-
†. Gen 18:21a . . I will go down to see whether they have acted
altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me;
The word for "outcry" is from tsa'aqah (tsah-ak-aw') which means: a shriek.
The same word was in chapter 4 to describe the cry of Abel's blood from the
ground and also in Exodus to describe the cry of Moses' people under the
heel of Egyptian slavery.
Have you ever been so annoyed by someone's speaking that you wanted to
cover your ears, close your eyes, grit your teeth and just yell out: SHUT. . .
UP!
Sodom was so bad that even the Earth itself couldn't tolerate them any
longer; it just wanted to cover its ears, close its eyes, grit its teeth and
shout ENOUGH ALREADY! Sadly, there are some people of whom it can be
honestly said that the world is a much better place without them.
But isn't Yhvh supposed to be omniscient? Then why does He have to go
investigate for Himself to see if the reports coming across His desk regarding
Sodom are true? And isn't He supposed to be omnipresent? Then why is
Yhvh talking as if He hasn't been down to visit Sodom lately? Because . .
Abraham wasn't talking to The True God in person nor is he talking to God's
Spirit in person. He was talking to a messenger who has authority to act on
God's behalf: to speak for God, to speak as God; and to use God's name for
itself.
The Old Testament's Yhvh is a most surprising, enigmatic being.
"God spoke all these words, saying: I Yhvh am your God who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods
besides Me." (Ex 20:1-3)
Israel has to worship Yhvh as their god, and they must obey Him as their
god. But the divine being who spoke to them in the past as Yhvh, and for
Yhvh, was not the actual True God himself in person. No, it was a divine
messenger of God. The being named Yhvh whom they dealt with was a
reflection of the actual True God; a Supreme Ambassador who mediates
between God and Man-- authorized to use God's name for itself --and merits
all the worship and prayer, and respect and veneration and fear due to The
True God.
The actual person of The True God is remote, and removed; concealed
within a forbidden city where sinful flesh can neither see Him, approach Him,
nor relate to Him, nor even so much as listen to His actual voice. The Old
Testament's Yhvh fills Man's need for someone who relates well to Man, and
also relates well to the hidden Sovereign, so that Man and the inaccessible,
hidden Sovereign can maintain a viable diplomatic relationship with each
other.
Targum authors, at a loss to explain the existence of what they perceived as
two persons named Yhvh, labeled the second one "The Word of the Lord
God" which is a pretty good expedient since words are used to communicate,
and to convey thoughts and ideas. Talmudic writers identified the second
Yhvh as the angel Metatron-- a celestial being whose name is his Master's.
The New Testament follows the thinking of the Targums in identifying one of
the Yhvhs as God's word.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3)
†. Gen 18:21b . . if not, I will take note.
Doesn't everyone have a right to face their accuser and defend themselves?
Yes. That is one of America's basic human rights; and also a Divine law
(Num 35:30, Deut 17:6-7, Deut 19:15). Yhvh can't just act upon rumors
and hearsay like some sort of heavenly kangaroo court. No, He has to
investigate, and establish the truth of every fact for Himself before moving
against Sodom. Their judgment will be fair, and the case against them so
air-tight, that even Sodom will have to agree they have whatever's coming
to them.
Along that same line; the dead won't go into the flaming sulfur depicted at
Rev 20:11-15 without a fair trial. They'll be given ample opportunity to
defend themselves; and to know exactly why God feels they deserve to die.
"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for
every thoughtless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be
acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matt 12:36-37)
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: See, the Lord
is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge
everyone, and to convict all the irreverent of all the irreverent acts they
have done in an irreverent way, and of all the harsh words irreverent sinners
have spoken against him." (Jude 1:14-15)
The Greek word for "convict" is from elegcho (el-eng'-kho) and means: to
confute, to admonish. So nobody will be sent to Hell arbitrarily. The case
against them will be made in a summary and professional manner--
evidence will be introduced, and witnesses called for testimony. Yhvh was
given reports that the Sodomites were doing bad things; and now He will go
and see for Himself if those reports are, in fact, true or not. The Bible's Yhvh
is, after all, a rational, objective jurist rather than an emotional, reactive
vigilante.
†. Gen 18:22 . .The men went on from there to Sodom, while
Abraham remained standing before The Lord.
A plausible scenario is that all three men began walking towards Sodom, and
then one (earlier identified as Yhvh) stayed behind to conduct a private
meeting with Abraham.
The Targums say Abraham interceded for his nephew, but it would appear
from the Scripture that he interceded not just for Lot, but also for the
citizens of Sodom too. And that's to be expected. After all, Abraham was
their savior; the one who rescued them all from that awful Chedorlaomer
back in chapter fourteen. He couldn't just sit on his hands now and let them
all die without making any effort to save them from the wrath of God.
This is somewhat ironic. It's as if Abraham saved the people from El Ched
only to be barbecued in Sodom; viz: sort of like the cops shooting a felon
during his arrest, taking him to the hospital to save his life, then hauling him
into court after he's well enough to stand trial so he can be given the gas
chamber.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 18:21a . . I will go down to see whether they have acted
altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me;
The word for "outcry" is from tsa'aqah (tsah-ak-aw') which means: a shriek.
