In this message we come to another seed of the divine revelation sown in the book of Genesis — the seed of intercession. In the first seventeen chapters of Genesis, there is no record of any intercession. Although we may suppose that Melchisedec was interceding behind the scene for Abraham, there is no record of this. The first clear mention of intercession in the Bible is in Gen. 18, where we see that Abraham was the first intercessor. This record of intercession is not simply a seed, for it contains a certain amount of development. In Genesis 18 we not only have a story of intercession but a clear revelation of the basic principles of intercession. Intercession is a great thing in the Bible. Without it God's economy cannot be accomplished. The excellent ministry of Christ today as our kingly and divine High Priest is a ministry of intercession. Rom. 8:34 and Heb. 7:25 both tell us that Christ is interceding for us. Since this matter of intercession is so important, we must devote an entire message to it, mainly considering the basic principles of intercession.
The first basic principle of intercession is that it must be according to God's revelation (Gen. 18:17, 20-21). The only intercession that counts in the eyes of God is that which is according to His revelation. This means that proper intercession is not initiated by us but by God in His revelation. This is clearly portrayed in Genesis 18. Abraham did not wake up one morning concerned for Lot and then kneel down to pray to the One on the throne in heaven regarding him. No, while Abraham was sitting at his tent door to cool himself in the heat of the day, God came to him in the form of a mortal man. Since God did not come to Abraham in His glory with His majesty, Abraham did not recognize at first that it was Jehovah God who was visiting him. Eventually, Abraham realized that this One was the very God. Nevertheless, Abraham was not terrified; he was very restful, conversing with God as with an intimate friend. This conversation must have lasted for several hours, for it took time to prepare the meal and to eat it. When God and the two angels were about to leave, Abraham did not bid them good-bye but conducted them on their way, probably walking with them for a good distance. Here we see that our God is not only a loving God but also a testing God. Although He loves us and knows everything, He often tests us. He knows our heart, the innermost part of our being, but He often says nothing. By testing He draws out what is within us.
What was God's purpose in coming to Abraham in Genesis 18? He surely did not come for a meal; neither did He come to confirm His promise regarding Sarah's giving birth to a son. God came to Abraham because He was seeking an intercessor. On His throne in heaven, God had decided to execute His judgment on the wicked city of Sodom. But God would never forget that one of His people, Lot, was in that city. Lot did not even realize that he had to be rescued from Sodom. What could God do? He had to find someone to intercede for Lot. God knew that there was no one on earth who was as concerned for Lot and who was so much with God as Abraham was. Hence, God came to Abraham for the purpose of finding an intercessor. Without an intercessor to intercede for His people, God cannot do anything. God has His divine principles. One of them is that without intercession He cannot save anyone. The salvation of every Christian has been accomplished through intercession. God did not stay on His throne in heaven waiting for such intercession to occur. Rather, He came down to visit Abraham in the form of a mortal man so that Abraham might easily talk with Him and intercede for Lot. In Genesis 18 Abraham did not pray to God or call on the name of God; he talked to God as with an intimate friend. Thus, the purpose of God's visit to Abraham in this chapter was that Abraham might take up the burden to intercede for Lot according to God's desire.
Although God remained at Abraham's tent door for several hours, talking a great deal to him, God did not say a word about His purpose in coming to secure an intercessor. We often act in the same way. Perhaps you want a brother to do a certain thing for you. If you are wise, you will not come to him and immediately ask him to do what you desire. You will first determine his mood by having a talk with him about various matters. At the very end of your visit, as the brother is seeing you to the door or conducting you on your way, you may open yourself to him and tell him of your desire. However, if he does not linger with you but says, "See you in the meeting tonight," you will realize that his heart is too cold and that he would not be interested in doing what you want him to do. But if he says, "I would like to stay with you for a while longer," then you will know that you can open yourself to him.
When God came to Abraham, Abraham welcomed Him, providing Him water and serving Him a good meal. Although God spoke to Abraham during the preparation and eating of the meal, He did not disclose the purpose for which He came. Only when God rose up and walked away from the tent and Abraham accompanied and conducted Him and the two angels on their way, did God tell Abraham of His intention. While Abraham walked with them, the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (18:17). God could not hide His intention from Abraham, His dear friend and called one.
