Abraham, a Good Neighbor in Canaan
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With deep humility he urged his plea: “I have taken upon me
to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes.” He did not
claim favor on the ground of his obedience or of the sacrifices he had
made in doing God’s will. Himself a sinner, he pleaded in the sinner’s
behalf. Yet Abraham manifested the confidence of a child pleading
with a loved father. Though Lot had become a dweller in Sodom, he
did not partake in the iniquity of its inhabitants. Abraham thought
that in that populous city there must be other worshipers of the true
God. He pleaded, “That be far from Thee ... to slay the righteous
with the wicked: ... Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” As
his requests were granted, he gained the assurance that if even ten
righteous persons could be found in it, the city would be spared.
Abraham’s prayer for Sodom shows that we should cherish hatred
of sin, but pity and love for the sinner. All around us are souls going
down to ruin. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy.
Where are the voices of entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful
doom? Where are those who are pleading with God for him?
Who Prays for “Sodom” Today?
The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ, Himself the great
Intercessor in the sinner’s behalf. Christ manifested toward the sinner
a love which infinite goodness alone could conceive. In the agonies
of the crucifixion, burdened with the awful weight of the sins of the
whole world, He prayed for His murderers, “Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:34
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The testimony of God is, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept
My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” “I know
him, that he will command his children and his household after him,
and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment;
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that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of
him.” It was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of being
father of the people who were the guardians of the truth of God for
the world—through whom all nations should be blessed in the advent
of the Messiah. Abraham would keep the law and deal justly and
righteously. And he would not only fear the Lord himself but would
instruct his family in righteousness.