Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do Right? — Justice, Mercy, and Abraham’s Plea
Genesis 18:16–33 shifts from promise to judgment. The LORD reveals that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin grievous. Abraham then appeals to God’s justice: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” His repeated questions do not teach God something He did not know; they expose the moral issue at the heart of the coming judgment—whether the righteous will be swept away with the wicked.
The passage is also tied to Abraham’s calling. Just before the Sodom discussion, God says Abraham will become a great nation and that all nations will be blessed in him, and that Abraham’s household is to keep the way of the LORD by doing justice and judgment. Abraham’s concern for Sodom therefore occurs inside his emerging vocation as the bearer of blessing and righteousness.