For the Sake of 10

 Read Genesis 18

Never offer to split the difference during a negotiation unless you are very good friends with the person on the other end of the negotiation. We are talking about someone who will not take advantage of you or use manipulative methods. Why?

Let’s say you want to sell your horse for $200 but your friend only wants to give you $100.  You say, “Let’s split the difference.”

Your friend says, “So you would be willing to go $150?”

You say, “Yes.”

He says, “If you can go $150, then I guess I could do $110.”

What happened?

Your negotiation went from between $100 and $200 to between $110 and $150.  Your hopes of getting something close to $200 are almost gone.

Negotiations can be difficult and sometimes confusing.  You have to know what’s important to you and try to figure out what’s important to the other guy and what’s just a bogey put there so you give up something of value for something the other person didn’t really value.

There are countless things to look out for in negotiations.

If you are negotiating the price of fuel, half a cent might not seem like much, but what if you are negotiating for millions of gallons of fuel?  That half-cent turns into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sometimes the Free on Board (FOB) part of the negotiation is worth as much as the unit price.  If the price for a big bale of hay is $100 but it is free on board—that is delivered at no extra charge to your location—that might be a big deal if someone has to drive 200 miles to deliver the hay.

There’s a lot to keep up with in a negotiation, with one possible exception. Abraham negotiated with God.

God told Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom.  The wickedness in that place and others was so bad that God would punish these wicked people now.  He said that he would give the place a once-over first, but God knew that judgment was coming.

Somehow, Abraham knew that Sodom was wicked.  He didn’t want anything to do with the King of Sodom after Abraham’s army of 318 men had defeated the 4 marauding armies that had invaded the land and taken his nephew captive.

Melchizedek had blessed Abraham but when it came to dealing with the king of Sodom, Abraham didn’t want anything to do with him.

Abraham must have been a little perplexed as to why Lot and his family would live there.  But now God was going to destroy it, so Abraham decided to negotiate with God. Perhaps he was emboldened by the fact that during the Lord’s visit to his household, Sarah decided to argue with God.  Maybe that didn’t have anything to do with it.

Abraham posed the following question.

“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”

Abraham put something a bit more tangible forward.  “What if there are 50 righteous people in the city?  Would you still destroy it?”

Abraham puts a little rationale with his proffer.  “Surely you wouldn’t treat the wicked and the righteous the same, would you?”

God was not a tough negotiator.  “Ok, if there are 50 righteous people, I will spare the whole city.”

You might think that Abraham would be happy, but something prompted him to see if God would reduce that number.  Maybe, he thought God would say no and he might have to see if he would go for 75 or 100.  Maybe Abraham remembered why he didn’t want anything to do with the king of Sodom and thought that 50 righteous people might be hard to find.

In any case, Abraham asks, “Would you go for 45?” Now Abraham is not cocky.  He is very respectful. Essentially, he said, “I have no right to ask this of you, but…”

God replied.  Sure.  I would spare the whole city if there are 45 righteous people in it.

Abraham continued.  “What if it’s only 40?”

God said, “Sure.  I will spare the city if there are 40 righteous people in it.”

You might think that Abraham would count himself lucky, but he continued.  “What if there are only 30?”

“Sure, I can go with 30.”  God’s reply surely had to surprise Abraham, but something prompted Abraham to ask again.

“What about 20?”

God agreed.

Abraham had to be thinking that surely there were 20 righteous people somewhere in the whole city.  I wonder if Abraham might have remembered that God spared only 8 people from the judgment that was the flood.  I can’t say for sure, but something prompted Abraham to ask once more.

“How about 10?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

Wow!  For the sake of 10 righteous people, God would spare the entire city.  Abraham had to be happy about that, right?

Why did Abraham care about this wicked city?  He probably didn’t care but his nephew and his family lived there.  Abraham had gone to extreme measures to rescue Lot once before.  He took his army of only 318 men and defeated 4 undefeated armies and got his nephew back, along with many other people and a lot of treasure.

Now Lot had a family and they were at risk.  Abraham surely did not know that God had already put a plan into effect to save Lot and those in his family willing to be saved.

Abraham had been made right with God by his faith and that right standing produced some benefits for Lot and his family.

Did God know that he would not find 10 righteous people in Sodom?  Of course, he did.

I love to return to the words of the prophet Isaiah.

Before they call I will answer;

    while they are still speaking I will hear.

God would answer the wickedness of Sodom with judgment; yet, he would converse with Abraham in the moment. 

Abraham surely thought that negotiating with God was the only way to save his nephew but God had already taken care of that part.

Except for Lot’s wife—and you can start now studying or speculating on why she looked back—God saved Lot’s family.

Negotiating with God is easy.  He already knows what is best even though he will let us run the gauntlet of our own solutions and alternatives and our presentations of our own understanding.

Abraham had a full day.  He had visitors who put a time frame on this promised son.  He knew what to name his son—Isaac.  His wife was in a back-and-forth argument with God. 

Yes, you said it. 

No, I didn’t.

Yes, you did.

And now Abraham had negotiated with God.  He had tried negotiating with him before.  Do you remember?

What if you just blessed my son Ishmael?  Then we wouldn’t have to see if my 90-year-old wife can have a kid—something she has not done for her entire life.

God was not interested in negotiating or bargaining with Abraham over things already promised.

It’s easy to negotiate with God.  Just trust him that he figured out the best outcome long before we had our first thought.  Whether it’s judgment or a promise, God already knows the plans that he has for you.

We just need to trust that they are good plans.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Amen.