18
1.Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth
trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 13:18
2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, do not pass on by your servant.
4 “Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 19:2
5 “And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.
8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
This is the third time in which we read that the Lord has appeared to Abraham; the first time was when Abraham first came into the land of Canaan and the Lord reveals to him that the land he is in, is the land that Abraham s seed will inherit. The second time the Lord appears to Abraham was when he was ninety nine years old and He told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son and that his name shall be called Isaac. I have read some commentaries that suggest that Abraham at first did not recognize the Lord. I would have to disagree with their assumption because of the fact that when Abraham saw the three men standing outside the tent we are told that he ran to them from the door and immediately bowed to the ground, and Called Him “My Lord” and acknowledges that he is His servant. This to me doesn’t seem like the actions of a person who doesn’t know who he is greeting. Abraham s actions in these verses brings to mind two things about this meeting.
First I am reminded of when Abraham met king Melchizedek and gave a tenth of all he had won from the kings of the north when he went to rescue Lot from them. While he is not offering a tenth of what he owns here I believe the same principle is being applied. while it was the custom of the day to welcome in strangers to their dwelling and feed them and give them rest, they would not bow to the ground and call them “MY Lord”. secondly Abraham selected the finest calf of his herd and asked Sarah to take the best of his grain and prepare it for the Lord and His companions (Compare Eze 20:40-41). These offerings were commanded by the Lord while they were in the wilderness which the people strayed away from. So in my opinion Abraham s actions here are a simile of
these offerings to the Lord. And because Abraham did not eat any of the food offered to the Lord and his companions; is this yet another simile of the offerings made to the Lord by the Israelites, in which they were not to share in this offering? Only the high priest could have a portion of these offerings made to the Lord. In my opinion Jesus is the Lord who is appearing to Abraham here, this being said it is only fitting that he and his companions can eat what Abraham has offered up to them. In my opinion the companions who are with the Lord are representative of the disciples of Jesus. this would explain why they to sat and ate with the Lord. Again this is only my opinion as I have come to understand these scriptures at this juncture in my spiritual journey and my thirst for Gods word. I don’t have any solid evidence to back this up, all I can do is reference the scriptures in the New Testament that gives me this train of thought (Luke 5:34-35). I’ll let the reader decide for themselves.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here in the tent.” 24:67
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 17:16; 2 Kings 4:16; Rom. 9:9
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” Luke 1:18; 1 Pet. 3:6
Here we see that Sarah is being blessed with being in the presence of the Lord. I believe that this is on purpose which is why they asked Abraham where his wife was. The Lord and his two angels want to make sure that what they are about to tell Abraham is also meant for Sarah’s ears as well, this way there is no doubt In her mind as to how she was able to bear a child when she was already well passed the time of a woman s life that is capable of having children; hence when, I believe it is the Lord making this statement: “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life” The Lord is saying to Abraham that he will make it possible for Sarah s body to return to it’s youthful state in which women are in their childbearing years. Sarah, although not being face to face with the Lord is hearing His voice, maybe for the first time. I remember when the Lord spoke to me in a dream how ecstatic I was, not only in my dream but afterwards when I awoke. All we know about Sarah s encounter is that she laughed when she heard she would have a child at her age, but undoubtedly when she did conceive she reflected back on this encounter with the Lord and her faith was strengthened because of it just like my faith was strengthened because of my personal encounter with the Lord. At this time however Sarah laughs at this statement but not aloud for anyone to hear. Verse 12 says she “laughed withing herself” and says “within” her mind “I and my husband Abraham are to old to please one another.” In my opinion she is talking about having sex with one another when she says “Shall I have pleasure my lord (Abraham) being old also” as if to say that Abraham is too old to be physically capable of performing such acts.
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
The Lord is all knowing, and He knows our deepest thoughts and desires, and He knows the hearts of men. Even though Sarah laughed “within” herself nothing can be hidden from the Lord. So the Lord, even though His conversation is directed towards Abraham, I believe it is intended for Sarah’s ears also. So the Lord lets Sarah know, that He knows what she is thinking, and He proclaims to Abraham (for Sarah’s benefit as well) there is nothing that is beyond My capacity or too difficult for Me, but He proclaims this in the form of a rhetorical question, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” There is no need for a reply Abraham knows the power of the Lord. So The Lord again, to emphasize, tells them that number one; He will return to them at the “appointed time,” what is this appointed time one may ask? God has a master plan and all things will work out and be performed according to Gods time frame and no other. When God feels it is time for Abraham and Sarah to have a child then and only then will this miracle child be born. I believe Gods purpose for Abraham and Sarah to wait till they are of old age, is to glorify God and to reveal to mankind his power. The Lord also emphasizes secondly that he is able to give Sarah her youth once again so she can have a child. Since God did this to Sarah, imagine if you will, for a second what we saints will be like in our glorified bodies at the resurrection, sure we will be spirit beings, but we will also be able to manifest ourselves back to human form just as Jesus did when He appeared to the apostles after His own death and resurrection. And I believe when we are manifested into the human body it will be as when we were in our own youthful state of being.
