Or, The Unquestionable Power and Justice of the Lord
Scripture: Genesis 18:1-33
Date: July 3, 2016
Speaker: Sean Higgins
What can’t God to? Does He have any limitations? Yes. Sort of. And His limitations aren’t of the kind that He can’t make a rock larger than He can pick up.
Genesis 18 happens one memorable afternoon in Abraham’s life. In chapter 17 the LORD appeared to Abram (17:1), changed his name, reaffirmed the covenant promises, and told him to circumcise every male in his household for generations to come as a sign of the covenant. The LORD appears to him again (18:1) but this time in the form of a man. The LORD has left the scene by the start of chapter 19 when the two other men, who we learn are actually angels, enter Sodom.
There are two parts to chapter 18. In verses 1-15 Abraham shows hospitality to three travelers, and in verses 16-33 Abraham intercedes for the cities of the plain to one of those travelers. Both parts happen near Abraham’s tent on the same afternoon, one right after the other. Though the first half of the chapter reaffirms the promise of a miraculous birth and the second half of the chapter announces a catastrophic judgment, the chapter fits together due to more than context. The halves fit together because, in both, there is a question about the LORD. Is He powerful (verse 14)? Is He just (verse 25)? The answer to both is Yes.
The LORD Himself asks this rhetorical question to Abraham to make a point in verse 14. A few things happen to get to the point.
The oaks of Mamre was one of Abraham’s favorite spots; we’ve seen him there before (13:18; 14:13). It was the early afternoon, in the heat of the day , instead of evening—the cool of the day, and Abraham was taking a break, sitting at the door of his tent . He may have been taking a nap, at least he was resting rather than going for maximum sweat.
None of his household servants gave him warning, so he was surprised when he lifted up his eyes and looked and saw three men…standing in front of him . These travelers were unexpected but about to get first-class treatment.
Rather than get irritated at the interruption Abraham ran…to meet them and then bowed himself to the earth . At this point, he did not know their full identity, though he must have recognized something respectable about them. He addressed the leader as Lord , a sign of honor, but not necessarily of worship. Then Abraham invited them to stop and rest and refresh themselves, which he would not have done if he recognized them as God and angels; angels don’t need lunch.
He undersells the invite: a little water , a morsel of bread while they wash their feet and put them up for a bit. The travelers agree: ”Do as you have said.” , probably to keep up appearances as men.
Then Abraham got his hustle on. He went quickly to have Sarah make cakes. Three seahs of flour could have fed dozens if not hundreds of men (for example, Abigail prepared five seats of parched grain for David and his 600+ men in 1 Samuel 25:18, Hamilton). Then he ran and found a good looking cow for a young man who prepared it quickly . Then he took curds and milk along with cakes and the barbecue and set it before them . He didn’t even sit down while they ate, standing by to serve. This is hospitality.
Though I don’t know that this is necessary application, or perhaps I’m just a product of the times, John Calvin shined the light of Abraham’s example against the darkness of our inhospitableness.
the great number of inns are evidence of our depravity, and prove it to have arisen from our own fault, that the principal duty of humanity has become obsolete among us. (Calvin)
While they were eating the guests asked, ”Where is Sarah your wife?” This might have been the first clue to Abraham that something special was happening. How did they know he was married? Even more than that, how did they know her name? Perhaps they heard Abraham say her name, then call her “Honey,” so they made an assumption. But their knowledge gets more impressive.
Abraham answered that Sarah was in the tent, and then the LORD reaffirmed the promise He made to Abraham in Genesis 17:21. If He had come to tell Sarah, why not have Abraham call Sarah from the tent to the trees? It’s because the LORD was revealing more than the promise.
The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son. The “return” would be in a miracle, not in bodily form.
Sarah heard it. She was listening at the tent door behind him, eavesdropping. Then Moses repeats information we already knew in order to give us insight into what Sarah was thinking. The two of them were old, advanced in years . In particular, the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah . This is a nice way to say that she was post-menopause. Her cycle had stopped; it wasn’t just that the field was dry and barren, it was a paved over with two feet of concrete. So she laughed to herself , in the tent, in shock, maybe with an audible snort, though nothing such as that is mentioned. Abraham laughed, too, when God told him that Sarah would have a son (17:17). Sarah said, ”After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” She may have meant sexual pleasure, but probably she meant the pleasure of pregnancy, birth, and having a baby.
Sarah couldn’t conceive a child, neither could she conceive of a miracle.
Since Sarah wasn’t with them, the LORD questioned Abraham, ”Why did Sarah laugh?” Did Abraham know that she laughed? How did this “guy” know that she laughed? But wouldn’t the reason for laughing be obvious? That’s how Abraham could answer the question. He had laughed. The promise was laughable from the human perspective. But the promise wasn’t made by a man. The omniscient question demonstrated something more.
