Genesis 18
The Three Visitors
1The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
Genesis 18 (NIV)
Abraham is relaxing in front of his tent when the Lord appears to him. He looks up and sees three men standing nearby and invites them to stay with him for a while so that he can wait on them. Abraham performs a really beautiful act of worship by offering these men water to clean up, a place to rest, good food and good conversation.
As they ate, they talked about the baby Abraham and Sarah were going to have. Just like Abraham, Sarah laughed when she heard the prophecy – it just seemed so impossible to her that it was amusing.
When the time came for the three men to leave, the Lord decided to reveal to Abraham what was about to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of the sin in these cities they were about to be wiped out. Abraham pleaded on behalf of this cities asking God if He would wipe them away if 50, 45, 40, 20, or even 10 righteous people were found there. God promised that on account of even just 10 righteous people the cities would be spared.
Lessons from Genesis 18
- You can have an encounter with God anywhere: Even though in Matthew 6:6 Jesus recommends that we pray in our inner rooms (or closet) this doesn’t mean that is the only place where you can have an encounter with God. Praying in your inner room does offer privacy and helps you stay focused but don’t get in bondage that the only place you can pray or have an encounter with God is in your prayer closet. Abraham had this beautiful encounter with the Lord while he was just relaxing in front of the tent, you can meet God anywhere too and you can talk to Him wherever you find yourself.
- Don’t be rude to strangers: The Bible says some people we meet are actually angels. Imagine having an angelic encounter and ruining it by being rude. More so, Christians are supposed to be the embodiment of love. You can’t say you know and love God but you don’t extend that love to others too (1 John 4:20 KJV).
- Being a good host[ess] entails providing great service for your guests: When receiving guests, it is important to make sure that they are well taken care of. Give them the best of what you have; good food, good drinks, a nice play to sit/rest, good conversation, etc. It shows appreciation and brings blessings.
- Why did God repeat the promise He previously made to Abraham regarding the son that was to be born to him and Sarah in their old age?
- At times, God repeats Himself to remind us of His promise so that we can look forward to it and not miss out.
- This time around Sarah was within earshot, she was listening and could now hear the promise directly from God, not just from Abraham. Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
- Nothing is too hard for the Lord.
- There is no point lying to God, He knows your thoughts.
- God always like to keep His children informed about His plans and things to come: Just like God warned Noah about the coming flood, He now also tells Abraham about the destruction about to come upon Sodom and Gomorrah. God likes to talk to His people about things to come.
In order to listen to content from a radio channel, the TV or Internet, you need to get connected. Whether it’s by tuning to the right frequency, navigating to the right channel or visiting the right URL, you need to get connected at the right time in order to gain access to that particular piece of information. Also, just because you navigate away from a particular channel or turn off your device, it doesn’t mean the broadcast will stop. Similarly, to hear from God, you need to tune in to the God frequency, and just because you stop listening doesn’t mean He stops talking. If you want to constantly hear from God, stay connected to Him.
- Nations can be blessed because of one man’s faithfulness: How awesome would it be for God to change the lives of multitudes because of you?! I pray you experience a close fellowship with God and that He uses you to turn lives around for His glory.
- If you are a parent, it is your role to teach your children and be a good example for them to follow (verse 19).
- God is open to back and forth conversations with His children: You can have conversation with God where you talk and He answers, He talks and you answer. Prayers are not supposed to be unidirectional only, when you build a fellowship with God and pay attention to what He has to say you will start he’s Him clearer and clearer. Just like Abraham “negotiating” for the people in Sodom and Gomorrah.
- As Christians, we have a priestly duty towards others. Priests intercede for people in the presence of the Lord. Priests are watchmen, making sure that the enemy does not come in and destroy the people. You have a duty to pray for people in your life (family, friends, classmates, coworkers, employers, neighbours, etc). Don’t be that person rejoicing when trouble comes upon someone, be the person praying that relief should come. When you pray for others, you open doors for blessing in your own life.
Reflection
- Are you making room for God to speak to you?
- If God came to your city will He find at least 10 righteous people? Would you be one of them?
- When you hear about other people’s troubles do you celebrate or do you pray?
Some practical tips to help you make the best of your prayer moments
- Find a quiet place if you can: you can talk to God anywhere but being in a quiet place helps you focus better.
- Get rid of distractions: put away your electronic devices and anything else that could be a distraction. If you live with people, consider telling them to let you have some uninterrupted time.
- Start with Bible study and worship: when you study your Bible, you learn more about God and the transformative power of the Word makes you more like God. Bible study also helps you learn how to pray. Worship helps you get “tuned to God’s frequency” making it easier for you to hear from Him.
- Acknowledge the presence of God right there in that space where you are.
- Come with expectation: a person who has no expectations at all won’t know what to look out for. If you have no questions at all, how do you know when you receive an answer? An example of an expectation could be “I will get direction from God about what to do after I graduate from school”.
- Don’t recite prayers, pray from your heart.
- Bring writing materials to note down everything God says.
- Observe moments of quietness where you just listen and say nothing: any good conversation involves listening and talking. If you monopolize a conversation by constantly talking, you won’t hear what anyone else has to say.
- Let your prayers be filled with faith, not fear or desperation or anger.
Further reading
- Hebrews 13:2 NIV [Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.]
- Romans 10:17 KJV [So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.]
- Isaiah 43:26 NIV [Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.]
- John 10:27 NIV [My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.]
- James 5:16 KJV [The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.]
Prayer
Lord, you are faithful, you are just, you are kind, you are loving. Thank you for loving me just as I am and for giving me the gift of the Holy Spirit. Today, I will extend this love you have so abundantly showered me with to people around me. This love will be reflected in my interactions with people and in how I treat strangers. Thank you for teaching me all these things through your word. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
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