As Abraham lingered in God's presence, even after the two angels had left for Sodom, remaining standing before Him (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, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto 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. Abraham knew that God's concern was for Lot, and he interceded for Lot without mentioning him by name. Nevertheless, God knew Abraham's intention as Abraham knew God's intention.
Do not think that God's revelation regarding intercession comes in a sudden, miraculous, "Pentecostal" way. In order to receive such a revelation from the heart of God, we must pass through a long process. We must come all the way from Ur of Chaldea through many places to the tent door at the oaks of Mamre in Hebron. Firstly God called Abraham by appearing to him as the God of glory. At that time Abraham was neither prepared nor qualified to receive a revelation from God's heart. He was not in intimate fellowship with God. Even after he had slaughtered Chedorlaomer and the other kings, Abraham was not ready to converse with God in an intimate way. In chapters fifteen and sixteen we see that although Abraham was a man who sought God and loved Him, he was still so much in his flesh. In chapter seventeen he was circumcised and terminated, his name was changed from Abram to Abraham, and he became another person. Then, in chapter eighteen God came to him at the oaks of Mamre in Hebron not as the God of glory nor as the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth, nor as the El-Shaddai, but as a mortal man to enjoy a meal with His intimate friend. At that time God had found a man who was after His heart. The glorious intercession which Abraham made before God in Genesis 18 was not a prayer from man on earth to God in heaven; it was a human conversation between two friends. God came down from heaven, lowering Himself, putting on the form of a mortal man, and conversing with Abraham. Eventually, He indicated to Abraham that He was the Almighty God; yet they continued to talk as two friends. When Abraham was in this condition, he was prepared and qualified to receive a revelation from God's heart concerning His desire. Intercession is an intimate talk with God according to the unveiling of His heart's desire. This is the first principle of intercession.
In order for God to reveal His heart's desire to a man, that man must be prepared. Although millions of people belong to the name of God, very few have been prepared, disciplined, trained, circumcised, and terminated. Although we are not very much like Abraham, occasionally we have had similar experiences. We were willing to abandon ourselves and reject our flesh. Then, much to our surprise, God came to us as a human friend. We did not pray to Him or call on His name; we talked to Him as to an intimate friend.
In order to fulfill the first basic principle of intercession — that it should be according to an intimate revelation of God's heart's desire — we need to pass through a long process. We need to be dealt with, circumcised, and terminated. Then we shall be ready for intimate fellowship with God. God will come to us on a human level, not on a divine level, just as He came to Abraham. Suppose God would come to you in this way today and you would serve Him a meal and talk with Him, speaking with Him face to face. How good it is to talk with God in this way! When we have fellowship with God like this, we do not have the sense that we are talking to the almighty, majestic God, but to another human being. This is the meaning of intercession being according to the revelation of God. This intercession is always intimate, mysterious, and in the way of implication.
When God revealed to Abraham what was on His heart, Abraham immediately understood what God meant. Apparently Abraham interceded for Sodom; actually he interceded for Lot. "Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" (18:23). Lot is implied here. Abraham seemed to be saying, "Lord, don't You know that in Sodom, the wicked city which You are about to destroy, there is a righteous person? There might also be other righteous ones with him. Do You intend to destroy the righteous with the wicked?" God did not mention the name of Lot to Abraham, but Abraham understood. Likewise, Abraham did not mention Lot to God, but God knew. They spoke to one another in a mysterious way. None of the outsiders knew what they were talking about, but they understood each other because they were intimate friends. How can we prove that Abraham was actually interceding for Lot? The proof is in 19:29: "And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt." We are not told that God remembered Lot but that He remembered Abraham. This verse tells us clearly that God answered Abraham's intercession by rescuing Lot from Sodom. Thus, Abraham's intercession in chapter eighteen actually was not for the city of Sodom but for Lot.
In principle, Abraham's intercession for Lot was like the intercession in the church in the New Testament. In Abraham's time, God's people on earth were composed of two families, the families of Abraham and Lot. A part of God's people, Lot's family, had drifted into the wicked city of Sodom. In like manner, some of the church people have drifted into the world. Just as Abraham interceded for that part of God's people who had drifted into Sodom, so we must intercede for the brothers and sisters who have drifted into the world. Abraham's intercession was the first that resembles the intercession in the church life.