The LORD’s rhetorical question taught it. ”Is anything too hard for the LORD?” As most Bibles note, hard could be translated “wonderful.” The Hebrew word is pala, something amazing, something extraordinary. “Is there anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?” Nothing is “too difficult” (NAS) for Him. Nothing is “impossible” (HCSB). The question teaches us about the unquestionable. It is impossible for God to be limited to human perspective.
If Abraham and Sarah could have lived in the consciousness of this moment, if we could live in the consciousness of this moment, with minds fixed on the answer that could not be otherwise, then we would have a different vantage point. There is nothing too hard for the LORD. He is omnipotent, God Almighty (17:1). He regularly works outside of our frame of reference. Don’t leave God’s power our of the equation. Take this question (and answer) into your meditation.
At some point Sarah must have come out to defend herself. She claimed, ”I did not laugh,” and it was because she was afraid. When the traveler knows your name, when he knows what you did inside the tent where he couldn’t see you, when he knows what you did in your heart, that could be threatening. But in graciousness, the LORD said, ”No, but you did laugh.” He rebukes her, but He does not press it.
The LORD visited Abraham for more reasons than to reaffirm the promise of a son through Sarah. This part of the episode regarding Sodom won’t be fully resolved until Genesis 19:29.
After the meal the guests got up and set out and, like a good host, Abraham went with them to set them on their way .
Moses shares the LORD’s thought process. The LORD speaks but the two other “men” make no response. The question and answer in verses 17-19 along with the explanation in verses 20-21 are the LORD’s own intentions.
First He asked, ”Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to 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 have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” In other words, the LORD intended to use the upcoming judgment on Sodom to teach Abraham even more about the LORD’s character. Sodom (and Gomorrah) will be an object lesson, and Abraham must learn the lesson for his own governing as well as instructing generations after him.
Presumably the angels heard this comment, and the LORD meant for Abraham to overhear it as well. Then, having aroused interest, He continued. ”Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” Though the word isn’t used, the implication is that the LORD planned to punish the cities for their sin. The word outcry occurs twice. It can’t refer to pleading for help from within the cities because, as we learn soon enough, there are not even ten righteous persons to be found, and Moses makes no mention of Lot making any prayers. Outcry describes the inescapable noise of their sin in the LORD’s ears.
Ezekiel confronted Jerusalem:
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. (Ezekiel 16:49)
We know about the sexual perversion in chapter 19, but their evil was deep and wide.
As in the days of Noah, and as in Babel, the LORD will demonstrate His thorough knowledge before judging. This is important for Abraham to learn about God, and about how to judge.
Two of the men, the angels, left for Sodom. We’ll see them again at the start of the next chapter. So Abraham and the LORD were alone. Abraham had been thinking about what the LORD said, and Abraham decides to intercede on behalf of the cities, cities he had recently delivered (chapter 14). He says nothing about his nephew, though he probably had Lot somewhere in mind. His intercession is about what is right.
He drew near and asked, ”Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” This is the primary question, the numbers that follow are just a question of percentages. Abraham says, ”Far be it from you! … Far be it from you! There is no way, based on what Abraham knew of the LORD, that the LORD would be so indiscriminate. ”Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” This is impossible.
He starts with fifty righteous within the city . Different sources suggest that an average city might have one-hundred men in it, so perhaps Abraham asked about a fifty-fifty divide. What if half of the city is righteous? We’re not told how big the city is or what percentage fifty persons represents, but the LORD responds, ”If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
What follows in verses 27-32 are five more requests from Abraham, lowering the number by five twice and by ten three times.
It would be easy to say that this prayer comes near to haggling, but the right word is ‘exploring’: Abraham is feeling his way forward in a spirit of faith. (Kidner)
As he continued, Abraham demonstrates more and more humility: I who am but dust and ashes , Oh let not the Lord be angry (twice). In his final plea, ”I will speak again but this once , he gets all the way down to ten and the LORD answered, ”For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” That was the end of the conversation, the LORD went his way and Abraham went back home.
Abraham “blesses the nations” by praying for them. Though the LORD judges the grave and great sinners, Abraham is concerned for the righteous and he trusted in the righteousness of the LORD’s judgment.
By the next morning, the cities of the plain will be in smoke.
Two lessons from this chapter:
It’s interesting that in the second half of the chapter there is no question about the LORD’s power to judge an entire city, even multiple cities. But in the previous chapter and in the first part of chapter eighteen His power is questioned. Sometimes we have a hard time remembering that His power is personal. The LORD applies His power to fulfill His promises to His people not just “out there” to keep the planets orbiting the sun, or even nations and peoples somewhere else.
It is also interesting that the LORD has not hidden what He is about to do from us. We don’t know all of His mind, of course, and neither did Abraham. But have you considered that God counseled with Himself and decided to reveal His purposes to us? Abraham didn’t have Abraham; we do. God’s revelation is intended to teach us about His ways of righteousness and justice, and we are to teach His ways to our children and to the nations. We are future kings and queens. We will inherit the earth. People are blessed by us. It is part of our salvation to know the power and justice of the Lord, then to pray and live accordingly.