#genesis 18

07/18/2025

Such total hospitality. "Hospitotality," if you will.

Three Men Meet Abraham

1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he was sitting by the door to his tent during the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up, and he saw three men standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. 4 Now let me get a little water so that all of you can wash your feet and rest under the tree. 5 Let me get some bread so that you can refresh yourselves. After that you may go your way. That is why you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Yes, do as you have said.”

6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly prepare twenty quarts of fine flour, knead it, and make some loaves of bread.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd, brought a good, tender calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to prepare it. 8 He took cheese curds, milk, and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them. He stood beside them under the tree while they ate.

9 They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?”

He said, “She is over there in the tent.”

10 One of the men said, “I will certainly return to you when this season comes around next year. Then Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Sarah was listening to this from the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well into old age. Sarah was past the age for childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, will I have pleasure, since my lord is also old?”

13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really give birth to a child though I am old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the set time next year I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Then Sarah denied it and said, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid.

The Lord said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

16 The men got up from there and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household who follow after him to keep the way of the Lord by carrying out righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may deliver to Abraham what he has promised him.”

20 So the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very flagrant, 21 I will go down now and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has come to me. If not, I will know.”

22 The two men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep them away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 You would never do such a thing, killing the righteous along with the wicked, treating the righteous the same as the wicked. You would never do such a thing. The Judge of all the earth should do right, shouldn’t he?”

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people within the city of Sodom, then I will spare the entire place for their sake.”

27 Abraham answered, “See now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it on myself to speak to my Lord. 28 What if there are five fewer than fifty righteous? Will you destroy the entire city if the number is five short?”

He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

29 He spoke to him yet again and said, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

30 He said, “Please, do not be angry, my Lord, but I will speak again. What if thirty are found there?”

He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 He said, “See now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to my Lord. What if there are twenty found there?”

He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

32 He said, “Please, do not be angry, my Lord, but I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?”

He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 As soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, the Lord went on his way, and Abraham returned to his place. — Genesis 18 | Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV) The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 3:8-9; Genesis 3:19; Genesis 11:5; Genesis 17:3; Genesis 17:22;; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 19:3; Genesis 19:27; Genesis 21:6-7; Genesis 24:31; Genesis 39:4; Genesis 44:18; Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 32:14; Judges 6:18-19; Judges 6:39; Judges 13:15-16; 1 Samuel 28:24; Jeremiah 5:1; Jeremiah 23:14; Daniel 2:18; Amos 3:7; Matthew 13:33; Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:18; Luke 1:37; Luke 7:44; John 13:5; Acts 3:25; Romans 4:19; Romans 9:9; Galatians 4:23; Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 11:9; Hebrews 11:11; Hebrews 13:2; James 5:16; 1 Peter 3:6

Interactive Study Companion Before You Begin Materials Needed Bible Notebook or Study Journal Pen or Pencil Dictionary Research Tools Reference materials found at BlueLetterBible.com Various Bible translations found at BibleGateway.com First Assignment Read Genesis 18 in its entirety. As you read: Underline every covenant statement. Highlight every occurrence of: I…

March 15th, 2026 “The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre.” Genesis 18:1 Abraham’s story is one of long waiting, deep promise, and repeated reassurance. God had spoken extraordinary words over his life — descendants as numerous as the stars, a land to call their own, and a blessing that would ripple out to every nation on earth. But God did not attach a timeline…

And this person asked me about "the angel of the Lord," and... correctly guessed that it was Jesus! I was stunned, and then they went on to say, "Well, He appeared to Abraham in the form of a man, so I figured it had to be Jesus."

And it made me realize something amazing: Jesus appeared to the ancestor of His earthly body in the form of a man, or at least, in a form that was almost indistinguishable from a human (although anybody actually looking at Him could somehow just tell He wasn't human- see also the end of Genesis 32 and Daniel 3:25). It was like Jesus was foreshadowing His own incarnation.

Now, for those who don't know, Muslims are VERY anti-trinitarian. Like, I had to basically tell this person to stop demanding "proof" that Jesus is God, because as far as I am concerned, the Bible is proof enough. And I am just not good enough at apologetics to try to "prove" anything intellectually.

And yet God used a Muslim to reveal a very wonderful truth to me about God's Son.