The second revelation that Abraham received concerned the destruction of Sodom (vv. 16-21). After enjoying such intimate fellowship with Abraham, God and the two angels were satisfied, strengthened, and refreshed. Verse 16 says that then "the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way." Abraham walked with them for a certain distance to conduct them, to send them away. Often when guests come to visit us, we walk them out to their car after their visit, seeing them on their way. Abraham's walking with his visitors was like one sending his friend away.
As Abraham was bringing God on His way, "The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (v. 17). God could not hide His intention from Abraham, but told him of His intention to judge Sodom saying, "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" (vv. 20-21). God's heart was concerned about Lot, but He could do nothing for him without an intercessor. As we shall see in the next message, God here was seeking for an intercessor. Although God did not mention Lot's name, He knew within His heart that Abraham understood what He was doing. God and Abraham spoke to one another in a mysterious way, neither of them mentioning Lot's name. The outsiders did not understand what they meant, but they each understood.
Verse 22 says, "And the men turned their faces from thence and went towards Sodom: but Abraham remained still standing before the Lord" (Heb.). When the two angels left, Abraham did not tell the Lord good-bye. No, he remained standing before the Lord. As we shall see, the purpose of his standing before the Lord was for intercession.
In Genesis 18 we see that Abraham, a circumcised man, had peace with God. Although Abraham did not expect such a visitation, God appeared to him in the form of a mortal man, conversing with him as with a friend. There was nothing religious about such intimate fellowship. In that fellowship Abraham received revelation from God positively concerning the birth of Isaac and negatively concerning the destruction of Sodom. Then, after the angels had left for Sodom, Abraham remained in the presence of God. God had found a man to whom He could commit what was on His heart, a man to respond to His heart's intention and echo His heart's desire. In this chapter we see that the sweetest and most intimate experience of God is like what we have with our most intimate friend.