Genesis 18: 1-15
Abraham & Sarah’s Three Visitors
Or
Proof-Positive That God Really is a Mind Reader
“Once again, this story shows what a scandal and difficulty faith is. Faith is not a reasonable act which fits into the normal scheme of life and perception. The promise of the gospel is not a conventional piece of wisdom that is easily accommodated to everything else. Embrace of this radical gospel requires shattering and discontinuity.” (Brueggemann; p158-159)
And this is how I wish to begin with this lesson – restating and revisiting the story of Abraham and Sarah that we’ve been studying and telling over the past few months. In each of the 6 previous chapters, God found various ways to communicate with Abraham and Sarah directly regarding their status as progenitors of a great race, despite their advanced age. However, in most of those 6 chapters, they were continually confronted because of their disbelief in God’s promises. As I like to say – “Welcome to Human Nature 101” – Abraham and Sarah are just like all of us. While most, if not all of us, are ever called to sire a whole race of people, we all consistently resist God’s pull on our lives because it conflicts with our plans and how we see the world. Let us continue our journey with this couple.
The chapter begins with Abraham seeing three visitors approach, all of whom seem to be angelic, and one of whom is eventually revealed to be God. Abraham’s response is one of extreme hospitality, of extreme cultural deference to the presence of the visitors in his home. From the promised meager meal, to the foot-washing, to the extravagant meal that he eventually produces for the three men, Abraham offers up his attendance, his tents, his food, and his servitude to honor his guests for honoring him with their visit to his abode. (Walton, Matthews, Chavalas; p50)
Some commentaries remark at length about the discrepancies between the singular and plural mentions of the visitor/visitors addressed by Abraham throughout the 15 verses. Most come down on the side of asserting that the One who does all the talking is God (making this “man’s” appearance a theophany) and the other two men are the two angelic beings who travel to Sodom to confront Lot and the people of Sodom. (Alter; p77-78) However, to quote Brueggemann here, “There is no need … to seek a Christian statement of the Trinity here.” (Brueggemann, p158) The focus points of these visitors’ appearance are: a) that the primary spokesperson is most likely God; and b) that God has much to say to Sarah, whether she likes it or not.
“Abraham and Sarah have by this time become accustomed to their barrenness. They are resigned to their closed future. They have accepted that hopelessness as ‘normal.’ The gospel promise does not meet them [Abraham and Sarah] in receptive hopefulness but in resistant hopelessness.” (Brueggemann, p159)
However, with the feast of Abraham in full swing by verse 9, the visitors ask Abraham where his wife is, calling for Sarah by name. This has to throw Abraham for a loop, because these are three men he’s never met before asking for his wife by name, something that only deity/divinity would be able to accomplish. (Alter; p78) Abraham then replies that she is inside the tent. God (referred to as “the Lord”) then proclaims to Abraham “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:10, ESV) Who else would be able to make this prediction except for God, as it was God who made the original promise of the birth of a son to the aged Abraham and Sarah?
But Sarah heard this prophecy from inside the tent and chuckled to herself in disbelief, though she has heard this news before. She even questioned the viability of this promise to herself, bringing up the fact that Abraham was too old to give her pleasure. Coupled with the fact that verse 11 mentions specifically that Sarah is post-menopausal, Sarah feels well within her biological rights to believe that this prophecy is quite ridiculous and not worthy of her belief. However, God calls Sarah’s bluff and asks Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’” (Genesis 18:13, ESV)
From here, it must be noted that many commentators remarked on how God, when sharing with Abraham what Sarah had just said, didn’t tell Abraham the whole truth. Sarah, in verse 12, laughs and makes light of the fact that Abraham is old and won’t be able to give her sexual pleasure, but, in verse 13, God tells Abraham that Sarah is in doubt because of her age. Yes, God edited the conversation for Abraham’s benefit. The renowned rabbi Rashi felt that God did this to preserve domestic peace. (Plaut, p125) Because, if Abraham had known of Sarah’s opinions of his abilities, would they ever have slept together in an attempt to conceive Isaac? (Alter, p79)
However, setting aside all of that discussion, the crux of these 15 verses lies in verse 14, where the Lord is talking to Abraham, in respect to Sarah’s (and probably Abraham’s past) doubts: “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.” (Genesis 18:14, ESV) God wants to make sure that this elderly couple fully realizes that they have been chosen, no matter what their physical age might actually say about their ability to conceive a child and populate the earth. It’s as if God is saying here that, regardless of their disbelief, they will be the man and woman who will be the ones to originate the Hebrew people. (Brueggemann, p160) God has spoken and our feeble words and excuses don’t quite amount to that much; just ask Moses about that one.
