Genesis 18:30
And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
The verse belongs to the time when angels were on their way to destroy the corrupt city of Sodom, and God told Abraham of the coming destruction because he had trained his children in a proper manner. It continues his humble, reverent, earnest plea for Sodom, asking whether the city would be spared if thirty righteous people were found there, and God assured him that He would not destroy it if that number were found. As his requests were granted he grew bolder and kept asking, driven by love for people facing judgment.
The plea shows his benevolent concern and noble disposition toward the people of Sodom, reflecting faith in God, compassion for the erring, and concern for sinners through persistent intercession. It shows that hatred of sin can coexist with pity and love for the sinner. The exchange was intercession before judgment and illustrates that God extends mercy and holds back judgment because of the righteous, making clear He would spare the city if it had not passed beyond the limits of mercy and could still be given time to repent.
In the end only ten righteous could be found there, and Sodom was destroyed because the leaven of licentiousness had been at work in it. In this intercession Abraham acted as God's representative to the inhabitants of Sodom, through whom the God of heaven was revealed to them. He did not shut himself away but maintained friendly relations with surrounding nations and kings, and his fidelity was a light in all the countries of his sojourn, in Mesopotamia, in Canaan, in Egypt, and even to Sodom, his integrity and unselfishness, his valor and benevolence representing the character of God. The message calls hearers to seek the Lord most earnestly and to take a more decided stand in being not only professed believers in the truth but obedient to all of God's requirements, to be wide awake, not to trust in their own wisdom or strength, but by faith to lay hold on the infinite arm of God.