Since all proper intercession is according to the revelation which is out of God's heart, it must also be according to God's heart. Intercession is not according to God's word. As I have already pointed out, although God did not mention Lot by name, Abraham realized what was on God's heart. Abraham did not intercede according to the outward word of God but according to the inward intention of God's heart. Proper intercession must always touch the heart of God. While Abraham was interceding, God was happy and could say within Himself, "How good it is that I have found a man on earth who knows My heart!"
I say once again that proper intercession must always be initiated by God's visitation on the human level. Whenever we have the deep sense that God has come to us on a human level, we shall realize that this is the time when God will initiate an intercession for us to carry out. For this we must learn to linger in the presence of God. If He would begin to walk away, we must stay in His presence and tell Him, "Lord, I don't want to lose Your presence. I want to linger here with You." Your lingering in His presence will open up His heart and draw out His desire. We have seen that Abraham did not abruptly say good-bye to the Lord but walked with Him for a certain distance. This reveals that, in a certain sense, God is very human. If we would linger in His presence, He would be so human as not to leave us. He would remain with us because of our lingering with Him. I have experienced this many times. I did not leave God's presence and He did not leave mine. As a result of that lingering, God opened His heart to me and the proper intercession came forth.
Intercession is not merely prayer; it is an intimate conversation. In this chapter Abraham was not praying; he was talking to his intimate Friend on a human level, saying, "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" Abraham seemed to be saying to God, "Is this Your way? Let me remind You that You should not do it this way. There might be fifty righteous people in the city. Will You not spare it for the fifty righteous people who might be there?" This was a conversation. Then Abraham continued, "That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked; and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (18:25). This was a strong challenge to the Lord. Have you ever had such a challenging talk with God? Very few have ever done this. But when you have come into intimate fellowship with God on the human level and know His heart's desire, you can challenge Him, saying, "Lord, is this Your way?" This is neither praying nor begging; it is challenging God in a very friendly conversation. The Lord answered Abraham, saying, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes" (18:26). A basic principle of intercession is that intercession is a challenging talk, not a praying or a begging. God wants us to challenge Him. When Abraham challenged God, God might have said, "I have found a man on earth who knows My heart so well that he does not pray, ask, or beg; He challenges Me. I must do what he says because I have been challenged by My dear friend. Now I am not as concerned for Lot as I am for Myself." Have you ever experienced this kind of intercession, talking with God in a challenging way, saying, "Lord, is this Your way of doing things? Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? Is it Your way to slay the righteous with the wicked? Surely it isn't!" This is real intercession.
In verses 27 through 32 we see that Abraham continued to talk to God about the number of righteous people it would take to spare the city. After the Lord had said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the city for their sakes," Abraham asked if He would destroy the city if the number was five less than that. To this the Lord replied, "If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it." The number forty-five was spoken by the Lord, not by Abraham. The Lord seemed to be saying, "The number forty-five is all right, but I can't find that many there." Then Abraham asked about forty, and the Lord said, "I will not do it for forty's sake." When Abraham proposed that thirty be the number, the Lord said that He would spare Sodom if thirty were found there. Then, on Abraham's side, the number was reduced to twenty. Once again, the Lord said that He would not destroy the city for the sake of twenty. Finally, reaching the bottom number, Abraham made his sixth proposal, asking the Lord to spare the city if ten righteous people were found there. God said that even for the ten He would not destroy the city. Abraham made six proposals to the Lord, reducing the number from fifty to ten. After that, he did not have the burden to make a seventh proposal. He might have been led by God's presence not to do so. When God told Abraham that He would not destroy the city for the sake of ten righteous persons (18:32), Abraham was disappointed. Lot had his wife, two unmarried daughters, and some married daughters with their husbands. According to Abraham's figuration, there must have been at least ten people in Lot's family, if all his sons-in-law were included. Abraham was surprised and disappointed to learn that there were not even ten righteous people in Sodom.
Abraham's challenge to God was according to God's righteous way (18:23-25). Abraham said to the Lord, "You are the Judge of all the earth. Shall You do this? This is not Your righteous way." Proper intercession is neither according to God's love nor according to His grace, but according to His righteousness. The strongest challenge to God is not to say to Him, "God, are You not a loving God?" If we say this, God might say, "Yes, I am a loving God, but to love is up to Me. When I feel happy, I love. But if I don't feel happy, I don't love. What's wrong with My doing this?" We have nothing to say to this. We should say to God, "God, are You not the righteous One?" If we challenge God according to His righteousness, God would reply, "I certainly am righteous." He would never say, "If I am happy, I shall be righteous, but if I am unhappy, I won't be righteous." What kind of a righteous God would this be? We must challenge God according to His righteousness because His righteousness binds Him more than His love and His grace do. God has no obligation to be loving or to show grace, but He is held responsible to be righteous. Nothing binds God as firmly as His righteousness. Every good intercessor knows that the way to bind God effectively is to challenge Him according to His righteousness. We should say, "Will the Judge of all the earth do such a thing?" And God will reply, "No, as the just One I would never do that. But you must show Me the proper number that will justify the city. If you show Me the justifying number, I'll be justified and I'll be righteous. I would never destroy that city." Proper intercession never begs God according to His love but challenges Him according to His righteous way.
