Genesis 18:1-33

Three men arrive in Abraham’s camp and there must have been something very obvious about them that let Abraham know that these were messenger’s from God.  One of them seems to be a manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ.  They are special guests that are on a special mission.  God is preparing to do something extraordinary once again and is here to reveal His plans to Abraham.
A WARM RECEPTION:  When Abraham received the visitors, he did all that he could to take care of them and make them feel welcome in his home.  He washed their feet, gave them rest and plenty of food.  He was honored to be able to have them as guests and demonstrated it in very tangible ways.  Hospitality is such an important aspect of what God wants to see in our lives.  The ability to make people feel welcome and to serve them with love and care is honoring to God.  So often we get so preoccupied with our own agendas that we do not even consider the needs of the people around us.  Loving others by opening our homes and our lives to them is one of the clearest demonstrations that the love of God abides in us.  Abraham sets a great example for us to follow.  He may have known that he was serving celestial beings, but God has told us that whatever we do for people in need is the same as doing it for Him.
A WONDERFUL REVELATION:  Once again God gives Abraham the promise of a son and lets him know that it will be within the year.  The wait has been long and Abraham still does not know how it will happen but God is gracious enough to let him know when it will come to pass.  We rarely are given all the information that we would like to know, but God is always faithful to give us all the information that we really need to know.  We are called to trust Him no matter what we wish we knew. 
A WARNING OF RETRIBUTION:  Abraham’s visitors were on another mission besides letting Abraham know of the impending birth of his son.  They were on their way to judge the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  The sin of these cities had exceeded the patience of God and He was going to bring down judgment upon them.  They decide to reveal their mission to Abraham since he is so close the God.  This friendship is an amazing blessing to Abraham and is a unique relationship at this point of history.  It is a wonderful thing to be in a close relationship with God that involves this level of intimacy.  The mission that these gusts were sent to accomplish was one that should sober every person on the face of the earth.  It may seem that sin goes unnoticed and unpunished by God, but this is a grave mistake and very false assumption.  God is patient and gives multiple opportunities for men to repent; but He does not ignore sin.  At some point in time all sin will be justly judged.  We must never be fooled into thinking that since our sins do not have immediate consequences that we can just keep right on sinning without fear of retribution.  God is just and He always judges sin.
A WORSHIPFUL REQUEST:  Abraham now begins to intercede on the part of the cities he has just learned will be destroyed.  He knows that Lot has moved into these cities and he wants his nephew to be spared.  He questions if God will judge the righteous the same way as the wicked and points out that this would not be in agreement with God’s nature.  Abraham then starts bargaining with God for the lives in these places.  He starts out by asking if there are fifty righteous people would God be willing to spare the rest of the population for the sake of the righteous minority.  By the time Abraham is done the number has gone from fifty to just ten and God agrees.  I am impressed by Abraham’s compassion for the lost people of these places.  He prays for God to spare their lives.  I am also amazed by God’s grace in being willing to spare all the people for the sake of only ten.  The challenge that each of us faces and the question we must ask ourselves is will we be counted in the righteous minority.  We must be faithful to pray for the souls of men, but we must also be faithful to follow the will of God.

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