The Church of God

          Lesson Three    

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN INTERCESSOR

INTRODUCTION

GOLDEN TRUTH                               (Gen. 18:22,23)

LESSON EXPOSITION

I.  Abraham: Portrait Of An Intercessor

(Gen. 18:1-8, 16)

V. 1--And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 
V. 2--And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 
V.3--And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 
V.4--Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 
V.5--And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 
V.6--And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 
V.7--And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 
V.8--And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

bring them on the way. 

These Scriptures depict the hospitality and kindness shown by Abraham and Sarah to three men who came their way. (We will compare this with Genesis 19:1-3 later)  After they are well-fed by Abraham and Sarah’s goodness to them, they bless the couple with a promise of a child, but must then continue on their journey.  Notice how they looked toward the city where Lot was.  Abraham even went a portion of the journey with them.

(Gen 18:17)

V.17--And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 

The Lord has done the same thing for us.  John 15:15 says, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” He has revealed Scriptures to us and show us through His Word what is to come—sure destruction upon the world—all those who want no part of Him.

(Gen 18:20-26, 33)

V.20--And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 
V.21--I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 
V.22--And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
V.23--And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 
V.24--Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 
V.25--That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 
V.26--And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 

The sins which were being committed in these cities were grievous to the Lord.  God hears, sees, and knows all things.  He did not act hastily, though.  He gave them every opportunity to turn from their evil.  He also gave Abraham time to intercede.

In the Scriptures following, Abraham pleads with god from 50 to 45, to 40, to 30, to 20, and to 10.  “And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.”  The angel went on to Sodom while Abraham stopped to intercede before the Lord for the righteous.  God showed Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? He knew that Abraham would intercede on behalf of these cities.  Notice that Abraham did not go with them to the evil place, but remained behind pleading with God.

II.  Evil Revealed             (Gen. 19:1-3)

v.1--And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 
v.2--And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. 
v.3--And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

When the two angels arrived in Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting in the gate of the city.  We see that Lot treated the angels in the exact same manner that Abraham had treated them except it doesn’t mention Lot’s wife helping as Sarah did for Abraham (refer back to 18:2-8).

(Gen. 19:4-9)

v.4--But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 
v.5--And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. 
v.6--And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 
v.7--And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. 
v.8--Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. 
v.9--And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. 

The intentions of these men are plain.  In these verses, God shows just how wicked the city was.  Can we see that God is trying to show us how wicked this WHOLE world has become?  Just look around.

(Gen. 19:13)

V.13--For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

The angels revealed to Lot that the city was going to be destroyed and gave him an opportunity to get any family members he had out of the city.

III. Lot Attempts To Intercede

(Gen. 19:14,15)

V.14-- And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
V.15--And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Lot went outside and spoke to his sons-in-law (could it be they were in the midst of the crowd who tried to beat down the door?).  Anyway, Lot tried to get them to leave, but they apparently all refused except his two daughters and his wife.  In the light of day, the angels warned Lot to get what family he had in the house and get our quickly so he wouldn’t be destroyed as well.

IV.  God Shows Mercy Upon Lot

(Gen. 19:16,17)

V.16-- And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. 
v.17--And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Look at this—Lot Lingered! What does it mean to linger?  The definition is to delay or hesitate, to wait long, to be slow in deciding.  Was Lot delaying in an attempt to even convince those under his own roof to leave?  Lot delayed so long in fact that the angels had to take hold of their hands.  Why? The Lord being merciful unto them caused them to be led all the way out of the city.

Once outside, they were warned to escape for their lives.  Literally all they had was their lives! The treasures of this world won’t mean anything on the judgment day.  They were also given a command not t o look behind them and not to stay in the plain, but to escape to the mountain to avoid being consumed.

V.  Lot Argues With The Angels

(Gen. 19:18-23)

V.18-- And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 
V.19--Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 
V.20--Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. 
V.21--And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 
V.22--Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 
V.23--The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Lot thanks them for getting him out, but argues with them about going up to the mountain.  He wants to flee to a nearby city.  It looks as if they originally intended to destroy that city as well, by what he says.  However, Lot’s request was granted and he was allowed to go there hastily.  The city couldn’t have been far away though because with all their lingering and travel they made it by the time the sun was risen upon the earth.

VI.  Judgment Comes To Sodom And Gomorrah

(Gen. 19:24-25)

V.24-- Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 
V.25--And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

God withheld judgment upon Sodom until Lot and his family had made it to the neighboring city.  God destroyed all the cities of the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities and everything within them.  How does this compare to our world today?  God is long-suffering and is not willing that any should perish, but the Bible is clear that there will be a day of judgment.  Are we living for all to see that this world is not our home?

VII.  Judgment Comes On Lot’s Wife

(Gen. 19:26)

V.26-- But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

They were told not to look back, but at some point during this, Lot’s wife did just that.  Though her family was leaving with her, the city she left behind held a powerful draw for her.  So strong, in fact, that she turned and looked back in longing for what she had left behind.  Lot’s wife wanted so badly to be a part of it that she was made a part of it by becoming a pillar of salt right where she stood.  God’s voice is still commanding us not to look back, not to get accustomed to this world, and not too long for (nor boast about) what He has brought us out of.

VIII.  Abraham Did Not Forget

(Gen. 19:27-28)

V.27-- And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 
V.28--And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Abraham arose early that morning and went back to the place where he had stood with the Lord and looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the land of the plain and could see the smoke as if it were a furnace.  It is striking that Abraham looked toward the destruction, surely still prayerful the God had been merciful. What was the difference in how Abraham looked toward the cities and how Lot’s wife looked toward them?

IX.  God Is Faithful

(Gen. 19:29)

V.29-- And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

Why was Lot saved from fire and brimstone? God heard Abraham’s prayers and listened as he interceded on behalf of others.  It was God’s mercy due to the pleading of Abraham with the Lord on his behalf.  What would have happened to Lot and his family had Abraham not acted as an intercessor?  Who is depending on us to intercede for them?

CONCLUSION

This account is a perfect picture of how God expects us to intercede on behalf of our loved ones, and not our loved ones only, but others as well.  Look out toward the nation and the world in which we live.  See those who need someone to intercede for them.  Abraham sought God on behalf of many. He started out with 50, but in the end, only four would be led from the city and only 3 of those were saved from the city’s destruction. We should want to see everyone saved, but in reality, not everyone will accept salvation.  We should work as though we are trying to win them all; realizing that even ONE should spared destruction is worth every effort and sacrifice.  The hour is late. The coming destruction will not be limited to two cities, but will fall upon all who remain.  Are we doing all that we can do? Are we pleading for them as Abraham did?