The same word was in chapter 4 to describe the cry of Abel's blood from the
ground and also in Exodus to describe the cry of Moses' people under the
heel of Egyptian slavery.
Have you ever been so annoyed by someone's speaking that you wanted to
cover your ears, close your eyes, grit your teeth and just yell out: SHUT. . .
UP!
Sodom was so bad that even the Earth itself couldn't tolerate them any
longer; it just wanted to cover its ears, close its eyes, grit its teeth and
shout ENOUGH ALREADY! Sadly, there are some people of whom it can be
honestly said that the world is a much better place without them.
But isn't Yhvh supposed to be omniscient? Then why does He have to go
investigate for Himself to see if the reports coming across His desk regarding
Sodom are true? And isn't He supposed to be omnipresent? Then why is
Yhvh talking as if He hasn't been down to visit Sodom lately? Because . .
Abraham wasn't talking to The True God in person nor is he talking to God's
Spirit in person. He was talking to a messenger who has authority to act on
God's behalf: to speak for God, to speak as God; and to use God's name for
itself.
The Old Testament's Yhvh is a most surprising, enigmatic being.
"God spoke all these words, saying: I Yhvh am your God who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods
besides Me." (Ex 20:1-3)
Israel has to worship Yhvh as their god, and they must obey Him as their
god. But the divine being who spoke to them in the past as Yhvh, and for
Yhvh, was not the actual True God himself in person. No, it was a divine
messenger of God. The being named Yhvh whom they dealt with was a
reflection of the actual True God; a Supreme Ambassador who mediates
between God and Man-- authorized to use God's name for itself --and merits
all the worship and prayer, and respect and veneration and fear due to The
True God.
The actual person of The True God is remote, and removed; concealed
within a forbidden city where sinful flesh can neither see Him, approach Him,
nor relate to Him, nor even so much as listen to His actual voice. The Old
Testament's Yhvh fills Man's need for someone who relates well to Man, and
also relates well to the hidden Sovereign, so that Man and the inaccessible,
hidden Sovereign can maintain a viable diplomatic relationship with each
other.
Targum authors, at a loss to explain the existence of what they perceived as
two persons named Yhvh, labeled the second one "The Word of the Lord
God" which is a pretty good expedient since words are used to communicate,
and to convey thoughts and ideas. Talmudic writers identified the second
Yhvh as the angel Metatron-- a celestial being whose name is his Master's.
The New Testament follows the thinking of the Targums in identifying one of
the Yhvhs as God's word.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3)
†. Gen 18:21b . . if not, I will take note.
Doesn't everyone have a right to face their accuser and defend themselves?
Yes. That is one of America's basic human rights; and also a Divine law
(Num 35:30, Deut 17:6-7, Deut 19:15). Yhvh can't just act upon rumors
and hearsay like some sort of heavenly kangaroo court. No, He has to
investigate, and establish the truth of every fact for Himself before moving
against Sodom. Their judgment will be fair, and the case against them so
air-tight, that even Sodom will have to agree they have whatever's coming
to them.
Along that same line; the dead won't go into the flaming sulfur depicted at
Rev 20:11-15 without a fair trial. They'll be given ample opportunity to
defend themselves; and to know exactly why God feels they deserve to die.
"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for
every thoughtless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be
acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matt 12:36-37)
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: See, the Lord
is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge
everyone, and to convict all the irreverent of all the irreverent acts they
have done in an irreverent way, and of all the harsh words irreverent sinners
have spoken against him." (Jude 1:14-15)
The Greek word for "convict" is from elegcho (el-eng'-kho) and means: to
confute, to admonish. So nobody will be sent to Hell arbitrarily. The case
against them will be made in a summary and professional manner--
evidence will be introduced, and witnesses called for testimony. Yhvh was
given reports that the Sodomites were doing bad things; and now He will go
and see for Himself if those reports are, in fact, true or not. The Bible's Yhvh
is, after all, a rational, objective jurist rather than an emotional, reactive
vigilante.
†. Gen 18:22 . .The men went on from there to Sodom, while
Abraham remained standing before The Lord.
A plausible scenario is that all three men began walking towards Sodom, and
then one (earlier identified as Yhvh) stayed behind to conduct a private
meeting with Abraham.
The Targums say Abraham interceded for his nephew, but it would appear
from the Scripture that he interceded not just for Lot, but also for the
citizens of Sodom too. And that's to be expected. After all, Abraham was
their savior; the one who rescued them all from that awful Chedorlaomer
back in chapter fourteen. He couldn't just sit on his hands now and let them
all die without making any effort to save them from the wrath of God.
This is somewhat ironic. It's as if Abraham saved the people from El Ched
only to be barbecued in Sodom; viz: sort of like the cops shooting a felon
during his arrest, taking him to the hospital to save his life, then hauling him
into court after he's well enough to stand trial so he can be given the gas
chamber.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=