Abraham has no idea what’s about to happen
It’s been a long day, the sun is sinking, Abraham is about to
say goodbye to his three visitors; but before he does, the LORD speaks up.
And Abraham, as tired as he is, steps up to the plate and
stands in the gap and sets the precedent and pattern for the power of
intercession.
Genesis 18:20
And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
Remember, way back in the beginning, in Genesis 4:10; after
Cain murdered his brother Abel; the LORD said: What have you done? The voice
of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
The voice of blood from one man, cried out to the LORD.
Imagine, the voice of, innocent blood from seven million,
aborted babies so far this year, (140,000 in US). Rising by 200,000 per day.
(worldometers and numberofabortions.com).
Nothing is hidden from the LORD.
The LORD’s messengers make that perfectly clear in the next
scene when they say, “we will destroy this place, because the outcry against
them has grown great before the face of the LORD.” Genesis 19:13.
Question: Are we guilty of the same great, grave sin as Sodom?
Before you say, “no” you should know, what their wicked sin
was.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 tells us.
Ezekiel
16:49-50
Look,
this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride,
fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the
hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination
before Me; therefore, I took them away as I saw fit.
Pride – Oh boy, ruh roh
Fullness of food – when’s
the last time we ate too much? double ruh roh
Abundance of idleness – compare
entertainment and tv hours to Bible Study and prayer
Strengthen poor and needy – strengthening
them means more than a few bucks now and then. Money alone doesn’t strengthen
them, oftentimes it weakens them. But investing time with them, befriending
them, loving them, now that, strengthens them.
Haughty – ain’t givin’ that beggar money
cuz he’ll just spend it on whiskey. Or, I can’t worship with you because you’re
not my denomination, you don’t read the right Bible, sing the right songs, baptize
correctly…
(Why does denomination and demonization sound so
much alike?)
Finally, the last of the sins of Sodom listed is:
Committed abomination before Me– this
refers to the perverse sexual sins of the Sodomites.
Again, the question. Are we guilty of the same sins as Sodom?
We probably ought to pause and pray…
21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
God comes down.
This isn’t the first time. Or the last.
God is near, intimately committed, continuously drawing near the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18), an ever-present help in time of need (Ps. 46:1).
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower of
Babel; Genesis 11:5.
Exodus 3:8; God came down and from a burning bush told Moses,
I’ve heard the cry of My people, and have come down to deliver them from
bondage.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God, then the Word came down, became flesh, and dwelt among us;
John 1:1-2, 14.
One Day soon…
1
Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.
Time and again the LORD comes down. There’s even a hymn about it.
Heaven came down and glory filled
my soul.
When at the cross my Savior made
me whole.
My sins were washed away
And my night was turned to day.
Heaven came down and glory filled
my soul.
Okay, back to our text.
21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
So, to know, He doesn’t need to go, but does so, to show, us
his extreme justice; how He is always personally, intimately, involved, before,
ever delivering Divine Judgement.
His very nature demands it, as He tells us in Ezekiel 33:11:
As I
live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn from his way and live
Add
to that:
2 Timothy
3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work.
Add
to that an understanding that this is the first place in Scripture where we see
intercessory prayer in action.
Putting it all together, what we have is the LORD preparing us to receive:
1. Divine invitation to intercession
2. Education to God’s character
3. Revelation of the powerful privilege, of prayer
Webster says, Intercession is: prayer, petition, or entreaty
in favor of another.
We are most like Jesus when interceding:
Hebrews 7:25 tells us; Jesus is able also to save to the
uttermost those who come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make
intercession for them.
The root of intercession is, intercede, which means, to
intervene on behalf of another.
We are most like Jesus when interceding.
So, God tells Abe, you know that city, Sodom, where your nephew, Lotta-Trouble-Lot, lives? Well, it’s in a lotta of trouble, and I’m going to
check it out.
With that, the two “men” with Him, take off.
Genesis 18: 22: Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
Abraham stood before the LORD and said, Hallelujah! Amen! Smite ‘em God. Smite
‘em! Finally, they're gonna get what's comin' to 'em!
He plastered all over his facebook page, “It’s about time!
They’ve been wicked since Genesis 13:13. I gave that no good nephew Lot a
choice; take whatever land you want—he chose Sodom, of all places. Ha! You made
your bed now lie in it. Ya reap what you sow.
No bail out this time little lotta trouble Lot… Loser.
No?
That’s not what happened?
Gen. 18:23And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Excellent. This is the first step toward accepting God's Divine Invitation to Intercession.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 5:8.
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
Notice, upon hearing information about what God is going to
do, a Holy passion and plan ignites in Abraham.
So far, Abraham has taken the following steps toward accepting God’s Divine invitation to intercession:
Ø He draws near to God
Ø A Holy passion and plan ignite.
25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Wow. Do you think that’s a little bold? Too bold?
