Portion 4 of 54 · Genesis
וַיֵּרָא
Vayera
Abraham argues with God to save a city of strangers, then walks a mountain with his own son.
Start by reading it
Genesis 18:1–22:24
5 chapters. About 20 minutes at an unhurried pace.
Paired reading from the prophets: 2 Kings 4:1–37
What happens
- 01
Three visitors come at the hottest hour of the day, and Abraham runs to feed them.
- 02
Told that Sodom will be destroyed, Abraham bargains God down from fifty righteous people to ten.
- 03
The cities burn. Lot's wife looks back.
- 04
Isaac is born, and then Abraham is told to offer him on a mountain — and an angel stops the knife.
The thing most people walk past
He argues, and it is not counted against him
'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' is a challenge to God's justice, spoken to God's face. The text does not treat it as rebellion. It treats it as what a righteous person does.
One verse to carry
shall not the judge of all the earth do
This is the Bible giving you permission to ask hard questions of God. The tradition that follows takes that permission seriously.
A question to sit with
Abraham argues for Sodom and says nothing for Isaac. Why do you think the same man speaks up for strangers and stays silent for his son?
There is no answer key. This is the part you take with you.