Entertaining Angels – Genesis 18:1-18

Imagine planning a meal for God himself visiting your home accompanied by messengers who will go on with Him to execute divine judgment on neighboring settlements. How would you prepare? What conversation might you share over dinner? This is the situation in which Abraham and Sarah find themselves in Genesis 18. The event is not just life changing for this patriarch and his family, a milestone in history is reinforced by promise, and communion is modeled between God and man at this dinner occasion. We have noted that both the book of Genesis generally and Abraham's life specifically, highlight shinning moments of redemptive significance. These events are strung together something like pearls on a necklace. This moment in Abraham's testimony is surely significant. It holds out hope of covenant promises and pre-figures covenant ordinances that remain central to the devotion of Abraham's spiritual descendants to this day. Two aspects of God's character are evident at this exchange and should be emphasized in our concept of the nature of God. God is both intimately personal and intensely powerful. The short-sighted view of the idolater tends to sacrifice one for the other. The ancients entertained notions of God that terrified them beyond hope, while modern man prefers a “loving God” who could never stomach judgement. Shattering both these stereotypes, God Himself sits down for a meal with Abram before raining fire from heaven upon the ungodly he will visit next.