SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 18
IMPORTANT VERSE:
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)
THE THREE VISITORS (vs. 1-15)
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the hat of the day. 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.
He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 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.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “Get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread.” Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 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. Where is your wife Sarah?” They asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said. Then the Lord 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. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of child bearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Will I really have a child, now that I am old ? Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
ABRAHAM PLEADS FOR SODOM (vs. 16-33)
When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the Lord said: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 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.”
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 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.”
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 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? 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
The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 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, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?” “If I find forty five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
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.” 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 if I find thirty there.”
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.” 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.” When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left and Abraham returned home.
THOUGHTS (From Life Application Study Bible)
In Abraham’s day, a person’s reputation was largely connected to his hospitality – sharing of home and food. Abraham was eager to show hospitality to three visitors that he met. By meeting another’s needs for food and shelter, he was obeying God and entertaining angels. When we have the opportunity to meet a stranger’s needs, we should follow what Abraham did.
The three visitors were angels sent by God to inform Abraham that Sarah will have a son by next year. When Sarah heard it, she laughed because she had passed her child-bearing age. So the angels said: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” If you have problems in your life, sickness that needs healing, sufferings that cannot endure, remember to ask this question: “Is anything too hard for the Lord”. It will remind you that God is personally involved in your life and he has all the power to help you.
Sarah laughed but she lied because she was afraid of being discovered. Fear is the most common motive for lying. We are afraid that our inner thoughts and emotions will be exposed or our wrongdoings discovered. But lying, it causes greater complications and brings more problems than telling the truth.
Abraham knew that God must punish sin, but he also knew from experience that God is merciful to sinners. God knew there were no 10 innocent people in the city, but he was merciful enough to allow Abraham to intercede. He was also merciful enough to help Lot. Abraham’s nephew went out of Sodom before it was destroyed. God does not take pleasure in destroying the wicked, but he must punish sin. He is both just and merciful. We should be thankful that God’s mercy extends to us.
God showed Abraham that asking for anything is allowed with the understanding that God’s answers come from God’s perspective. They are not always in harmony with our expectations, for only he knows the whole story. Are you missing God’s answer to a prayer because you have not considered any possible answers than the one you expect?
.