As a note of conclusion to this section, even as Sarah denies her laughter in verse 15, God rebukes her, letting her know that God is fully aware of her laughter, even if it wasn’t expressed outwardly. God knows our hearts, our intentions, our plans, our fears, our doubts, and everything in between. And that typically quite scares us, but that’s OK…
“Thus the strangers departed (Genesis 18:16) with the question [that God asked in verse 14] still unanswered. The answer is only given provisionally in Genesis, always waiting to see if God can do what he says. Faith is a scandal. The promise is beyond our expectation and beyond all evidence. The ‘impossible possibility’ of God deals frighteningly with our future.” (Brueggemann, p161-162)
More than anything else, when teaching a somewhat confusing passage of Scripture like this, what needs to be communicated is that God loves us and only wants to see the best for us in our lives. Often, this ‘best’ comes in the form of promises that God (speaking with or without the help of the prophets) has made in the Bible, in the words of people in our lives, and sometimes with strikingly daunting and intimidating methodologies. There are times when we won’t believe, when the facts don’t quite fit together, and when all that we know falls rather short of what needs to be known. Believing in God is different from having faith in God – belief needs something concrete to believe in, while faith doesn’t need anything. And that’s why it’s faith and that’s why faith doesn’t make any sense at all. As Brueggemann’s quote declares, “Faith is a scandal.”
Or
Proof-Positive That God Really is a Mind Reader
“Once again, this story shows what a scandal and difficulty faith is. Faith is not a reasonable act which fits into the normal scheme of life and perception. The promise of the gospel is not a conventional piece of wisdom that is easily accommodated to everything else. Embrace of this radical gospel requires shattering and discontinuity.” (Brueggemann; p158-159)
And this is how I wish to begin with this lesson – restating and revisiting the story of Abraham and Sarah that we’ve been studying and telling over the past few months. In each of the 6 previous chapters, God found various ways to communicate with Abraham and Sarah directly regarding their status as progenitors of a great race, despite their advanced age. However, in most of those 6 chapters, they were continually confronted because of their disbelief in God’s promises. As I like to say – “Welcome to Human Nature 101” – Abraham and Sarah are just like all of us. While most, if not all of us, are ever called to sire a whole race of people, we all consistently resist God’s pull on our lives because it conflicts with our plans and how we see the world. Let us continue our journey with this couple.
The chapter begins with Abraham seeing three visitors approach, all of whom seem to be angelic, and one of whom is eventually revealed to be God. Abraham’s response is one of extreme hospitality, of extreme cultural deference to the presence of the visitors in his home. From the promised meager meal, to the foot-washing, to the extravagant meal that he eventually produces for the three men, Abraham offers up his attendance, his tents, his food, and his servitude to honor his guests for honoring him with their visit to his abode. (Walton, Matthews, Chavalas; p50)
Some commentaries remark at length about the discrepancies between the singular and plural mentions of the visitor/visitors addressed by Abraham throughout the 15 verses. Most come down on the side of asserting that the One who does all the talking is God (making this “man’s” appearance a theophany) and the other two men are the two angelic beings who travel to Sodom to confront Lot and the people of Sodom. (Alter; p77-78) However, to quote Brueggemann here, “There is no need … to seek a Christian statement of the Trinity here.” (Brueggemann, p158) The focus points of these visitors’ appearance are: a) that the primary spokesperson is most likely God; and b) that God has much to say to Sarah, whether she likes it or not.
