Genesis 18:1-33

July 3, 2013 Of all the people of the world, God has chosen a childless man named Abraham. This man will be the father of many nations and hell inherit a Promised Land; but years and years go by and nothing happens. Abraham still lives in a tent on someone elses property and he has no son. Hed hoped to have a son through a different woman, but God rejected Ishmael and refused to establish His covenant with him. As a sign of the covenant, God commanded Abraham to be circumcised. This permanent alteration would forever remind Abraham to live by faith and not by the flesh. He has cut away the foreskin. This is where we pick up our study, and Id like to point out that everything between chapters 17-21:7 all happen in one year (17:1; 21:5). And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: Youll remember that Mamre is an Amorite man and an ally (14:13). Abraham has pitched his tents on Mamres land, and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: Now we know from later in the story that two of these men are angels (19:13); theyre the ones who go down and stay in Lots house before destroying Sodom. The other man is called the LORD (:13) which is a name reserved for God, and we know that Christ is God in the flesh. So: Christ and two of His angels come to visit Abraham. and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4Let 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. Its been debated whether he knew who these men were or not, but I think we can safely say that he at least knew something was different and special. When he sees them (hes 100 years old), he runs to meet them, and he offers to take care of their needs (food, water, rest, and clean feet) before they go on their way.

And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6And 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. 7And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8And 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. Everything is done so quickly for these special guests, and then Abraham himself stands close by so he can serve them. The men eat the meal, and then they address the two reasons for their appearance:
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And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. If he didnt know before, Abraham surely knows who these men are now. Hes been waiting on God to give him a son for years, and now the date is finally announced: I will certainly return to thee according to the time of life or when the season comes around again (NET) or about this time next year (NIV, NASB). And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? Sarah knows she cant have a child at this point so she laughs in disbelief:
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And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14Is 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.

Sarahs worn out, but the promise remains. Is any thing too hard for the LORD? God Himself has appointed the time, and He will do it. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Mt. 19:26).
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Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

She laughed within herself so she became afraid when this man knew her thoughts. She denies it, but God gently rebukes her with the truth. Theres not

much else she can say, so the conversation ends there. This first purpose of the visit now being done, the men turn to leave which introduces the second purpose:
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And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

They start toward Sodom to overthrow it, and Abraham walks them a little ways to send them off.
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And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

God isnt deliberating about what He ought to do; we know that He knows already. I understand this as an introduction to the next section. It means the same as if He had said, How could I hide this from Abraham? Shall I? No I shall not?
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Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

His decision to reveal His plan is linked to the promise He made back in 12:2-3 to make Abraham great and bless all nations through him.
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For I know him,

He knows him in the same way Adam knew Eve (Gen. 4:1; 25). Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine (Jn. 10:14). God tells Jeremiah (1:5), Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; God knows that Abraham will command his children in things regarding faith and obedience. In the New Testament hes called the father of all them that believe [] who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham (Rom. 4:11-12). that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. Abraham will be great and the world will be blessed (just as promised) because Abraham will command his spiritual children concerning the things of the Lord and they will obey. God plans to reveal His plan to Abraham because Hes got Abraham and all his descendants in mind. This is an issue of faith and obedience:
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And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21I will go down now, and see whether

they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. This again sounds like God cant make up His mind, but I think the purpose of the question is shown in the following verses: And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Will God be unfair? Will he let the righteous perish with the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? God already knew what would happen, but he tells Abraham His plans so that Abraham can witness the justice, mercy, and fairness of God. If the Sodomites had been holy and blameless then they would have lived. But if they are wicked (as Abraham knows they are), then God is not unfair in destroying them. Yes. The Judge of all the earth will do right: And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes: 28Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. 30And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. 32And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. 33And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. Notice something very important here. The question is not whether God will execute judgment; the question is whether Hell sweep away the righteous with
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the wicked. Abrahams intercession isnt for the Sodomites; its for the righteous who live within Sodom. They start at 50 and work their way down to 10. Surely God could find at least 10 in the city, right? Well pick up here next time. For now lets close with a few thoughts: #1- God sees and knows our hearts and minds, and nothing is hidden before Him. Sarah couldnt even laugh within herself without God knowing it. Theres nothing we can do to hide ourselves from Him. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (Prov. 15:3). #2- Our blessing in the promise is never dependent on what our flesh can accomplish. Sarah thought it was a joke that she could bear a son through her flesh, but she was missing the point. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The son was to be given by the promisenot the flesh. What God promised to them they could have never done on their own, and so it is with us. #3- Gods knowledge of His children is a personal, intimate, and eternal knowledge from our oneness in Christ. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled (Jn. 17:1-12).

#4- We shouldnt be ashamed or afraid of Gods wrath because its a demonstration of His justice and mercy. Its somewhat unpopular to talk openly about the wrath of God, but He didnt hide it from Abraham. The whole book of Revelation shows His wrath on the wickedness of man. We shouldnt be ashamed of Gods justiceHe punishes sin. We should also be moved to worship when we realize that the wrath for our sins was poured out on the cross when Christ died in our stead. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished (II Pt. 2:9). newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com