The Lord Appeared
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Genesis 18:1-8
Genesis 18:1-8
Pray
MAP of valley
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the great trees of Mamre.
Abraham was dwelling in a tent in this area.
Mamre is an area located near the city of Hebron.
It is in the valley of Eschol.
Eschol in Hebrew means cluster.
The area was given this name because it is the same area that the 12 spies returned to Moses with the great clusters of grapes.
Abraham is camped in the same area that
God always returns
The Lord appeared to Abraham.
It is speculated that this event is a Theophany.
There is convincing evidence to confirm this speculation.
V. 2
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
The text tells us that Abraham bowed low to the ground in worship.
Click #1
1. The worship of angels is forbidden in Scripture.
The fact that Abraham bowed down in worship toward the appearance of the Lord in these verses is interesting.
Abraham was not rebuked for doing this.
There are other instances in the Bible an angel is worshipped.
Immediately, the angel rebukes the individual.
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Click for Revelation 19:9-10
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Click for Revelation 22:8-9
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
Click for Colossians 2:18
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.
It is clear that the Bible prohibits thew worship of angels.
It is clear that whenever an individual falls at the feet of an angel in worship, the angel rebukes the individual.
Click #2
2. Angels are fellow servants not to be worshipped.
3. This applies to saints, disciples or any other things that we place before our relationship with God.
We do not need a mediator.
Jesus is the mediator and our Redeemer.
Click for Luke 4:7-8
If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
Jesus rebukes the devil saying that only the Lord will be worshipped.
This instruction by Jesus gives evidence to the speculation of the Theophany in the book of Genesis.
The Lord appeared to Abraham.
Abraham bowed down to worship the Lord.
At no time did the Lord rebuke Abraham for doing this.
Therefore, this encounter was not an encounter with an angel.
This was an encounter with God Himself.
Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.” Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
Abraham speaking.
Abraham extended an invitation to the Lord to rest.
To stay for awhile.
Abraham washes the Lord feet.
Confirming the assumption that this is a Theophany.
He invites The Lord to sit under a tree and rest, while He and Sarah prepare a meal.
Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
The Lord is reminding both Abraham and Sarah about the promise in the covenant.
It is interesting to note the reverence Abraham expressed the the Lord.
At this point the promised son had not yet come.
In our human limitation we would imagine Abraham harboring resentment toward God for not fulfilling the promise.
At least not fulfilling it according to our wants.
Yet Abraham acted with respect in this event.
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4. The point is that we must continually act in reverence for God because He is always at work in our lives.
As I said earlier, there is never a point where we can say that we have arrived.
Or that the work that the Lord has for me is finished.
When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
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5. The Lord chooses to show Abraham his judgement on Sodom because He knows that Abraham will pass on the fear of the Lord to the next generation.
The Lord assesses Abrahams faith in verse 19.
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
The Lord chose Abraham because He knew that Abraham would pass on his faith.
Abraham would instruct his children according to the ways of the Lord.
Not only would Abraham teach his children about the hope of God, he would also remind them of the Lord’s authority as judge.
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6. God trusted Abraham to remind his children to walk in reverence toward God.
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
First thing I want to point out is that the Lord states that the outcry of the people has reached Him.
The outcry of the people is from those who are crying out to the Lord for help.
They are crying out to the Lord for deliverance from the city that has been given to sin.
They are crying out for the Lord’s judgement upon sin because it is only in the Lord’s judgement of sin that humanity will ever be free.
The Lord hears their cries and He goes to them.
This reminds me of the verses in 2 Chronicles.
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Brothers and sisters we should be crying out to the Lord.
We must turn from wickedness and humble ourselves.
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7. Cry out to the Lord for hope and in our outcry He will hear.
He will hear our cries and He will forgive.
He will heal.
Back to Genesis 18.
Abraham pleads with the Lord regarding judgement.
Abraham asked the Lord if He will judge the righteous and the wicked.
Abraham pleads with the Lord to spare the righteous as He judges the wicked.
I believe God allows this event to be recorded in our Bible
It is often taught that Abraham made intercession on behalf of the people in this situation.
Or that Abraham’s pleading caused the Lord to relent.
I want to remind you that Abraham did not change the Lord’s mind.
Judgement still fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
God intended to judge these cities before Abraham spoke and Abraham did not alter the judgement.
I believe these verses are given to us to show us the condition of Abraham’s faith.
God allowed Abraham to survey the situation.
God allowed Abraham to see the destruction that sin wrought upon the city and the people.
Abraham calls out the the Lord to save 50 righteous people.
The Lord says, sure I will save those who are righteous.
As Abraham surveys the situation, recognizing the condition of those dwelling in the city he changes the number to 45.
God testing Abraham’s faith.
Will he be weak or will you stand in boldness.
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8. On the day of judgement there are only two sides.
There is no middle ground.
There is no place of neutrality.
Put #9 with #8
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9. Are you for God or are you against Him?
Wrap up- We covered a bunch of ground.
Today is the first day of advent.
it is during this time that we remember the birth of Jesus.
The point of today as we enter the advent season is are you looking for Him
Are you preparing a place for Him
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10. Are you inviting him in to your heart?
We must expect Him, invite Him spend time with Him.
In doing so we can take council and make intercession.
This chapter is not typically associated with Advent.
This is the chapter that fell on this date as we have been going through the book of Genesis.
In this chapter we have both His appearing and His judgement.
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the tent.
The Lord has appeared to us in the manger.
The Lord has ushered in the age of grace.
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11. It is now that we have the opportunity to accept His gift of grace.
It is now that we have the opportunity to receive mercy and hope.
It is now that we can be Saved.
When He returns, He will bring wrath.
He will return to pour out judgement upon His enemies.
He will destroy sin and death and all that afflicts those who are His.
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Now is the time to choose.
12. Will you stand with Jesus or will you reject His mercy?
The choice is yours.