Abraham, Part 17 - Prayer Changes Us
Genesis 18v22-33
7th January 2011
Last week, we saw in Genesis 18:17-21, that God told Abraham in advance that he was going to judge Sodom. In the following verses we read about Abraham's response:
Genesis 18v22-25
The men turned away and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
Then Abraham approached him [God] and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for
the sake of the fifty 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?"
When the angels left, Abraham prayed for the wicked city. The church can learn much from his example. We can be too ready to give up on our wicked neighbours, forgetting the grace and power of God to forgive and help them, and forgetting that All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2v4).
Surely, Abraham thought, there must be some good in the city. Surely, there are some good people there. In such a large city, surely God will find fifty good people. Abraham raises an interesting question, "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?". This passage does not fully answer this question, but we know from history and from personal experience that bad things happen to good people. We know of cities hit by war or natural disasters, in which the righteous have indeed perished with the unrighteous. I would make just two comments about this:
- Whatever befalls righteous people in this life, God can compensate for in the next
- We have a measure of corporate responsibility, as well as individual responsibility. In the Bible, we can find many places where God calls nations, cities and churches to account as communities, not just individuals.
We have neglected our corporate responsibilities as citizens of our country but, when God comes to judge our nation, we too will experience hardship. It's not sufficient for Christians to criticise the ungodliness around us; we are called to serve our communities and to witness to the gospel, to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5v14-16).
A partial answer to Abraham's question is answered by his own rhetorical question, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?". The answer, of course, is "Yes, God will always do what is right". We must accept that sometimes, judging a society - including the Christians in it - is the right thing for God to do.
Genesis 18v26
The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their
sake."
Encouraged by this answer, Abraham then tried to negotiate with God:
Genesis 18v27-33
Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but
dust and ashes,
what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five
people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he [God] said, "I will not destroy it."
Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He [God] said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
Then he [Abraham] said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He [God]answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He [God] said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
Then he [Abraham] said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be
found there?"
He [God] answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
We must surely commend Abraham's persistence in prayer, and his willingness to intercede for so wicked a city. But we know, if we read the next chapter, that his prayer was in vain. He obtained God's promise to save the city if there were ten righteous people in it. Why did he stop when he did?
I think (particularly from phrases like "May the Lord not be angry", "I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord" and "let me speak just once more" that Abraham was becoming aware that God wanted the conversation to come to an end.
There is a time to pray, and a time to stop praying. It's right to pray for our neighbours, but it's important to sense what God is saying to us in response to our prayers. God was going to judge Sodom. Abraham's prayer was not going to prevent it.
Sometimes our prayers change the course of a person's - or even a nation's - life. But sometimes they don't. If we're praying for something God doesn't intend to do, then our prayers only affect ourselves. This is such a prayer. Abraham didn't change what was going to happen to Sodom but, as he prayed, Abraham's attitude changed. He started with what sounds like a questioning (almost judging) attitude towards God Most High. It ended with an awareness that we must be careful not to anger God by calling Him into question. It brought Abraham into a fuller submission to God.
Sometimes, our prayer life doesn't change things for others, but it always changes us. As St Augustine said: