Notes on Genesis 18
Abraham the intercessor.
Gen 18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in
the tent door in the heat of the day;
Gen 18:2 And he lifted 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,
Gen 18:3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not
away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
Gen 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and
rest yourselves under the tree:
Gen 18:5 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.
Abraham was a man of great hospitality. He saw strangers and wanted to show them
kindness. He may have sensed that these men were not ordinary men but angels.
Some believe one may have been the Son of God that we now know as Jesus. We see
here though that God had plans for Abraham and for his seed after him. I do not
believe that has changed. God does not make promises that He does not keep.
The church throughout the ages has confused the church with Israel so much so
that the word of God becomes interpreted incorrectly. There may have been an
excuse for this before 1948 but we now know there is a literal Israel and can no
longer replace Israel with the church.
Gen 18:6 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.
Gen 18:7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and
gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
This would have taken a considerable length of time indicated that the men were
in no hurry. God takes His time and does things according to His one time
schedule which may seem slow to us especially in this rush, rush generation we
live in today. Yet God is never late. He is always on time.
Gen 18:8 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.
This shows that heavenly beings can eat and drink. Angels can take the form of
men as they did here. In Hebrews is this warning:
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
Heb 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares.
We have to do this with wisdom, walking in the spirit always, for it may not be
safe to always entertain strangers. In this we must trust God for guidance.
Gen 18:9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said,
Behold, in the tent.
I'm sure the Lord knew where Sarah was so this most probably would be to get
Abraham's attention on God's promise to him, that Sarah was to bear a child.
Sarah was listening in to the conversation.
Gen 18:10 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.
Gen 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased
to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
Gen 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old
shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
Gen 18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying,
Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
Gen 18:14 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.
This is where faith kicks in. We have to believe impossible things sometimes
knowing that God can do things that we think are impossible. Elizabeth who bore
John the Baptist had a child after her time of childbearing was past. Mary the
mother of Jesus had the greatest miracle of all in that she bore a child being a
virgin untouched by man.
Gen 18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And
he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
It is useless to lie to God because God knows all things. When God chooses men
for a holy calling though it is not uncommon to see God do things that would
normally be impossible so that we can know it is from Him and not ourselves.
Gen 18:16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and
Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
Gen 18:17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
Gen 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
All nations are blessed because of the promised seed of Abraham that was to
come. We now know Him as Jesus (Yeshua).
God probably knew that if He destroyed Sodom without informing Abraham, Abraham
would grieve for his nephew, Lot. We see in Abraham a man that made mistakes but
we see a man that loved those that he was acquainted with. This same trait is
seen in Moses who interceded many times for the children of Israel. God knew
that Abraham would intercede for Lot. God wants to save, not destroy. I believe
He desires for us to intercede and pray for the lost.
Gen 18:19 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.
Wouldn't it be great if the Lord could say the same thing of us? Does He see us
as one who will keep the way of the Lord, do justice and judgment in honesty and
truth? Will He see us as ones who will teach our children the ways of the Lord?
Gen 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great,
and because their sin is very grievous;
If grievous sin is not stopped, it spreads and gets worse. That is why God had
to destroy the world with a flood. That is why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
and allowed the children of Israel to conquer the land of Canaan in latter
times.
Gen 18:21 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.
Gen 18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but
Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
This may indicate that two of the men were angels and one may have been Jesus.
Gen 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the
righteous with the wicked?
This should be our attitude toward those that are lost. We should never gloat
over the destruction of people or nations. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem
knowing what was to befall them. Here we see a true intercessor in Abraham. He
cared for His relatives that were in Sodom and wanted to make sure they would be
safe.
Gen 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou
also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
When we compare Abraham with Jonah, we see a big difference. Jonah wanted to see
Nineveh destroyed because they were enemies of Israel. Abraham didn't want to
see a city destroyed.
Gen 18:25 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?
Gen 18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city,
then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
I believe the Lord wants to save rather than destroy. God does not enjoy
bringing judgment. He only does it as a last resort.
Gen 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to
speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
Abraham felt unworthy to speak to God in this manner but his love for his people
caused him to take the chance even though it might anger the Lord.
Gen 18:28 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.
Gen 18:29 And he spoke 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.
Gen 18:30 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.
Abraham was afraid to let go of this because he knew that many of Lot's family
and servants may have fallen away from righteousness.
Gen 18:31 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.
Gen 18:32 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.
Abraham mistakenly thought that there should be a least ten righteous people
left of Lot's people. As we shall see, there was not even five people that were
righteous. This shows us why evil has to be judged and stopped. We read
previously that the company of Lot and Abraham had grown so big that they had to
separate. Lot's family and herdsmen were huge when they first went down into
Sodom. Sodom was so wicked that after a few years there were only a small hand
full that were not given over to the ways of Sodom. However, the influence of
Sodom was seen later in the daughters of Lot and in Lot's wife.
Gen 18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with
Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
We see from this chapter an intercessor who pleaded with God to save his family
and friends. We see also God's desire to save rather than destroy. One other
thing we see is that God did not want to do anything unless He first warned His
faithful believers of what was to come.
If we stay faithful to God, judgment upon our own nations will not come with us
in the dark. We will be given warning so that we can teach and preach to those
who might believe and be saved. God wants to save rather than destroy but He
will bring destruction if we continue in sin and do not repent of wickedness.
Jesus came not just to forgive of sin but to save us from sin. There is a way of
salvation if we only listen. No one person has to be lost and lose their souls
for eternity. Jesus still saves if we let Him but sin has to be stopped
eventually. We must choose who we shall serve. Can we say, "As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord?"