciful than even God. That is what the covenant requires of us.