# Genesis 18 📖: The Lord Visits Abraham [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Genesis Overview]] | [[Genesis 17]] | [[Genesis 19]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) #### A Son Is Promised to Sarah [[#Verse 01.]] The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest time of the day. [[#Verse 02.]] Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. [[#Verse 03.]] He said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. [[#Verse 04.]] Let a little water be brought so that you may all wash your feet and rest under the tree. [[#Verse 05.]] And let me get a bit of food so that you may refresh yourselves since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.” [[#Verse 06.]] So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” [[#Verse 07.]] Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. [[#Verse 08.]] Abraham then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food before them. They ate while he was standing near them under a tree. [[#Verse 09.]] Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, in the tent.” [[#Verse 10.]] One of them said, “I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. [[#Verse 11.]] Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; Sarah had long since passed menopause.) [[#Verse 12.]] So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?” [[#Verse 13.]] The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child when I am old?’ [[#Verse 14.]] Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” [[#Verse 15.]] Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” #### Abraham Intercedes for Sodom #intercession [[#Verse 16.]] When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom. (Now Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) [[#Verse 17.]] Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? [[#Verse 18.]] After all, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth may receive blessing through him. [[#Verse 19.]] I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then the Lord will give to Abraham what he promised him.” [[#Verse 20.]] So the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant [[#Verse 21.]] that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know.” [[#Verse 22.]] The two men turned and headed toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. [[#Verse 23.]] Abraham approached and said, “Will you really sweep away the godly along with the wicked? [[#Verse 24.]] What if there are 50 godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 godly people who are in it? [[#Verse 25.]] Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?” [[#Verse 26.]] So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom 50 godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” [[#Verse 27.]] Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord (although I am but dust and ashes), [[#Verse 28.]] what if there are five less than the 50 godly people? Will you destroy the whole city because five are lacking?” He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.” [[#Verse 29.]] Abraham spoke to him again, “What if 40 are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the 40.” [[#Verse 30.]] Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak! What if 30 are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find 30 there.” [[#Verse 31.]] Abraham said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only 20 are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20.” [[#Verse 32.]] Finally Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if 10 are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the 10.” [[#Verse 33.]] The Lord went on his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Mamre, near Hebron, was Abraham's main home. 2. Three visitors came, and one of them is identified as the Lord (18:1, 13). 3. Abraham had bread made from about 20 quarts of flour (18:6), a large and generous meal. 4. Hebrews 13:2 likely points to this story: some have entertained angels without knowing it. 5. Sarah was about 89 when she laughed at the promise (17:17). 6. Isaac would be born at the set time the next year (18:14). 7. Abraham's bargaining from 50 down to 10 follows the style of ancient Near Eastern negotiation. 8. The Hebrew word for God "choosing" Abraham (18:19) is literally "knowing." 9. The "outcry" against Sodom (18:20) is a word for the cry of the oppressed, like Israel's cry in Egypt (Exodus 3:7). 10. Abraham calls himself "dust and ashes" (18:27), a humble picture of human frailty. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Lord for whom nothing is too hard (18:14). He is also the righteous One who intercedes for sinners (Hebrews 7:25), as Abraham pleaded for Sodom. ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Abraham hurried to welcome strangers (18:2-8; Hebrews 13:2). What does generous hospitality look like for you? 2. God asked whether anything is too hard for Him (18:14). Where do you need to hear that question today? 3. Abraham boldly pleaded for Sodom (18:23-32). What does his prayer teach us about praying for others? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 14: Nothing is too hard for the Lord. - 📖 verse 19: God chose Abraham to lead his family in the way of the Lord. - 📖 verse 25: Abraham appeals to God as the righteous Judge of all the earth. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Hebrews 13#Verse 02.|Hebrews 13:2]] - Some have entertained angels without knowing it. - 🔗 [[Luke 01#Verse 37.|Luke 1:37]] - Nothing is impossible with God. - 🔗 [[Romans 04#Verse 19.|Romans 4:19-21]] - Abraham did not waver in unbelief. - 🔗 [[James 05#Verse 16.|James 5:16]] - The prayer of a righteous person is powerful. - 🔗 [[Ezekiel 16#Verse 49.|Ezekiel 16:49-50]] - The sins of Sodom. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Genesis 18- SOAP|Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?]] ## 📂 Internal Notes