Our word for today is עָמַד go up before, stand in position; stand respectfully before, take a stand. It is used 520 times in the Old Testament. A good example of this word is used during the time when Israel had become so corrupt that God was going to bring judgment on them. Ezekiel 22:30-31 I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and עָמַד stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. God is showing us how important it is to be the person who will take a stand and ask Him on another’s behalf. This is what we see Abraham doing pleading his case to God for his nephew Lot. Genesis 19:27-28 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. God is pointing us back to chapter 18 where Abraham intercedes for his nephew Lot. Let’s look at how Abram stands up before YHWH taking a stand pleading his case for Lot’s rescue. Genesis 18:23-24, 26 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained עָמַד standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? … The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham continues asking YHWH brining the number of righteous people down to 45, 40, 30, 20, and then 10. Each time YHWH agrees to save the city for the sake of the righteous that might be there. The city was so corrupt that it didn’t have 10 righteous people in it. But what is interesting is that God moved to save Lot and his family anyway my opinion is it is because of Abram’s intercession on their behalf.
We see how important praying for others is throughout the rest of the Bible. We see Moses example in Psalm 106:21-23 They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. So he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, עָמַד stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. We also see Samuel doing the same thing. 1 Samuel 12:19, 23 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”… As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. One of the key instructions God gives the church is for us to pray for each other. Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
