Genesis 18:1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
The key verse for our devotional today is the Lord appearing to Abraham at the "tent door" in Mamre, which is today known as Hebron, the second most sacred location on the Earth for the Jewish people. It is in this location that a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, along with two angels, visited with Abraham.
The two "men" with Jesus Christ were actually "angels". Notice that the angels took on the form of "men", verse 2. These two angels would continue on with Abraham after the Lord departs back to "heaven". Abraham was so excited that the Lord was there that he rushed to make ready a special meal for his heavenly guest, telling Sarah, his wife, to prepare as he went to the field to get the food for this special meal, verse 4-8. The Lord inquired as to the whereabouts of Sarah and then told Abraham that Sarah was going to have a "son", which would be the "son of promise", Romans 9:9. The fulfillment of this promise seemed to Abraham impossible because of their age, in fact Sarah even "laughed within herself", verse 12, knowing she was too old to bear a child. What a wonderful statement the Lord then made to the two of them, verse 14, "Is any thing to hard for the Lord?" The Lord then assured Abraham and Sarah that He would return and give them a "son" the "son of promise". Isaac, that son, would continue the line of the "chosen people", the Jewish people. The fulfillment of this promise is key to the Lord keeping His "covenants" with the Jewish people and to the entire prophetic program that is described in the Word of God. The Lord is the "God of the impossible" and a "promising-keeping God". This chapter also is the introduction of the "sin" of Sodom and Gomorrah, a sin that was very grievous onto the Lord, verses 16-22. The "sin" under discussion here is "sodomy", men involved in unnatural sexual relations. The sin is so despised by the Lord that He will destroy the entire society of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah because of this sin. Verses 23-33 describe the pleas of Abraham trying to protect the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. We will see the total destruction of these two cities, as recorded in Genesis 19. This is evidence that the Lord is also a "God of judgment" and will deal with sin. There are so many practical lessons that we learn as we read through the Bible. But I bring your attention to all the prophetic aspects of the Word as well, passages that help us to understand God's plan for the future. Genesis is key to understanding the future.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for your Word that informs me of the past, present and the future. Help me as I study your Word to make ready for the next event on your calendar of prophetic events, the Rapture.
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