We are now going to look at a number of the Lord's servants who played the role of intercessors. I think you will find that all of them were men and women close to the heart of God. I believer the ministry of intercession is something very close to the heart of God. By studying the powerful intercessions of these Old Testament saints, we are able to understand and identify the various features and characteristics of an effective intercessor. You will find many examples in the Bible, but let us focus our attention to the intercessions of just two men and a woman. They are very good examples for us to follow.
The Intercession of Abraham on behalf of the City of Sodom
Sodom was a very wicked city and was ripe of God's judgment. In Genesis 18 we read how three men came to visit Abraham. One of the men was the Lord and the other two were angels. Abraham welcomed them and entertained them. They brought Abraham and his wife Sarah the promise of their son, Issac. And then they were ready to move on.
The Lord then told Abraham that He was going to look at the city of Sodom for Himself to see if it was really as bad and as sinful as He had heard about it. I believe the Lord would not hide anything from Abraham because Abraham was a prophet - The Lord told Amos, "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7, NKJV, emphasis added).
Genesis 18:22 - 33 relates how Abraham interceded for Sodom. After the two angels went on their way to Sodom, Abraham stood before the Lord.
"The men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord" (Gen. 18:22, emphasis added).
Abraham stood between the Lord and the city of Sodom, the object of God's impending judgment. This is a perfect example of intercession.
From the conversation between the Lord and Abraham we learn about Abraham's intimacy with the Lord. In fact James 2:23 says Abraham was called the friend of God. He was talking to the Lord as a personal friend. Notice also Abraham's boldness. He was actually challenging God's righteousness:
He said to God, "Far be it from You to such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all do right" (Gen. 18:25, emphasis added)?
Abraham was not afraid to speak out and said what he thought and with holy reverence at the same time. Notice also that Abraham had absolute conviction of God's justice - both positive and negative. Negatively that God would punish the wicked; positively that God would not deal with the righteous as with the wicked. I believe that a conviction of God's absolute justice is an essential part in the ministry of intercession.
It is interesting to study God's response to Abraham. God did not brush Abraham aside, but listened to him. In a sense, God allowed His course of action to be influenced by whatever Abraham said to Him. Think of both the privilege and responsibility of being able to speak to God in such a way that we can actually influence His course of action! God was indeed delighted to show mercy. At Abraham's intercession, God came down step by step, from promising to show mercy if there were 50 righteous persons, to the last promise He made that He would show mercy if there were only 10 righteous persons in the entire city of Sodom. God kept His promise to Abraham and Sodom was destroyed because there were actually less than 10 righteous persons in that city! Only Lot and his two daughters escaped.
An Intercession of Moses
In the course of bringing Israel out of Egypt Moses made many intercessions to God on behalf of God's people. It is beyond the scope of this message to discuss all of them. But let us consider just one interesting situation.
Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments and the Law from God. His people had corrupted themselves by worshipping the Gold Calf. Exodus 32:7 -14 contains an interesting conversation in the form of intercession between Moses and the Lord. Notice that neither the Lord nor Moses would accept resposibility for Israel at that time. They were both disgusted with Israel. I find the conversation between the Lord and Moses rather amusing.
"And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves'" (Exodus 32:7, emphasis added).
Later on Moses said to the Lord, "Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people ...." (Exodus 32:11, emphasis added)?
Moses was actually arguing with the Lord by saying something like this, "No Lord, they are not my people but Your people!"
This shows Israel was in such a state of degradation that neither the Lord nor Moses wanted to identify with them!
We need to give special attention to what the Lord said to Moses, "Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation" (Exodus 32:10, emphasis added).
God was saying something like this to Moses, "If you step aside I'll act, but if you remain there before me I can't act". To me this is the whole faith of the intercessor. The intercessor's presence between God and the object of His wrath restrains God's wrath. If the intercessor fails to intercede, God will bring judgment to the object of His wrath. If Moses would let God alone (by stepping aside) and failed to intercede, God would have wiped out the whole nation of Israel! The marvelous thing about Moses was that he would not let God alone. He stayed there, he held on!
Look at what God offered Moses if he would "let Him alone". God would make Moses and his descendents a great nation after He had blotted out the whole nation of Israel! How many people would not be delighted with the prospect of becoming the unique head and founder of a great nation? But, Moses was not concerned with his own personal glory; he was greatly concerned for God's glory.
Moses reasoned with God, "Why should the Eqyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'" (Exodus 32:12)?
If God had blotted out the whole nation of Israel His power and integrity would be in question!
