B17-devotions

Genesis 18:1-15

Devotions for Tuesday 5th August

This is one of the most charming and tender stories within Genesis, and it tells of God’s visitation of Abraham and Sarah to confirm that they would have a son would fulfil all the promises they had received from the Lord. Reading through scripture, all of this has already been explained in the previous chapters, indeed, most of the story of Abraham and Sarah has been exclusively about their Covenant relationship with God and the child who would have to be born to them if the promises were to come true. Chapter 17 summarised all of this (as we saw yesterday) and the anticipation of the birth of the child is raised by God’s specific promises; but Abraham fell about laughing at the prospect of having a child by Sarah in their old age! So today’s story does not tell us anything significantly new about the birth of a son to Sarah, and because of this, many have concluded that our passage today comes from a different version of the ancient story of Abraham and Sarah. Because of its lack of significance they pass over it quickly, but this would be to make a great mistake. If we were to do this we would miss out on one of scripture’s most endearing and descriptive stories of Abraham and Sarah, and one which is highly descriptive of ancient Bedouin life.

Because this is an appealing story, Genesis 18:1-15 is reasonably well known, but there is one part of it that is often misunderstood. Isaac’s birth is promised, but he is not named. He was named in the previous chapter (17:19), where the meaning of his name ‘may he laugh’ was connected to Abraham’s incredulous laughter, not Sarah’s. It is later on, in our passage today, that Sarah laughs at the news of her coming childbirth, just as her husband Abraham had done (17:17 and 18:12), but Isaac’s name is not mentioned here at all. It is only later when Isaac is eventually born, that Sarah makes the connection between ‘laughter’ and the name of her child (21:6), at which point her laughter is of joy and not of disbelief. It is most appropriate that Sarah eventually connects her son’s name with the joy of childbirth rather than her or her husband’s disbelief in God’s ways of doing things which are found in this chapter and in chapter 17!

Some people might say that it is odd for Abraham not to have told Sarah that God had promised them a child, leaving Sarah to be told this by the visiting strangers who we read about today. Frankly, we do not know what Abraham and Sarah did or did not share. Abraham could have shared everything with Sarah, in which case, this story offers her the same Godly experience of being told of the coming birth as that of Abraham. It could be that Abraham was embarrassed at his earlier laughter before God (17:15) and was biding his time before telling Sarah, in which case, the angelic and Godly visitation was the Lord’s way of telling Sarah what her husband failed to pass on. We could invent a number of scenarios, but they would all play around the edges of this story in scripture, rather than deal with the real events which are described.

Our passage describes a simple and humble domestic scene with Abraham and Sarah getting on with their lives; but they are right at the centre of a powerful movement of God’s Spirit which was about to change their lives forever. They had both learned previously about what God intended to do through them, and were coming to terms with the miracle He promised them of a son born to them in their old age. It was something which would change their lives utterly; and those of generations of people after them, indeed the whole world.

1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, ‘Accept my hospitality if you will, honoured guests, and do not pass me by. 4 Allow me to bring you some water to wash your feet, and you can rest under this tree; 5 and since you have come to me, allow me to bring you some bread to strengthen yourselves for the journey, and then you may continue.’ They accepted and said, ‘Do as you have said.’ 6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and told her, ‘Quick, get three bags of best flour, and bake some bread.’ 7 Then he ran to the herd, and selected a choice, tender steer, and gave it to a servant, who hurriedly prepared it. 8 He took some yoghurt and milk, and the prepared meat, and set it before them; then he stayed near them while they ate, under the tree.

9 Then they said to him, ‘Where is Sarah, your wife?’ And he said, ‘She is there, in the tent.’ 10 Then the Lord said, ‘When I return to you next year, your wife Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was listening at entrance of the tent, behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old, and getting older; and Sarah was well past her menopause; 12 so she laughed to herself and said, ‘Am I to enjoy sex now my husband and I are old and worn out?’ 13 Then the Lord asked Abraham, ‘Why should Sarah laugh, and say “Can I bear a child now I am old?” 14 Is anything too difficult for the Lord? I will return as I said, next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ 15 But Sarah denied this because she was afraid, and said ‘I didn’t laugh’. ‘Oh yes,’ the Lord said, ‘you did laugh.’

To read more about this passage of scripture: go to the Bible study page

To read the questions and discipleship challenges for this text: go to the discipleship page

God of all knowledge, understanding, love and compassion; turn my heart to want to know more of You. Teach me to know more about the world in which I live, teach me to love my neighbours, teach me to care for my brothers and sisters in Christ, and teach me to care about truth, peace and harmony: and in the light of Your Word, may I live with confidence in Your power to save all Your Creation. Thank You Lord God, AMEN

Do you have an open, enquiring mind?

Or do you think faculty belongs to children?

Surprise yourself; consider these questions:

When will the world come to an end?

Why are God’s people on earth so divided?

What does God think of me when I do something wrong?

What happened to Jesus when He died, and then rose again?

Why do some prayers appear to never be answered?

How did the Good News of Jesus ever reach me?

How will the peace of God be found on earth?

By the guidance of God’s Spirit, each question

Can lead us on an amazing spiritual journey.

For the answers to everything are there to be found ...

Weekly Theme: The Environment

Pray today for the companies and governments who are responsible for the regulation of international energy markets. Pray that it may benefit the world and us who live in it.

On-going prayers

Pray for nations divided by racial hatred
Pray for those held hostage in troubled regions of the world
Give thanks for God’s blessings which enrich your life

As we explore the story further, there is a great deal within the story which we do not easily spot. Abraham is compared to Lot, preparing us for the story to come in the rest of Genesis 18 (the beginning of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah). We learn a great deal about the true nature of hospitality in ancient times, and we discover more about the meaning of ‘laughing’ in the story of the conception and birth of birth of Isaac.

For the full Bible study, click link above,

or for a brief review, scroll page down.

Going Deeper: (what you will find on the Bible study page)