Monthly Archives: March 2026

Abraham Intercedes for Lot (Gen. 18:16-33)

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Abraham Intercedes for Lot (Gen. 18:16-33)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, March 1, 2026

Prayer is surrender—surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boat hook from a boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.

—E. Stanley Jones, A Song of Ascents[1]

We are in a series on prayer.

Today, we look at Abraham interceding for Sodom and surrendering to the Lord.

My theme today is:

Abraham speaks to the Lord on behalf of Sodom.

The application:

Go to the Lord on behalf of those suffering.

    1. Genesis 18:22 (ESV) 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
    2. Let’s put this passage in context.
    3. We learn in Gen. 18:1 that the Lord appeared to Abraham. Three men appear to Abraham, but one is clearly the Lord. Most likely these three men are the Lord and two angels.
    4. Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3), so I think this is an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament.
    5. Abraham is very hospitable, and then they tell Abraham that he will have a son in the next year.
    6. Then, in Gen. 18:16-21, the Lord speaks to the other two men, likely angels, about revealing to Abraham what He will do in destroying Sodom.
    7. Abraham’s nephew and his family were in Sodom.
    8. Verse 22: the other men, angels head towards Sodom. Abraham stays with the Lord. This is really cool! Here he is with the Lord in human form.
    9. CSB: The Lord would investigate Sodom and Gomorrah for two reasons: the outcry coming from their victims was immense, and the cities’ sin was extremely serious. According to Ezk 16:49–50, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah included self-centered pride, neglect of the poor and needy, and doing unnamed detestable things. According to Gn 19:5–9, one of the “detestable acts” was attempted homosexual gang rape. Through his appointed representatives the Lord would experience what justified the cry that had come up to Him.[2]
    10. Verses 23-24: 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Abraham asks of the Lord… will You really do this?
    11. Verse 24: Suppose 50 righteous people.
    12. Verses 25-26: 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
    13. I love the humility in which Abraham asks this: far be it from You to do such a thing…
    14. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is right? That is an important statement.
    15. Yes, HE DOES.
    16. There is no one righteous (Romans 3:23).
    17. God comes down to show that He is just!
    18. Deuteronomy 32:4 (ESV): 4“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
    19. Verses 26-28: 27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
    20. The Lord responds, remember He is right there.
    21. If 45 righteous people, God will spare the whole place.
    22. Notice the continual humility in Abraham.
    23. Notice Abraham’s humility: I am but dust and ashes. Abraham’s negotiation, far from being crassly or selfishly manipulative, humbly and compassionately expressed his concern for people (cf. 13:8, 9) and particularly interceded for the place where his nephew Lot and his family lived. Neither did he intend to anger the Lord by his repeated requests (vv. 28, 30, 32).[6]
    24. Verses 29-33: 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
    25. That the number of righteous people necessary to forestall judgment had been reduced from 50 to 10 may have reflected Abraham’s awareness both of the intense wickedness of the cities as well as Lot’s ineffective witness there. Abraham probably had the whole of Lot’s family in mind.[11]
    26. We see Abraham’s heart and God’s heart.
    27. The Lord departed from him.
  2.  Applications:
    1. Do we intercede for our family in crisis?
    2. Abraham’s nephew and his family were in Sodom. They would be destroyed.
    3. In the next chapter, the Lord rescues Lot, Abraham’s nephew.
    4. We all have family and loved ones who are dying without Jesus. Do we intercede for them?
    5. Do we go to the Lord asking for their salvation?
    6. Notice Abraham’s humility, are we humble before the Lord?
    7. Do we pray? Archbishop William Temple says your religion is what you do with your solitude.[12]

Do you know Him?

Go to Him in prayer.

[1] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 453.

[2] Robert D. Bergen, “Genesis,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 37.

[3] Ibid, Ge 18:23–26.

[4] Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 148.

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[5] Robert D. Bergen, “Genesis,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 37.

[6] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ge 18:27.

[7] Ibid, Ge 18:29.

[8] Ibid, Ge 18:30.

[9] Ibid, Ge 18:31.

[10] Ibid, Ge 18:32–33.

[11] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ge 18:32.

[12] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[13] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[14] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[15] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).