The Life of Abraham: The Lord Appears to Abraham at Mamre

— continued —

Genesis 18:1-15

It was a well-prepared meal, too much for three persons, but quite possibly the servants also received something, as is mentioned in one of the commentaries. This is such a wonder. When the Son of God sits at the table and blesses the bread and wine, then differences between the master and servants fall away and they are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. Then there is communion of saints.

The three guests of Abraham received this meal. Sometimes there are questions about this, as they had only temporal bodies. We will quote Calvin out of his commentary on this portion of God’s Word: “A question, however, arises out of the assertion of Moses, that the angels ‘did eat.’ Some expound it that they only appeared as persons eating; which fancy enters their minds through the medium of another error, since they imagine them to have been spectres, and not endued with real bodies.... And as they truly walked, spoke, and discharged other functions, so I conclude that they did truly eat; not because they were hungry, but in order to conceal themselves until the proper time for making themselves known. Yet as God speedily annihilated those bodies, which had been created for a temporary use, so there will be no absurdity in saying that the food itself was destroyed together with their bodies. But, as it is profitable briefly to touch upon such questions, and as religion in no way forbids us to do so, there is, on the other hand, nothing better than that we should content ourselves with a sober solution of them.”

After the meal was finished, One of the guests asked Abraham, “Where is Sarah thy wife?” This question showed clearly that they were not common guests, because they knew the name of Sarah. Abraham said she was in the tent, as it was customary in those days that a woman should not come into the company of other men. And the guests respected this custom.

When the Lord asked this question, He knew the answer. Nothing is hidden from Him, but He wants His people to speak to Him. So the Lord spoke to the spouse in the Song of Solomon, “Show Me thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice.” He knows the condition of the church before they open their mouth, but He wants to be acknowledged by them.

Sarah was in the tent, which was her specific place. Since that time, much has changed in society. The Lord has given a place to men, but also to women. The special task of the woman is to take care of the family. For many, family life has become nonexistent because the mother is no longer at home. The many divorces of today are also related to the customs of working women in our society. This is not according to the divine ordinances. I realize that there are circumstances wherein it is not possible that a woman remains at home, but the institution of the Creator was that the woman has her task first in the home.

One of the three angels told Abraham that next year Sarah would receive a son. This promise had caused much strife for Abraham through the last twenty-five years since the promise was first given, but now the Lord testified, “I have given this promise and will surely fulfill it at My time, in My way and manner.”

“Is any thing too
hard for the Lord?”

Sarah heard what the Lord said to Abraham, but she could not believe anymore that at her age such a miracle would happen. So many times she had expected that soon the promise would be fulfilled, but by now it had become impossible. It can be the same in spiritual life. Especially in the beginning when the Lord works in the heart, then there can be the hope that soon the promise of the Lord will be fulfilled. But when years pass by, those people become discouraged. Still, what the Lord has spoken will be done, but most of the time when we have come to an end with everything. Do you know something of this also in your life?

At that moment Sarah did not know that it was the Angel of the Covenant. She did not believe what was said, and therefore she laughed within herself. She laughed in unbelief. This is a different laughing from that of Abraham in the previous chapter, as we have seen. Unbelief is always reasoning, always has doubt about the Word of God. It reasons so long that we begin to suspect everything in our life. Humanly speaking, we can understand Sarah’s unbelief, because it seemed to go against the laws of nature, but she was not in the right place. Therefore the Lord said, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?”

How different was the attitude of the virgin Mary after the angel had spoken to her that she would become the mother of the Lord, as we find written in Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” For both Sarah and Mary it was a powerful exhortation to believe. The Lord does not say it is understandable for our minds. No, He emphasizes that it is a miracle and to accept this we need true faith; nothing is too wonderful for the Lord. Then it is not impossible anymore. The promise of the Lord may go above our human comprehension. Before God’s might, every difficulty has to yield. He can make the crooked straight and the darkness light, and He does not forget His promise which was also experienced by Abraham and Sarah. Hebrews 11 makes it clear that in the life of Sarah there came a change, because there she is mentioned among the heroes of faith. Sarah believed the promise and by faith she became the mother of Isaac.

On the question of the Lord, “Wherefore did Sarah laugh?” she denied it. She was ashamed that these strangers knew all her thoughts. She would have liked to undo her lie, but it was too late.

We can learn from this that it is sinful to come before the Lord with all kinds of excuses. He knows when we speak the truth, or when we lie. Honesty is the best policy, and those who cheat never prosper. Let us keep always in mind that we have to answer to an all-knowing God, from whom nothing is hidden. When we receive an impression of this, we become careful in all we do, and ask continually, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13a).

The Lord did not punish Sarah very hard, but He repeated His promise. By all these things the Lord revealed that He was God. He showed His identity to Abraham by the following things:

1. The Lord showed He knew the name of Sarah.

2. The Lord repeated His promise which He gave before.

3. The Lord revealed the inmost thoughts of Sarah.

Thus Abraham received a special blessing in his tent. Is it not a great blessing when the Lord is our guest? Abraham entertained these strangers, but One of them was the Lord Himself. The Lord left a blessing behind in the promise that soon a son would be born, in whom all generations of the world would be blessed. This was one of the most blessed days in the lives of Abraham and Sarah. With Naomi we may say, “The man will not be in rest, until he have finished the whole thing this day” (Ruth 3:18b).

QUESTIONS:

1. Try to find other examples of hospitality in the Bible.

2. In this history we have spoken several times about angels.

a. When were they created?

b. Mention a few examples of their service.

c. When were they sent out for judgments?

d. God’s Word speaks of different classes or ranks of angels. Do you know them?

e. Some angels are known by name. Can you mention their names?

3. Some of the angels became devils.

a. How did this happen?

b. Can they be saved?

c. What do we know about the devil in the last days?

— Rev. A. M. den Boer

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