Genesis 18: Visiting With God

God shows up like a visitor at Abraham’s tent and Genesis 18 suddenly feels less like distant history and more like a living room conversation. We start with warmth and hospitality under the trees of Mamre, then we sit with a moment that’s both tender and piercing: Sarah laughs at the thought of having a baby in old age, and the Lord responds with a question that still confronts our private doubts today: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” If you’ve ever struggled to believe God’s promise when your circumstances feel too far gone, you’re going to feel seen here. 

From there, the chapter takes a hard turn toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and we talk honestly about divine justice, mercy, and why God would reveal His plans to Abraham at all. Abraham steps into intercessory prayer, pleading for the righteous and asking the Judge of all the earth to do what is right. We walk through the famous “fifty down to ten” exchange and ask the real question behind it: is Abraham changing God’s mind, or is God shaping Abraham’s understanding and trust through the act of praying? 

You’ll come away with practical encouragement for persistent prayer, especially when you feel like you’re bargaining, stuck, or unsure what to ask for anymore. If prayer has ever changed you while you were waiting on an answer, you’ll recognize the pattern. Subscribe for the daily Bible Breakdown, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a five-star review so more people can find the show.

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Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Fellowship Time With Abraham

A Christophany And Three Visitors

Hospitality Under The Tree

Sarah Laughs And God Responds

Sodom And Gomorrah Comes Into View

Abraham Intercedes For The City

Did Prayer Change God’s Mind

Trust Formed Through Persistent Prayer

Closing Prayer And Final Thought

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, Genesis chapter 18. Today's title is Visiting with God. Visiting with God. And this is going to make more sense if you grew up in the type of area I did. If not, maybe we can find some common ground here because this is just an amazing chapter and it also raises some very interesting questions. And I am looking forward to getting into this together. So if you have your Bibles, want to open up with me to Genesis chapter 18. While you're doing that, make sure you take just a moment to like, share, and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. And make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job. And as always, the more we dig, the more we find, and you can get all of that at the BibleBreakdown.com. Well, we are walking through the book of Genesis, and we have gotten ourselves to Genesis chapter 18. And this is beginning to be in a section of scripture that is really talked about a lot, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. We're going to be talking about what is going to be happening for or with Sodom and Gomorrah. But it it that is overshadowed so many times or overshadows a beautiful moment that happens at the beginning of this chapter. And what reminds me of is so where I grew up, you would have different times where families would get together. And I know that's different, different, you know, different cultures, you know, when you get together, people do family reunions every year, all of this. But for us, a lot of times, we would have family reunions around Christmas time, around the holidays. And what we would do is, is it seemed as though, and it was never planned, but everybody knew this was going to happen, right? If you had a big family, you'd all get together and everybody bring food and all this stuff, and you'd go around, you get your food and this, these kinds of things. And then what would invariably happen is you'd go somewhere in the house that was hosting this, and you'd have a seat and you'd eat your food, and you just kind of talk with whoever was around. And what would happen is, is some of the conversation would be, you know, polite and interesting and all this other, but there would be pockets where people would really get into great conversation. And what would slowly start to happen is folks would just sort of gravitate toward that area until you'd have two or three different areas that were really just where everybody wanted to be. And you'd just be talking, having a good time, catching up, and it was never on purpose. It just would happen that way. And if you found yourself in one of those conversations, it was truly a joy because you were realizing that though you were very different, you lived in different parts of the country, you had you know different things that you enjoyed, your jobs were very different. You had this one thing called being in fam a family that kind of connected you together, and you found that connection to kind of bring everything around together, right? It was beautiful when it would happen, and it just became this wonderful time of visiting together. We would call it back where I come from in Alabama, fellowship time, you know, or we say feller, feller, fellowship time. And that's what we get to see at the beginning of this chapter. This is a wonderful moment where God, and this is where a lot of people call this a Christophany, possibly a time when the pre-incarnate Christ, so so God, the Son in human form before Matthew, before the book of Matthew, he comes down. There's a few places where, if you notice, it will it will say that there was that the angel of the Lord. So it's not saying an angel, the angel of the Lord, an angel is messenger. That's that you know, really the word uh