Genesis 18:1-33
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Background
Last week we saw God reiterate the promise of the covenant that He made with Abraham back in chapter 15, and in doing so He changed Abraham and Sarah’s names. He also instituted the sign of the covenant, circumcision, which Abraham and his descendants would do as a reminder of the covenant.
1 Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,
3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.
4 “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree;
5 and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.”
7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.
8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.
In chapter 17, God “appeared to” Abraham, enabling them to have a conversation, before He went back up from Abraham. During this conversation, Abraham is promised a son by Sarah.
TIMELINE
TIMELINE
In this instance, God appears again to Abraham, presumably after the events of 17, but this time the circumstances are different.
Abraham was apparently capable of recognizing God.
Abraham was camped near the oaks of Mamre, by Hebron.
He was at his tent door during the middle of the day. This was the typical time to rest and to eat (Gen. 43:16; 2 Sam. 4:5).
It was common practice to show hospitality to those who pass by.
Abraham saw the 3 men and ran to them and bowed himself to the ground. At minimum, he recognized that there was something special about at least one of the men.
Abraham addresses his obvious superior, but extends his offers of hospitality to all of the men.
Hospitality is a bit of a lost art, but the Bible is very clear:
Christians are to show their love for each other through practicing hospitality.
Christians are to show their love for each other through practicing hospitality.
9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
1 Let love of the brethren continue.
2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Abraham prepared far more than just bread for his guests. He brought everything to them and then stood by them as they ate under the shade of a tree.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”
10 He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.
12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’
14 “Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
As we have seen before, here now a question is asked to which the answer is already known. Why?
The same reason as with Hagar - there’s more to come.
Once again, God reaffirms his promise of a son through Sarah. This time it is within earshot of Sarah.
It seems as though this meeting was meant more for Sarah than it was for Abraham.
Remember, the promise was already given to Abraham.
Sarah’s reaction seems similar to Abraham’s in ch. 17, but in fact it was not. Scripture tells us that Abraham never doubted, but here Sarah does in her heart.
Sarah was at minimum 89 years old at this time.
God, knowing all things and the hearts of men, perceives Sarah’s laughter and doubt.
39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men,
The LORD asks an important question: is anything too difficult for the LORD?
2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
This rebuke eventually led to Sarah having faith:
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
We must remember that all things are possible with God.
We must remember that all things are possible with God.
16 Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.
17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
19 “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”
20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
21 “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.
Once again we see the relationship of God and Abraham play out, this time in the revealing of God’s plans.
God reiterates a promise given back in ch. 12 - blessed to be a blessing.
God gives the specifications of His relationship with Abraham:
God first chose Abraham, just as He chose us, even before the world began:
6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
Abraham was chosen SO THAT he would instruct his descendants on keeping the way of the LORD, doing righteousness and justice...
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
SO THAT God would bless Abraham.
Was Abraham’s blessing contingent upon his own performance? No, otherwise his choosing would have been after.
God reveals His plan to Abraham, namely, that He is about to punish Sodom and Gomorrah with destruction.
God is just, and we see here why He is about to destroy them.
His interaction with Abraham is interesting because it is within our reality of time.
23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”
30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
We see taking place here an interesting exchange between Abraham and God: bargaining for the sake of the righteous.
Abraham certainly would have known his nephew Lot was in danger at this point.
Abraham is essentially interceding on behalf of the righteous that are dwelling in the region, appealing to the justice and righteousness of God.
4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.
While Abraham is doing a good thing, we must recognize that God already knows the level of wickedness and depravity to be found in Sodom and Gomorrah.
1 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her.
2 “And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.
In spite of this, God humors Abraham and goes along with his bargaining.
Abraham recognizes that who he’s pleading for is a lost cause, and so feels the need to shamelessly and continually lower the bar.
God acquiesces to every request, fully knowing what was about to take place.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Christians are to show their love for each other through practicing hospitality.
We must remember that all things are possible with God.
Next week, we will continue the story of Abram's sojourning.