Intercession: Our Role When the World Seems on Fire
August 20, 2023
Preached by Ben Bechtel
Scripture Reading
Genesis 18:16-33
16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing 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 see 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 indeed 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 for 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! Shall not the Judge of all the earth 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, “Behold, I have undertaken 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 let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken 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 let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
“Hey, what can I say? We were overdue. But it will be over soon, just wait.” These are the words sung in a more somber moment of a recent comedy special and they are in reference to what he calls “that funny feeling” of anxiety over the impending end of the world. Apocalyptic events seem to be both a fascination and dread of our age. Most of us in our current age, for one reason or another, feel like things are on fire. In that comedy special, it’s specifically a crushing mental health crisis, climate change, and the seemingly unavoidable corruption rampant in the halls of power that lead to this feeling of impending doom. For others, it’s our society’s wildly evolving and almost non-existent moral compass which is leading to social breakdown. Whether or not the world is as close to going up in flames as we think is debateable (every generation tends to overexaggerate how bad things are in their own day that only the perspective of some history can solve). But what is not debateable, is that many of us feel this to be true.
So, the question Genesis 18 forces us to wrestle with is this: who has God called his people to be, especially when it feels like the world is on fire? What does God want us as his church to be and to do in an age of doomscrolling? Why has God saved us and placed us here on earth in this time and place? We see here in Abraham’s life for the first time in the Bible this truth fleshed out: (BI) God calls his people to be priests who stand in the gap for the nations of this world no matter how far-gone things may seem.
1. What It Means To Be a Priest
In this passage Abraham functions like a priest before God’s people had priests. As we look at Abraham, we understand our calling as priests of God. In verse 18 of this text we see the general principle of what it means to be a priest: God blessed Abraham so that he will bless the nations of world. Priests stand as the channel, the conduit of God’s blessing to the world. But what is it specifically about the work of God’s people as priests that brings blessing to the world? Well, we see two components of that here in God’s words in verses 19-21, that God’s people are to be holy intercessors.
a. Holy
I see this first component in verse 19:
19 For I [God] have chosen him [Abraham], that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
Do you see what God says here? God says I chose Abraham so that he and the nation that would come from him would be righteous and just. God chooses Abraham and those united with him so that they may reflect his beautiful character back into the world. The nation that came from Abraham, the people of God, were called to reflect God’s beauty to a sin-marred world. They were called to be different. But that’s not all. Do you see the final piece of logic here? God chooses Abraham so that he may be holy so that God may bring what he promised to him, namely blessing to all nations through him. God designed our holiness of life as the people of God to be the gravitional center that draws the nations into a better way to live. Our holiness leads to the world’s blessing.
We will be no good for the world if we are no different than the world. Christianity is meant to be weird. Not weird in the Christian T-shirts, car decked out in Christian bumper stickers kind of way but weird in the sense that our lives look markedly different from the world around us. If we look similar to the people of Sodom, Sodom cannot be blessed through us. Just look at Lot and his family. To be called a priest means that you and I live a counter-cultural way of life that reflects the beautiful difference of God’s character that defies the world’s categories. The early church understood this. Larry Hurtado, the late historian of the early church, noted that the early church was distinct in that it had a unique social ethic that defied the world’s categories. Hurtado notes these five realities that the early church brought together, that different factions of Roman society never brought together, and that I would argue we don’t bring together in modern life: care for the poor, multi-ethnic, self-sacrificial love and forgiveness, against abortion and infanticide, and a revolutionary sexual ethic.[1] That certainly doesn’t sound like anything in our society today. But brought together, that is holiness. That is a kingdom of priests demonstrating God’s character for the good and blessing of the world.
Before we move on, for those of you with children, note the specific charge to families here. Parents, the real action of the mission of God is not out there. Real work for God happens in your own home. May we strive together as parents to show our children what it means to reflect the goodness, justice, and love of God through our actions. And through our children we will bless the nations. Keep after it, parents! Your home can be the launching pad for blessing to the world through your children.
b. Intercessors
Let’s read verses 20-21:
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 see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Let me answer the question that may be on many of your minds as you read this text: why is God so angry? Why would I want to follow a God who even threatens to wipe out a whole city, let alone a God who does wipe out a whole city (see the next chapter)?
That word “outcry” in these verses is the Hebrew word for the cries of the oppressed. The Old Testament authors use this word to describe exploitation of the weak and poor, violence against innocent people, rape, murder, all the worst evils that human beings can commit against one another. A common trope about Sodom says that their primary sin and the primary reason for their judgment was same-sex activity. While the Bible certainly does speak to those realities, it is clear that this city was exploitative, proud, dehumanizing, selfish, and brutal. Now let me ask the question: would you really want to follow a God who doesn’t even consider bringing judgment against a city like that, a God who turns a blind eye to abuse and injustice? God’s justice is an expression of his goodness.
