The Three Visitors

Introduction

Some things are impossible. In the words of an old song “it’s impossible to tell a baby not to cry.” It’s impossible to fit a square peg in a round hole. It’s impossible to live without air. It’s impossible to read every book published in one’s lifetime. It’s impossible to please everyone. It’s impossible to give more than God. Some things are impossible.

By now, Abraham and Sarah must believe it is impossible to have a child. Promise made at age 75 gives way to 10 years of trying only to result in a plan to have the child through a surrogate mother. But that was not God’s will. Now in chapter 17, God appears to Abraham once more. He is now 99 years old. 24 years have passed since the initial promises were made. Subsequent episodes renewing the promise have come and gone. There is still no child. God comes to Abram and says your name is going to be changed from Abram which means “big daddy” to Abraham which means “father of many.” And Sarai’s name was to be changed to Sarah which means “princess.”

And then in 17:16 comes the promise one more time. Sarah will have a son. She will be the mother of nations. Kings will come from her. Verse 17 gives us Abraham’s reaction. He falls down laughing. It isn’t that he doesn’t think God can help him become the father of many; it is he doesn’t think it will be through his union with Sarah. 100 year old men and 90 year old women don’t have babies. It is impossible. In fact, in verse 18 he offers Ishmael as the son of promise. But God is insistent. It will be Sarah who has a son and the son is to be named Isaac. Ishmael will be blessed as well but it is through Sarah that Isaac will be born and it will be within the next 12 months. What seems impossible to man is possible with God. But the story doesn’t end here. The first 15 verses of chapter 18 gives us a bit more detail as God convinces Abraham that he will have a son very soon.

Three Visitors

We don’t know how much time passed between God’s promise of a son in chapter 17 and God’s appearance to Abraham in his camp. We do know that it could not have been very long because in verse 14, the promise is backed with the assurance that within the year, Sarah will have given birth. Having given a verbal promise to Abraham, God wants to follow up that promise with the same promise given in person. God along with two angels come into Abraham’s camp. Nothing distinguishing about them. They appear as travelers. Abraham then does what was common in those days. He extends a warm welcome to them. He provides water to wash their feet, a place to rest and plenty of food.

There is nothing unusual about this scene except one thing. God has come in the flesh to make a promise to Abraham. There have been times before this that God spoke to Abraham, to Noah, and to Adam. There have been times when God made his presence known, but this is the first time that he has actually taken on fleshly form to deal with man. We know that he did again when Jesus came into the world. But why now? Why did God want to physically come into Abraham’s camp and make the promise?

Perhaps God makes a concession for Abraham. It has been almost 25 years since the first promise of greatness, prosperity, and descendants. Abraham has been through a lot. There have been plenty of good days. But there have been days of doubt and discouragement. Have you ever begun work on a special goal? You begin with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. Day after day you hit the ground running anticipating a step in the right direction. But somewhere along the line you begin to realize that things didn’t happen as fast or as much as you thought it would. As a younger person looks forward to life with great anticipation of the future, somewhere along the line may come the realization that things didn’t turn out the way you thought or planned. Perhaps this is Abraham’s condition. What started with great excitement and anticipation has 25 years later resulted in bitter disappointment.

Whatever the reasons, God decides to physically enter Abraham’s life. What a concession on God’s part. He didn’t need to do that. Speaking would have been sufficient. But God chose to enter Abraham’s life in a very concrete way. He wanted Abraham to be able to see him, talk to him, watch him eat, and touch him. This was the time for Abraham’s spirit to be lifted. This was the time for Abraham to have his faith renewed. Remember Abraham fell down laughing when God told him about the son. 25 years is a long time. After 25 years while faith is still there, perhaps you figure that God changed his mind. What was such a great plan didn’t end up the way he envisioned. And now he hears that the original plan is still valid, and he knows that the body can’t do what God wants it to do. It is physically impossible. So God physically reveals himself to Abraham. Maybe the physically declined needs a physical encounter. Whatever the reasons, God honors Abraham by coming into the camp.