Sarah tries to deny that she laughed at the thought of her having a child and it frightened her to know that the Lord was able to hear her thoughts. So the Lord says firmly and i’m paraphrasing “Aw but yes you did laugh and I heard all your thoughts.” Just one last thought here and I would like that whoever reads this to ponder the statement I am about to make here, and I will explain this thought at the proper time myself when we read about the birth of Isaac in genesis chapter 21. There are many similarities in Isaac s life to that of the birth of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. Think about this and I will go into greater detail on this subject as we continue to read Gods word.
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
There are two purposes for the lord and his angels to come down from heaven. The first purpose was revealed to us in the previous verses in regards to God promise to Abraham and his seed. God, for the first time reveals to Abraham that the promise He made to him would be through the seed of Sarah and not Hagar, and that it will be Isaac, (the son of Abraham and Sarah), and not Ishmael, (the son of Abraham and Hagar) who the Lord will make his everlasting covenant with. The second purpose of the Lord and His angels is to bring judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?
I will purposely separate this verse from verses 18-19 in order to make a point about the character of God, and His relationship with Abraham and all of mankind. Although there is more to learn from these verses I felt it necessary to write down what came to mind when I first read this verse, but I didn’t know how to put together my thoughts. So I wrote and rewrote and rewrote till I found the words that best described my thoughts.
The Lord has developed a close relationship with Abraham so much so in that He respects him tremendously. we can all look at this statement God makes here about not keeping anything from Abraham. When we as individuals come to the point where we trust in the Lord in all things and learn to fear, obey, and put all our faith in Him as Abraham has, that Gods love and respect for us grows so strong that he will not hold anything back from us. Not to say that God doesn’t love us, but I guess what i’m trying to say is that just like any relationship, be it in a marriage, being siblings, or best friends, the more you develop a relationship with that person the stronger the bond becomes that you can feel comfortable around that person; that you can tell them anything about what you have done, your deepest feelings, that you couldn’t tell anyone else and know that that person will not turn his back on you, and that the two of you can talk things through and come to an understanding and still have that bonding relationship with one another. In my opinion this is the kind of relationship God wants with all His children. We are made in the image of God and part of that characteristic is feelings. God has feelings, and he wants to be loved and respected just as we do, and if God doesn’t tell Abraham of His plans He may lose that bond with Abraham that he cherishes so much. If God doesn’t tell Abraham of His plans He risk losing the relationship that He has worked so hard to build.
There is more to verses 17-21 and I have only touched on one of these aspects. I will discuss the other aspects of these verses below.
◊18 “since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 12:3
The Israelite nation is the nation that will become a “great and mighty nation” and God tells us here in verse eighteen, and i’m paraphrasing here: that this will surely come to pass just as the sun rises in the east and settles in the west. In Genesis 12:3 God told Abraham that all nations will be blessed by him, and this includes Sodom and Gomorrah. In order for Abraham to not be confused by what God told him about all the nations (Like Abraham did as to the promised seed between Hagar and Sarah): you can refer back to my comments back in Gen. 16:1, 2 for my explanation of what I put in parentheses. Abraham does not live very far from Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore the destruction of these two cities was so great that Abraham probably saw or heard the explosions and the cloud of smoke that rose from their destruction. If God did not tell Abraham, He might have questioned God Afterwards on how all the nations could be blessed if they are to be destroyed by God. What kind of blessing is that? Abraham might have wondered. So just like in the days of Noah: when all of mankind were so wicked that there thoughts were evil continuously, in which God was so grieved that He had to destroy the world and start all over. Sodom and Gomorrah have become like those days of old. One might wonder even today how these two cities are blessed? Let me quote from scripture as to their eternal fate, because in the scriptures we see that God is not finished with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Compare Matt 10:5-15, 11:19-24). The day of judgment and eternal damnation for all of mankind is still yet to come. Because the people of Sodom and Gomorrah never knew the Lord, or his truth, or his plan of salvation, He does not hold their wickedness against them. The day of judgment spoken here in these scriptures above are talking about the great white throne judgment in which all those who never knew of God or his Son Jesus Christ, will be raised from the grave and will be given an opportunity to learn of God and Jesus, and then they will be given the chance to make their own decision, to live in righteousness in God s kingdom or not, then and only then will they be given the punishment of eternal death from which there is no return. So God will give the people of Sodom and Gomorrah their first real chance to know and accept Him. It is through the faith of Abraham that these two cities will get this opportunity, hence they have been blessed through him.
19 “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 1 Kings. 10:9
Because the Lord knows Abraham and the kind of man that he is, He explains to Abraham that there are consequences for living a life of sin and unrighteousness, and that judgment will be giving to those who live an ungodly life. This judgment will occur according to Gods time-line. The Lord knows Abraham well enough to know that he will pass this lesson onto his children and his children s children so that God can keep the promise He made to Abraham.
