And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift 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, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 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.
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. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 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.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 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. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 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. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 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.
And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 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. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 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? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 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. And he spake 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. 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. 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. 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. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Genesis 18
In chapter 17 we learned how God revealed Himself to Abraham as the Almighty—the One who can and will fulfill His promises of blessing in spite of every difficulty. In the light of this revelation, Abraham was to walk before God and be perfect, having no confidence in the flesh.
In chapter 18 we are permitted to see the blessings and privileges of one whose walk is consistent with the revelation of God as the Almighty. The chapter unfolds four great privileges that such a person can enjoy. First, he had the personal manifestation of the Lord to him (vv. 1-8). Secondly, he had the assurance of the coming blessing through the promised heir (vv. 9-15). Thirdly, he was treated as a friend to whom God confided what He was about to do (vv. 16-21). Fourthly, in confidence and nearness to God, he could intercede on behalf of others (vv. 22-33).
Divine Visitation (vv. 1-7)
The first great privilege that the believer enjoys, who walks before God in the light of the revelation that God has given of Himself, and who has no confidence in the flesh, is the personal manifestation of the Lord.
The chapter opens with Abraham sitting at his tent door. As a stranger with his tent, he was at rest outside the strife of this world. Is there not a danger in our day of believers being distracted and excited by over-occupation with the events taking place in the world? Would that we knew more of the rest of spirit that is the outcome of answering to the call of God and taking the outside place in confidence in God and having no confidence in the flesh! To such people God comes, as in the case of Abraham, to commune in the most intimate way.
The manner of His coming is striking. Abraham looked up and saw that “three men stood by him.” As the story develops, we learn that two were angels who in due course appeared as such in the gate of Sodom (19:1). The other, we know, was none less than the Lord Himself appearing in human form, a foreshadowing of the time when the Son of God would become Incarnate and dwell among the children of men.
Divine Ministry (vv. 6-8)
Apparently there was no outward token by which Abraham or others could have discerned the presence of Jehovah. All that the world would have seen were three men at his tent door. Abraham, with the spiritual discernment of a man of faith walking in nearness to God, distinguished the Lord from the two angels, and in reverence bowed himself to the ground and addressed Him personally, for he said, “Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant.” He asked to be allowed to wash their feet (the first occurrence in Scripture), and invited them to rest under the shadow of the tree while he prepared refreshment before them.
Abraham was permitted to do as he had said. A meal was set before them, “and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.” Today, if we are walking in the deeper knowledge of God revealed as Father, is it not possible for believers to enjoy this sweet and intimate fellowship with the divine Persons? Not in the particular way in which the Lord appeared to Abraham, but by the Spirit who has come from the Father, we can be led into the most blessed communion. Little we may know of it, but, nonetheless it can be known.
On that last night in the Upper Room, the Lord intimated that when He left the disciples it would still be possible for them to enjoy—in the power of the Spirit—an intimacy far deeper than any they had known while the Lord was present with them. Having spoken of the Spirit that the Father would send, He said, “At that day,” the day in which we live, “he that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” and then adds, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him and We will come unto Him, and make Our abode with him “ (Jn. 14: 16-25).
Here, too, for the first time we have the mention of feet washing in Scripture. As elsewhere, the thought of feet washing is to refresh the one whose feet are washed. Abraham had the high privilege of washing the feet of the One who, in the years to come, would become flesh and, in the greatness of the love that delighted to serve others would, in His condescending grace, wash His poor disciples’ feet.
Divine Communication (vv. 9-15)
The Lord took this occasion, this moment of holy intimacy, to confirm the faith of Abraham by assuring him of the coming birth of his son. This concerned Sarah, so the Lord asked, “Where is Sarah thy wife?” Then the Lord said, “I will certainly return unto thee at this time of the year; and behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son” (New Trans.). For any but a divine Person to have spoken thus would have been mere presumption. We cannot count on one day. God can say, “I will certainly return.” Thus the faith of Abraham was confirmed by the assurance of the Lord’s own words. And still the Lord delights to assure our trembling hearts with the certain word of the One who can say, “I will.” “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself” “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (Jn. 14:3, 183And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)
18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:18)).
Abraham heard this great promise with the full realization of the glory of the One who spoke, and therefore expressed no astonishment, raised no difficulties, and expressed no doubt. In marked contrast, Sarah’s faith and discernment was not equal to her husband’s. She heard what was said, but had little realization of the glory of the Speaker. She doubted what was said because of what she found in herself. She was old and her body worn out, there fore she argued that what the Lord had said could not come true, and in her heart she laughed in unbelief at the very suggestion of having a son. She was rebuked for her unbelief and Abraham was reminded that, however impossible the fulfillment of the promise on the ground of nature, there is nothing too hard for the Lord.
Charged with her unbelief, Sarah was ashamed to acknowledge the truth. As so often is the case, fear of consequences leads to lying and deceit. She “denied, saying, I laughed not.” It may have been true that she did not laugh aloud; but she laughed in her heart and had to learn that she was in the presence of One who could see behind tent doors and read the heart.
Divine Prophecy (vv. 16-21)
In the years to come, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah of Abraham as “My friend” (Isa. 41:88But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. (Isaiah 41:8)). In this scene we see God treating Abraham as a friend. Truly, as has often been said, we speak to a servant about things that concern his work; to a friend we speak of that which we may be about to do, though it may not be his direct concern. Abraham was treated as a friend, for God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” The reason that God treated him as a friend was blessed, for, the Lord said, “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.” The one that the Lord treated as a friend was not only one that believed in the Lord, but also led his household in the fear of the Lord.
To us the word of the Lord is, “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you”; and He adds, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:14,1514Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:14‑15)).
Treating Abraham as a friend, the Lord told him of the judgment that He was about to bring upon the cities of the plain. But let us remember that these communications come to the man who, as we have seen, lived apart from the world, had renounced the world, and gained the victory over the world. Unless we escape the corruptions of the world, we shall be saying with the mere professor, “Where is the promise of His coming?” The Apostle Peter warns us not to be in ignorance of the solemn fact that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, bringing judgment on an ungodly world.
Already we have learned that “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (13:13). We learn that their sin cried out to the Lord for judgment, for it was “very grievous.” God waited and bore long with the wickedness of men, but He was not indifferent to sin. It cried out to Him until at last it was ripe for judgment. But, even so, the Lord was slow to judge. First, we read of the two angels, that they “rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom” (v. 16); then they “went toward Sodom” (v. 22); finally, we read, “there came two angels to Sodom at even” (19:1).
Intercession (vv. 22-33)
Two angels had passed on to execute the judgment of the Lord on the doomed cities. Abraham was left alone, standing before the Lord. At once he took the place of the intercessor. He interceded on the ground that it was impossible to destroy the righteous with the wicked. Therefore he pled with God to spare the city if there were found fifty righteous men in it. Then he pled for it to be saved if there were forty-five righteous men; then he comes down to forty, thirty, twenty, and at last he pled if there were only ten men. Each time God, in His grace, granted his request; until, at last, Abraham’s faith drew upon that grace of God that, where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.
At a later date God said to Jeremiah of the doomed city of Jerusalem, “If ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment; that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it” (Jer. 5: 1). We now know that such a Man has been found: Christ is the “One mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all.” Through this Man we are bidden to intercede for all men (1 Tim. 2:1-61I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (1 Timothy 2:1‑6)).
What is the garish world to me
Its tinsel and its joys?
Thy glory and Thy grace I see,
My soul is satisfied with Thee,
And earth no more annoys.