Genesis 18

The 3 Visitors; A Son Promised to Sarah

1The *LORD **appeared again to ***Abraham while he was camped near the ****oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent,

*LORD – Jehovah

**appeared again – as in 18:1. We know from 12:1, 15:1 and 17:1 that Abraham had seen the "Lord" appearing to him as Jehovah. In John 8:53, in a dialogue between Jesus and the Jews, Jesus is asked the question, Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do you make yourself out to be? Christ's response to this question is in verses 56-58: Your father rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM' (NKJV). Probably, Jesus was the Jehovah whom Abraham saw that day on the plains of Mamre in the heat of the day. In Genesis 18:3, the word "Lord" is the same word as in verse 1, but is plural, which would seem to indicate that Abraham could not determine that they were heavenly beings --- for they appeared as men. It wasn't until after the three had eaten that Abraham realized the true identity of his visitors and their purpose.

In Genesis 17:21, God said Sarah would give birth one year later, and at this time, she is not yet pregnant. So this couldn't be more than three months after the events in Genesis 17.

***Abraham – Note that it is now Abraham who sits there, not Abram. God changed it earlier that year as Abraham turned ninety-nine (Gen. 17:4-6).

****oak grove belonging to Mamre - Genesis 13:17-18: Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you." Then Abram moved his camp to the oak grove owned by Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.

2 he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and *ran to meet them, welcoming them by **bowing low to the ground.

*ran – Notice Abraham’s urgency – “ran”, “quick”, “hurry”! JFB Commentary by The Zondervan Corporation, page 28, has this to say about verse 2 – “When the visitor is an ordinary person, the host merely rises; but if of superior rank, the custom is to advance a little towards the stranger, and after a very low bow, turn and lead him to the tent, putting an arm round his waist, or tapping him on the shoulder as they go, to assure him of welcome."

**bowing low - He takes them to be nobility, not just ordinary travelers

3 "My *lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while.

*lord – Adonai.

4 Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet.

5 Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey." "All right," they said. "Do as you have said."

Why is Abraham so aggressively trying to get them to stay and have lunch with him? Is he that lonely for some company and to hear the news from other lands or does he recognize who they are?

6 So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, *"Quick! Get three **measures of your best flour, and bake some bread."

*Quick – No “please” here. How would this go over today with a wife?

**measures - Hebrew 3 seahs, about 15 quarts. Since this was made quickly, it was unleavened.

7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it.

8 When the food was ready, he took some *cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham **waited on them there beneath the trees.

*cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat – not a kosher meal! Jews do not mix meat and dairy. The Torah says not to "boil a kid in its mother's milk." (Ex. 23:19; Ex. 34:26; Deut. 14:21) which the Talmud explains as prohibiting eating meat and dairy together. One must wait a significant amount of time between eating meat and dairy - from three to six hours. From dairy to meat, however, one need only rinse one's mouth and eat a neutral solid like bread.

**waited – literally “stood”. Why didn’t he sit with them? In fact, he didn’t even eat. This shows that he considered them superior to himself.

9 "Where is *Sarah, your wife?" they asked him. "In the tent," Abraham replied.

*Sarah – No longer “Sarai”. How did they know her name?

10 Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby.

Genesis 17:21 - But my covenant is with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year."

Possibly, Abraham had been sitting at the entrance to his tent, in the shade, thinking or praying about God’s promise of a son – given in chapter 17. Possibly, he was wondering, “Well, when is God going to fulfill His promise? Or, did I not fully understand Him?”

11 And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and *Sarah was long past the age of having children,

*Sarah was long past – She had stopped menstruating and had gone through menopause. She knew that it was absolutely impossible for her to become pregnant. God had delayed giving a son so that Abraham and his descendants might know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Isaac’s birth was a miraculous gift of grace.

12 she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my *husband--is also so old?"

*husband – Not only can she no longer become pregnant, but Abraham is no longer able to impregnate any woman. Remember, 13 years ago, he was able to get Hagar pregnant.

She has heard that story before; for the last twenty-four years, to be exact. But now she is in her nineties, and Abraham is nearly one hundred years old. She has long since given up on the hope. It hurt for a while to wait and not to receive. Then the hurt turned to anger, and the anger to cold resignation. When she hears the seemingly empty promise again, it strikes her as . . . well, funny!

13 Then the *LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’

*LORD – Jehovah.

14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son."

The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.
This “too hard” applies to us too when we have a problem that we’re struggling with and praying about.

Romans 4:19 - And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though he knew that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred and that Sarah, his wife, had never been able to have children.

15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But *he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."

*he said – God finally speaks directly to Sarah rather than through Abraham. Remember that Isaac means laughter.

He has heard her thoughts! This is no ordinary man! Terrified at what is happening, she shouts from inside the tent, “I did not laugh.” Without even turning in her direction, the stranger says, “Yes, you did laugh”

Hebrews 11:11 - It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise.

16 Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way.

17 "*Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked.

*The account recorded here shows the very high esteem that Abraham held in the eyes of God. That is why he is called "Abraham My friend" in Isaiah 41:8; that is why he is called God's "friend forever" in 2 Chronicles 20:7; and that is also why in James 2:23, " . . . he was called the friend of God".

18 "For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.

19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised."

20 So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked.

21 I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know."

The language is reminiscent of the Lord going down to see the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9.
Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the reports he’s heard.
God is going to give the men of Sodom a fair test – a last chance to repent. If He did not spare Sodom, why does He spare San Francisco, New Orleans, New York City, Las Vegas, etc.?

22 The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while.

We see the two men are actually the angels who visit Sodom in Genesis 19. The third "man" in the party is actually the Lord Himself.

23 Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike?

Abraham is trying to save Lot’s hide once again! This is the first example of an intercessory prayer in the Bible.

24 Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city--will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes?

25 *Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"

* Abraham is appealing to God’s very nature, just as we should in our prayers.

26 And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."

27 Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.

28 Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?" And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five."

29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty."

30 "Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak--suppose only thirty are found?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty."

31 Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue--suppose there are only twenty?" And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."

32 Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only *ten are found there?" And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it."

*ten – Abraham was certain there was at least 10 righteous in the city, but he was mistaken!

33 The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.