Genesis 18:1-15
The Birth Announcement

  1. The Appearance of the Lord
    1. How the Lord Appears
      1. Verse 1 tells us it is the Lord himself who appears to Abraham
      2. But he does not appear as the Lord, but as a man
        1. 3 men appear to Abraham (v.2)
        2. But it is clear that one of them is the leader; this is the one Abraham addresses in v. 3
        3. This is the one identified as the Lord in v.13
        4. ch. 19:1 identifies the other two as angels accompanying this man who is the Lord God himself.
        5. This One who appears as a man is Jesus himself, the eternally begotten Son of God, the word of the Father come to declare his Father’s will.
        6. The body he takes on is temporary only, a matter of appearance so Abraham may see him
        7. It is not the body that he will permanently take on, being conceived in the womb of the vm, the body that will be raised from the dead and exalted to the rh of God the F.
      3. So Abraham doesn’t recognize the visitor as the Lord at first
      4. But we are told up front that’s what’s happening here so we won’t miss the wonderfulness of this event.
      5. Abraham is sitting in the door of his tent in the heat of the day
        1. outside to get what breeze there may be
        2. but shaded from the sun which strikes and burns and causes sunstroke
        3. It is the time of the afternoon siesta, not the time when work is done.
        4. We are not told that Abraham is sleeping, but it’s assumed at the very least that he is not at his most alert.
      6. Suddenly three men appear before him (2a)
        1. They are called "men" not because they are, but to tell us in what form they appeared to Abraham.
        2. Their appearance is surprising (n.b. "Behold…)
        3. Abraham didn’t see them coming
        4. Did he doze off and thus not see the approach of these foolish men who travel during the afternoon heat? Did they come from a direction he wasn’t really monitoring, say, behind the tent?
        5. Whatever the case the effect is as though they have appeared out of nowhere.
        6. This is the right note to strike. Abraham cannot say that anything strictly supernatural has occurred. Yet their appearance out of nowhere is unusual, an alert to him that something strange is going on.
      7. And they are standing above him (2b)
        1. Not just "by" him as in NKJV
        2. The sense is of looking up and seeing them standing uphill, on higher ground, standing above him like some heavenly visitation.
      8. This, with their sudden appearance, is enough to clue Abraham in that something unusual may be happening.
      9. He discerns that there is something special about these visitors.
      10. But it would be a mistake to think he understands fully. He has yet to discover that one of these men is the Lord himself.
    2. How Abraham Responds
      1. He responds with the lavish hospitality of the ancient near east
      2. He runs to greet these men, having compassion on anyone who is traveling and shelterless in such heat.
      3. He bows down before them, a gesture of respect that is in this case more appropriate than he knows.
      4. He addresses their obvious leader as "My Lord," again a common enough address, but more appropriate than he yet understands
      5. He begs the leader and his two companions not to pass by their servant if he has found favor in their sight.
      6. He urges them to allow him to bring a little water and a morsel of bread.
      7. He is showing hospitality to strangers and entertaining angels — and even God himself — unawares.
      8. He considers that the providence of God has brought them to him
        1. not "since you have come to your servant" (v. 5 NKJV)
        2. but "because it is for this purpose that you have come to your servant."
        3. He still does not suspect that the one who controls such things is standing before him.
        4. But he knows that God in his providence has brought him these visitors that he may show them hospitality.
      9. The "morsel" turns into a major feast.
        1. 3 seahs ("measures" in NKJV) = about 80 cups — four 5 pound sacks of flour
        2. killed an entire calf
        3. not "butter" but "curds" and milk — a necessary component of the meal, something like yogurt or cottage cheese.
        4. All of this done in great hurry though it is the hot part of the day
        5. And Abraham stands by their meal like a waiter, ready to serve their needs. (8)
    3. The Significance of this Event
      1. Distinguishes Abraham (and later Lot) from the world
        1. This is largely a setup for when the angels descend into Sodom.
          1. There, Lot will show himself righteous like Abraham by offering them the same sort of hospitality
          2. And the men of Sodom will prove to be of a different spirit altogether.
        2. Abraham is responding according to the righteousness of faith
          1. God has been greatly generous to him in giving him such precious promises that Abraham in turn is generous to others
          2. Abraham hasn’t even received the fruit of these promises, but he is so confident that God has elected to be generous to him that he can show generosity in turn even before God fulfills his generous promises.
