Genesis 18

S - Gen 18
O -
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham¹ near the great trees of Mamre² while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent³ in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up⁴ and saw three men⁵ standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.⁶ 3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes,⁷ my lord,^a do not pass your servant⁸ by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet⁹ and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat,¹⁰ so you can be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your servant."


At least two of the "men" were angels, the third may have been the Lord himself (v22)
v2-8 illustrates Near Eastern hospitality - servant to superior.


10Then the LORD^c said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year,¹⁸ and Sarah your wife will have a son."


17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham²⁹ what I am about to do?
Because Abraham was now God's covenant fried, God convened his heavenly council at Abraham's tent. There he announced his purpose for Abraham and for the wicked of the plain - redemption and judgment. He even gave Abraham opportunity to speak in his court and to intervene for the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was later called a prophet (20:7). This exemplifies the great privilege of God's covenant people throughout the ages - God has revealed his purposes to them and allows their voice to be heard (in intercession) in the court of heaven.


v21 - "I will go down" - result will be judgment, but God also comes down to redeem.
"see" - not a denial of God's infinite knowledge but a figurative way of stating that he does not act out of ignorance or on the basis of mere complaints.


v23 - second time Abraham intervened for his relatives and for Sodom


v25 - Abraham based his plea on the justice and authority of God, confident that God would do what was right.

A/P - Have confidence in God - v14 "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" No.
God allows us to appeal to him in prayer too, but in the end, as a righteous judge of all, his will be done.
Not to be like Sarah - v15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."


Something that made me laugh....
the study bible as a character illustration at the bottom of the page for Sarah
Under "Best Known For:"
it has "laughing at God's promise of a child". LOL
and then underneath
"Miraculously bearing a child at the age of 90
Her status as the mother of the nation from which Jesus came"