“Abraham and Sarah have by this time become accustomed to their barrenness. They are resigned to their closed future. They have accepted that hopelessness as ‘normal.’ The gospel promise does not meet them [Abraham and Sarah] in receptive hopefulness but in resistant hopelessness.” (Brueggemann, p159)
However, with the feast of Abraham in full swing by verse 9, the visitors ask Abraham where his wife is, calling for Sarah by name. This has to throw Abraham for a loop, because these are three men he’s never met before asking for his wife by name, something that only deity/divinity would be able to accomplish. (Alter; p78) Abraham then replies that she is inside the tent. God (referred to as “the Lord”) then proclaims to Abraham “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:10, ESV) Who else would be able to make this prediction except for God, as it was God who made the original promise of the birth of a son to the aged Abraham and Sarah?
But Sarah heard this prophecy from inside the tent and chuckled to herself in disbelief, though she has heard this news before. She even questioned the viability of this promise to herself, bringing up the fact that Abraham was too old to give her pleasure. Coupled with the fact that verse 11 mentions specifically that Sarah is post-menopausal, Sarah feels well within her biological rights to believe that this prophecy is quite ridiculous and not worthy of her belief. However, God calls Sarah’s bluff and asks Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’” (Genesis 18:13, ESV)
From here, it must be noted that many commentators remarked on how God, when sharing with Abraham what Sarah had just said, didn’t tell Abraham the whole truth. Sarah, in verse 12, laughs and makes light of the fact that Abraham is old and won’t be able to give her sexual pleasure, but, in verse 13, God tells Abraham that Sarah is in doubt because of her age. Yes, God edited the conversation for Abraham’s benefit. The renowned rabbi Rashi felt that God did this to preserve domestic peace. (Plaut, p125) Because, if Abraham had known of Sarah’s opinions of his abilities, would they ever have slept together in an attempt to conceive Isaac? (Alter, p79)
However, setting aside all of that discussion, the crux of these 15 verses lies in verse 14, where the Lord is talking to Abraham, in respect to Sarah’s (and probably Abraham’s past) doubts: “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.” (Genesis 18:14, ESV) God wants to make sure that this elderly couple fully realizes that they have been chosen, no matter what their physical age might actually say about their ability to conceive a child and populate the earth. It’s as if God is saying here that, regardless of their disbelief, they will be the man and woman who will be the ones to originate the Hebrew people. (Brueggemann, p160) God has spoken and our feeble words and excuses don’t quite amount to that much; just ask Moses about that one.
As a note of conclusion to this section, even as Sarah denies her laughter in verse 15, God rebukes her, letting her know that God is fully aware of her laughter, even if it wasn’t expressed outwardly. God knows our hearts, our intentions, our plans, our fears, our doubts, and everything in between. And that typically quite scares us, but that’s OK…
“Thus the strangers departed (Genesis 18:16) with the question [that God asked in verse 14] still unanswered. The answer is only given provisionally in Genesis, always waiting to see if God can do what he says. Faith is a scandal. The promise is beyond our expectation and beyond all evidence. The ‘impossible possibility’ of God deals frighteningly with our future.” (Brueggemann, p161-162)
More than anything else, when teaching a somewhat confusing passage of Scripture like this, what needs to be communicated is that God loves us and only wants to see the best for us in our lives. Often, this ‘best’ comes in the form of promises that God (speaking with or without the help of the prophets) has made in the Bible, in the words of people in our lives, and sometimes with strikingly daunting and intimidating methodologies. There are times when we won’t believe, when the facts don’t quite fit together, and when all that we know falls rather short of what needs to be known. Believing in God is different from having faith in God – belief needs something concrete to believe in, while faith doesn’t need anything. And that’s why it’s faith and that’s why faith doesn’t make any sense at all. As Brueggemann’s quote declares, “Faith is a scandal.”
posted by APN | 12:35 AM
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