I hate mistakes!!! Even worse, I am more upset when I MAKE THEM!!!! Question: Can you find the mistake above? I found it after a short while, but it did take a minute or two. Question number two: Can God make a mistake? And along with that... is it right to question the actions of God at all? Then, there is the following story from the book of Genesis...
Genesis 18:17-33 NASB
(17) The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
(18) since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
(19) "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him."
(17) The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
(18) since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
(19) "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him."
(20) And the LORD said, "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
(21) "I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know."
(22) Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD.
(23) Abraham came near and said,
"Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
(24) "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
(25) "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You!
(25) "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You!
Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?"
(26) So the LORD said,
"If I find in Sodom fifty righteous
within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account."
(27) And Abraham replied, "Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
(28) "Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?" And He said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
(29) He spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose forty are found there?" And He said,
(28) "Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?" And He said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
(29) He spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose forty are found there?" And He said,
"I will not do it on account of the forty."
(30) Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?" And He said,
"I will not do it if I find thirty there."
(31) And he said, "Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?" And He said,
"I will not destroy it on account of the twenty."
(32) Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said,
"I will not destroy it on account of the ten."
(33) As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
Abraham found favor with God and questioned him concerning his judgments; dangerous territory indeed!!! But God listened to Abraham, even when the judgement rested on finding ten righteous men in a city full of sin. And not just any sin- sexual sin; that of homosexuality! How did God handle this situation... read on...
Genesis 19:1-25 NASB
(1) Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
(2) And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."
(3) Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
(4) Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;
(5) and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."
(6) But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,
(7) and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.
(8) "Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof."
(9) But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.
(10) But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
(11) They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.
(1) Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
(2) And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."
(3) Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
(4) Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;
(5) and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."
(6) But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,
(7) and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.
(8) "Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof."
(9) But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.
(10) But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
(11) They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.
(12) Then the two men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place;
(13) for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
(14) Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city." But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
(15) When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."
(16) But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.
(17) When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away."
(18) But Lot said to them, "Oh no, my lords!
(19) "Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die;
(20) now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved."
(21) He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken.
(22) "Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
(23) The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
(24) Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,
(25) and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
(15) When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."
(16) But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.
(17) When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away."
(18) But Lot said to them, "Oh no, my lords!
(19) "Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die;
(20) now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved."
(21) He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken.
(22) "Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
(23) The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
(24) Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,
(25) and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
In the United States of America it has become fashionable to accept homosexuality as "normal". God thinks otherwise!!! Did God make a mistake in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? Some would say that God should have just left them alone to do their own thing, or perhaps God shouldn't be so homophobic or judgemental about their lifestyle. God doesn't make mistakes!!! And it is not wrong to question him when one has a proper attitude of respect toward the almighty (see Abraham's questions in the first passage). Notice also, Abraham did not ask for the deliverance of the wicked, only the righteous. The next time someone tries to justify a deviant lifestyle to you, remember what God has done in the past, and remind them of these verses from Genesis. If they don't like them- that becomes a matter between them and GOD, not you.