In this chapter, Abraham and Sarah had unexpected visitors. Their visitors brought excitement, joy, sadness, and concern that hot midday on the plains of Mamre.

Transition

As we examine their visit, we will find biblical principles that can help us in our daily lives.

The Guests, v.1-8

  1. Their disguise
    1. The LORD visited Abraham. The “CAPS” tell us that this was Jehovah God himself.
    2. God disguised himself and His two angels as men, v.2
    3. Abraham did not know that he was talking to God.
  2. Their welcome
    1. Abraham treated his guests with honour.
      1. He ran to meet them
      2. He bowed to them
      3. He asked them to stay for a meal
        1. He washed their feet
        2. He had Sarah prepare the fresh bread
        3. His servant prepared a tender calf for them
        4. He served them butter and milk
    2. The guests ate under the shade of the tree (v.8)We as God’s people ought to be hospitable. We ought to welcome guests and make visitors feel at home. Talk to them. Sit with them in church. Invite Christians over for meals (not just your close friends).

      Romans 12:13 “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.”

      1 Peter 4:9 “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”

The Good News, v.9-15

  1. Sarah will soon have a son
    1. The first thing we notice is that God calls Sarah by name, v.9. This must have got their attention!
    2. God promised that Sarah would have a son. God now sets a time limit on his promise. The phrase “time of life” may speak of the next spring or the nine-month gestation.
  2. God is omniscient and omnipotent
    1. God knew Sarah’s name, v.9.
    2. He knew that she would bear a child, v.10.
    3. He knew that Sarah laughed, v.10-13, 15.
    4. He declared His omnipotence (unlimited power), v.14.God knows you. He sees your future as clearly as He sees your past. His power is not limited in the slightest. Ponder the words of the Psalmist and of Jeremiah.

      Psalm 139:1-4 “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”

      Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”

The Bad News, v.16-22

  1. God was grieved by Sodom’s sin
    1. The men rose up and looked toward Sodom, v.16. Evidently, they could see Sodom down in the valley from the high vantage point of Abraham’s camp.
    2. God talked with the two angels about His plans for Sodom, v.17.
      1. Before God told Abraham of his plans, He contrasted for us Abraham’s character with that of Sodom.
        1. Abraham would command his children and his household after him, v.19.
        2. His children would keep the way of the LORD and do justice and judgment.
      2. Abraham would lead by parental authority and by personal example. He would teach the way of the LORD in justice and judgment. As a result, his children would keep or defend the way of the LORD, living right and making right judgments.Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

        God has placed the huge task of rearing children on the shoulders of fathers (with the help of mothers). This task demands parental authority and personal example. It is not a passive task. Taking your children to Sunday school and praying with them before bed is not sufficient. Your children will not grow up to defend the way of the LORD if you do not biblically command it and actively live godly before them.

    3. God told Abraham the bad news about Sodom and Gomorrah, v.20. God heard their outcry of wickedness. The sins of those cities were very grievous or heavy with ungodliness. Judgment was coming.
  2. God turned toward Sodom
    1. God said He would go down to see. He did not need to see Sodom physically for He already divinely knew, but He went (for our sakes) so that men would see that He investigated before He judged. God is always just and fair.Hebrews 4:13 “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
    2. The men then turned to leave.

The Prayer, v.23-33

  1. Abraham interceded for Lot’s family
    1. Abraham drew near to God, v.23. God only hears the prayers of those who are close to Him (not in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense).
      1. Even the smallest unconfessed sin will hinder our prayers.Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
      2. If we will draw near to God every day, we will always be ready to pray.James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
    2. Notice the wording of Abraham’s intercession, v.23-25. All around us are people who are heading for hell. We must earnestly pray for them and share the gospel with them.
    3. Uncertain of the number of righteous people in Sodom, Abraham proceeded to narrow his request. He dropped the number to 45, then to 40, 30, 20, and finally to 10, (v.32). We do not find a single word of rebuke from God for his persistence. In fact, in the New Testament, Jesus instructs us to keep on praying when we do not immediately get an answer.Luke 18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
  2. God answered his prayer
    1. God promised Abraham that He would spare Sodom if just ten righteous people lived in the city.
    2. God is holy and must punish sin, but He does not want anyone to perish. That was true then and it is still true today. Judgment is coming, but God is still waiting.John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

      2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Conclusion

God has reminded us of the importance of hospitality. Step outside your comfort zone to be friendly to those you do not know. Remember with awe and fear that God is both omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful). Determine to train your children with both parental authority and personal example. Work at it! Pray for the lost around you and share the gospel with them. Prayer is the key that unlocks hearts closed to the gospel.

Song: Teach Me to Pray – 346
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Heavenly Visitors
10 August 2014 AM – Genesis 18:1-33 – Gen 14 – Scott Childs