Introduction: Genesis 17 describes two events in Abram’s life which took place after Ishamel was born. First, God appeared to him and revealed another of His Names as “the Almighty God” or “El Shaddai”. Then, God established a covenant (firm and binding contract) with Abram, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. God also commanded Abraham and all the men of his household to become circumcised (a surgical procedure). All this took place when Ishmael was 13 years old, Abraham 99 and Sarah 89, respectively. The final promise was that Sarah would indeed bear a child. Abraham laughed at the idea, and then asked God to bless Ishmael. God said He would but that the promises He had made were to Abraham and the son to be born to Sarah. Then God ended this conversation with Abraham.
But God wasn’t finished with Abraham. Genesis 18 has the story when God paid Abraham a visit—up close and personal, as some might say! Three Persons came to Abraham’s home one day, giving Abraham some very good news. They also heard some good laughs, as well. Let’s take a look at the story.
1 The men who came to Abraham
Text, Genesis 18:1-6, KJV: 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; 2 And he lift 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, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 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.
It’s no secret that God enjoys fellowship with His people. It’s also no secret that the vast majority of people, from Adam’s day to ours, either don’t or won’t have fellowship with Him. I love this statement from a lady who opened every radio by asking if the listeners “had a real good prayer today”, adding, “If you’re too busy to pray, then you’re just too, too, too, too busy,” She made an excellent point!
Abraham was indeed a busy man, what with flocks, herds, servants and who knows what else but when time came for him to be a gracious host, he promptly went into action. The first verse of this passage states the LORD Himself appeared to Abraham in “the plains of Mamre”, which was the same as Hebron (Gen. 13:18, 23:19, e.g.), in the southern part of Canaan. We can guess that he decided to take a “breather’ or pause during the “heat of the day”, generally about 12 noon to about 2 or 3 pm when the afternoon sun begins to set. Abraham was just trying to get some rest and/or relief, we can suppose, when all of a sudden, he noticed something!
Or, Some One. In truth, there were three Persons.
Verse 2 says Abraham “lift (ed) up his eyes and looked (I can imagine he did!)” and saw three People standing by him. The text doesn’t say this but at other times, people would take rest during this period of time: example, Ish-bosheth, the last surviving son of Saul, Israel’s first king. He went into his house to rest “about noon”, 2 Samuel 4:5)”, during the heat of the day. Hence, it was unusual for people to be traveling when it seems other people were resting.
Whether resting or not, Abraham immediately ran to meet them “from the tent door”. The Bible doesn’t mention running very often, and especially when the runner is 99 years of age! But his age didn’t stop Abraham from running to meet these three Visitors. As an aside, several years ago, I read one commentator’s observation that when someone came to visit, there were three responses: if the guest/s had a lower social standing or rank, they approached the host; if equal, the host would walk towards the guest; but if higher, the guest would run towards the visitors. By Abraham’s response, he knew he was in the presence of very important people!
Now, I believe, Abraham must have had a question: Where did they come from? Even more important, at least to Abraham, how did they get so close that he didn’t notice they were there! But they were there, and Abraham responded with great hospitality.
He first requested them to stay for a while, showing courtesy and concern for those traveling under the usually very hot sun of the Middle East. Then as now, there must have been a risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration, or any number of problems facing travelers during that time of the day and in a land that didn’t seem to have much to offer those traveling.
Then he suggested he bring some water so they could wash (and, possibly, cool) their feet while they rested under the tree. What type of tree is not important, but the shade that tree must have provided must have been. Finally, Abraham promised to bring some food, just a “morsel of bread” at first, but he wasn’t going to stop there, as we will see. Finally he said for the Visitors to “comfort (their) hearts” and then they could proceed. Remember, Abraham didn’t really know just who these Visitors were, or where they were going, but he was going to be a good host and show compassion on them, no matter just who they were.
The response by the Visitors? “So do, as thou hast said.” Loosely translated, that means, “Go ahead, and we’ll wait right here for you”! One wonders if they had been treated like this before.
Had they?
2 The meal prepared by Abraham
Text, Genesis 18:7-8, KJV: 7 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. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 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.
