Genesis 18:1 - 33
ESV - 1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
I read this passage to be Abraham exploring the limits of the mercy of God.
Will God stay His hand if there are fifty who do not deserve judgement?
OK, how about forty-five? Forty? Thirty? Ten?
At what point is God prepared to allow righteous people die so long as the guilty are also punished?
Abraham goes away with a clearer understanding of the character of his God - One who will not destroy the whole flock if any are worth saving.
What do others think?
The moral of the story is: If there was to be any there who were righteous they would have been righteous because GOD SAID SO. The only righteous are those DECLARED to be righteous by God. Abraham was wasting his time. We who believe are righteous because God declares that those who believe in His Son Jesus are righteous in Christ. There is nothing we can do of our own accord to be righteous. That's the reason for the countdown. If there were some righteous people there Abraham wouldn't be able to distinguish between them and the unrighteous. Even Satan shows himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14).
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ.... Rom 8:1. The righteous are those who are in Christ. Who can look at a person and see that? Remember 2 Cor 11:14 before you answer.