          3. These promises has fixed Abraham’s eyes on heaven
            1. He is not caught up in the things of this world as though they are of such significance
            2. He does not begrudge the strangers a feast, but views his enrichment in the goods of this life as his opportunity to share that goodness with others.
            3. But he uses the things of this world to care for those whom God in his providence sends.
            4. These are the actions of a man who does not worry that God will fail to provide. He does not hoard, he is not greedy. God freely gave to him; he freely gives to others.
      2. Signifies Christ and his benefits
        1. God takes on human form
          1. Before he has appeared to Abraham from heaven; he has appeared as a smoking oven and a burning torch; he has appeared as the angel of the Lord. But never has he appeared as a man, not at any prior point in history. This is significant.
          2. It speaks of the day when the Son of God will take on a human body forever.
          3. Abraham is not told of that miracle to come, but you and I know
          4. His son, Isaac, will be a picture of that event — the miraculous birth that only God could bring
          5. And it is fitting that the announcement of that birth should be attended by this sign of what that birth would mean — God has come to dwell with men.
        2. God condescends to the level of man
          1. God has appeared from on high to command Abraham and to assure him of his promises
          2. God has appeared to make a covenant with Abraham in an event surrounded by clouds and thick darkness and great terror.
          3. In the last chapter he spoke his will to Abraham and disappeared from sight… abruptly
          4. He has been awesome, majestic, and terrifying.
          5. Now, suddenly, he becomes intimate.
          6. He no longer begins his discourse with Abraham by saying "Fear not."
          7. The very form he takes removes all fear.
          8. He appears slightly elevated compared to Abraham’s position in the door of his tent
          9. But he allows Abraham even to close that gap, to run up to greet him, and to bring him down the rest of the way to his tent.
          10. A fellowship, indeed an intimacy, with God is being established.
          11. He eats with Abraham; true Abraham is an attentive host, standing by to serve him, but he eats with Abraham.
          12. Again, how fitting that the birth of Isaac should be attended by such infinite condescension on God’s part.
          13. For the birth of Isaac is a picture of the birth of Christ in which God, without ceasing to be God, condescends to the level of man forever and removes in the sight of his lovely face all thought of being terrified in God’s presence.
          14. One day the Apostle John will sit at table with his Lord, leaning back and resting upon him, all terror gone, only enjoying the sweetness of his presence. One day you and I will too. It is already beginning to happen back here with Abraham.
  2. The Message of the Lord
    1. Sarah Shall Bear a Son
      1. They ask "where is Sarah your wife?"
        1. Not because they need to know
        2. But, in effect, to take off their masks and reveal themselves.
        3. Now Abraham knows for certain that these are no ordinary travelers.
          1. They know he has a wife, though she has been hidden in the tent making preparations.
          2. They know her name.
          3. They know her new name, the one God just gave her in ch. 17.
      2. They have come to speak to him concerning her
      3. They have come to remind him of God’s promise concerning her — she will bear a son
      4. Apparently Abraham has not preached this gospel to her
      5. Or if he has, she still does not believe
      6. So God himself has condescended to her weakness and has come to preach to her directly.
      7. He assures Abraham that in a year’s time he will visit them in the birth of their son.
      8. But the message is not for Abraham, it’s for Sarah to overhear.
    2. Sarah’s Response
      1. Before we hear her response we are given the reason for it
        1. Abraham and Sarah are both old, advanced in age (narrator rubs it in)
        2. And Sarah has reached menopause
          1. "passed the age of childbearing" = lit. it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
          2. She no longer even has that time of the month
        3. So this woman, barren all her life, has reached the time when even fruitful women no longer give birth.
        4. She has had a life of bitter disappointment. The Lord has granted her no offspring.
        5. She is resigned to this fate. She dare not entertain hope for a reprieve. She will not clutch at straws.
        6. we can well understand her skeptical reaction.
