Vayera (and he appeared)
Gen. 18: - 22:24

This week's Torah portion contains several well known events in the history of the life of Abraham. The first part of the portion deals with the judgement on Sodom while the second part describes the birth of Isaac as well as the "Akeda", the binding of Isaac. I suppose that you could say that this portion contains bad news and good news. The bad news is the destruction of human life due to sin and the good news is the salvation of human life due to the grace of God. In a sense, that is the story of the Bible. Death comes to man as a result of sin and God provides life because He has provided the atonement for our sins in the person of Yeshua. So this portion of scripture serves as a microcosm of the history of man.

In the account of the destruction of Sodom , I find the discussion between Abraham and God concerning the number of righteous people necessary to spare the city fascinating. There are three great truths to learn from this narrative.

First, God and Abraham both desire to spare the city. There is a desire to show grace and mercy. Do we have that desire - or are we like Jonah, desirous of judgment of people? Remember when Yeshua stood over Jerusalem in Matt. 23:37 and lamented over their unbelief. We should have the same attitude and desire and pray for the salvation of people - even those who come against us and hurt us.

Second, by the implications of the discussion between God and Abraham, righteous people can greatly influence the judgment of a people group. The implication of that passage is that if some righteous people were found in Sodom , the whole city would be spared - on account of the righteous people. Perhaps we as believers in our own American culture can influence our community and our nation in ways that we do not understand.

Third, in Gen 18:25 we read Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? We learn here that no matter what happens, God's work is just. In other words, unless they took a poll in the city of Sodom (whether by machine or hand count!) to see the spiritual state of each person, we must trust God for the outcome. In our world all kinds of things happen that cause us to question the will of God. When someone asks me how something tragic could happen and where is God, the answer is "Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?"

There are great and important lessons to learn from Vayera.

Shabbat Shalom!