Genesis 18
June 12, 2022
Jerry Mongello shares on Genesis 18.
[Genesis 18:1 NKJV] 1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
This is the fifth time God appeared to Abraham either in person or in a vision. Let’s look at the past events.
[Genesis 12:7 NKJV] 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
[Genesis 13:14-18 NKJV] 14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are–northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 “for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 “And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, [then] your descendants also could be numbered. 17 “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved [his] tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.
[Genesis 15:1 NKJV] 1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I [am] your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
[Genesis 17:1 NKJV] 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I [am] Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
Turn to verses 2 through 5 this gives us a glimpse at middle eastern hospitality let’s read it.
[Genesis 18:2-5 NKJV] 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw [them], he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant., [Note that Abraham addresses only one of the three man. He said My Lord singular the Hebrew word Adon. It is a reference to God, Husband, Master or sometimes used for Sir. It is used 335 times in the Old Testament, 228 times as Lord 105 times as master, 1 time owner and 1 time sir.] There is a difference with the word used in verse 1 which are in all caps LORD. Which is the unpronounceable name of God Jehovah or Yahweh.
4 “Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 “And I will bring a morsel of bread, so that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”
[Hebrews 13:1-2 NKJV] 1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so [doing] some have unwittingly entertained angels.
[Genesis 18:6-8 NKJV] 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead [it] and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave [it] to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Three measures of fine meal; [There is a rule, which is called the rule of first mentioned in Bible. This is the first time three measures of fine dining are mentioned.] Measure is the Hebrew word Seah which is a measurement equal to 1/3 ephah. An ephah = a Hebrew unit of dry measure, equal to about a bushel (35 liters).
If I was to ask you what is the symbolism of the Passover Lamb, I bet that most listening would say that it is a picture of Jesus as our Passover Lamb, Some people might also know about the Yom Kippur scapegoat on the Day of Atonement; we read about this in the epistle to the Hebrews chapters 9 – 11. The high priest would actually put his hands on two goats, and put the sin symbol upon their heads. They would then take the goats through the streets, where the people would spit on them, kick them, throw rocks at them, beat them with sticks and curse them for their sin. The goats would then be escorted outside the city, where one would be slaughtered and the other taken to a precipice. It was a symbol of what would happen to Jesus: God would put our sin on Him [Jesus]; He would be paraded through the streets of Jerusalem, taken outside the city and executed. Most Christians have an idea that the blood sacrifices of these animals were symbols of Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins and you would be right.
If I ask what the symbolism of the grain offering is, what would be the answer? The simple answer would Jesus because we know that [Hebrews 10:7 NKJV] 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come–In the volume of the book it is written of Me–To do Your will, O God.’ ” which is quoting Psalm 40:6-8.
I am going to make these four points concerning this meal that Abraham presented to his three guest one of them being Jesus,
- This is the first time the Bible mentions a grain offering, is in chapter 18 which I believe was more than hospitality it was worship, not worship to angels. Abraham was worshiping the pre-incarnate Christ, establishing a picture of future worship and the greatest ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
- Abraham took a young tender and good calf. The word for good in Hebrew is Tob which means good, excellent or best. This is a Jerryism, I am proposing that this was a blood sacrifice, a picture of the coming Christ, whether Abraham realized it or not.
- The three measures of grain was a picture of future worship to God in a grain offering and a picture of a future suffering and sacrifice that Jesus made to atone for our sins. Leviticus 2 describes what was required in a grain offering and what was prohibited in a grain offering, and it was to be prepared in a purposeful way. The grain offering here is what we call in Hebrew ‘matzoth’ — unleavened. Perhaps you have seen matzoth; our Church used matzoth for communion before CoronaVirus. It is striped and it is pierced; the Law decrees that the unleavened bread used with the Passover lamb. This is exactly what Jesus speaks about in John chapter 6; it is a picture of His body. So the bread was striped, and then pierced, and then broken. “By His stripes we are healed”, and “He was pierced for our transgressions’ ‘, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah tells us this in chapter 53. The grain offering is a symbol of the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.
[John 6:26-71 NKJV] 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 “Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” 41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has an everlasting life. 48 “I am the bread of life. 49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us [His] flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 “This is the bread which came down from heaven–not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard [this], said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 “[What] then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and [they] are life. 64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 66 From that [time] many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 “Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
- The grain offering and the three measures of meal is also a picture of the Kingdom of God, the Church and world. How is a picture of the Church, Jesus is the head of the Church. The Kingdom of God is heard through believers with the Holy Spirit living in them. [Luke 17:20-21 NKJV] 20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 “nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Jesus tells a parable concerning the three measures of meal.
[Matthew 13:33 NKJV] 33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
This is another parable speaking how the Church and the world will be infiltrated by the seed of Satan and corrupted. The best commentary is the Bible.
[Matthew 13:36-43 NKJV] 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 “The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked [one]. 39 “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
[Gen 18:9-15 NKJV] 9 Then they said to him, “Where [is] Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which [was] behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; [and] Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear [a child], since I am old?’ 14 “Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied [it], saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Sarah laughed!!! Is God angry with Sarah, I say no what would you expect Sarah to think!!! She is over 90 years old; her husband is 100 years old; he is as good as dead according to Hebrews 11.
God uses this as a teaching moment.
[Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV] 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
[Genesis 18:16-33 NKJV] 16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 “since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
[Hebrews 13:8 NKJV] 8 Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever.
[Amos 3:7 NKJV] 7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
[Proverbs 22:6 NKJV] 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
20 And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
These next verses are remarkable the fact that we can approach our LORD and make our petitions
23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare [it] for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” 27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who [am but] dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 “Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for [lack of] five?” So He said, “If I find forty-five, I will not destroy [it].” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do [it] for the sake of forty.” 30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do [it] if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy [it] for the sake of twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy [it] for the sake of ten.” 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
The end of our message is not a joyful one, when we get into Genesis 19 we will get glimpses of God’s wrath and it’s not pretty. I want to end with this scripture.
[Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV] 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
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