Zoe Hatcher's Blog

Genesis 18:20 "Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing-- to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home."

I always thought Abraham was bold. Begging God to save this awful city just because of his nephew. What audacity! He destroyed it anyway, right? But wait a minute... Doesn't it say that we are to boldly come before the throne?

Heb. 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

He did it in humility too... He remembered that he is just dust and ashes to the Lord. That is something I rarely do. Remembering that God doesn't have to listen to our little pea brains, but He does because He loves us. Enough to actually promise us many things. Knowing that we don't keep our promises, but He does.

And God actually listened to him! He heard him, Abraham convinced Him. He did destroy the city, but He couldn't even find 10 righteous people there. But if He would have, He wouldn't have destroyed the Whole city, because of Abraham's request. History as we know it would have been different. God doesn't like to see us arguing with him and questioning him. But because He loves us dearly, we have influence with Him. Can you believe that? Influence with God! I wonder how many things in history, our history, would have been different if we would have had the courage, or taken the time to plead with God.

Think about it. There are many things we need to plead for. A new car? No. How about salvation for the people on our street? Our block? Our city? Our State? Our Nation? Abraham loved Lot's family. They were his family. But he loved the whole city. How do I know? He pleaded for it. He gave God 6 scenarios, and said would you save it if... He loved the drunkards, the adulterers, the homosexuals, he loved them all enough to ask God for their lives 6 times. Do we plead? Do we care? A lot of times I don't. Sadly, not enough to plead. I want to take time this week during prayer and fasting to plead for unloveable people. Join me. There's a vigil on Friday night at 6pm at the church. For the lost who are about to be destroyed and don't know it. God is standing over our town looking, thinking about the destruction to come. Remember judgement is coming, and we don't know when. So who is standing up there with God? Who pulled him aside before he went down like Abraham? Who is saying, "Lord, will you save Bradford if you find 50 righteous people in it?" "Lord, will you spare my street?" Lord, forgive me for not caring enough to pull you aside. Forgive me for being lazy and knowing that I can come before You boldly and intercede for others and not doing it. Please, Lord, help me to care. Help me to not be afraid to plead for other's lives...