ABRAHAM: COMMUNION WITH GOD
In our last lesson with Abraham, we saw God Himself directly entering into a blood covenant by passing between the bloody carcasses of the animals that Abraham had brought for the purpose of enacting a covenant. Normally, a communion meal would follow such an oath, and so, a short time later, we will see that God visits Abraham and partakes of a meal which Abraham provides, thus continuing the ancient covenant ritual.
Let’s look at Genesis 18:1-5.
And the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by Your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash Your feet, and rest Yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that You may refresh Yourselves and after that You may pass on—since You have come to Your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."
First as we read this passage, let’s notice that Abraham is still living in a tent. He has come to Canaan from a city called Ur, but he has made no attempt to build a city. Instead, he built an altar. He is not looking for any earthly thing, but instead has pinned all his hope on God and His promises. So we see that his faith is abiding, not transitory. He doesn’t say one thing at the altar and go out and live in a totally opposite way from his professed faith.
As he sits at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, three “men” appear before him. Although they appear to be men, Abraham recognizes immediately his new Covenant Partner, for he rushes out to them and calls one of the three “Lord.” The Hebrew word employed here is “Adonai” and refers to God.
QUESTION: Are we communing with God closely enough to recognize Him as He works in our midst?
Let’s look at Abraham’s reaction. He gets up and runs out to these heavenly Visitors. Now Abraham is about 100 years old and it is probably at least 100 degrees at that time of day. He has been sitting still, trying to keep cool, but these Visitors produce such great excitement that he gets up and runs out to meet them like a kid! Next, he bows down and calls his Visitor “Adonai.” Again, he recognizes the One Who has been leading him all these years and he worships Him. He also proclaims himself the servant of God, so we see his genuine devotion and humility toward God. Finally, he begs God not to pass him by, but to stay and accept his hospitality.
QUESTION: Are we humble enough to beg God to visit us? Do we really want Him to come in and stay with us?
QUESTION: Are we willing to show hospitality to God? If so, how does one do that?
HOSPITALITY
Hospitality has become a rather difficult and fading aspect of our culture. People are often in such a rush they don’t even want “hospitality” because it requires that we actually stop for awhile and accept hospitality. Also, there are sometimes hidden agendas involved in hospitality and since we are typically “takers” rather than “givers” we shy away from accepting hospitality lest we feel some obligation. But in an environment where there is a real desire to help others, accepting their hospitality becomes a doorway for service and the development of a relationship.
The first aspect of hospitality mentioned by Abraham was the washing of feet. In that culture, foot washing was a great service, though it was normally reserved for the most menial slave to attend. People wore only sandals or went barefoot, so their feet were typically hot and dirty almost continually. I have no problem imagining that Abraham himself was absolutely excited to wash his Visitors’ feet. Luke 7:36-50 records another man, Simon the Pharisee, who also invited Jesus in for a meal, but the course of the story reveals that his motivation was not genuine communion with God, but actual hostility. Jesus points this out by commenting that Simon did not bother with the simplest courtesy of providing water to wash, let alone washing His feet himself. And as the gospels record for us how Jesus Himself washed the feet of His own disciples, I can’t help but wonder if, as He washed their feet, He thought back to the day that Abraham was overjoyed to wash His feet.
The second aspect of Abraham’s hospitality was that of rest. He offered his Visitors a comfortable place to rest. Now, we know that on the seventh day of creation, God rested from all His creative work. He is still resting in that Sabbath because He has finished making all He planned. However, when sin entered the world, He began to work again, not to create, but to redeem. Abraham is offering God, Who has appeared as a man, physical comfort, but more than that, a place where He can be comfortable in His Holy Person. There have been places where I sat down, but I knew that I could not afford to relax my guard and get too comfortable because some sort of danger or distress was near. Abraham is offering God a safe place where nothing will cause His Holy Character any distress.