Our God will honor us from time to time as well. As Christians we believe that things happen with reason and purpose. We attribute things working out for our good as God’s direct intervention for our lives. Reflect on times when you were most challenged in your faith. What got you through? Maybe it was a word spoken at just the right moment. We all need to know that our walk with God matters. God doesn’t take away the tough times but he sustains during those times in ways that when we remember challenge even more to stay close to him. God doesn’t leave us alone. He honors us by coming into our camp and touching our lives. He reminds us of reality and he reminds us that he has not forgotten nor that he ever will.

Three Questions

God and his angelic entourage are eating. The meal is completed. God asks three questions. All three are directed to Abraham. This is significant. One of the reasons we ask someone a question is we believe that person to be responsible. In this case, Abraham is being held responsible. The first question is “where is your wife Sarah?” This blunt question calls into question Abraham’s respect toward his wife. Perhaps it was customary that the woman did not eat with men. This is a very similar question to the one God asked Cain “where is your brother Abel?” It is a way of saying Abraham you are responsible for your wife. You are the leader. You are the one who is to help her develop faith.

Notice Abraham’s answer—“over there in the tent.” Why didn’t he go get her? The question lends itself to the men wanting to talk with her, but Abraham makes no attempt to include her in this conversation. I don’t think I am stretching this point when I say that we men must make sure that our wives are included in our thoughts and faith. To leave our wives on the outside and expect compliance is not only unwise but faithless. If Abraham is going to have a son it will not be on his own. His wife should be included. But he makes no attempt to bring her in on the conversation.

The second question comes after God tells Abraham that Sarah is going to have a child. Remember that Abraham in chapter 17 fell down laughing at such a suggestion. Sarah is at the tent door eavesdropping on a conversation in which she should be included. She hears that she is going to have a son. She chuckles at such a prospect. 89 years old and buying maternity clothes. We must realize that her response was bit more sedate than her husband’s and not public. It is the laugh of disbelief. It is the laugh at the one who makes a foolish statement when the truth is so obvious. God asks his second question, “why did Sarah laugh?” To whom is God asking this question? Sarah or Abraham. The fact that Abraham is the recipient of this question is significant.

The intent of the question is important. God’s promise had already been given to Abraham in chapter 17. He laughed. God insisted that the promise would be fulfilled. Did Abraham believe God? Why did Sarah laugh? Because she hadn’t heard about this renewed promise. Like Abraham when he first heard the promise, Sarah’s response is the same when she first hears it—laughter. Why didn’t Abraham tell his wife about the most recent encounter with God? Because he doesn’t believe. Why reopen an old wound when you know that such a promise cannot possibly take place. Abraham loves Sarah. He doesn’t want to hurt her anymore. When you realize the significance culture placed on having a child, then coming home from work and announcing to a post-menopausal woman that you were going to have a child would have been pouring salt in an old wound. Having a baby is impossible. Abraham should have shared the experience. God gently rebukes him. Why would Sarah laugh at such a thought? Haven’t you told her about God’s promise? Why not? Abraham has quit believing.

The third question speaks to Abraham’s lack of faith. Verse 14 “is anything to hard for the Lord?” Obviously, Abraham thought so. I am astounded at this passage and the challenge to my own faith that it extends. We read the story of Sarah having Isaac and we applaud God’s intervention and fulfillment of a promise. But then act as if God couldn’t possibly intervene in our lives in the same way. Abraham and Sarah’s story is nice. But some things are just impossible. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

God didn’t always bail out Abraham and Sarah. Their lives were not always wealth, health, and prosperity. But when it came to the impossible, God showed them time and again that he could do it. We have seen the impossible here. Disease healed. Marriages grow stronger. Lives changed. Is anything too hard for God? Abraham’s question suddenly becomes ours. Where is your faith weak? What has happened that made you wonder if God still cares? Do you feel like God has forgotten you? Is anything too hard for God? God does the impossible every so often just to show us that he is still quite capable of fulfilling his promises.

Nothing is too hard for God. While he may not always do the impossible, he is quite capable of doing the impossible. May we never forget.

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