Genesis 18:1

The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.

Now what does that say? It says, "The LORD appeared." Does it not? I need for everyone to raise their hand if this is true. In verse 1 of chapter 18, is "Lord" in all caps? If it is, raise your hand. Does anyone have a translation or version where "Lord" is not capitalized? Look around. <No hands.> Does everyone see that? It is capitalized. That is key to understanding this and understanding from now on what you're reading when you read Genesis and the OT. When you read "LORD" capitalized, that is "Yahweh" or "YHWH." That is the original Hebrew word for God, "YHWH." We supplied the vowels for "Y-a-h-w-e-h." We're going to see another "Lord" in just a minute. The source of this explanation is contained in the Foreword of your Bible. Take the time to read it sometime as there are other explanations that will help your personal Bible Study.

Genesis 18:2

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

Now that's interesting. The LORD appeared and Abraham looked up and he sees three men standing nearby.

There's a little bit here that that isabout how you greeted people back then. It was a mostly nomadic type of living. There weren't a lot of settlements and cities. There were some, but most of the people living back then were semi-nomads. They'd go from place to place. They'd pick up their tents and move somewhere else. When people were doing this, one of the expected hospitalities was that if someone were passing through, you would greet them and have them join you for a meal. So it's not necessarily that Abraham said, "Oh, this is the Lord, God. I've got to take care of Him." It's also just hospitality--something expected.

The author spent more time on the "appearance of the Lord" in this case, didn't he? He described Him as a "man." There were three men, but he's describing the Lord as a "man." Keep that in mind. This is not a cloud. It's not fog. It's not fire or lightning. It's a man, standing under a tree with two other men.

Genesis 18:3

He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.

What is "lord" there? Lower case. Do you see that? Don't miss this. One The previous one we looked at wais all caps. The otherThis one is all lower case letters. Does anyone have all caps there? The New King James Version has "Lord." This is where we get into translations and ask, "Well, what's the difference?" The New International Version goes a little bit further with defining what Hebrew word was used there. The Hebrew word in this particular case was "Adonai." "Adonai" not "Yahweh." We hear God called, "Adonai," but we also have the "Adonai" of people. In terms of "my lord" like in Old English. Notice that it said the "LORD" and Abraham's just viewing the men right now as "my lords," which are just men passing by who need to be greeted and taken care of.

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Editor's Note (from the Preface to the NIV):

In regard to the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as "LORD" in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered "Lord," for which small letters are used. Wherever the two names stand together in the Old Testament as a compound name of God, they are rendered "Sovereign LORD."

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Genesis 18:4-5

Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

Now that's what I would expect. If I were walking by Abraham's tent, he would do the same thing for me. Even though I'm not the Lord, God, or Jesus Christ, pre-incarnate, or the Holy Spirit, I think he would greet me that way. That's the hospitality habit they had back then. In other words, they greeted people very warmly and openly. This is just like we do today, right? Does everyone know all your neighbors? No. We don't.

Genesis 18:6-8

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread." Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

So you think this is a feast, right? That's how they did it. It was hospitality back then. You did this. You greeted people this way.

Genesis 18:9-10

"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said. Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."

Which "Lord" is it? YHWH. Now we're back to looking at it from God's perspective. Yahweh.

Now remember we've been dealing with Abraham and Sarah getting a son for several years now. They've tried all kinds of things:

• It's going to be my servant, Eliezer.
• Sarah's bright idea that she blamed on Abraham: to substitute her Egyptian hand-maiden, Hagar.

Genesis 18:10b-12

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

Remember. Abraham and Sarah are around 90-100 years old.

