Gen 18:1-15
Book of Genesis • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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It has been amazing to see God’s grace to Abraham, Sarah and Hagar. We looked from History into prophecy of Rev and saw how God extends that same love and grace to us! God is interested in each one of us and He is involved in each of our lives on an intimate level.
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
Abram is sitting in the door of his tent, in the heat of the day. God appears to him and we are not told if God communicated or what He communicated to Abraham but as he looked up Abraham saw 3 men standing across from him.
In Abrahams day it was customary to people to open their home to shelter and feed travelers. This made life possible because there were no rest stops like we have on the side of the highway. Travelers were often at the mercy of the hospitality of the people they would meet on the way. Giving them rest under a shade tree, washing their feet, and giving water and at-least some basic food like bread was expected.
Abrahams response of falling to the ground and bowing before them, suggest that Abraham knew these were not just average travelers. We are not told if Abraham knew they were angels but he may have.
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
Abraham urgently asks them to rest and allow him to provide these basic needs of the travelers. Abraham obviously knew these men were on their way somewhere because he says after rest, feet washing and food/water, they could continue on the journey.
The term “bread” is from the Hebrew “Lechem” which means staple food. in Eastern culture staples foods included meat from cows or fish.
The men agree to this proposal.
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
3 Measures of fine meal is equal to 16ls of the barley flour.
This first of all shows he is bringing the most expensive flour from barley instead of the cheaper wheat four. but notice the amount 16ls this is enough to bake 60 of their cakes!
Abraham then runs to choose a tender calf. the best quality of meat he could produce and had his workers begin preparing it.
Abraham spared no expense but gave these travelers the best he had. He stood nearby as the men ate. I don’t know how long it took for all this food to be prepared but we do know that Abraham had many workers on his land with many mouths to feed. We don’t know if any of this food was prepared for the workers as well, almost like a feast, but I can’t imagine this amount of food going to 3 men.
After the meal these men ask where Sarah is, lets read.
9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
The men asked where Sarah is. In this time of culture is was not a custom for the wife to stay in the tent. It would have been normal for her to come out and greet the guests. the only time customs would have dictated her to stay inside is if she was in her week of impurity… We do not know if that is her case but she was already past menopause and for God to produce a child from her, her menstrual cycle would have had to return close to this time. Even when the men asked where Sarah was, she did not come out.
Even before Abraham and Sarah knew what was happening we can see God lining things up to come through on His promise. You will see what I mean as we continue.
10 One of them said, “I will certainly return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
One of the men says next year I will back and you will already have a son. in less than 1 year the child will be born. On his return the child will already be here. God is telling them, it’s time. My plan is set into motion today!
I can imagine, this elderly lady well beyond the age of child bearing, being shocked as for the first times in 10+ years, she is once again experiencing this. It’s like God rolled back the time clock of her Body. having a child puts tremendous stress on the body, God did not just allow her to have a child, God gave supernatural strength to her body in order to produce this miracle without causing Sarahs death.
Sarah, standing behind the tent door hears this. let’s see her response.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
Pleasure from the Hebrew “ěd-nā” = Great joy because of favorable circumstances.
Notice Sarah laughs to herself. No noise was heard and she is hidden behind the door. She questions God’s promise because of her age. She knows she is beyond the years of this being possible. You can see that she still refers to this as a delightful thing if it would happen, but because of their age, does not see it as possible.
Remember, God is setting the table for yet another miracle. God is letting them and all the world know that not only is the Messiah a miracle of epic proportion, the very existence of the nation of Isreal is a miracle beyond human understanding.
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
The men show their power from God again in knowing the mind of Sarah and pointing out her lack of faith in which she denies. The man pushes back and say, yes you did. you can not lie to God. He knows your heart better than you do.
The rest of the chapter leads into the next story and many times people look at todays event and the next, Sodom and Gomorrah as separate events. which they are, but they are more connected than we might think. I have decided to go into that in a couple weeks but for today I want us to see what we can learn about this event.
God’s timing is always perfect and more times than not, God’s timing is different than ours. We often think because things didn’t happen when we expect of how we expect, that means God is not listening or does not care. in reality God cares more than we know, He just has a better way than we could ever imagine.
God makes all things possible, When it is in line with Gods plan. Many people misunderstand when the bible says “With God, all things are possible”. They use that passage to say If I just believe enough what I want to happen, will happen. That is not what God is saying at all and that is not what we learn from the Bible. instead we see God plainly teach us that He has a plan and even when His plan or promises seem impossible, they are possible because they are the plans God made.
Not all your plans are possible! Not all your desires are possible, but ALL God’s plans are possible and will happen!
If we love God and are following Him, all His plans will work out for the best result. If God used Abraham and Sarah’s plan of using Ishmael, that would not have been the best plan. making them wait an extra 14 years, was the best plan for them and all future generations.
When our faith is weak and we just don’t see how it could possibly work out, don’t lie to God and act like you have it all together. God already knows your heart and your weakness. God wants you to see it, admit it and humbly come to Him looking to Him to build your faith.
2 Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus is the Author, which means to one who gives us our faith!
Jesus is the finisher, the one who grows our faith to completion!
Jesus went through the pain of the cross, took on the shame of a criminals death just to make life with Him possible. we must go to Christ in our weak moments and rest in His strength. Remember who He is and what His plan is. Remember that our suffering is not in vain, no it has a purpose. The purpose is to grow us to be as Christ like as possible on this earth!
We endure suffering for Christ just as Christ endured suffering for us!
3 Endure hard times as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No soldier on active duty entangles himself with civilian affairs, that he may please the enlisting officer.
How is my faith grown and how am I made more like Christ? by keeping my eyes on Him and walking with Him through whatever comes our way. Deciding to stand and walk in the promises of God knowing His plan is to bring us through this life and use us for His purposes! We are not our own, we are bought with a price of Jesus’ blood and are enlisted into His service until He sees fit to end this world and bring us into the new perfect world!
We must hold onto that promise, and use it to remind us of Gods love and ultimate goal for us. the troubles of today is not Gods final destination for us.
The troubles of today are just events God uses to grow our faith and let us see Him work in situations we can not control.
If we could get ourselves out of every problem and we could find our own solution, when would we see God work? How would our faith be grown?
