Weekly Pursuit – Week 3 of Mar.

Verses:

Gen. 18:17 “And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”

22 “And the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before Jehovah.”

Excerpts:

As Abraham lingered in God’s presence, even after the two angels had left for Sodom, remaining standing before Him (Gen. 18:22), God opened up to him. God did not open to Abraham directly but in the way of implication. God did not say, “Abraham, I shall soon destroy Sodom. Lot is there, and I am very concerned about him. I have come to ask you to intercede for him.” God was not that simple. Instead, He said, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, how great it is; and their sin, how heavy it is! I shall go down and see whether they have done altogether according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (18:20-21). Although God did not say a word about Lot, His intention in speaking about Sodom was for Lot. These two friends talked about Lot, but neither of them mentioned his name. They spoke about him in a mysterious way, in a way of implication….Nevertheless, God knew Abraham’s intention as Abraham knew God’s intention.

Before God saves, edifies, or works in someone, He must find a person to pray for the things that He is about to do. Without our prayer, God cannot work. God visited Abraham so that Abraham would intercede for Lot to be saved. It is possible to say that God was asking Abraham to do something; hence, it was not easy for God to bring it up. It is easy to tell a person what we will do for him, but it is not easy to ask someone to do something for us. God wanted Abraham to do something, but in order to see if Abraham was willing, He did not bring it up quickly. If I want to ask a brother to help me, I would first talk with him to see how his heart is toward me. Only if he cares for me would I feel comfortable asking him to help me. This was the case when God spoke with Abraham. It was when Abraham walked with God to send God off and lingered in God’s presence that God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Gen. 18:17). (The Meaning and Purpose of Prayer, p. 22)