Is this response from Sarah unexpected? What does it tell you about Sarah? This is how I really want you to get into the Bible. What does it tell you about Sarah, her relationship with God, and the promise that she knows God has given Abraham? What does it say? Her faith is weak. Her idea of the impossible is non-existent. Would you say that we're all just like Sarah? As long as I can measure it, define it, look at it, it's in this world, and it's three-dimensional, I can accept and believe in it. But as soon as you start talking about "other-worldliness," "impossibilities," or "miracles," wait a minute! I've got to get a scientific explanation for it. Do you hear what I'm saying? This is the question you should be asking yourself: why did God wait so long to fulfill His promise with Abraham and Sarah? Why? So all would know that it came from Him--it was a special, miracle birth. What were Abraham and Sarah doing during all this time? What do we, as human beings, say...."We've got to figure it out in our own terms. It's got to be worldly. We've got to figure this out." They could not step out of the box (if you've ever heard that way of thinking). Step out of the box and say, "You know, God can do other things. He can do all kinds of things. The possibilities are unbelievable. The impossibilities are believable." Next week when we talk about Abraham sacrificing his son, Isaac, you have to look at that. All of you should read it before next week: the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, how God deals with them, and why. Why are they going through it? It also gets back to that word that I keep saying. What is it? Relationship. What's the most important chapter in the whole Bible? Genesis 12.

Genesis 18:13

Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, `Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'

Which "Lord" is it? Yahweh.

Here is what I am seeing. Abraham is sitting there, Sarah's in the tent, and who is sitting in front of Abraham? Yahweh, which I believe is Christ, the pre-incarnate Christ. I believe that when you read the OT and you hear about the angel of the Lord walking among men, Yahweh among men, it's not God, the Father. It's God, the Son. It's the pre-incarnate Christ. Watch it. That was His ministry in the New Testament. That was how He dealt with people in the New Testament. .

I accuse many Christians of limiting Jesus Christ. You start Him with the virgin birth, as a baby. He grows up, dies on a cross, and is raised by God. You have to look past that verse and say, "Christ has always been. He was at the beginning. He wasn't just sitting around waiting on things. He was involved. Here's His involvement. God, the Father, said to God, the Son, "Go and talk to Abraham and tell him that it's time." Does this sound a little like His own birth? Yes. What was His own birth about? Was it normal or worldly? No. What do we call it? Miraculous! Do you see a comparison here? This is my opinion. Here is the pre-incarnate Christ, coming to Abraham and saying, "Why did Sarah laugh?"

Genesis 18:14a

Is anything too hard for the LORD?

Who is saying that? The Lord is asking, "Is there anything that is too hard for God?" Can we ask ourselves that question? We sure do come up with a lot of things that are too hard for the Lord in our lives. "I've gotten myself into such a mess that I don't know how God could deliver me from this. I have this going on and that going on and this isn't working out right. God doesn't stand a chance to work this out. If God or Christ were sitting there with you, what would they say? "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" It's a rhetorical question.

Do you see the miraculous birth? What are Abraham and Sarah thinking? It's got to be natural. "It can't be anything unnatural, God. It's got to be natural." We're too old. Therefore, there cannot be a son, a baby. There can't be one. God is sitting there with them (Christ, again) saying, "Is anything too hard for Me? It's going to happen." We know that Sarah laughs.

Genesis 18:14b

I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

"I will return." Notice that. It's not somebody else in Heaven. Again, it's the pre-incarnate Christ (the Lord, sitting there) who will return after she has a son.

Genesis 18:15

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Now go back and read how Sarah laughed. To herself. There is some argument here on exactly how she laughed: whether she laughed aloud or silently (inside herself). Was there any verbal sound? Could you hear anything? Most commentators believe there was no sound; she laughed within herself. Either way, she laughed. If it was too herself, then the LORD (pre-incarnate Jesus Christ) KNEW she had laughed even though it was not audible. Isn't that another aspect of God? Nothing is hidden from Him.

She then lied and said, "I did not laugh." Now that sounds like the habit of lying that Abraham had, doesn't it? "Who is this?" "Oh, that's my sister, not my wife." A little white lie there.

Genesis 18:16-17

When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?

The "LORD" again is whom? If you learn anything this morning, remember the distinctions for "Lord" when reading the rest of the Old Testament. All caps: Hebrew "Yahweh." Single or no caps: there were a lot of Hebrew words, like "Adonai."

