And in view of this he pleaded, “That be far from Thee, to do after this manner, to slay
the righteous with the wicked: ...that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of all the
earth do right?” Abraham asked not once merely, but many times. Waxing bolder as
his requests were granted, he continued until he gained the assurance that if even ten
righteous persons could be found in it, the city would be spared.
Love for perishing souls inspired Abraham’s prayer. While he loathed the sins
of that corrupt city, he desired that the sinners might be saved. His deep interest for
Sodom shows the anxiety that we should feel for the impenitent. We should cherish
hatred of sin, but pity and love for the sinner. All around us are souls going down to
ruin as hopeless, as terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every day the probation of
some is closing. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy. And where
are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful doom?
Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back from death? Where are those who
with humility and persevering faith are pleading with God for him?
The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ. The Son of God is himself the
great Intercessor in the sinner’s behalf. He who has paid the price for its redemption
knows the worth of the human soul. With an antagonism to evil such as can exist only
in a nature spotlessly pure, Christ manifested toward the sinner a love which infinite
goodness alone could conceive. In the agonies of the crucifixion, himself burdened
with the awful weight of the sins of the whole world, he prayed for his revilers and
murderers, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.
Of Abraham it is written that “he was called the friend of God,” “the father of all
them that believe.” James 2:23; Romans 4:11. The testimony of God concerning
this faithful patriarch is, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My
commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” And again, “I know him, that he will
command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the
Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which
he hath spoken of him.” It was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of
being the father of the people who for centuries were the guardians and preservers of
the truth of God for the
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world—of that people through whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed
in the advent of the promised Messiah. But he who called the patriarch judged him
worthy. It is God that speaks. He who understands the thoughts afar off, and places the
right estimate upon men, says, “I know him.” There would be on the part of Abraham
no betraying of the truth for selfish purposes. He would keep the law and deal justly
and righteously. And he would not only fear the Lord himself, but would cultivate
religion in his home. He would instruct his family in righteousness. The law of God
would be the rule in his household.
Abraham’s household comprised more than a thousand souls. Those who were
led by his teachings to worship the one God, found a home in his encampment;
and here, as in a school, they received such instruction as would prepare them to
be representatives of the true faith. Thus a great responsibility rested upon him. He
was training heads of families, and his methods of government would be carried out
in the households over which they should preside.
In early times the father was the ruler and priest of his own family, and he
exercised authority over his children, even after they had families of their own. His
descendants were taught to look up to him as their head, in both religious and secular
matters. This patriarchal system of government Abraham endeavored to perpetuate,
as it tended to preserve the knowledge of God. It was necessary to bind the members
of the household together, in order to build up a barrier against the idolatry that had
become so widespread and so deep-seated. Abraham sought by every means in his
power to guard the inmates of his encampment against mingling with the heathen
and witnessing their idolatrous practices, for he knew that familiarity with evil would
insensibly corrupt the principles. The greatest care was exercised to shut out every
form of false religion and to impress the mind with the majesty and glory of the living
God as the true object of worship.
It was a wise arrangement, which God himself had made, to cut off his people,
so far as possible, from connection with the heathen, making them a people dwelling
alone, and not reckoned among the nations. He had separated Abraham from his
idolatrous kindred, that the patriarch might train and educate his family apart from the
seductive influences which would have surrounded
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them in Mesopotamia, and that the true faith might be preserved in its purity by his
descendants from generation to generation.
Abraham’s affection for his children and his household led him to guard their
religious faith, to impart to them a knowledge of the divine statutes, as the most
precious legacy he could transmit to them, and through them to the world. All were
taught that they were under the rule of the God of heaven. There was to be no
oppression on the part of parents and no disobedience on the part of children. God’s
law had appointed to each his duties, and only in obedience to it could any secure
happiness or prosperity.
his own example, the silent influence of his daily life, was a constant lesson.
The unswerving integrity, the benevolence and unselfish courtesy, which had won the
admiration of kings, were displayed in the home. There was a fragrance about the life,
a nobility and loveliness of character, which revealed to all that he was connected with
heaven. He did not neglect the soul of the humblest servant. In his household there
was not one law for the master and another for the servant; a royal way for the rich
and another for the poor. All were treated with justice and compassion, as inheritors
with him of the grace of life.
“he will command his ...household.” There would be no sinful neglect to restrain
the evil propensities of his children, no weak, unwise, indulgent favoritism; no
yielding of his conviction of duty to the claims of mistaken affection. Abraham
would not only give right instruction, but he would maintain the authority of just and
righteous laws.
How few there are in our day who follow this example! On the part of too many
parents there is a blind and selfish sentimentalism, miscalled love, which is manifested
in leaving children, with their unformed judgment and undisciplined passions, to the
control of their own will. This is the veriest cruelty to the youth and a great wrong to
the world. Parental indulgence causes disorder in families and in society. It confirms
in the young the desire to follow inclination, instead of submitting to the divine
requirements. Thus they grow up with a heart averse to doing God’s will, and they
transmit their irreligious, insubordinate spirit to their children and children’s children.
Like Abraham, parents should command their households after them. Let obedience
to
