Revelation, Judgment, Intercessory Prayer

Summary

Abraham escorts the Lord and the angels as they continue their journey toward Sodom (This was customary for good hospitality)

God reveals to Abraham that He is about to judge the nation of Sodom and Gomorrah

This is a reminder for Abraham to be sure he brings the next generations up in the way of the Lord

Abraham then intercedes for the righteous, whomever they are, in the two cities

God promises Abraham that he won’t destroy the cities if there are righteous among them.

Revelation

Revelation from the Lord comes about not because He is deciding what He is going to do, but it is for the purpose of revealing His thinking for us.

Revelation is a divine activity: not, therefore, a human achievement. Revelation is not the same thing as discovery or the dawning of insight, or the emerging of a bright idea. Revelation does not mean man fording God, but God finding man, God sharing his secrets with us, God showing us himself.

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Let’s look at verse 17. (Read Verse). Let’s not think for a second that God did not know what He was going to do. This is revelation of God’s thinking so that we as humans can understand his thinking. It’s not because He’s trying to decide what He is going to do, he is revealing to Abraham His thinking about what He is going to do.

This takes me back to the Garden. Remember in Genesis 3:9 when God says, “Where are you?” This was not because God didnt know that they were hiding or where they were hiding. He was revealing his thinking to Adam and Eve so that they would respond to what they had done.

This revelation from God to Abraham was important because it dealt with Abraham and his nephew Lot. God needed to show Abraham the outrageousness of Sodom’s sin so that Abraham could be sure to lead those generations after him in a godly way.

Remember we have been talking about the covenant moving forward and this revelation is an important part of the covenant moving forward. God is revealing to Abraham what his expectations are in keeping God’s nation holy. Abraham would play a major role in that due to his influence not only on those after him but also those around him in other nations.

So is God still revealing himself today? Absolutely. He reveals himself through the world around us and especially through His Word.

Two types of Revelation we find today: General Revelation and Special Revelation.

General Revelation: This type of revelation is how we can see God in the world around us through nature. Psalm 19:1–4 says, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world.

According to this passage, we can look at nature around us and if we have any sense at all, we can see that their is a Creator. Gotquestions.org says, “The order, intricacy, and wonder of creation speak to the existence of a powerful and glorious Creator.” Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

With these two passages in mind, General revelation is “the revelation of God to all people, at all times, and in all places that proves God exists and He is intelligent, powerful, and transcendant.”

The other form of revelation is Special Revelation. Special revelation is when God chooses to reveal himself through a miraculous means. Special revelation come in different froms including: phsyical appearances of God (This is what we find in Genesis 18), dreams, visions, the written Word of God and most importantly through the appearance of Jesus Christ.

We are most often given special revelation through God’s Holy Word. God, in a very miraculous way, guided the authors of the Bible to correctly reveal himself to mankind through His words, while still using the authors personalities and styles of writing. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” and 2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

So why did God choose to have his Word written down? Because he knew the inaccuracy that often comes through oral tradition. Stories get changed over time when they are told over and over again. God knew also that dreams and visions could be misinterpreted so it was important to have his Words written down in the way that he wanted things said. His expectations for humanity can be found in the Holy Word of God.

You hold in your hands the special revelation of God. Anything you need to know about God and what he expects of you as a Christian can be found in this book. The question is, Are you allowing Him to reveal himself through His word because you are daily in His word and seeking Him every opportunity you get.

Historically, the two avenues through which God has taken the initiative to reveal Himself have been labeled general and special revelation. General revelation includes all that God has revealed in the world around us, including man, while special revelation includes various means He used to communicate His message in what was codified in the Bible. General revelation is sometimes called natural theology, and special revelation is called revealed theology.

Charles C. Ryrie

Judgment

When people are disobedient to God’s ways, they can expect judgment. The people in Sodom clearly did not listen to Lot because they had no concern for doing things God’s way.

This was done that all might know that those who are of a double mind, and who distrust the power of God, bring down judgment on themselves,4 and become a sign to all succeeding generations.

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Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.”

God has heard about what has been going on in Sodom and Gomorrah through the outcry of Sodom according to Genesis 18:20 “And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.”

Because the sin here was so awful, this outcry likely came in multiple ways.

