An Enduring Search
“And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?…And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” Genesis 18:24,32…”Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seekest the truth; and I will pardon it.” Jeremiah 5:1
If we were going to journey away from home in search of a truly righteous person, how far would we have to go and how long would it take? After the two angels had visited Abraham and had given him the news that he and Sarah would have a son, God directed these angels to go to Sodom and Gomorrah because of the rampant sin that was being committed by the people of Sodom. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, who had been traveling with Abraham, had departed from Abraham’s entourage due to strife between their respective herdsmen, and settled in the plain of Jordan, the city of Sodom in particular. I speculate that Lot was not aware of the situation in Sodom when he decided to reside there.
Since Sodom had become a city of great sin, God planned to check it out for Himself, but pondered whether to inform Abraham of the potential of what God would have to do in Sodom. Scripture doesn’t say that God told Abraham, but by Abraham’s actions, he was aware of God’s intention to destroy the city. Abraham knew that Lot was there, and I am certain that he wanted to protect his nephew. Abraham confronted God and asked God if He would spare the city if Abraham could find 50 righteous people. God agreed. Unsuccessful, Abraham asked for 45 righteous, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally ten. If there were only ten righteous, God agreed to spare Sodom. However, Abraham could not find even ten righteous people in an entire city. The outcome is a very familiar passage in scripture. The city was pummeled with fire and brimstone. Lot and his daughters made it out safely, but his wife became a pillar of salt because she looked back after being warned not to look back. Some scholars believe she looked back because she was too tied to that city with all of its sin, but it could be that it was curiosity to see such a spectacular site.
Fast forward from that time to the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy to Judah to warn them of judgment for their idolatry, some 1350 years later. Abraham initiated his challenge to God, but God was the One who issued a challenge to Jeremiah to go through the streets of Jerusalem, the public arena, and see if he could find one righteous man, a man who issued right judgments and who sought the truth. If Jeremiah could find this one honest, God-fearing man in the public square, then God would pardon His people. As we have just seen, Abraham’s search came up empty, and God destroyed Sodom for its wickedness. Would Jeremiah have any success in finding just one righteous man?
God always has a remnant of faithful followers; thus, we know that God had a remnant of His people who remained faithful to Him in Jerusalem, but these were not mingling among the idolaters in the streets of Jerusalem for fear of their lives. They were something like the underground church in China, believers who are afraid of being found out by the godless communist government. Remember that Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them out “as sheep in the midst of wolves” and to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). God expects His people to use common sense. Because of the depravity of the hearts of the majority of people of Judah, Jeremiah’s search would be futile. He might have found a few who faked loyalty to the LORD, confessing that “the LORD lives”, but they didn’t really believe it. They were like the folks in our day who say they believe in God, but you would never know it by their words and actions.
In response to God’s challenge and after God’s warning of the inability to find one honest and truthful man, Jeremiah basically agreed with God because he knew that God sought faithfulness among His people, a faithfulness that was virtually non-existent. God’s people were faithful at times, but it seems that it was not long-lasting. Jeremiah pointed out that over and over God had stricken them with various hardships and woes, but it didn’t bring them to grieve over their sin. There were times when He brought death upon many, but those who remained were still rebellious. They only became more stubborn and hard-hearted and refused to return to Him. Jeremiah was aware of the futility of searching for that one person who was righteous.
In these times of increasing godlessness, it becomes more difficult to find folks who are sold out to Jesus Christ. The ones who are the most obnoxious are the ones who claim to be Christians yet protest when the name of Jesus is brought up. The commercials during the Super Bowl which focused on Jesus and His love for all people upset many people, one politician in particular as was displayed online and on television. She called Christians fascists, and she claims to be a Catholic. She said in 2020 that conservatives would largely reject Christ if He were alive today. Guess what? He is alive. Perhaps she will one day come under conviction of her sins, repent, and receive Christ as Lord and Savior. She may be a celebrity, make a lot of money, and draw a crowd, but she is really a very sad and lost woman whose only hope is Christ.