1 Samuel 2:25 (NKJV)

“’If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?’ Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.”

Intercessors stand between Man and God. In Christ Jesus, we stand as His go-between for humanity. We cannot and should not keep silent when men go their rebellious way. We have received a priestly mandate after the pattern of our Heavenly High Priest. Our hearts connect with His heart, and we stand in the gap on behalf of a lost and disobedient generation. By their repeated and wanton sins, Man continues to provoke God and invoke judgment on themselves. But we have to stand in the gap, to offer incense and to plead for Mankind.

Eli was a priest, but did he plead for his children? For some reason, it seems that he did not think he could intercede for them. He sounded incapacitated and defeated. Eli’s confession seems to betray his conviction: “If a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” He did not seem to feel qualified, capable, or encouraged to act as an intermediary for his children. He did not think that he could plead with God on their behalf. “If a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” But this should not be our case. Jesus Christ intercedes for the Church, and the Church should intercede for the world. We are called into this royal and honorable ministry. The disobedient world deserves God’s judgment – but we can forestall that judgment by pleading their case, on behalf and through Christ. We enter into His ministry of intercession, and by Him, we cry for our broken world. And the Lord will hear us. Maybe God would have spared those boys if Eli had stood in the gap. May we not fail our generation by failing to intercede for them. Amen.