A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

focus on the problems and soon come to think of them as “too hard. “ On the other hand, the
Lord invites us to focus on the prospects and His power and comprehend the wonder of the
extraordinary works of God. It is not beyond the power of God to bless those who need blessing
or judge those who need judging.
When confronted with her unbelief, Sarah denied she laughed (Gen. 18:15). Later in faith
she would confess her laughter and invite others to laugh with her a laughter of rejoicing,
gratitude, and faith (21:6). But unbelief makes cowards of us when it comes to testifying to what
God is doing for us.
The announcement of the Lord (w. 16-21)
Good friends do not keep secrets from friends. That was the kind of relationship
Abraham enjoyed with God. All believers have the same relation to God, but not all take
advantage of the same fellowship with God. Three times in Scripture Abraham is called “the
friend of God” (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23). He is the only man who is so identified,
suggesting the uniqueness of his relationship. The offer of such a close relationship with God is
made available to every believer today (John 15:15).
The intimacy of the relationship that existed between Abraham and God is hinted at when
the Lord says, “For I have known him” (Gen. 18:19). The expression ki yeda’ettiw means “to
know a person thoroughly and so after becoming well acquainted with him, to choose or select
him” (Isa. 41:8). Someone once defined a friend as someone who knows all about you and likes
you anyway. This is the type of friend God was to Abraham.
Because of their relationship, God chose to reveal His intention concerning the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This destruction is hinted at and implied by the Lord when
He says, “I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry
against it” (Gen. 18:21). The expression ‘asu kalah is elsewhere used in Scripture to express the
utter destruction of a city (Nahum 1:8; Zeph. 1:18).
INTERCESSION BEFORE GOD
(Gen. 18:22-33)
As the two angels made their way to Sodom, Abraham began to intercede for the city.
The Massoretes list this text as a scribal correction and it may mean either “Abraham stood yet
before the Lord” or “The Lord still stood before Abraham” (Gen. 18:22). Regardless of the
correct textual order, the verse introduces the rest of the chapter in which God waits for Abraham
to speak or waits while he speaks. The whole account portrays the approachability of God by His
servant in prayer.
Earlier Abraham was the savior of Sodom (14:13-16) and now he was to become
Sodom’s intercessor. Some writers argue Abraham prayed as he did to preserve the life of Lot
his nephew who was then living in the city, but it is noteworthy that Lot is never mentioned by
name in this prayer. Perhaps Abraham prayed for Sodom because of the genuine love for the
people he had as a result of his fellowship with God and earlier rescue of the people. True love
for people springs from an abiding faith in God.
Prayer is the means by which faith intervenes in the apparent plans of God. Oswald J.
Smith called intercessory prayer “the highest form of Christian service.” Charles Haddon
Spurgeon once called prayer “the slender nerve that moves the arm of the Omnipotent.” God
Himself testifies of the influence and power of intercessory prayer alluding to the prayer of
Moses. “Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses, His chosen one stood