The third aspect of Abraham’s hospitality was a meal. In his humility, Abraham says “a morsel”—let me bring You a bite to eat, but he is really planning a large feast. Now the most important thing to bear in mind with this meal is that it serves the purpose of continuing to consummate the covenant between God and Abraham. In The Blood Covenant by H. Clay Trumbull, the idea of the joining of two lives by blood covenant has been described as follows:
From the beginning, and everywhere, blood seems to have been looked upon as pre-eminently the representative of life; as, indeed, in a peculiar sense, life itself. The transference of blood from one organism to another has been counted the transference of life, with all that life includes. The inter-commingling of blood by its inter-transference has been understood as equivalent to an inter-commingling of natures. Two natures thus inter-commingled , by the inter-commingling of blood, have been considered as forming, thenceforward, one blood, one life, one nature, one soul—in two organisms.
In the ritual covenant meal, a cup of wine, symbolizing blood, and often with drops of each partner’s blood mixed into it, was shared between the parties, and often food was given by the hand of one partner to the other, signifying the commingling of their lives. By accepting Abraham’s food, God is symbolically accepting Abraham’s life and allowing Abraham to become one with Him in covenant. Incidentally, we see this same ritual carried out at weddings when the bride and groom feed each other cake and punch or wine.
SHOWING HOSPITALITY TO GOD
How can we wash the feet of a God Whom we can’t even see? In Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus said,
Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me." Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”
So we see that one way in which we can “wash the feet of God” is by serving others. I Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We serve God by seeing to it that every activity we engage in, right down to the food that we eat, is done with an attitude of serving God, not pleasing ourselves. Finally, Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” This verse again reminds us that when we are serving others, we are serving God Himself.
How can we provide rest for God as we strive to show Him hospitality? We saw from our study in Zechariah that sin is what disturbs God’s rest. Therefore, if we want to make God comfortable, we must repent of all known sin in our lives. But we really have to go farther than that. We have to allow Him to search our hearts and remove all the things that would discomfort and disturb Him before our hearts can become a place where He is comfortable and at rest. (Psalm 139:23-24)
Continuing in Abraham’s pattern of showing hospitality, we need to discern how we may provide “food” for God. Now we know that God is a spirit, and does not need physical food. But let’s take a look at John 4:31-34 immediately following Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”
So we see that Jesus’ “food” was doing the will of God and accomplishing His work. So when we allow Him to work in our lives and accomplish His good purpose in redemption, this is His food. Isaiah 53:10b-11 says, “When His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.” If you look at that word “satisfied” in verse 11, it describes the feeling that you get after eating. You eat the food and are satisfied. Here, Jesus sees the salvation of His loved ones through His own sacrifice and is satisfied. So when we progress in our salvation, not merely saying a prayer and getting baptized, but actually grow in our faith towards God, this is the food that satisfies Jesus.
One other little idea regarding food for Jesus is this: when we receive Christ as Savior and Lord, His life enters in and we become a babe in Christ. We are like Bethlehem, and the life of Christ has been born in us. It is up to us to nourish that life, just as Mary nourished the baby Jesus. We nourish that new life by studying God’s Word, prayer, and above all else, heartfelt obedience.
Returning to our text in Genesis 18, verses 6-8 say,
And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Notice that Abraham is still running! It may be 100 degrees in the shade, but he is too excited to take it easy.
QUESTION: Are we excited by God? Are we eager to serve Him, eager to commune with Him?
Notice also that Abraham is not doing this all by himself. He is involving others. First he goes to Sarah his wife and gets her involved in serving God. Next, we see that he involves a servant in preparing the calf.
QUESTION: Do we involve others in what we are doing or are we “lone ranger” servants? In II Timothy 2:2, Paul gives final instructions to Timothy, saying, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Don’t try to go it alone, Timothy. We must pass on what we know from God to others who will be faithful.