angel is more of a job description rather than what it is, a spirit being bringing a message. And so there is some idea that there may actually be a moment here where there was the angel of the Lord, and sometimes it just says the Lord appeared to Abram in a way that he could see him. And so many people think a Christophany, Jesus before the book of Matthew, may have visited Abraham in this chapter, and he also brought some angels along. So the mental picture here is God in human form, Jesus, comes to meet with Abraham, and he is visiting with him, and then the conversation continues. So let's read this together, kind of with that picture in our head, and let's see what God's Word will say to us today. Chapter 18, verse 1 says this The Lord, that's Yahweh, appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. He saw, when he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. My lord, he said, if it pleases you, stop here for a little while. Rest in the shade of this tree while the water is brought to wash your feet. And since you've honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey. All right, they said, Do all that you have said, or do as you have said. So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, Hurry, get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread. Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and roasted the meat, and he served it to the men. And as they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the tree. Where is Sarah, your wife? The visitors asked. She is inside the tent, Abraham replied. One of them said, I'll return to you about this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son. Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, How could a worn out woman like me enjoy such pleasure? Especially when my master, my husband, is also so old. And when the Lord said, then the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, Can an old woman like me have a baby? Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah was afraid and she denied it, saying, I didn't laugh. But the Lord said, No, you did laugh. And I almost see God doing that little bit of a smile on his face. He's like, Ah, you did, you did, but it's okay. Alright. Then the men got up from their meal and looked toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way. Should I hide my plan from Abraham? The Lord asked. For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have signaled uh I have signaled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all I have promised. So the Lord said to Abraham, I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are wicked as I have heard, and if not, I want to know. The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose that fifty righteous people are living in that city. Will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked? Why would you why would you be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same? Surely you wouldn't do that. Should not the judge of all the earth do what is right? Then the Lord replied, Well, if I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake. Then Abram spoke again. Well, since I have begun, please let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only forty five righteous people, rather than fifty. Well the Lord said, I will not destroy if I find forty-five righteous people there. Abram pressed his request further. Well, what about there's only forty? And the Lord replied, I would not destroy it if there were only forty. Please don't be angry, my Lord. Abraham pleaded, Let me speak. Suppose there are only thirty righteous people to be found. The Lord replied, I will not destroy it if I find thirty. Abraham said, Well, since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue. What if there are only twenty? The Lord replied, I will not destroy it, even if there's only twenty. Finally Abraham said, Lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there. Well the Lord replied, I will not destroy it for the sake of only ten. When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent. So what an interesting situation we find ourselves here, in that God, first of all, comes and spends time with Abraham. I mean, it's amazing. So you have this picture of possibly, possibly, you know, God in human form, so a Christophany, and him with two angels come and spend time with Abraham. And then as they are sitting there, he is saying, Okay, it's time. You're gonna have a baby in nine months, it's gonna be great. And then you know it's God because he hears Sarah in her own heart going, nah, not gonna happen. And God is like, ah now. Yeah, you know, he is I almost see with a smile on his face going, Come on now. You you know you should have said that in your heart. It's gonna be okay. I'm I'm still gonna be faithful, don't give up. And then he says, I am going to go check this out and I'm going to destroy it. Now, here's the question: God does not have to go do this. God says the outcry has already come. He already knows what's going on, but he's going to go. And then he allows Abraham to go on this prayer that and really he's interceding. This is what interceding is. It's just where you are faithfully, continually before God, praying for mercy. That's intercession for someone else. And God allows Abraham to talk him down to only 10 people. Now, here's the thing is that for God's benefit or is it for Abraham's benefit? What an interesting question, right? Do you do we really think that God called or allowed Abraham to change God's mind? Can God's mind be changed? God is completely omnipotent, completely omniscient. He's He's all the omni-characteristics. So we can't change God's mind because God's mind is