Negotiating with God

We all do it. We try to broker a deal with God. We promise the moon and deliver a dim candle. Then we still expect God to ‘do for us’ what we wanted in the first place. We forget that God is all knowing. We forget that He already knows we will fall short. Yet He still listens to us.

Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know.”  So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the LORD.  Then Abraham drew near, and said, “Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked?  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?  Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”  Abraham answered, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”  Again he spoke to him, and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”  He said, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Genesis 18.20-33

We know what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. We know that God knew what was going to happen. It seems like Abraham was the only one who didn’t know. This is a great lesson for us. God will always listen to our ‘negotiating’ even if it ends up getting nowhere.

It is the dialogue that God wants. He wants us to consider the outcomes of our words. Reading today’s passage, already knowing the end of the story, is enlightening to God’s patience. How many of us would stand there and ‘humor’ someone when we knew it wasn’t going to happen?

God most definitely would have spared them, but it didn’t end up that way. That doesn’t make God unreliable. It makes God true to His word. Sometimes we don’t have all the information. Sometimes, all the time really, God has more of the story than we do. Still God listens.

We are the ones who do not listen to God. We promise the moon, knowing we have no way of making good on our deal. Still God listens. Abraham was learning to trust in God. That trust was the foundation of the covenant with God. Abraham trusted God, and God listened.

Don’t you think it is time to talk to God and trust His response? Stop offering God something you can’t possibly give Him. He already knows you will fall short. But….still God listens. Now is our turn to listen to Him for a change.