Now, there is a strange part about these two verses: does God not know whether this city is wicked or not? Why does he need to go down to check it out? Think about it this way. If I know you have a vested interest in buying my old couch, and I say in your presence “well I’m just going to get on Facebook marketplace really quick and see if anyone wants to buy this couch” I’m basically inviting you to plead your case to get the couch. God basically is begging Abraham to stand in the gap for this city. This gets even more interesting when we think about the last time God said he was going to go down and check out the sin of a city, the tower of Babel. What’s the difference though between God going down to see Babel and God going down to see Sodom? Abraham. God now has a covenant partner that he is inviting in to plead with him on behalf of the city. God now has a priest whom he has blessed to be a blessing to this particular city by praying on its behalf.
Do you have changes you want to see in the lives of those around you? Do you want to see neighbor, coworker, or family member come to Jesus? Do you want to see justice done in the world? Do you want to see a breakthrough for someone suffering under mental health challenges? This passage is saying it starts with prayer. God invites us like Abraham in to intercede as a priest on behalf of his world. Work for God’s blessing the world starts by declaring in prayer that only God can do this work. It is said of evangelist DL Moody that he carried a card of 100 names in his pocket throughout his life of people he wanted to see come to Jesus. He prayed for these people throughout his life and when he died 96 of those people had trusted in Jesus. This type of prayer shows a belief that God really has invited us in to plead on behalf of the world. Weild your power and position as a priest in prayer for the sake of your unbelieving friends and neighbors. Bombard God and beg for his mercy!
Priests then are holy intercessors, those who reflect their intimacy with God by living holy lives and who reflect their sympathy for people by interceding on their behalf. But this is a picture of priesthood in the abstract. Let’s look at Abraham’s concrete example acting as a priest and see what else we can learn about our priestly calling.
2. An Example of a Priest
We’re just going to read down through these verses of Abraham’s prayer and stop to make some comments. Read first with me verses 22-23:
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 indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham now approaches the divine bench and pleads in love for this wicked city. You may think, “yeah, but doesn’t his nephew Lot live there? This isn’t anything spectacular. Of course he’s praying for them!” That’s what I thought of this passage for a long time until I studied it this week. What’s interesting is that Abraham doesn’t mention Lot at all in his prayers. His heart breaks and pleads not simply for his nephew’s life but for the life of this whole city. Abraham knows that as long as there are righteous people who love God in a city, that city stands a chance.
Friends, let that sink in. Abraham loves a horribly unjust city, a city of violence and exploitation. Abraham loves a city that you read just a few chapters back in Genesis 14 tried to harm him. Abraham here loves and prays for his enemies, the very people whom it would have been so easy to write off. There are all people we are tempted to write off as beyond God’s reach. Yet, God has put us on earth at a time like this to love them by interceding on their behalf. Who are those people you have given up hope of God saving? The fact that you are on earth as a believer in Jesus with a relationship with that person shows that God is not done with them yet. They have a priest.
Think about Abraham’s story with me for a second. Where did he get this kind of love for wicked, cruel, unjust people far from God? He himself was a former pagan called by God out of Ur, proto-Babylon, the big, bad, unjust empire that the OT prophets decry. He knows what it’s like to be in Babylon and he knows what it’s like to experience God’s grace. Now at some point he like all of us had to face a choice: will I continue to be humbled by the grace that saved me and love those who are like I once was, or will I be hardened and start to resent the world that God called me to bless? (FCF) After we are called by God, we all can tend toward self-righteous pride rather than loving intercession toward the world around us. If God called you by grace to his Son Jesus in order to be a priest, resist the urge to let the evil in the world puff you up. Don’t withdraw from the world. Don’t let your righteousness fill you with haughty judgment toward others. Remember the story of Abraham, remember your story and the grace that God has shown you.
Let’s continue with his prayer (vv. 24-26):
24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for 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! Shall not the Judge of all the earth 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.”
Abraham knows the God he is speaking to. Abraham knows that a God who doesn’t judge Sodom is not a truly good God. So, Abraham prays on the basis of God’s justice and love. Notice he doesn’t ask God to simply excuse or turn a blind eye towards the heinous evil of the city. He prays that based on his own justice and love, God would spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous, because as long as the righteous live the wicked have a chance to turn to God. He knows he serves a God who is both loving and just. God in his love will spare the city for the sake of the righteous but God in his justice will not turn a blind eye to dehumanizing evil.
