“So when God destroyed the cities of the
plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that
overthrew the cities where Lot had lived." (Gen 19:29 NIV)
The story of
Abraham’s involvement with Sodom and Gomorrah covers a significant part of
Scripture. Way back in chapter 13, Abram
gives Lot the choice of land, and Lot chooses the plain of the Jordan,
including Sodom and Gomorrah (13:10-13).
With his nephew there, Abram would’ve been concerned about it, and in
fact he goes to war in the very next chapter to rescue Lot (14:1-16). Abram then has an interaction with the king
of Sodom, who he now knows personally (14:17-24). Then of course, there’s the story of his
intercession on behalf of the cities (18:16-19:29). Together, these stories cover over 20% of the
Abrahamic account!
Scripture does
that because Sodom and Gomorrah (and those living there, including Lot) were a
large part of Abraham’s life. He prayed
for them, negotiated for them, went to war for them, interceded for them. It’d be impossible for us to not have done
likewise. Do we not care about our
relatives? Do we not care about the
towns they live in? How can anyone not
care about the town right next door?
Like us, Abraham probably visited it often – especially seeing as his
relative was living there. Yet Scripture
tells us so very little about them, except to detail for us the unimaginable
depravity of their citizens. Instead,
what the Bible does elaborate on is the dealings Abraham had with them and for
them. In the end we read this, “So when God destroyed the cities of the
plain, he remembered Abraham.” God
remembered Abraham. That’s interesting,
because almost all of chapter 19 appears to be the story of Lot, not
Abraham.
As the chapter
opens, Lot is waiting at the gateway of the city. Perhaps he was waiting for the Lord. Perhaps
he was concerned for the Lord’s people. We
do know from 2Peter 2:7 that Lot was a righteous man – he too had a
relationship with God. Yet the quality
of that relationship is hard to understand, because even a skimming of the text
will reveal an appalling lack of discernment on Lot’s part. Certainly it does not say that Lot was
praying for the lost all around him! But this is not the story of Lot. Rather, all of chapter 19 is the story of the
impact of Abraham’s prayer of chapter 18. It is a story of prayer working. Of God’s abundant grace and mercy in response
to Abraham’s patient and discerning intercession.
Abraham
didn’t see that answer though. “He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah,
toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land,
like smoke from a furnace.” Abraham would’ve thought that his prayer was
unanswered. He would’ve gone to bed the
previous night knowing that it was well-spent time with the Lord. How would he have felt at that sight in the
morning? How have any of us felt when
the answer we’ve hard sought in prayer eludes our sight, and we are told the
very thing we’ve prayed against happened anyway? Sadly, according to what is written, Abraham
and Lot do not see each other again in the flesh.
Of course,
looking through the lens of Scripture, we know it was not unanswered
prayer. The Bible tells us that because
of Abraham’s prayer, four people are saved.
In fact, two entire people groups come into being because of the lives
he impacted by his intercession (v37-38).
Further, no doubt he and Lot rejoiced greatly on finding each other
alive in glory!
Was his
prayer a waste of time? Absolutely
not! Prayer – and intercession – is
never a waste of time. Our merciful God
hears and answers. That we don't see the
answer physically straight away does not mean that our prayers are not
answered. Perhaps the answer is hidden
from us now, that we might rejoice all the more so when we see from a fresh
perspective in glory.
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