Genesis 18:1-15 • A season for laughter

► Two major events happen in chapter 18...

1 → The birth of Isaac is promised.

2 → The destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah is promised.

► There is a dynamic contrast in chapter 18 between the promise of the coming son, Isaac, the one who will be the first step in the fulfillment of the covenant that God made with Abram/Abraham 24 years before (Gen 12:1-3), and the coming destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah.

► On the one hand, great joy is coming in the form of the long-awaited son. The son of promise. The first step in the much anticipated uncountable multitude that won't really be that noticeable until a few centuries have passed.

► On the other hand, great dread is coming in the form of the utter destruction of the area in which Abraham's nephew Lot, and his family, are living. We aren't going to deal with that today, but the process moving toward destruction begins almost immediately after the promise of the birth.

Genesis 18:1-15 → 1Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him;

• I'm not sure why, but apparently there has been some confusion/disagreement about just exactly who these 3 men are. "Are they men?" "Are they angels?" The text itself couldn't be more clear. Of the 3, one is the LORD (YHWH). It says so in verse 1! This would be the pre-incarnate Jesus. Second person of the Trinity. He's introduced to us by the author (Moses) as such. When Abraham addresses Him in verse 3, he calls Him "My Lord", but uses the Hebrew term Adonai, which is still a designation for God. When Sarah laughs at God's prediction of the birth of Isaac, YHWH responds to Abraham by saying, "is anything to difficult for the LORD?".

• Of the other two "men", just after the pronouncement of Isaac's birth, and a brief confab amongst the 3 of them, the 2 "angels", as they are called in Gen 19:1, show up in Sodom to begin the demolition of the town and region.

and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. 4Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; 5and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.”

• Abraham, in the typical mid-eastern fashion of the day, confronted them and encouraged them to stay for refreshments, to which they were agreeable.

6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

• And of course, by refreshments, Abraham meant a 4 course feast. I find it odd, that it says that Abraham "was standing by them under the tree as they ate." It gives me the impression that he is not eating with them, but rather waiting to meet any needs they may have, like a waiter standing off to the side of the restaurant, but paying attention to when you might need your drink refilled.

9Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. 12Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ 14Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

• So there is a lot going on in these 6 verses...

→ The LORD tells Abraham that Sarah is going to have a baby in a year.

→ verse 11 tells us that both Abraham and Sarah are too old to have children. We know that Abraham is 99 and Sarah is 89. From all of my vast medical knowledge (ha) I would concur with this.

→ Sarah "laughed". I could almost see this as a snort. The LORD confronts them about this, and queries in verse 14 "is anything too difficult for the LORD?" (the default answer to this question is obviously NO).

→ the LORD reiterates "At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."

→ Sarah can't let it go - "I did not laugh". And the LORD corrects her, "No, but you did laugh." Let go of it Sarah. He's not Someone you want to argue with!

► So the plan is set. It's now in the official calendar, Jesus will be back, one year from today, on Tuesday the 12th, at 9am. Set a reminder!

► This doesn't necessarily have a specific application that we can apply to our lives today.

→ Don't laugh/snort when God tells you something is going to happen.

→ Make sure you kill the fattened calf when company comes.

→ Don't worry about birth-control when you're older.

► But we can take this. The LORD is aware of what is going on in our lives. He knows our fears and our failings. He knows our hopes and dreams. What we fear may come true. What we hope for may never happen. BUT, He is with us all along the way.

► Most importantly, when we were at our worst, when sin blocked our access to God, the Incarnate God Himself, Jesus Christ, did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He paid the penalty for our sin. So that by accepting who He is, and trusting in what He has done for us, we could be saved.

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Photo • 2025/05/08 - Waves crashing at Sycamore Cove Beach, near Malibu, CA

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”

All linked verses are from the YouVersion at www.Bible.com