20230528 Genesis 18: Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
Genesis: Looking Back in Order to Move Ahead Spiritually • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” 16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, 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 to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Imagine asking for a Bible and someone hands you a New Testament. What would you say? What should you say?
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
The Old Testament is the autobiography of God the Father. The Word of God telling us who He is and why He acts. His character, His purposes. We see who God is from what He says, but more often, we see who God is through what He does. He is the God of holiness, He is the God of grace, He is the God of covenant faithfulness, He is the God of judgment. And in all of this we see that He is the Sovereign Lord.
In chapter 17 we see the sovereign Lord who will keep His promise to Abraham.
Abraham and Sarah have doubted the Lord’s promises. They have done the culturally appropriate thing and used Hagar as a surrogate mother to give birth to the boy Ishmael. But the Lord tells Abraham that he is not the son of the promise.
And it is in verse 17 of chapter 17 that Abraham laughs at God and reminds God that he is almost 100 and Sarah is 90.
But this is what the Lord wants Abraham, wants the nation of Israel, wants the church, wants you to understand: the sovereign Lord, the creator of the universe, has made a promise. And he has sealed it with a covenant. And therefore, the creature should not be laughing at the creator. Instead we should be worshiping Him.
The Lord does not make a promise He will not keep.
The Lord does not ask a question He does not already know the answer to.
The Lord does not say He will do something that He cannot do
Now in chapter 18 the Lord does not simply come to Abraham. The Lord appears. This is known as a theophany - an outward external manifestation of the invisible God.
The Lord appears with two angels. But when does Abraham realize that it’s the Lord? Verse 3 tells us.
3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
And so Abraham offers the customary Near Eastern hospitality during the heat of the day
(1) Spiritus Recreator - The Sovereign Lord Who Creates Life Out of Emptiness
At this point we must remind ourselves of the sovereignty of God and the sinfulness of man. And Moses does this by taking us back to the garden and then back to creation
v9 Where is your wife? - the Lord knows. But Sarah is hiding.
9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
The Lord had promised before but this time He gives the time.
And verse 11 takes us back to Genesis 1. Sarah was old and the way of women had ceased. But remember that the earth was formless and void.
And this takes us forward: This takes us to Mary asking the angel in Luke 1:34
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
Spiritus Recreator - the refreshing Spirit - the Spirit who creates life. The Spirit who takes that which is empty and creates new life
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
(2) The Sovereign Lord of Grace Who Gives Faith
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Back to the garden - Sarah laughs and then denies it
11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(3) The Sovereign Lord Who Judges And Atones
23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
The wickedness of Sodom - Abraham pleads with God
God’s mercy is evident in His willingness to spare the sinful majority for the sake of even ten righteous people. Fewer than ten can be saved individually
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
RC Sproul:
He asked the Lord a rhetorical question: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (v. 25). The question is rhetorical because we all know the answer: of course the Judge of all the earth will always do what is just. He can do nothing else.
“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deut. 32:4).
Our Creator is perfectly righteous, and everything He does flows from and confirms this righteousness.
As a consequence of this perfect righteousness and holiness, God can by no means “acquit the wicked” (Ex. 23:7).
All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of the Lord (Rom. 3:23), and the Lord cannot simply overlook this.
Our transgressions constitute cosmic treason against the Most High God, and they violate His justice.
The Lord would not be just if He did not punish sin, for the essence of justice is that evil gets what it deserves.
Were this all that the Bible had to say about the Lord, we would be in an awful state indeed, for our sin makes us liable to judgment.
If God were only righteous, there would be no hope for us.
But Scripture tells us also that the Lord is merciful (Luke 6:36).
He has provided a way for our sin to be punished and for Him to remain righteous without destroying us.
That way is the cross.