Notice the basis of Moses' appeal to God. He appealed to two things - God's Oath (His promises) and God's Word (V. 13). I think the basis of which any intercessor comes to God must also be God's Oath and God's Word. This is one of the keys of a successful intercessor. God's response and answer to our prayer and intercession is always based on His Word, His promises, and His Will - and His promises are in His Will.
Immediately, the next Verse (V. 14) says, "So the Lord relented from the harm which He said he would do to His people". In other words, the Lord changed His mind. God does not change (Malachi 3:6), but His mind can be changed or influenced to be changed by intercession. The intercessor can change the mind of God in the direction of His hightest will. This was precisely what Moses did!
By the act of intercession of just one man (Moses) the whole nation of Israel is saved from God's wrath. This is the power and possibility of intercession.
The Intercession of Queen Esther
Esther was a beautiful Jewish maiden living in the Persian Empire at the time the Jewish people were exiled from their land. She was an orphan girl brought up by her cousin Mordecai. Mordecai was an important official in the court of the Persian king.
When Queen Vashti was displaced by the king, Esther was chosen to be the new Queen. However, Esther had never publicly revealed that fact that she was Jewish. Harman who hated Mordecai was also an official in the court of the Persian king. Harman sought to destroy all the Jews living in the provices of the Persian Empire and the surrounding districts. he obtained a decree from the king to this effect. This was a desperate situation. When the decree went forth from the palace, Mordecai sent a message to Esther in the Queen's palace that it was her responsibility to get to the king and to persuade him to change his mind about the decree. But initially Esther didn't want to go to the king on behalf of her people for reasons given in Esther 4:11.
However, Mordecai persuaded her with these words, "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14, emphasis added)?
Mordecai was under the conviction that Esther was called to the kingdom to do the will of God - "For such a time as this". In other words, the purpose of her being chosen as the Queen was to be used as an instrument to protect the Jews. She and her father's house would perish if she failed to do God's will, but God would find another way to protect the rest of the Jews!
I believe this also applies to us as Christians. We are a Kingdom of priests. We have come to the royal position, "for such a time as this" - the end-time. We cannot turn away from our responsibility and and be indifferent any more than Esther could. We must be willing to identify ourselves with the rest of God's people. We can't hide away by saying that this crisis does not concern us. If we do, we shall perish, but God's own mighty arm will bring deliverance to those whom He had shown mercy. We must be willing to lay down our lives, to risk all, to stand by the poeple of God, to identify ouselves with God's purposes, and to take up the prayer burden!
Esther replied Mordecai immediately: "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night and day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16, emphasis added)!
Notice the commitment of Esther - "If I perish, I perish". She was, in effect, saying, "Whether I live or die is not the most important question. I am willing to lay down my life for God's people and do what I can on behalf of them."
Esther knew that prayer alone was not good enough. All of them must fast and pray for three days and three nights. Only after that she would go and meet the king. Chapter 5 tells us how Esther went in to meet the king in the king's palace.
"Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace ...." (Esther 5:1, emphasis added).
Intercession always means coming into the Inner Court (Tabernacle of Moses) - in the immediate presence of the Lord. Similarly, it was in the inner court of the king's palace that the king held out to Queen Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. This was the evidence that the king was prepared to show mercy to Esther and he would not apply the law that she would be put to death.
The rest of the Book of Esther unfolded the consequences of her intercession. Victory was won for the Jewish people! Mordecai was honored by the king, but Haman was hanged.
Notice that when Esther went in before the king she didn't go in as a beggar. She put on her royal robe, and stood in the king's presence in her rightful position. Similarly, as intercessors we stand before God in our rightful position. We are not to beg, but to arise and sit on the throne that God had offered us that we may rule with Him in prayer and intercession.
The intercession of Esther changed the course of history. You and I can do the same with our intercession!
Characteristics of the intercessor
Certain features have been emerged from our study of the ministry of intercession - taking examples from Abraham, Moses and Esther. We discover certain features that characterize those who have mastered the art of intercession:
1. Intimacy with God. This is seen in Abraham and Moses. They talked to God just like a man talking to his friend.
2. Boldness. This is also seen in Abraham and Moses. They spoke out to God. They, in a sense, challenged the Almighty God.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
3. Conviction of God's absolute justice. We see this particularly in Abraham who fully acknowledged that God's judgment was entirely just.
4. A concern of God's Glory. This is seen in Moses who disregarded his won personal interest and ambition.
5. Dedication to the task at all cost, even the cost of life itself. This is seen in Esther.
6. The willingness to identiy with those to whom they intercede. This is also seen in Esther.
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