Genesis Part 032

While Abraham sat in the shade of his tent, he saw three men approaching. Subsequent events show them to be the preincarnate Christ and two angels. It was the custom in those days that one had an obligation to treat well any visitor who happened upon one’s camp. Indeed, this custom prevails to this day among the nomadic Bedouin of the Middle East and was much in evidence in the early decades of the 20th century. To neglect to welcome and provide for a visitor was esteemed a great insult and a mark of a man of worthless character. Therefore, when Abraham, a 99-year-old man, saw the men, “he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground.” 

In the opinion of one source: “The writer of Hebrews used this account to encourage hospitality to strangers, ‘for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels’ (Hebrew 13:2). Abraham’s words ‘My Lord’ suggest that he suspected the identity of the visitors, but perhaps he was not sure until later of the full significance of the event” (Nelson Study Bible, note on Genesis 18:2-3).

In fulfilling his social duty, though he may have been going above and beyond if he recognized his guests, it is, in any case, interesting to note what Abraham said as compared to what he provided. He said: “Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring [you] a morsel of bread” (verses 4-5). But notice what Abraham actually told Sarah to prepare: not just a little water and a morsel of bread, but three measures of fine meal kneaded into dough and baked into cakes, a dressed young calf, butter and milk. That was a very sizable quantity of food—indeed, a veritable feast! From this the rabbis derive a simple lesson: promise little but deliver much.

Verse 14 is a great line of the Bible and one we must remember often, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The answer is obviously “no,” but we often put limits on what God can do in our mind, even if it is unintentionally.

“Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave” (Genesis 18:20).

What was Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin? There were many. Before we focus on some of their sexual sins, notice what Ezekiel records in Ezekiel 16:49-50.

“Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore, I took them away as I saw fit.”