Intercession: Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah

The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great because their sin was very grave, and God shows Abraham what He is about to do.  Abraham draws near and intercedes asking “if there are fifty righteous persons there will you slay the righteous with the wicked, far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (see last day's post).  The Lord agrees for the sake of fifty He would not.  Abraham then successively and agonizingly lowers the numbers asking the same question for forty five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten. Each time the Lord agrees to spare the city if the requested number of righteous can be found.  God then goes His way (Genesis 18:17-33).  

“Abraham came near” (verse 23). While counselling us to cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts James informs us if we “draw near to God,  He  will draw near to you” (James 4:8). The writer to the Hebrews tells to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We should come boldly, but not  casually, Abraham did not (verses 27-32). Jesus taught us to come in worship and praise,  addressing Him in respect and honour as heavenly Father. The thrust of our intercession should be for  the Kingdom of God to come,  and the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven  (Matthew 6:9, 10).

But God is God and He can do what He wants right? So was Abraham's prayer, and more importantly are ours,  meaningless? Not saying I fully understand this, but the verse  (God speaking) “I searched for someone to stand in the gap ....  so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30) is interesting.  Moses stood before God and interceded for Him not to destroy rebellious and stubborn Israel (Deuteronomy 9:25-29).  Here  God had found a man and He did not destroy them. He is looking for us to do the same!

The thought many have,  that God is just waiting for us to mess up so that He can condemn us,  is wrong.  The above Scripture shows us something of God's dilemma. He is Holy and just,  and must condemn sin, but it is not His heart to do so. And for whatever reason He seems to have restricted most of His intervention on the earth in response to the intercessory prayers of His people. In particular God's will on earth as it is in heaven is far from automatic.

Many of us (all of us) have loved ones who do not know Him, and as God was inviting Abraham to intercede for Lot and for Sodom, so God is inviting us to “stand in the gap” for our loved ones and for our Nation. Regarding family and loved ones, I am very conscious that patterns of sin in families get passed down from generation to generation (Exodus 20:5). And I regularly stand in the gap to reverse this in accordance to verse 6 which promises steadfast love and mercy to the generations that follow those who both love and obey His commandments.

Father,  it is not Your will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and on this basis I once again stand in the gap for my family declaring “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”  Forgive us Lord  for our prayerlessness. Bring Your Kingdom to our nation in Jesus Name Amen