What boldness and yet what humility these prayers showcase! He holds the mirror up to God’s face and calls him to act according to his own character and yet he calls himself “dust and ashes” in verse 27. Pastor Tyler Staton says this about our prayers, “We pray the safest kind of prayers—the ones so passive and vague we’d never be able to tell if God responded to them or not. As a thought experiment try to recall everything you’ve prayed for in the last week. If God answered every last one of your prayers, what would happen?”[2] Let me add to this quote and ask if God answered every one your prayers from the last week, what would happen in the lives of your unbelieving friends and neighbors? What would happen in our city? Boldness and humility are marks of the intercession of a priest.
Abraham persists in his bold prayers asking God if he would spare the city for 40 righteous. 30? 20? And God reiterates that he would spare the city. Then look at the abrupt ending to this story (vv. 32-33):
32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Just as the prayer seems like it’s moving towards a crescendo, it stops, and they part ways. You’d expect Abraham to take God one step further, yet he doesn’t. Why? Well Old Testament commentator Robert Alter says that the smallest unit for communal organization for the Jewish people was 10 people.[3] This was as small as the righteous remnant could go. Abraham didn’t go any lower than that, because there weren’t more than 10 righteous in the city. But what do we expect Abraham to say? Where do we want him to press God? God, would you save the city for just one righteous person?[4] And in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest, God has answered that question with a resounding yes.
3. Our Great High Priest
Jesus is the one to whom Abraham points. Jesus is the great priest, who like Abraham over Sodom wept over Jerusalem for her unbelief (Mt. 23:37-39). Jesus prayed for his disciples and his future church, each of us, on the last night of his life that we would be united and be a blessing to the world (Jn. 17:20-26). While he was hanging on the cross Jesus like Abraham prayed in love for his enemies when he cried out, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” Now in heaven God the Father invites Jesus to pray on behalf of all of his people, much like he invited Abraham to draw near. Only now, the foundation of Jesus’ prayer is so much more secure than Abraham’s.
Jesus, like Abraham, prays in accord with God’s just character. Jesus prays to his Father, “shall not the Judge of the earth do what is just?” But then how can we all not be destroyed? Israel, God’s chosen people, although they were called to be God’s priests on behalf of the world, actually becomes so wicked that God calls her Sodom (Is. 1:10; Ezek. 16:46-52). The only way we can not be destroyed is because the one righteous person, Jesus Christ, has borne the judgment of Sodom in himself. The justice of God fell on Christ at the cross so that we could be declared righteous even though we are sinners. So, when Jesus pleads for your salvation, he is pleading for what is just. He’s not pleading like Abraham for a hypothetical situation. Jesus says to his Father, because the judgment for their sin has fallen on me, it would be unjust for you to do anything except love them. As Hebrews 7:23-25 says,
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
And as long as this priest prays for you, you will surely never face judgment.
When we comprehend Jesus’ great high priestly work on our behalf, it empowers us to be priests that bless the world. Because Jesus is your great high priest, you can have humility in relation to the city. You’ll be able to plead for the city rather than rail against it in self-righteousness and condescension because Jesus pleads his own work for you not yours. This type of grace says you are no better than them. You are who you are because of his work not yours, because he loved you when you were his enemy. How can you not plead for others in love? Because Jesus is your great high priest you can also approach God’s throne with humility, since you are welcomed in by grace not your own works. Yet because of Jesus’s work you also can enter in with boldness since you know God will accept you by his grace and justice and delights to hear your prayers. Because Jesus is your great high priest you can strive for holiness in your life knowing that his Spirit empowers you and will never leave you or forsake you.
Jesus has given you the opportunity to represent him to the world and to draw near him for the sake of the world. Jesus has drawn near to God for us in love to ensure our own salvation. Church, we are priests sent with a message of hope into a world without hope. Let us then beautify this world with our holiness and barrage heaven with our pleas all out of love for Jesus our high priest and the world he has called us to love and serve.
[1] See especially chapter 4 of Larry Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods.
[2] Tyler Staton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, 96.
[3] Robert Alter, Genesis, 83.
[4] This thought comes from the Tim Keller sermon “Real Friendship and the Pleading Priest” preached on June 3, 2001 at Redeemer PCA in New York.
Sermon Discussion Questions
Where in your own life are you failing to display the beauty of God’s holy character? How might your life look different?
Do you truly pray with boldness? Sit with this question from the sermon: if God answered every one of your prayers from the last week what would happen in your life, the life of your neighbors, and the life of our city?
What person or group of people are you tempted to believe is too far gone from God’s mercy? How does Jesus’ priestly ministry reorient your heart towards hope for them?