the will of all creation. And so to change God's mind would be to change the entire will of all creation, we wouldn't even know it was changed to begin with, if that makes sense. So was this for God's benefit? You know, God was being thoughtless. He he wasn't really thinking about only 10 people, and and thank goodness for Abraham. I mean, if you really play it out, thank goodness for Abraham, if it hadn't been for Abraham, God just wouldn't have thought about it. But since, you know, no, of course not. And so therefore then, why this? Why this? Is it possible? And there's there's many layers to this, and so we could continue to go deeper in this, but but this is the one I want us to think about right now is is it possible that the reason why God orchestrated all of this is because uh Abraham has family down there, and God is about to do some judgment over this nation that is gonna look pretty severe, it's gonna be pretty difficult. And so what he is doing is he is giving Abraham an opportunity to grapple with and to come close to understanding why God would destroy an entire nation, because the thought process is well, God, you're destroying an entire nation. Surely not everybody in that entire nation is evil. Why would you, and that's even why Abraham's saying, God, why would you destroy the good and the evil together? That doesn't make any sense. Why would you do that? And so God is saying, okay, well, what is the ratio that would work for you? Well, what if it was, you know, this ratio? Okay, fine. Well, what if it was this one? What if it's this one? Get all the way down to, let's let's say they were, you know, there were there were a thousand people in that entire you know city, probably more than that. Let's say it was only a thousand. What if there's only ten? So like one percent. What if one percent was good? Okay. If that's the ratio that that works for you, you don't understand Abraham. I I wouldn't just do this for no reason. If I'm going to do this, I've got a really good reason. So whatever works for you so that you can understand that I'm being just, okay. So it's in the intercession that God is actually teaching Abraham how to trust in him. That doesn't necessarily mean that God did not already have a plan and then Abraham helped him come up with the plan. The prayer might have been more, or that the this whole conversation might have been more about Abraham slowly beginning to understand that God knew what he was doing, and less about Abraham changing God's mind. Can I tell you, as a parent, I've I've seen this so many times where, you know, I want my girls to go clean up their room, and they don't want to go clean up their room. And so they'll try to talk to me and try to talk to me. And I'm talking to them, but the whole time I'm kind of I'm I'm slowly shaping this conversation to a point to where it becomes their idea to go clean their room. You know, so so basically, Dad, what you're saying, you know, in the other conversation, so what you're saying is if I clean my room, then we get to go, we get to go uh get some ice cream. Well, I think I'm gonna go clean my room. I think that's a great idea. What a wonderful idea. You know what I mean? And that's an extreme oversimplification to say, is it possible that of course when we pray, God God answers our prayers? Of course, when we pray, God changes things. Of course. But is it also possible that sometimes when we pray, it's less about God bending his will to ours, and it's more about us understanding what he is doing. Because how many times have you prayed for someone and you've just prayed for them and you've prayed for them and you've prayed for them and you've just just went on and on and on? And the more you have prayed for them, the more you start to go, you know what, God, I I don't know exactly what I need to pray for. I just, I just want you to have your way. I just want you to do what you want to do. I just want to, I want to trust you more. And so if you've ever prayed for someone for a long time, if you ever noticed your prayers slowly starting to say, God, whatever you want to do. At the end of the day, I trust for you to have your way. And it's almost like God is going, that's exactly right. Trust me. Trust me. I'm doing something, I'm healing, but I'm gonna do it my way. Your job is to trust me. And so I want to encourage you today. If you're praying for something and you're praying and you're praying and you're praying, and you're you're you're you almost feel like you're bartering with God, you're bartering with God. Understand that God's in control and God knows. And so can we continue to pray because look at God answered his prayer every single time. He would answer again and answer again. We do that at the same time, realizing that prayer does multiple things. On one end, it is it is giving us the opportunity to pray and ask God for things, and he tells us to do that. At the same time, God uses prayer to reveal himself to us and why he does things. That's the beauty of God. Is he always working in us and working through us at the same time so we can know him more. Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. I thank you, God, that you are always working things out in ways that we don't understand. You're amazing like that. You see and you know, and you are with us in more ways than we can imagine. I'm thankful, God, for who you are, and I'm thankful, God, for what you're doing. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And amen. The greatest miracle in the Bible, Genesis 1-1, says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And if God can do that, anything is possible. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Genesis chapter 19.