This is very interesting. We have something recorded here that God is saying, "Should I hide something from Abraham?" What was He going to do? Destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? I agree that that's the ultimate objective, but I want you to look at it a little differently. He's going to destroy them, but what He's doing first is "judging" Sodom and Gomorrah. That's important when you start reading the dialogue Abraham is going to have with the pre-incarnate Christ. He's going to have a discussion. Who's living over in Sodom and Gomorrah? Lot. So here's the strength of the relationship. How do you relate to each other: as man and woman, as brother and sister, or father and child? What kind of relationship do you have when you don't hide things from each other, but you talk? This is the relationship God promised. God says, "I'm going to tell Abraham. We're going to deal with this." The real end-question about is Lot is Abraham's concept of God in terms of judgment. That's what we're going to be looking at. The destroying is carrying out the judgment. We're going to see Abraham's concept of judgment. That's what I want to challenge you with this morning. Every one of you have to deal with this idea. Is there a just God? Can I believe that God will judge this earth fairly and accurately? Even if I disagree, do I believe God is just? There are some things that God does (or is going to do) that you'll see and say, "I don't believe in that." Then you're saying, "I don't believe God can do that."

<From the class.> I have another point about what you're saying there. You've heard preachers say, "If God doesn't destroy America soon, He's going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." This business about going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah and looking to see if it's worthy of being destroyed causes a lot of people to draw parallels to America, today. Like Abraham argues on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, we (Christians) are the ones standing between God exercising His judgment on America. Notice that Abraham's relationship with God serves to hold God off.

God is in the business of judging. He's in the business of saving and having relationships, but after so long, He says, "I have given them all the chances in the world to have that relationship. I must judge them." When He was talking about the Amorites over in chapter 16, how many years did He give them? 400 years. That's a long time. We're going to see the same thing happening. The things that are holding Him back are Christians and the Holy Spirit. I'm going to show you something that applies to us today and that gets into the future with Revelation.

Genesis 18:18-19

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

I read a lot. This is God talking to Himself. Isn't it amazing that God would allow us to think abouthear His thoughts? This isn't the only place, but isn't that amazing that He would reveal that? "Here, let me talk about this. Let me reflect on this." We're going to see God do this some more when we get to Moses. With Moses, He's going to do it a lot because Moses is going to stand up to God. He's going to say, "God, I don't know why..." Well, we're going to have to wait to get to that. But we're going to see a lot of dialogue. Let me just say this. You don't want to miss Exodus because Moses is going to say some things to God that we never saw Abraham say. Moses is going to stand up and really talk to God about sin and judgment that you've got to see.

This could be the Trinity talking among themselves. But it's great that we see the thoughts.

Genesis 18:20-21

Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Who do you think this is? Not mewho do "I" think but , who do YOU think this is? Jesus. Can you picture that this is God, the Father? It could be God, the Father, but this is not how we typically read about and think about (and the whole Scripture supports) our idea or concept of God, the Father, Creator of the Universe. But this fits everything in the New Testament about Jesus Christ. Does it not mirror the interaction that Christ has with people on this earth? This is just like taking something from the New Testament to the Old Testament or taking this over to the New Testament. It's Christ dealing with people.

Question: Where did the outcry come from?

I would assume it's from the other people around there or from God, Himself. I believe God reached a point (like with the Amorites) where their cup of sin was full. It's time. The outcry is great. It could very well be from the angels, too. The testimony is great against Sodom and Gomorrah. Now God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, is going to Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament to take it out.

Have you got the picture?

The pre-incarnate Christ is going to be delayed to have a conversation with Abraham while the other two angels go on down to Sodom and Gomorrah. He knows what is going to happen. This will be conclusive when we get to chapter 19. We'll know.

Question: If this is so clearly the pre-incarnate Christ, what does the Jewish faith think of this?

That's a great question! I don't know what they think about this. Do you hear the question there? Here's another example where if you become convinced that this is God, the Son, your next question has to be, "Well, how did the Jews miss it?" How can the Hebrews miss it? The way they miss it is that they have a veil over their hearts. They do not want to believe it. They don't want to believe all the prophecies about Christ, either. They may believe this foreshadows a Messiah but not necessarily Jesus Christ. They see this as just God. It wasn't God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.

That's what I want you to do. Get into this. Sink your teeth into this and see what's really going on. I'm not telling you to read between the lines. Read what's here.

