It's important that we pray for one another. VERY important. It's also important that we do what we can to help one another. I read in Isaiah that God was amazed, astounded, appalled that there was no one to intercede on behalf of the people. Yet that's not a word we use very often, is it? Intercede? Defined, it means: "intervene on behalf of another."
The Bible is all about such interventions. The First we see is God at the Garden when Adam and Eve have been removed: God sacrificed on Adam and Eve's behalf, making them clothes of animal skins for their coverings. Next, God intervened for Cain after he killed his brother, making sure no one would retaliate on him. After this, we see God doing so for humanity through Noah and his family. These accounts are from Genesis, proving that God has been intervening on our behalf, that He is FOR us, since the very beginning. Yet, I also read in that early Genesis Account that there comes a time when Man has to intervene with God on behalf of others, even if it is a hopeless case. Abraham, when God hears of the outcry against the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, goes to see if these accounts that he heard were true (He knows, but He lets Abraham in on what He is about to do). And so Abraham, boldly, approaches God on behalf of the city " 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? " Bold move! If God wanted to do something, I would get out of the way. And yet, God relented, saying that if 50 such persons were found, He would not destroy the city. Again, and again, Abraham intervenes on behalf of the city, so that God said "If there are ten, I will not destroy the city." We know that there were not 10 found between Sodom and Gomorrah, in fact only 3 escaped. Yet, God relented when Abraham intervened. This is a Symbol of what was to come from Abraham, a King and Prince who would eventually intervene on behalf of the entire world. Jesus, our God, King, and Priest, also became a Sacrifice, and won a victory, not by conquering, but by intervening on our behalf. Our sin was great, and because of our sin, we were doomed to die; and not one righteous person existed, yet He came and lived among us. He became Adam, human, as Adam should have been. He was without sin, but took all the sin of the world upon Himself. He therefore took all of God's wrath upon Himself, and put Sin to death. Rising on the third day, he put Death to death! He interceded on our behalf, and now He sits at the Father's Right Hand, our High Priest and Advocate! If this is what Christ did for us, don't you think, now, that we should do the same for others?
Genesis 18:22-33 English Standard Version (ESV)
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 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? 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.”
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.” 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.
Luke 10:25-37 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Footnotes:
Luke 10:35 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
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