Well, drawing near to God in intercession births boldness (not
to be confused with arrogance)—but humble, reverential, respectful,
faith-filled, boldness before God.
Remember, 2 Timothy 3:16-17; all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness; to thoroughly equip us for every good work.
This verse is profitable to instruct in the righteous justice of God and tells us:
1. God separates the righteous from the wicked
2. He is Judge of all the earth
3. His Judgements are right.
Come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
When Abraham said those words, I think, perhaps God smiled;
pleased with how far Abraham had come. Albeit, a little sadness probably stayed
in His eyes—we’ll find out why, in next week’s study. Lord willing.
With this prayer, the die is cast, the mold is set; this is
the precedent setting pattern for intercessory prayer.
Moses followed the pattern and even referred back to Abraham.
You may remember, Israel was playing the harlot, and God told
Moe to get out of the way so He could wipe them off the planet. But instead of
getting out of the way, Moses stood in the way (like Abraham).
Moses stood in the gap; interceded. If You do this God, the other nations will say, You brought them out, to kill them, because You hated them, and weren’t strong enough to deliver them. LORD, remember the promises you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
So, the LORD heeded the voice of a man, and didn’t destroy them. Exodus 32, Dt. 9, and Ps. 106.
Then, several years later, Israel was in trouble again.
This
time God went searching for an intercessor, someone, anyone, to stand in the
gap.
Ezekiel
22:30
So I sought for a man among them who
would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the
land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
Unfortunately,
no intercessor was found, so, Jerusalem was destroyed.
LORD, as long as we live on this earth, let there never be a time, when You can’t find, an intercessor to stand in the gap.
We bow our heads, and raise our hands, and with one heart, one voice, we say, LORD, send me.
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
The LORD just agreed with
Abraham, that for the sake of fifty, He won’t destroy the city.
Then Abraham answered, I’m but
dust and ashes.
Here we see, the importance of remembering our place as an intercessor.
Even when we’re given a burst of
boldness, we must remain humble. Remember Who we’re talking to, and that we,
are but dust and ashes.
28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”
So, He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
Abraham started with what he
knew, and then followed the LORD.
You see, on the outside it may
sound like Abraham is talking God down; however, the opposite is True. God is
leading Abraham, inspiring, instructing, thoroughly equipping him for every
good work.
Romans
8:26
Likewise,
the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray
for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.
29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”
So, He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”
Notice, there is no hesitation,
at all, from the LORD.
30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”
So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
Again, the LORD agrees without the slightest hesitation.
Like an auctioneer in reverse,
the LORD urges Abraham on.
50 – 45 – 40 – 30… do I hear 20?
31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”
So, He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
Abe’s got the hang of this reverse auction now.
He prays incrementally
according to the known will of the LORD.
Intercessory prayer is rarely
once and done.
It’s in it, for the long haul.
Like this:
It’s hot, you’re thirsty, so you
grab the handle and pump; up, and down.
Nothing happens (or so, it
seems).
Up, down, once again—you hear the
slightest gurgle.
Up, down, again and again, you
push and pull the handle.
Finally, you see, that from the
very first pull, from reservoirs unseen, refreshing life giving answers started
to flow.
Don’t quit. Pray, without
ceasing. 1 Thes. 5:17.
The effectual fervent prayer of
the righteous is powerful and effective; James 5:16.
32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”
Abe’s on a roll; how about ten…?
Without hesitation the LORD
agrees not to destroy the place if only a remnant of ten righteous remain. If there's 100,000 bad guys, and only 10 good guys, I won't destroy the place for them.
Friends, America owes her
existence to intercessors who’ve stood in the gap. Old glory still flies
because of a God fearing, Israel loving, remnant of Intercessors.
The power and influence of
intercessors cannot be overstated.
Now, through all of this, The
LORD has made it abundantly clear; He will not punish the righteous with the
wicked.
Notice Abraham never prayed
against judgement for the wicked; just for justice for the righteous.
One Day, maybe today, in the
twinkling of an eye, the righteous will be removed, Divine judgement will fall,
justice will be served. 1 Thes. 4:16-17, and, 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8.
33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
See, as soon as He had finished.
As soon as the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham.
The LORD was leading the
conversation—not Abraham.
And that, is the art of
intercession.
Being sensitive to the LORD’s
prompting, and then following the LORD, every step, to the end.
Let’s pray.
LORD, thank You that with this
lesson You extend a personal invitation to the intimacy of intercession.
We accept.
Now we extend a personal
invitation to You; for the aroma of Your Presence to create a craving in us,
that can only be filled by the intimacy of intercession, with You.
LORD, we love You, forever.
Amen.
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Abe’s
Divine Invitation to Intercession, Genesis 18:20-33
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Abe’s Divine Invitation
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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to
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Thank you for sharing.
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