Knowing God’s Plan of Judgement and Praying for other(s)

Genesis 18:16 - 33

In Genesis 18:2, three men visited Abraham.  In v16, they were leaving and Abraham walked along with them for farewell. Two of them were angels of God and one of them was the LORD.

The LORD said he would not hide from Abraham what he was about to do (17). This shows God treated Abraham not just as a servant but as a friend.

Jesus said in John 15:14-15 “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

God has chosen Abraham (9) and Jesus has chosen His disciples (John 15:16). Not only Abraham and 12 disciples but also all Christians are “chosen” by God (Romans 8:33, Ephesians 1:4, Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 2:4). In the Gospel of John, the twelve, as the most intimate and most committed followers of Jesus, are presented as the models for all Christians, both in terms of their election and in terms of their mission (Notes for John 15:16).

As a friend of God, Abraham became aware of the Judgement of God against Sodom & Gomorrah (20, 21). V22 – 33 show Abraham’s intercession in regarding to the Judgement of Sodom & Gomorrah, where his nephew, Lot and his family were living.

God responded to the prayer of Abraham in a straight-forward manner (26, 28 - 32) as He did to the intercession of Moses in Exodus 32:11-14. Intercession is a prayer not for oneself but for other(s). God is pleased with intercession. Let us learn Abraham’s intercession and pray for others in this selfish and indifferent generation.

Bibliography

(2006). Notes for John 15:16. In The NET Bible First Edition Notes. Biblical Studies Press.