I believe that many in the Lord's recovery will be brought into this kind of intercession. When God came down to visit Abraham on a human level, He was seeking one intercessor. Today God has come down to the human level once again, not to seek an individual but a corporate people. I believe that in not too long a time there will be a people on earth absolutely like Abraham, knowing the heart of God and making a challenging intercession in His presence. We may say to God, "Lord, don't You know that You have promised us definitely in the New Testament to finish the good work that You have begun?" Abraham did not cry and plead with God to spare Sodom for Lot's sake; he challenged Him. Likewise, we should not weep and beg but should challenge God. He does not want to hear our crying; He wants to hear our challenging intercession.
Abraham's intercession echoed the desire of God's heart concerning Lot. As he was interceding according to God's heart, his intercession spontaneously expressed God's desire. Proper intercession always expresses God's desire. This is another principle of intercession. If our intercession is initiated by our seeing of God's revelation in our intimate fellowship with Him, whatever we say to Him in our intercession will be the expression of His desire, the echo of His intention. True intercession is not to express our desire but God's desire. It is not to seek anything according to our intention but to seek the fulfillment of God's intention.
Intercession must also carry out God's will. Although God had a will to rescue Lot, without Abraham's intercession God had no way to carry out His will. Proper intercession always paves the way for the accomplishing of God's will. It lays the tracks for the heavenly locomotive. God desired to rescue Lot from Sodom, but He had to find a way to do this. Thus, He visited Abraham for the purpose that he might intercede on Lot's behalf. Abraham was intimately close to God's heart, and God was able to open His heart to him. Immediately Abraham echoed back to God His heart's desire in a challenging intercession. This intercession was the expression of God's desire and the carrying out of His will.
There is the urgent need of this kind of challenging intercession in the church life today. All the messages that the Lord has been giving us are for the carrying out of His will. In this life-study we do not care for mere Bible teaching. We are concerned for the release of the present word of the Lord for His recovery. After reading this message, a strong echo will resound throughout the Lord's recovery as many of the dear saints respond to His word and are brought into a full realization of genuine intercession. From now on, many of us will exercise our spirit to intercede for the church by challenging God according to His heart's desire. We know that His heart's desire is to save His people out of the wicked city, to rescue today's Lot from the condition of condemnation. If we are so close to God, fellowshipping with Him in an intimate way, we shall be able to read His heart and echo His heart's desire back to Him in a glorious intercession. In the next message we shall see that Abraham's intercession was very effective. In Gen. 19:27-29 we see that Abraham was still with God's heart. Abraham woke up early in the morning and looked at the city, being very concerned for Lot. In 19:29 we are told clearly that God remembered Abraham and "sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt." This effective intercession will more and more be realized and practiced among us in the church life.
This chapter does not end with Abraham's speaking; it ends with God's speaking. Verse 33 says, "And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had finished speaking to Abraham" (Heb.). The record here is the record of Abraham's intercession. But it does not say that Abraham had finished his speaking; it says that the Lord had finished His speaking. Proper intercession is always God's speaking. Apparently we are speaking; actually God is speaking in our speaking.
I like the verse which says that the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham. Many times in our prayers we say, "Amen," after we have finished speaking. Our "Amen" means the same as good-bye. I can testify that hundreds of times I have said good-bye to the Lord in this way before He has finished speaking to me. I prayed for a certain length of time and then said, "Amen," meaning good-bye. But deep in my spirit I sensed that God was saying, "What are you doing? I haven't finished talking to you. Why don't you stay for another few minutes?" Many of us have had this kind of experience. Our "Amen," our good-bye, was too fast. We need to stay in the presence of God until He has finished His speaking to us. Our intercession must utter what God is speaking.