Also notice the fact that Abraham is lavish in his service. He tells Sarah to take 3 seahs of fine flour. A seah was about 7 quarts, so this is a lot of bread that is being prepared. It is way more than the three Visitors would be expected to eat and it is fine flour. That means that it is the best for making bread. A lot of time has been put into grinding it out. He also selected a tender young calf personally. He is clearly putting out the best that he has for God.
QUESTION: Do we put forth our best effort for God, not just on Sunday, but in every action every day?
Finally, we see that after everything is prepared, Abraham brings it all in personally and then stands by, in the role of a servant, and attends to them while they eat. He wants to be right there with them, hearing what they say and learning Who God really is.
QUESTION: Do we want to “hang around God”?
THE OBJECT OF THE VISIT
The following verses from Genesis 18 give us the real object of God’s visit with Abraham.
They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
God brings up the subject of His visit and this time, it’s not really about Abraham. Sarah is on God’s mind. So He asks the question, “Where is Sarah?” Now that seems like a surface question, but I think we will see that God was not primarily concerned with Sarah’s physical location. After Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, God came looking for him and in Genesis 3:9, it says, “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” God didn’t need to know that Adam was hiding or why, but rather, Adam needed to confess where he was in his relationship to God. When God last appeared to Abraham, He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, symbolizing that Abram’s life was joined to Yahweh, so the “ah” was put in his name. But Sarai’s name was also changed at that time to Sarah, including the “ah” of Yahweh in her name as well. So, although God has appeared to Abraham, Sarah is also a part of this covenant relationship and God has come to get her directly involved. So, where is Sarah in her faith? Will she believe in God together with Abraham?
Abraham answers by telling God that Sarah is in the tent. She is not in pharaoh’s harem and she hasn’t run back to Ur. She is hanging in there with Abraham even though things might not have been as successful from a worldly standpoint as they might have been if she had married someone else.
God then repeats His promise that Sarah will have a son and this time, He names a date. In a year’s time, Sarah, who is 90 years old and barren, will be a mother! Big promise! And Sarah is listening from inside the tent. Now the symbolism of the tent is that the tent is our earthly life. It is transient, short-lived, and not permanent. Sarah is inside the tent when God comes, but Abraham is outside the tent. Sarah is all bound up in the tent and its limitations, but Abraham is looking outside the tent. Hence, we see that God’s question about Sarah is an attempt to get her thinking “outside the tent.”
WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?
In verses 11-12, we see Sarah’s initial response to God’s promise.
“Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’”
Sarah is way too old to have a baby. Surely it is a sad joke! It has been a long time since she was young enough to hope for a baby. All her life was spent waiting, hoping, praying, and crying because the months and years rolled by and no baby ever came. Now, long after she accepted the physical fact that she would never have the joy of a child, God says in one year she will be a mother, and He isn’t talking about surrogacy or mysticism. Have you ever reached the point where you refused to hope any more because the pain of disappointment was simply too much to carry around? So Sarah laughs out right in her tent. At this point, disbelief is a much safer and less painful avenue. Even supposing by some miracle, and it would take a miracle, she got pregnant, how could this 90-year-old body carry a baby, deliver it, and nurse it?
SARAH—I’M TALKING TO YOU!
Now, God is never unaware of what is going on inside our “tents.” Verses 13-15 say,
The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh.”
God is carrying on this interesting dialogue with Sarah through Abraham. He is reaching out to her, touching her unbelief, extending His promises to her, and ultimately awakening her faith. He makes it plain to her that He knows what is going on inside her “tent,” thereby proving that He really is God. Hebrews 11:11-12 says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful Who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
By the end of this section, we see that God has succeeded in getting Sarah to believe Him. She has begun talking to Him, and although she has not been very honest with God, we see that she has begun to fear Him. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Although God might very well have punished Sarah for her disbelief, He showed grace to her and awakened her faith in Him.
CONSIDER: In what ways and times has God visited you to awaken your faith? How did you respond? Are you “inside your tent” like Sarah, or are you “outside your tent” looking for God?
Thanks for joining us! Next time, we will look at Sodom and Gomomrrah.
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