GENESIS

Notes on Genesis 18

Abraham the intercessor.

• Genesis 18:1 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 lifted 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,
• 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor 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 was a man of great hospitality as we see here; that was the custom of that age and time. He saw strangers and wanted to show them kindness. He may have sensed that these men were not ordinary men but someone sent from God but we don't know if he recognized this at first. Some believe one of these men may have been the Son of God that we now know as Jesus.

• Genesis 18:6 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 fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

This would have taken a considerable length of time indicating that the men were in no hurry. God takes His time and does things according to His time schedule which may seem slow to us especially in this rush, rush generation we live in today. I imagine that time wasn't to them like it is for us today. When people journeyed from afar and arrived at a temporary destination, they took time to rest and be refreshed. Abraham was probably acting normally as was the custom in that day.

• Genesis 18:8 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.

This shows that heavenly beings can eat and drink. Angels can take the form of men as they did here. In Hebrews is this warning:

• Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
• 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

We have to do this with wisdom, walking in the spirit always, for it may not be safe to always entertain strangers. In this we must trust God for guidance. We live in an entirely different age but there are ways to use caution and make sure we get help in instances that call for a person to receive emergency help. In the past people had very large families and almost always were not alone. Abraham had many hired servants and trained fighters around him.

• Genesis 18:9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

I'm sure the Lord knew where Sarah was so this most probably would be to get Abraham's attention on God's promise to him, that Sarah was to bear a child. Sarah was listening in to the conversation. Also the Lord would have known Sarah was listening so it may have been to get Sarah's attention as well.

• Genesis 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
• 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?
• 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.

This is where faith kicks in. We have to believe impossible things sometimes knowing that God can do things that we think are impossible. Elizabeth who bore John the Baptist had a child after her time of childbearing was past. Mary the mother of Jesus had the greatest miracle of all in that she bore a child being a virgin untouched by man. Notice also that having a child was considered to be a pleasure, a joy and a treasure to rejoice in.

• Genesis 18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

It is useless to lie to God because God knows all things. When God chooses men for a holy calling though it is not uncommon to see God do things that would normally be impossible so that we can know it is from Him and not ourselves.

• Genesis 18:16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
• 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I 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?

All nations are blessed because of the promised seed of Abraham that was to come. We now know Him as Jesus at least in the English language.

God probably knew that if He destroyed Sodom without informing Abraham, Abraham would grieve for his nephew, Lot. We see in Abraham a man that made mistakes but we see a man that loved those that he was acquainted with. This same trait is seen in Moses who interceded many times for the children of Israel. God knew that Abraham would intercede for Lot. God wants to save, not destroy. I believe He desires for us to intercede and pray for the lost.

• Genesis 18:19 For I know him, 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; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Wouldn't it be great if the Lord could say the same thing of us? Does He see us as one who will keep the way of the Lord, do justice and judgment in honesty and truth? Will He see us as ones who will teach our children the ways of the Lord?

• Genesis 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

If grievous sin is not stopped, it spreads and gets worse. That is why God had to destroy the world with a flood. That is why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and allowed the children of Israel to conquer the land of Canaan in latter times.

• Genesis 18:21 I 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.
• 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

This may indicate that two of the men were angels and one may have been Jesus.

• Genesis 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

This makes us see the heart of dear Abraham. This should be our attitude toward those that are lost. We should never gloat over the destruction of people or nations. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem knowing what was to befall them. Here we see a true intercessor in Abraham. He cared for His relatives that were in Sodom and wanted to make sure they would be safe.

• Genesis 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

When we compare Abraham with Jonah, we see a big difference. Jonah wanted to see Nineveh destroyed because they were enemies of Israel. Abraham didn't want to see a city destroyed with his relatives still living within it.

• Genesis 18:25 That 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?
• 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

God does not enjoy bringing judgment. He only does it as a last resort. We see also here that Abraham recognized that the judge of all the earth was present with him. This is another hint that the person was who we now call Jesus.

• Genesis 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

Abraham felt unworthy to speak to God in this manner but his love for his people caused him to take the chance even though it might anger the Lord.

• Genesis 18:28 Peradventure 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.
• 29 And he spoke 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.
• 30 And 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.

Abraham was afraid to let go of this because he knew that many of Lot's family and servants may have fallen away from righteousness.

• Genesis 18:31 And 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.
• 32 And 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.

Abraham mistakenly thought that there should be a least ten righteous people left of Lot's people. As we shall see, there was not even five people that were righteous. This shows us why evil has to be judged and stopped. We read previously that the company of Lot and Abraham had grown so big that they had to separate. Lot's family and herdsmen were huge when they first went down into Sodom. Sodom was so wicked that after a few years there were only a small hand full that were not given over to the ways of Sodom. However, the influence of Sodom was seen later in the daughters of Lot and in Lot's wife.

• Genesis 18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

We see from this chapter an intercessor who pleaded with God to save his family and friends. We see also God's desire to save rather than destroy. One other thing we see is that God did not want to do anything unless He first warned His faithful believers of what was to come.

If we stay faithful to God, judgment upon our own nations will not come with us in the dark. We will be given warning so that we can teach and preach to those who might believe and be saved. God wants to save rather than destroy but He will bring destruction if we continue in sin and do not repent of wickedness. Jesus came not just to forgive of sin but to save us from sin. There is a way of salvation if we only listen. No one person has to be lost and lose their souls for eternity. Jesus still saves if we let Him but sin has to be stopped eventually. We must choose who we shall serve. Can we say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord?" DC

Genesis 19