In the New Testament (in John), Jesus says, "I AM that I AM." He uses the same Hebrew word that God uses when Moses asks, "Who should I say sent me?" God answers, "I AM that I AM." Jesus uses the same wording and that's when the Pharisees and Saducees got so upset with Him. They were ready to kill Him right then because He was "blaspheming," proclaiming Himself God.

Genesis 18:22-23

The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

This is the key to the judgment. Do we sweep away the righteous with the unrighteous? Is that a fair question? You can go and talk to any man on the street and this really hits home with them when they talk about God. I don't mean God, Creator. Whatever his concept of God is, how can He kill innocent babies and children and allow this and that to happen? So there's this idea of judgment that we have to look at. Who owns judgment?

So Abraham is going to deal with this.

Genesis 18:24

What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?

At this time, there were several thousand an estimated 150-200,000 people living in Sodom and Gomorrah. What does Abraham start with? 50.

Does he ask to spare the fifty or the whole city? I'm reading ahead, but He says he will spare the two cities for the sake of fifty righteous people.

Now start picturing this. We know He's going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. You can go to any secular history book and see that they think they've found the citiesm. They didn't think the cities existed for a while, but regarded them as myth. But now they've actually found cities with stones with severe burn scars around the location of Sodom and Gomorrah. Archaeologically speaking, they have found Sodom and Gomorrah. Now they're arguing about how it was "really" destroyed. They can't argue that Sodom and Gomorrah were not real cities or that they burned, but they're still not convinced that God did it.

Genesis 18:25

Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

Everybody agrees with that. We think, "If God kills the righteous with the wicked," what do we say? I don't want that kind of god. That's an unjust god.

Do you see the depth of Abraham's relationship with God? Do you see the depth of his concept of God with that statement? He's almost throwing the gauntlet down with God and saying, "God, I know You." This is a kind of dialogue with himself. "Far be it from You to do such a thing."

What has God said so far? Nothing yet. It's all Abraham. So what's his concept of judgment? He believes that God is a just judge.

Genesis 18:26

The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

"Just fifty, and I'll spare them."

Genesis 18:27

Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

Isn't Abraham special? Ha ha.

What's Abraham doing? Seeing what the bottom line is. It's like an auction... "I hear 50...do I have 40... 40... 40... going once..."

Do you see the relationship? How is Abraham talking to God? He's humble. "I'm in ashes. I am nothing, but let me ask this.

Genesis 18:29

Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."

You ask yourself, "Why didn't he just start with ten?" He just didn't.

Do you see the relationship? How is Abraham talking to God? He's humble. "I'm in ashes. I am nothing, but let me ask this. If I will not make You angry, but let me speak." Do you hear that? Do you see Abraham trying to deal with God? He had God in audience. The God that he is working with now and talking to is nothing like the gods he had over in Ur. Nothing like the gods he's been throwing away. He has grown to the point that he's where you are when you're talking to God. All of a sudden, you realize how great, powerful, and awesome God is and how small you are, and you start talking to God this way.

Genesis 18:30-33

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

If I will not make You angry, but let me speak." Do you hear that? Do you see Abraham trying to deal with God? He had God in a discussion. The God that he is working with now and talking to is nothing like the gods he had over in Ur. Nothing like the gods he's been throwing away. He has grown to the point that he's where you are when you're talking to God. All of a sudden, you realize how great, powerful, and awesome God is and how small you are, and you start talking to God this way.

You ask yourself, "Why didn't he just start with ten?" He just didn't.

How many righteous were there? You can answer four if you include Lot's wife (who turned around and was killeddied due to a overdose of salt). It was either 3 or 4. Four left the city and three lived to tell about it. That's what we'll see.

Abraham was in awe of God. This really impacted Abraham's life-this dialog with God. God has appeared to and spoken to Abraham before, but here we see a dialog between them. This is a dialog that God desires for you, today. It's not something in a history book. If you sit down this afternoon with your Bible, the Holy Spirit will reveal things to you that you've never thought of before.