20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because there sin is very grave, 4:10; 19:13
21 “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” Ezek. 16:49, 50
I believe that the outcry the Lord has herd against Sodom and Gomorrah is coming from none other than Lot (Gen 19:6-9). In my opinion Lot was tormented day and night by the evil that surrounds him and he cried out daily to the Lord to deliver these people from their wickedness. It was this crying out that the Lord heard. The sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were so burdensome, so painful to the Lord that it grieved Him so; just as in the days of Noah, that God had to intervene for righteousness sake. God will send two Angels (Witness’s), to go and see if all that He has heard from this outcry is true and if so He will know Himself and His judgment against them will be righteous.
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23 And Abraham cam near and said, “Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 19:15 24 “Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would you also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Ps. 58:11; Is. 3:10, 11
26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Jer. 5:1
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
28 “Suppose there were five less than fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty five, I will not destroy it.”
29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
30 Then he said, “let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” James. 5:16
33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
I must let the reader know before I begin with my commentary on these verses the things that transpired while I had been thinking about them for the past week. I thought I had my thoughts together on what I wanted to say and I still intend to put them down here, but then this past weekend, during Sabbath services, our former pastor returned to town to promote a seminar our church is doing and was invited to give the sermon which he happily did. Part of the sermon he gave was about this chapter in Genesis in regards to our faith and how to have genuine faith. He used these verses above and it brought another aspect to these verses that I didn’t even think about, so I would like to share what he taught on this subject and then I will end my with commentary what I had originally intended to write in regards to these verses: not that my thoughts on these verses are superior to that of this minister, on the contrary, I believe his is much deeper and has more meet in it than mine, but I believe by combining these two aspects of the verses above it will give the reader a deeper understanding of what Abraham was dealing with at this time, and the close relationship that he had with his Creator. Le me begin with the pastors comments, and I am paraphrasing here:
Abraham didn’t understand what God was doing here with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and he was trying to reason it out with Him. In Abraham’s mind God is this all loving all merciful God, How could He just kill all these people and wipe them off the face of the earth and not show mercy to them, after all they are part of Gods creation also, and shouldn’t they be included in the blessings? So in his mind he is thinking about the righteous people who also live in these cities, how could God destroy these righteous with the wicked? Abraham starts to reason with God and ask Him “Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Lord this is beneath you “far be it from you to do such a thing as this” I’m paraphrasing here, how can you slay the righteous with the wicked? They (the righteous) don’t deserve the same punishment as the wicked, and again he reiterates to the Lord “far be it from you!” You who is the Judge of all the earth, shall You not do right among the righteous of the earth!? “Suppose you find fifty righteous within the city; would you also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?” And the Lord responds: “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Then Abraham acknowledges to the Lord of his own creation; that he is mere dust and ashes, Abraham is basically saying here that he is nobody special and just a part of Gods creation who was created from the dust of the earth:
Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Reading this now something just came to mind and I want to throw this little nugget out to the reader. Abraham knew that man was created from the dust of the earth in the beginning, he was aware of the origins of the beginning of life. This tells me that from Adam to Abraham this truth was told and retold from generation to generation. From Adam to Enoch (who walked with God), to Noah and then Abraham. Abraham continues to reason with God as well in his own mind and ask God again “Suppose there were five less than fifty righteous? And God responds to him that He will not destroy the city. Abraham continues in this Interrogation: if you will, of God, and gets all the way down to ten righteous to see if God will indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked. Abraham is finally satisfied and reassured of Gods loving mercy. Abraham now understands that the Lord is a righteous God and fair in His judgment. He now knows that God does truly separate the righteous from the wicked in His judgment upon man. Now this is my own thinking here, but I believe that Abraham s faith in God is strengthened even more so by the end of this conversation with his Creator. My pastors point here in all this is that none of us have all the answers or understanding as to why God does what He does at times, and why does it appear that the wicked get away with so much while the poor and righteous seem to never get ahead in life? That we Christians, and all mankind for that matter, must trust in our Creator and have faith in God that in the end all things will work together for the good of all (Rom 8:28). After writing down my pastors thoughts on these verses I feel that my thoughts are minuscule in comparison, and proof to me that when it comes to understanding Gods word (the Bible) I am but a babe still on milk and not yet ready for the meat of Gods word. Or to teach it. Be that as it may, I do have the desire to learn and understand (Heb 5:12-14, 1 Pet 2:1-3). Being as a babe desiring that solid food I will pass on what
I have learned from my own studies in regards to these
verses: To me I see a strong relationship being formed with
Abraham and God. Abraham has come to a place where he
feels comfortable enough to question God and His purpose
and not worry that God will strike him dead for questioning
Him. God as for His part could have struck Abraham dead
for Abraham questioning His authority but He didn’t. The
Lord loves and respects Abraham and He understands also
his heart. For in his questioning of God he is concerned
about the righteous as well as the wicked. I include the wicked because Abraham ask God if He will spare the wicked for the righteous sake. It’s as if Abraham is a reflection of his Creator, he is becoming one with the Lord and the Lord is indeed abiding in him (John 15:4-5), he cares not only for the righteous but also for the wicked. God Himself wishes that
no one would perish but have everlasting life, and I believe
this is also the wish of Abraham.