Genesis 18:1-33

18:1-3 | One of these three men was the Lord (18:22); the other two were angels. This is one of the mysterious manifestations of Jesus in the OT before His incarnation. God’s people demonstrate the reality of their faith when they humbly, hospitably, and responsively serve one another, as Abraham did his guests (Heb. 13:2).

18:10-15 | God reaffirmed in Sarah’s hearing that Abraham would have a son and that the child would be born of Sarah, an announcement that so challenged even her strong faith that she laughed within herself. The text indicates that she denied her laughter even as it lingered in her voice.

18:17-19 | That the Lord did not hide His plans or the secrets of His heart from Abraham demonstrates that this servant of God was indeed a friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7; James 2:23). The phrase I have known him (“chosen in love”) reinforces this. The Lord knew that Abraham would command his children and his household to follow him.

18:20-32 | The Lord fully understood what was happening in Sodom; He did not need to go down there and see. But as in other times in Scripture, H egraciously accomodates His language here for human understanding.

18:23-32 | Abraham’s opening question should not be misunderstood; he knew God cared about the righteous. As the “negotiations” went from fifty to ten, Abraham was possibly thinking of Lot and his family - his wife and their two daughters and their husbands - and asuming that at the least a few others besides them must be righteous.

18:32 | According to the deal that Abraham negotiated with God, Lot and his family members should have died, because not even ten righteous people could be found. Yet God showed mercy on Lot because of Abraham’s intercession.

God hears the prayers of His people when they passionately and persistently come to Him (Heb. 10:22; James 5:16). What incredible things would happen if the Lord heard a steady stream of intercessory prayer from Christians everywhere?