I think many times we walk through this world and we've got our life to live. We've got kids to take care of, cars to take care of, jobs to take care of, etc. We put God on the side somewhere. We say, "God, when you need me, call me. Or if I need you, I'll call on you." I think that's traditional, American-type Christianity. "Let me live my life and God, if I do something wrong, tell me. We see this over in the New Testament where the Great Shepherd calls His sheep but the sheep don't know His voice. We need to be His sheep in the sense that we recognize the voice of God. We recognize the voice of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit. But because we don't develop that frequency to tune into God, we can't hear God. We sit there and say, "Well, I'm a Christian. Why is all of this happening to me? Why doesn't God intervene?" God is just pounding at the door; trying to get in. We don't know how to unlock the door because we don't spend time with Him.

<From the class.> This morning, I couldn't find my Bible. I sat down and said, "Dear God, please help me find my Bible." I went right to it and found it in a place I would never have looked.

Do you all hear this testimony? It happens all the time-all day long, 7X24. God is working with people. If He's not working with you or you don't know where He is, spend some time with Him. Develop a relationship.

What if Abraham had not developed his relationship with God? Would he know whom he's talking to right now? In my estimationopinion, he wouldn't. He would not know who this was. He would have greeted three strangers, fed them, and said, "See you later." He never would have gotten into this conversation, in my opinion.

Now, why should we study this story in the Old Testament in such detail? The reason all of this was written down was for YOU. It was for you to read this and benefit from it. We can read about the benefits to Abraham and Sarah, but over in the New Testament, the Bible says that nothing was written in this book except what was necessary to help you, encourage you, and strengthen your relationship with God. That's why this is here: for you to read it and say, "Nothing is too hard for God." When you come against life's struggles, nothing is too hard for Him. When you come to a point of questioning God's judgment, you can go back to this and say, "Wait a minute. Let me think about this."

Genesis 19:1

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

I'm going to summarize chapter 19 quickly.

This means that Lot was a recognized leader in the town. So not only was Lot tolerating sin, he was involved in it.

You can read thisthe other verses in this chapter. Basically what happens is the men in the city go to Lot's house for the two men (angels).

Genesis 19:5b

Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

This is pretty blatant. This is homosexuality. Lot opposes them. At least he can recognize sin when he sees it.

Genesis 19:7b-8a

Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man.

Take them instead: my virgin daughters. In other words, Lot recognizes who these people two men (angels) are and says, "I do not want anything to happen to them."

Genesis 19:12-14

The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here--sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it." So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

I wish we had more time. What influence did Lot have in Sodom and Gomorrah? None. What influence do the people out in Cumming and Forsyth County see First Baptist Church as having? What influence or witness do people on your job or in your neighborhood see you as having? Don't read this as Lot andjust to judge Lot and his willingness to live among sin without having a spiritual influencet. We're in the same boat as Lot. We're in a world full of sin. Satan is the Prince of this Air. If we just tolerate it and live with it, God is going to judge us. He tells us that He's going to judge us. We're here to be the salt and light of the earth. We're it-theirwe are some people's only chance and hope; the only influence. Don't be like Lot, tolerating it and getting by.

<From the class.> When the people of the town came to Lot and said, "Bring those men out so we can have sex with them," Lot said, "They have come under the protection of my roof. Don't do it." The people said, "Who are you to judge us." That's exactly what the world does today. We say, "No. Don't come into our schools and teach homosexuality." They say, "Oh, you hate-mongers. You intolerant people." They say the same things.

You're right. Read the newspapers today and you'll see it.

Real quickly, Lot and his two daughters leave with his wife.

Genesis 19:26

But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

She loved Sodom too much. She wanted to know what was going on. The world appealed to her so she kept looking back to see what would happen. Christ said, "When you leave for me, you leave your mother and father and everything and follow me."

The judgment came. Sodom and Gomorrah are judgesd and destroyed. I want you to note that when God's judgment came on Sodom and Gomorrah, whom did He remove out? He removed the righteous. This is an early indication to me (when you read Revelation) of the Rapture. God says, "I will remove the righteous from the earth (the Rapture) before I judge the earth." Those of you who've been through the New Testament know what I'm talking about. The same thing is happening. In other words, there is a spiritual principle here. God says, "I'm going to judge everything. But before I judge it, I will remove the righteous. After I remove the righteous, trust me, I will judge." That's what He does here. That's what He'll do with the Amorites and Ammonites. That's what He's going to do in the future with the world. He's going to remove us and judge the world.