Genesis 18:16-33

¹⁶ Then the men stood up, intending to leave there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham walked beside them to send them off.

¹⁷ The LORD said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

¹⁸ since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?

¹⁹ Because I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by practicing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

²⁰ Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

²¹ I will go down to verify whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

²² So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.

²³ Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it because of the fifty righteous who are in it?

²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Will not the Judge of all the land do what is just?”

²⁶ And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷ Abraham answered and said, “See now, I have dared to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

²⁹ Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”

³⁰ Then he said, “Oh now, let not the Lord be hot with anger, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”

³¹ He said, “See now, I have dared to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”

³² Then he said, “Oh now let not the Lord be hot with anger, and I will speak again just this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

³³ And the LORD went on, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

_________________________________________

Challenged to Intercede

It was a bold thing for Abraham to do. He learned what the LORD intended to do to the city of Sodom, and that he was investigating the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah to verify their wickedness. On the basis of this information, Abraham dared to intercede. The LORD had set him up. This was a challenge for Abraham to pray, and that was actually what he was doing. We do not always think of prayer in this light, but we do get opportunities like this all the time. Every time something terrible is likely to happen, we can understand it as a kind of invitation for us to walk beside the LORD for a while, and ask for his mercy. We may not prevent the disaster, but we should feel the obligation to intercede anyway.

Jesus said that this age we are living in will be filled with repeated wars and natural disasters. It is easy to pass these off as inevitable, and to pay them no mind. We often selfishly do this, unless, like Abraham, we have a friend or relative in danger. But what kind of difference could we make if believers took these events as calls to action. What if we deliberately sought the LORD’s mercy before and during these events? Maybe we would not save whole cities, but do we have enough compassion to intercede on the off chance that we might be able to rescue a family or two?

LORD, we accept your challenge. We will not stay comfortably in our tents while the world around us suffers. We will do what we can. When the only thing we can do is pray, we will intercede. You can make a difference.