God and His holy justice cried out against Sodom and Gomorrah

On-looking angelic beings cried out against Sodom and Gomorrah

The multitude of victicims of Sodom and Gomorrah’s depravity cried out against those citities

Creation itself was affected by their unatural trangression, and cried out against them.

In Genesis 18:21 The Lord says, “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” Notice the Lord himself is going to go down there. Why is this important? Isn’t God omniscient and knows all. Why does he need to go down and see this for himself when he already knows?

Let’s take a look at how the Lord handles judgment. Psalm 19:9 says, “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.” Revelation 16:7 says, “And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” The Lord God walks in integrity. He is only going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah on direct, accurate knowledge. We are not told this because God didn’t already know what was going on there, but it was to reveal his integrity and set an example for how we should handle situations.

When we take issue with someone and what they are doing, be sure you are accurate in your judgment. Don’t just take others word for it, but go to the source yourself. John 7:24 says, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Those who will not observe the judgements of God’s mouth shall not escape the judgements of his hand.

Matthew Henry (Nonconformist Biblical Exegete)

Intercessory Prayer

When judgment seems at hand, it is very important to be in prayer for the righteous. Abraham’s concern is that the righteous will be caught up in judgment with the unrighteous.

Intercessory prayer is very important because we draw near to God in intercessory prayer. We begin to pray with his heart and not our own. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” How can we cleanse our hand, purify our hearts, and not be double minded? We draw near to God and begin to pray with His heart and not our own.

1026 I commend intercessory prayer, because it opens man’s soul, gives a healthy play to his sympathies, constrains him to feel that he is not everybody, and that this wide world was not, after all, made that he might be its petty lord. It does him good to make him know that the cross was not uplifted alone for him, for its far-reaching arms were meant to drop with benedictions on millions of the human race.—7.451

Charles Spurgeon

Notice how Abraham approaches the Lord. Genesis 18:23 says, “Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” What Abraham is doing here is reminding God of His character. He is reminding God that the Lord is to do right by the righteous. This is why relationship is so important. God knows these things about Himself, but more importantly what do we know about God. Abraham is saying God I know who you are and these are why I am saying these things. When we know God rightly, He is more likely to answer our prayers.

How can you be effective in prayer? Speak of knowing who God is. Remind God of His word, though He doesn’t need reminding. However, you need reminding of who He is. Talk to God about how He has previously worked in situations prior to your current situation. Don’t act passive in the ways of God, but show that you are actively participating in what God is doing. Remind God of His promises to show that you are an active participant in what God is doing in and around us.

How else can you be effective in your prayer? Show care for how others are involved in a situation. The righteous and unrighteous. What’s on Abraham’s mind here? Did he just say, “Lord, just save Lot and his family and do what you will with the rest?” No, he asks the Lord to spare any who are righteous in the land. To pray effectively we need to be concerned about others. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;” This is the heart of Abraham here. Lord God spare this city if there are any righteous people here or if you do judge the city, separate the righteous from this judgement.

When we draw near to God and pray according to His will and His ways, we can trust that God will hear our prayers and answer.

Offering intercessory prayer means nothing other than Christians bringing one another into the presence of God, seeing each other under the cross of Jesus as poor human beings and sinners in need of grace.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Lutheran Pastor)

Notice that Abraham continues to negotiate bodly with the Lord. Again, you cannot be a bother to the Lord when you are praying. He desires this type of intercession because it is conforming us to the image of His Son, Jeuss. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;” How do we know that this type of prayer conforms us to the image of His Son? Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

It’s ok to “bug” Him in prayer. He desires this. Specific intercession can make all the difference in the lives of others. On Wednesday night, we spend a lot of time in prayer. During that time you have so many people interceding on your behalf that you probably don’t even realize it. There is a consistent group of people who are showing up during that time to pray effective intercessory prayers for the members of this church and those outside our church.

Intercessory prayer is increased in value when it is not from one person alone, but is offered in intimate union with other saints.

Charles Spurgeon

Join us for this prayer time on Wednesday night. We are much more effective when we offer this prayer in communion with other saints. We need other believers in prayer for our church and our community. Ephesians 6:18 says, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” This is a command. This is something we have been called to do. We need your prayers and we welcome you to join us.