John Calvin Commentary Genesis 18:22

"And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah." — Genesis 18:22 (ASV)

But Abraham stood yet before the Lord. Moses first declares that the men proceeded onward, conveying the impression that, having finished their discourse, they took leave of Abraham, so that he might return home. He then adds that Abraham stood before the Lord, as people are accustomed to do, who, though dismissed, do not immediately depart, because something still remains to be said or done.

Moses, when he mentions the journey, appropriately attributes the name of men to the angels; but he does not, however, say that Abraham stood before men, but before the face of God; because, although with his eyes he saw the appearance of men, he nevertheless, by faith, looked upon God.

And his words sufficiently show that he did not speak as he would have with a mortal man.

From this we infer that we act absurdly if we allow the external symbols by which God represents himself to slow or hinder us from going directly to Him. By nature, we are indeed prone to this fault; but we must strive all the more so that, by the sense of faith, we may be carried upward to God himself, lest the external signs keep us confined to this world.

Moreover, Abraham approaches God to show reverence. For he does not, in a contentious spirit, oppose God, as if he had a right to intercede; he only humbly entreats, and every word shows the great humility and modesty of the holy man.

I confess, indeed, that at times, holy men, carried away by carnal sense, lack self-control, but, indirectly at least, they grumble against God.

Here, however, Abraham addresses God with nothing but reverence, nor does he say anything worthy of blame; yet we must notice the deep feeling that impelled Abraham to offer his prayers on behalf of the inhabitants of Sodom. Some suppose that he was more anxious about the safety of his nephew alone than for Sodom and the rest of the cities, but that, being restrained by modesty, he would not expressly request one man to be given to him, while he entirely neglected a great people.

But it is by no means probable that he resorted to such pretense. I certainly do not doubt that he was so touched with a general compassion for the five cities that he drew near to God as their intercessor. And if we weigh all things attentively, he had great reasons for doing so.

He had recently rescued them from the hand of their enemies; he now suddenly hears that they are to be destroyed. He might imagine that he had rashly engaged in that war; that his victory was under a divine curse, as if he had taken up arms against the will of God for unworthy and wicked men; and it was possible that he would be not a little tormented by such thoughts.

Besides, it was difficult to believe that all of them had been so ungrateful that no remembrance of their recent deliverance remained among them.

But it was not lawful for him to dispute with God by a single word, after having heard what He had determined to do. For God alone knows best what men deserve and with what severity they ought to be treated.

Why then does Abraham not acquiesce? Why does he imagine that there are some just persons in Sodom whom God has overlooked, and whom He is hastening to overwhelm in a common destruction with the rest? I answer that the sense of humanity that moved Abraham was pleasing to God.

1. Because, as was fitting, he leaves the full knowledge of the matter with God.
2. Because he asks with sobriety and submission, solely to obtain consolation.

It is no wonder that he is terrified at the destruction of so great a multitude. He sees men created after the image of God; he persuades himself that, in that immense crowd, there were, at least, a few who were upright, or not altogether unjust, and abandoned to wickedness.

He therefore sets forth before God what he thinks might secure their forgiveness. He may, however, be thought to have acted rashly in requesting impunity for the wicked for the sake of the good; for he desired God to spare the place if He should find fifty good men there.

I answer that the prayers of Abraham did not extend so far as to ask God not to scourge those cities, but only not to destroy them utterly; as if he had said, ‘O Lord, whatever punishment You may inflict upon the guilty, will You not still leave some dwelling place for the righteous?

Why should that region utterly perish, as long as a people remain by whom it may be inhabited?’ Abraham, therefore, does not desire that the wicked, being mixed with the righteous, should escape the hand of God, but only that God, in inflicting public punishment on a whole nation, should nevertheless exempt the good who remained from destruction.