«And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?’ » (Genesis 18:23, 24).
WHO WAS ABRAHAM TALKING TO when he interceded so that Sodom would not be destroyed? According to Scripture, he was talking to God! Thus, after mentioning the possibility that there might be at least fifty righteous people in the wicked city, he said, «Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?» (Genesis 18:25).
Abraham called God «the Judge of all the earth.» And because Abraham knew that he was talking to the Lord and he also knew of His great mercy, he decided to intercede for the wicked city. «Would there be at least fifty righteous people in Sodom?» «Forty-five?» «Forty?» He gradually lowered the number to ten: «Don’t be angry now, my Lord; I’ll just speak one more time: maybe ten are there.» «I will not destroy it,» the Lord replied, «for the sake of ten» (Genesis 18:32). And Abraham stopped at ten, thinking perhaps that God’s mercy couldn’t go any further.
What would have happened if Abraham had not stopped at ten? We don’t know, but we do know this: according to the story, there was only one righteous man in Sodom: his nephew Lot, and instead of destroying him with the wicked, God saved him. And not only did God save him, but He also saved Lot’s wife and his two daughters. That’s how «the Judge of all the earth» acts! that’s our Lord and God; our merciful heavenly Father!
With reverent fear, Abraham dared to intercede for the corrupt city, perhaps thinking that with his conduct, he was offending God. How wrong he was! From his experience, the patriarch learned firsthand a precious lesson that we must all learn: God is «not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance» (2 Peter 3:9). If he, Abraham, was interested in the salvation of the lost, God was even more interested!
Are you interceding for the salvation of a loved one? Or for someone who is living without hope? Whatever the case may be, remember that if your love for that person is great, God’s love is much greater! As William G. Johnsson pointed out, the best antidote against anxiety is to leave everything in God’s hands! Your spouse, your child, your friend, that person you care about: leave them in God’s hands. If we care about them, how much more does our heavenly Father care!
Heavenly Father, I leave the ones I love the most in this world in Your hands;
I pray that You will take care of them, bless them, and save them for eternity.
• William G. Johnsson, Behold His Glory, (Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1989).
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Colaboradores: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
