This chapter has two sections: three visitors (angels) to whom Abraham and Sarah show hospitality, and a conversation between Abraham and God regarding the upcoming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The first section I’ll simply summarize as a reaffirmation of God’s promise to give Abraham and Sarah a child, despite their advanced years (90+). Sarah laughs when she overhears the angel telling Abraham, and then she of course denies laughing.
“Then the Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.’ Then Abraham approached him and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are [ten] righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the [ten] righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ The Lord said, ‘If I find [ten] righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ ” (v20,21,23-26 edt)
Abraham is confident that God, being righteous and just, would not destroy the righteous alongside the wicked (remember Noah’s family?), so he pleads their case before God. I’m not sure if a factor in this plea is the fact Lot’s family lives in Sodom, but regardless of his motivation, Abraham is determined to try and save the people from God’s judgement. After starting with fifty people, they finally conclude the people will be spared if there are ten righteous people among them.
This is an example of intercessory prayer. It’s kind of like how in a courtroom, the defense attorney intercedes on behalf of the defendant, pleading their case before a judge – Abraham pleads for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah before God, the righteous judge.
There are many more examples of this type of prayer in the Bible, and not all of them are pleading for someone’s physical life, the most powerful examples are pleas for someone’s eternal life. Paul said this: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people…” (Eph 1:17-18) And Jesus prayed this: ” ‘I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.’ ” (Jn 17:14-15)
Why are we supposed to pray in this way? Here are a few possible reasons:
– God will hear our plea and may have mercy
– We invite God to release His power (vs trying to do it in our own power)
– When we pray God’s Word & will, we internalize it, and it changes us
– We unite our hearts to people and places we pray for
– We renew our hope and faith
– Intercession imparts life (Jn 6:63)
– Intercession makes a long-term impact beyond this age (Re. 5:8, 8:1-6)
– We are humbled
– The spiritual atmosphere of cities and nations can be changed
– Multiple blessings to return to the intercessor (Lk 6:38)
– It is one way we can love our neighbor as ourselves
My takeaway today is a renewed respect for the power of prayer, and a renewed expectation that our prayers are not unheard and not wasted. God might not answer our prayers in the way we expect (we know God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah) however He will answer our prayers in one way or another (God spares Lot’s family). I continue to pray for you, that the Lord will continue opening the eyes of your heart, renewing the hope to which He has called you, so you will not only inherit the riches of eternity but also share those riches with those around you, and live in the fullness of Christ, receiving protection from the evil one. (Eph 1:17-22, Jn 17:15 par).
~ Conqueror in Training