      2. So she laughs silently ("within herself")
        1. She does not dare to come out and laugh in the stranger’s face. But she smiles a bitterly ironic smile as she reflects on how impossible it is that the stranger’s words should come true.
        2. Though he knew her name without asking, she still has not discerned who he is.
      3. She asks "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure?"
        1. NIV has better translation "after I am worn out." She’s all used up. She’s more than "past her prime."
        2. another translation "after I am dried up" like a fruit
        3. "shall I have enjoyment?" she says. And she uses a word for enjoyment that means "full of moisture," the exact opposite of withered, dried up.
        4. shall I now be fruitful like a plump, ripe pear, full of moisture and promise? I who am old and withered and dried up and unable to produce anything?
      4. And if that’s not bad enough, my husband is old as well. How shall he produce such a child in me?
      5. She is full of doubt.
      6. She focuses not on the power of God but on the powerlessness of her flesh and the flesh of he husband.
      7. And though she doubts, it is not the full arrogant doubt of the unrepentant
        1. For the unrepentant boast in their flesh and their power
        2. Sarah knows better, she needs only for someone to come and assure her of God’s power to keep his promises.
    3. The Lord’s Reply
      1. To Abraham "Why did Sarah laugh?"
        1. He’s really dealing with Sarah as the rest of the story shows.
        2. But it’s still fitting that he should do this by in essence rebuking the head of her household. Why haven’t you preached the gospel to your wife, Abraham? Why doesn’t she believe me?
      2. He reveals himself in such a way that Sarah understands who he is
        1. She had laughed to herself, not out loud
        2. She was in the tent door behind him (v. 10) so he couldn’t even have seen the trace of a bitter smile that crossed her lips.
        3. Yet still he knew. Who can this be?
      3. Is anything too hard for the Lord? (14)
        1. She had been focusing on whether it was too hard for her and Abraham. No question. It was.
        2. But the Lord turns her to the real question: Can I do it? he asks. Of course.
      4. And he repeats the promise
      5. Sarah panics and denies everything
        1. "I did not laugh" for she was afraid. (She’s finally figured out who this is and realizes, "I just laughed at God."
        2. Like us, she pretends she believed the promise of God when her heart was actually filled with doubt.
        3. We give lip service to the idea "Of course God can do this."
          1. Of course God can save my unbelieving friends and relatives.
          2. Of course God can sanctify my parents or my children or my spouse or me
          3. Yet we don’t believe it.
      6. But God is the discerner of the secrets of the heart: "No, but you did laugh."
      7. Isaac’s name, remember, means "he will laugh"
        1. So all this talk about laughter is also a way of tossing Isaac’s name around, preaching the gospel of his birth with each mention.
        2. God says "why did you laugh" reminding her of the name Isaac
        3. She says "no laughter" (no Isaac)
        4. But God says definitively, YES. LAUGHTER. (Isaac shall be born)
        5. They will within a year’s time laugh with joy to see him born.
      8. Is it too wonderful for God that he should take your hardened relatives and friends and form Christ in them?
        1. Believe it!
        2. May he change our skeptical laughter to the laughter of joy
      9. Shall God fail to form his Son in your brothers and sisters who surround you? He formed Isaac in the womb of Sarah
      10. Shall God fail to form his Son in you?
      11. Shall Sarah not rejoice to see Isaac born and in that moment forget the agony of her long years of barrenness?
      12. Shall you not rejoice to see the face of your Savior and in that moment forget every evil and terrible thing you have experienced in this life?
        1. Do you laugh? Do you smile bitterly, giving lip service to the idea that God will take away all your pain, but in your heart saying, "Shall God erase all the bitterness of my experience?"
        2. Hear the promise again! Christ is coming
        3. You shall laugh to see him come.
      13. Rejoice! The real Isaac has been born! Salvation has come.

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