Abraham hastened (ran?) back into the tent and found Sarah. Had she been staying inside the tent even during the heat of the day? Abraham then said to her, “Bake some bread using three ‘measures’ of fine meal, and use the hearth”. How much fine meal equaled a “measure” is not certain. It may be possible Abraham was thinking not just of the food itself for one meal, but may also be preparing extra for the Visitors to take on their journey. Of course Abraham would not have known where these Visitors were headed; if south towards Egypt, there wasn’t much besides desert land (and Hagar would have known this vividly from her encounter about 13 years before) or if north towards Haran or Damascus, there still may not have been very much. Abraham, seeking to be a good host, was thinking of his Guests and wanted to provide them with food for their travels.
But Abraham didn’t stop there. He also ran (!) to the herd and selected a calf, “tender and good”, then gave it to a young man so he could dress it (prepare the best cuts of meat). This, by the way, was not the only time a calf would be invited to dinner, so to speak: in the story of the Prodigal Son, the father had his servants prepare the fatted calf for a welcome home dinner (Luke 15)! Once the steak was prepared, Abraham brought butter and milk, plus the meat (where was the bread, though?) to the Visitors. He sat all of that before them, and stood by them, standing under the tree, and stayed there while the Visitors enjoyed their meal. Dake’s Annotated Bible has a note stating that Arab chiefs don’t eat with their guests but stand off to the side, in so many words. Whether Abraham invented this custom or if he was simply following an established custom is never specified; regardless, he displayed exceptional courtesy to three strangers. Many years later, the writer of Hebrews spoke of “entertaining angels unawares (Heb.13:2).
The meal eventually came to an end, but the Visitors weren’t done. They had a message for Abraham and Sarah, and they weren’t going to leave until the message was delivered.
3 The message delivered to Abraham
Text, Genesis 18:9-15, KJV: 9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 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. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 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. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
Probably after dinner, the Visitors asked Abraham what may have seemed to be a strange question, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” How did they know her name, or that she was married to Abraham? (There is a reason for this, and it will be clear in a few verses.) Perhaps in surprise, or perhaps out of courtesy, Abraham replied, “Behold, in the tent”. Through the dinner, and even through preparing the dinner, there is no record Sarah ever left the tent. Abraham was not trying to hide her location, identity, or anything else; he trusted these Visitors and answered the question that they had asked.
Now notice how one of the Visitors, not all of them, speaks directly to Abraham in verse 10. He told Abraham, “I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son.” Humanly speaking, this was not possible; Abraham was already 99 years old and Sarah was 89 and both were long past the age of childbearing. Abraham had already laughed at God’s first promise of a son through Sarah (Gen. 17:15-17) but his reaction here is not recorded.
Sarah’s reaction, though, was crystal clear! She had heard some, if not all, of the conversation between Abraham and the one Visitor, the One who had told him (again) that he and Sarah were going to have a son. When she heard that, she laughed “within herself”. This probably meant she didn’t laugh vocally but maybe had a soft chuckle (ME? Pregnant at this age? Nahhhh….). She as much as admitted that it would be impossible, stating plainly, “I’m old and my lord is too!”
Even though she thought nobody heard, Someone did. And that Someone was the LORD Himself! Remember in verse 10, Sarah was in the tent, and behind the Visitor (who was the LORD), so she is standing behind Him. There was no way anyone could have seen Sarah but the LORD heard her laughter and asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? I heard what she said, too (in so many words).” What did Abraham think at this point?
The LORD wasn’t finished speaking to Abraham, though! He went on and asked, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” The LORD even reminded Abraham of their previous meeting, repeating almost verbatim what He had said in chapter 17, that He would return at the appointed time and that Sarah (and only Sarah) “shall have a son.” No doubt about this promise!
But even with this promise, delivered by the LORD personally, Sarah still denied her laughter. How she came to approach the LORD is never stated—maybe He turned to face her? She had said, “No, I didn’t laugh” and she was half-right; she laughed “within herself” because she knew there was no way, humanly speaking, for her to bear Abraham’s child. She even said, “I was afraid” but there was no reason for her to be afraid. After all, the LORD and two other Persons stayed to have dinner with her husband, and nothing had happened to him. Even so, the LORD told her, “Yeah, you did laugh (in so many words)”—He had heard it all!
This passage closes here, on somewhat of an unfinished or incomplete feel. Abraham is digesting the news that he WILL have a son, with Sarah, and she is doing who knows what after she was discovered laughing (secretly?). The important thing is that God does keep every promise He makes and this one was not going to be any different. May we have the same faith as Abraham!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
