Genesis 18:22

Stood yet before the Lord] as if to stay His departure until he had interceded for Sodom, and especially with a thought for his kinsman Lot, who dwelt there.

23-32. We have here 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man,' humble, yet earnest, and even bold. In his anxious sympathy for others Abraham forgot, perhaps, that 'the love of God is broader than the measures of man's mind,' but he was right in believing that God allows His purposes to be influenced by prayer and repentance: cp. Jonah 3. For we observe that God's sentence upon Sodom was not yet passed (Genesis 18:21): He would grant the prayer of His servant if the necessary conditions were forthcoming. They were not, however, as the people of Sodom were universally depraved; but Abraham learned that God prefers mercy to judgment, and that those who have the least claim on His mercy receive it, as was the case with Lot and his family. Nor should we overlook another side of this narrative, viz. the value of a good man. Ten righteous men in Sodom will save the city. So our Lord calls His disciples 'the salt of the earth,' Matthew 5:13. Another point to be noted is that while Abraham thought all along that the righteous would perish with the wicked unless the whole city was saved, God distinguished between the innocent and the guilty, and saved four persons.