12. The Man Who Negotiated with God
You probably remember the story in the Book of Genesis of how God appeared to Abraham and told him that he planned to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their overwhelming evil (Genesis 18:16-33). The account tells us that Abraham then pleaded with the Lord for those cities and for any righteous people who might be living in them in one of the most detailed examples in the Bible of a person interceding with God on the behalf of others. This was, indeed, an intercession from which we can all learn – a bold pleading that might even be called the story of a man who righteously bargained with God.
"Bargaining," "dealing," or "haggling" are all terms often used of the practice of negotiating an agreement that has long been part of Middle Eastern business transactions. The practice was widespread in the ancient world and remains common today, so the original readers of the biblical account of Abraham negotiating with God would not have found it as shocking as those of other cultures might. Yet there is no question that Abraham did not take this negotiation lightly. We will look at the account of his interaction with God in its entirety before focusing on what we can learn from its details.
Standing before God
… Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him 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?" The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 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 for lack of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He 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 said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He 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 (Genesis 18:22-33). Effective Intercession This is a powerful case study in interceding for others. Some of the story's details, although they are easily missed, show us exactly how Abraham addressed God and made his plea effective: Effective Intercession Requires Closeness to God: Abraham was already "standing before the Lord," but the story stresses that he got closer still: "… Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said…" (Genesis 18:22-23). Abraham began his plea for others by drawing closer to God. Although the story is talking about moving physically closer, the principle applies spiritually. If we really desire to intercede with
God for others regarding important situations, one of the first things we can do is to move closer to him. We may feel that we are already keeping close in our daily spiritual activities, but Abraham's actions shadow a spiritual reality: successful intercession often involves moving closer to God in intensified prayer and study before making our intercession. Effective Intercession Requires Both Humility and Boldness: Abraham knew full well that the One with whom he was speaking was God himself (Genesis 18:27, 30-32). He calls God "Adonai," meaning "Lord" or "Master," and he remembered his own nothingness in his presence: "…I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes" (vs. 27). Nevertheless, Abraham's proper attitude of humility did not stop him from showing respectful boldness toward God. The New Testament tells us that we may approach God with this kind of confidence: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV). But notice that it is a boldness based on our need, not our righteousness – exactly the attitude that Abraham showed. Effective Intercession Requires a Reason: Simply praying "Please help this person" may be intercession, but it is never as powerful as when we verbalize reasons for why God should change his mind or intervene. Notice that Abraham did this from the beginning of his intercession for the cities of the plain: "… 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?" (Genesis 18:23-24). Abraham was not trying to be morally superior in his argument – he makes a plea based on both his understanding of God's nature and character and a concern that God's judgment be properly perceived by those who would hear about the destruction of the cities. We see the same concern for God's name in the prayer of
Daniel we mentioned in the first chapter of this section: "… Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name" (Daniel 9:19). Making a specific case for why individuals need encouragement, rescue, wisdom, or help often makes for more powerful intercession. Effective Intercession Requires True Love for People: We can no more "fake" true love for those for whom we intercede before God than we can fake repentance or true sorrow for our mistakes. Abraham doubtless knew the sinful state of the cities for which he interceded, but he showed compassion on them by struggling to find a way to save them. Notice that Abraham did not just ask that God remove or rescue his relatives or any other righteous individuals before destroying the cities – he interceded for both the righteous and the unrighteous in praying that the cities be spared for the sake of the righteous who were there. As we saw in Hebrews 4:16, our boldness is based on God's mercy toward us. Abraham's prayers of intercession reinforce the lesson that anyone who has received mercy should try to find mercy for others where that is possible. Effective Intercession Requires Persistence: True intercession does not just mention someone in prayer, then go away. When the Lord agreed that for the sake of fifty innocent people he would not destroy the cities of the plain, Abraham successively lowers the number. He asks if God would spare the cities for the sake of fortyfive, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, then ten people. In each case God agrees that he would spare the cities for those smaller numbers. We see Abraham's persistence not just in the ongoing naming of lower numbers, but also in the way in which he continually asked God to hear him yet again on this matter. Persistence is often not easy, but it is the heart of intercession. This may be the most obvious lesson from Abraham's negotiating with God, but it is also a profound one. As we will see, Abraham did not just persist for a while, then drop the matter feeling he had "done his part" or "done his best." Why Stop At Ten? Although he had successfully negotiated with God in lowering the number of righteous people for whose sake the cities would not be destroyed, when he reached ten people the negotiations end. Some biblical commentators have even written that the patriarch "ran out of steam" as it were – that he lacked the resolve to continue to plead for fewer than ten people. Others have said that perhaps Abraham thought that if there were fewer than ten righteous people, perhaps there was no excuse for those cities.
But this kind of speculation forgets an important detail in the story. Immediately after Abraham pleaded for ten, 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" (Genesis 18:32-33). Notice that it was God who ended the conversation – before Abraham could plead further. Given the pattern he had utilized, it is likely that Abraham might next have pleaded for the sake of five people, but God knew that there were fewer than five righteous individuals in the two cities and He chose to spare those very few – the family of Lot (Genesis 19) – and to destroy the cities of sin.
We see in this story God's willingness for his people to pray for those who are in dire danger, and perhaps we see the desire of God to look for and to see the compassion of his servant Abraham in this situation. It's something we might ask ourselves: would we have gone as far as Abraham? At what point would we have stopped asking for mercy on others?
True intercession, the kind that God shows he is more than willing to hear, is based on a love for others that does not "run out." Abraham's story shows that if we truly love others as ourselves, we will not only intercede for them when intercession is needed, but we will not stop until the problem no longer exists.
PART FIVE:
THANKSGIVING