The Lord appears to Abraham 18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.” “Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures of fine flour and make bread.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then Abraham took curds and milk, as well as the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree.
Sarah Laughs 9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he answered. 10 The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?” 13 But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid. But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”
Abraham’s Plea for Sodom 16 The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. 17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? 18 Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.”
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?”
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 answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes—
28 suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?”
Here is a lecture based on the text of Genesis 18.
Lecture: The Tent, The Promise, and The Plea
Text: Genesis 18:1–33
Theme: Divine Intimacy and Human Intercession
Introduction: The Heat of the Day
Welcome. Today we step into the arid heat of Mamre. We find Abraham, now 99 years old, sitting at the entrance of his tent. It is the "heat of the day"—a time when activity usually ceases in the Near East. Yet, this moment of stillness is about to become one of the most active and significant encounters in biblical history.
In Genesis 18, the transcendent God becomes intimately immanent. He does not speak from a burning bush or a thundercloud here; He shows up for lunch. We will look at this narrative in three distinct movements: Radical Hospitality, The Impossible Promise, and The Audacious Intercession.
Part I: Radical Hospitality (Verses 1–8)
The text begins with a fascinating ambiguity. Verse 1 tells us "The LORD appeared to Abraham," but verse 2 says Abraham saw "three men." As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that one of these visitors is a manifestation of Yahweh, while the other two are angels.
Notice the verbs associated with Abraham in verses 2–7. Despite being an old man in the sweltering heat, when he sees strangers, he:
Runs to meet them.
Bows to the ground.
Hurries into the tent.
Ran to the herd.
Abraham demonstrates the ancient Near Eastern code of hospitality, but he elevates it to an act of worship. He refers to himself as a "servant" and asks them not to pass him by.
There is a beautiful irony here. Abraham thinks he is serving tired travelers—offering water for dusty feet and bread for strength. In reality, he is washing the feet of his Creator. He offers a "bit of bread" but delivers a feast: fine flour cakes, a choice calf, curds, and milk. He stands by them as a waiter while they eat. This teaches us that true service is often humble, immediate, and generous.
Part II: The Laughter of Disbelief (Verses 9–15)
The scene shifts from the meal to the message. The visitors ask, "Where is your wife Sarah?" This is significant; in this culture, male visitors would not typically inquire about the women of the household. It signals that their mission concerns her.
The Lord drops a bombshell in verse 10: "I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!"
Sarah is listening from the tent entrance. We must empathize with her here. She is roughly 90 years old. She has lived with the stigma of infertility for decades. Verse 11 emphasizes that they are "worn out" and "past the age of childbearing."
When she hears this, she laughs to herself. This isn't the laughter of joy; it is the laughter of cynicism. It is a defense mechanism against hope. She asks, "After I am worn out... will I have delight?"
The Lord’s response in verse 14 is the theological anchor of this chapter: "Is anything impossible for the Lord?"
God confronts Sarah's logic with His omnipotence. When Sarah denies laughing out of fear, God gently but firmly corrects her: "No, you did laugh." God deals with us in truth. He hears our internal skepticism, and He challenges it not to shame us, but to prepare us for the miracle.
Part III: The Friend of God (Verses 16–33)
As the men leave toward Sodom, the dynamic changes again. We move from a domestic meal to a cosmic legal proceeding.
In verses 17–19, we see God "thinking out loud." He decides not to hide His plans from Abraham. Why? Because Abraham is God's chosen instrument to teach the world "righteousness and justice." This is the definition of being a friend of God: being privy to God's heart and plans.
God reveals the "outcry" against Sodom—a term often used for the screams of the oppressed. God is going down to investigate.
The Great Negotiation
What follows in verses 23–33 is one of the most remarkable prayers in the Bible. Abraham stands before the Lord not just as a worshiper, but as a defense attorney for the righteous.
Abraham appeals to God’s character: "Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?" (v. 25). He understands that God’s justice cannot simply be the destruction of the wicked if it means collateral damage to the righteous.
Abraham begins a countdown:
What if there are 50 righteous? God says: I will spare it.
What about 45? God says: I will not destroy it.
40? 30? 20?
Finally, 10.
God agrees to spare the entire city of Sodom for the sake of just ten righteous people.
The Takeaway:
Often, we view this passage as Abraham bargaining God down. However, many theologians argue that Abraham is actually lifting God’s mercy up. He is discovering just how far God’s grace extends. God is willing to withhold judgment on a massive scale for the sake of a tiny remnant.
Conclusion
Genesis 18 leaves us with three profound truths:
God desires fellowship. He sits at our tables and accepts our service.
God transcends nature. No situation, even a barren womb at 90 years old, is too "hard" for the Lord.
God invites intercession. He invites us to stand in the gap for our cities and our families, appealing to His justice and His mercy.
Abraham returned to his place, but he was changed—he now knew the secret counsels of the Lord.
Would you like to proceed to the lecture on Genesis 19 to see the outcome of this negotiation in Sodom?
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