After the
Covenant, Abraham really is a new man. Shortly after the deal, God, making
small talk, says “What up, Imma destroy those places.” Okay, I took some
liberties there, and it’s important that we not do that. So God said “How great
is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!”
What it was
important to know the exact wording is that this is not pre-emptive. People are
crying out against these cities. We don’t know if it’s people inside the cities
(we will know that later), but there are people angry and hurt over what Sodom
and Gamorrah are doing. So this is God acting on behalf of people.
It’s also
interesting to know the kind of language here. “Cry out” is a phrase seen
before, specifically with the story of Cain and Abel. Abel’s blood cried out
from the earth. We’re not quite there yet, but we might be coming close to a
precedence. These cries out seem to be for matters of justice. Maybe if we can
get some more people crying out, we can set the pattern.
What
happens next is a definite sign of a brand-new Abraham. He negotiates with God,
setting a threshold for the number of good people in the city for God to stay
his wrath. Abraham starts at 50, then gets all the way down to 10. At this
point, Abraham stops negotiating; Either he feels God won’t be moved any lower
or that Abraham doesn’t think the city is worth saving if there are fewer than
10 people.
Throughout
the entire exchange, Abraham and God are on more equal footing. This is not a
man cowed by fear. Abraham is holding his own and talking to God as someone
more like a peer than a servant. If we continue the parent/child dynamic from
Adam and Eve, Abraham has grown a few years, and is very much his own person,
now. The status of the Covenant gives him an elevated status that he didn’t
have before, more like a teenager or young adult who will start shouldering
responsibilities.
This is a
necessary step for Abraham as part of his side of the covenant is that he will
become a “father of nations.”