In Genesis 18 we see that "the Lord appeared to Abraham." He was sitting at the entrance of his tent and he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. "When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground..." Thus far in the story, it could be describing three normal men and an honorable greeting of bowing down. But the next verse finds him addressing them as God: "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way -- now that you have come to your servant."
Three men, God? What's the deal? And why haven't Jews and Muslims the world over concluded that the Lord their God is one God ... but manifested in three persons? Scholars have studied many of these Old Testament appearances of God. Some call them "Christophanies." This conversation with Abraham was surely one such appearance. It's no small detail that we see the trinity at work in the creation account, Noah, and now Abraham. Concluding that this is indeed the fullness of the Godhead in the trinity is not necessarily the right conclusion, but it does say that God was there.
It's interesting how Sarah is eavesdropping on the God conversation. When she laughs to herself and thinks in her mind that the idea of her having a baby at her age is ridiculous, God read her mind and called her on it. Then she was busted and everyone inside would know that she was eavesdropping.
When the men got up to leave, Abraham began to see them out and on their way. God confered with His company and asked if He should reveal to Abraham what they were about to do. According to their words, they were on a scouting mission of sorts, to "see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached Me." This is puzzling when you match it up against the omnipresence of the Lord. Other times that this is brought up, like when He asks Adam in the garden, "Where are you?" it can be explained as a rhetorical question for Adam's benefit. Here it seems at face value as if God wants a closer look for Himself. Perhaps God could have made the events in Sodom and Gomorrah display a high resolution live feed on a giant widescreen flat cloud up in heaven, but perhaps He relished the thought of a roadtrip of sorts with close companions.
The mission of the trip surely wasn't about fun and games, but any experience with close companions is usually better than the same experience alone. As Abraham hears about the cities being destroyed, he asks God if He would spare them if there were 50 righteous people amongst the wicked. God affirms that He would surely spare them if 50 were found. Then Abraham asks, "What about if there were five less than fifty? Will You destroy the whole city because of five people?" Abraham sounds like a lawyer here, taking the details and facts and turning them sideways. God shows that He is capable of math by replying, "If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it." Abraham keeps it up until the number is whittled down to ten. God agrees that if He finds ten He will not destroy it.
It's neat that God's heart is moved towards His people, even being willing to spare a pair of cities if there were only ten people serving Him there. If we can use that concept to our culture, we can take heart in the fact that there are large numbers of people serving God all over the world.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at October 16, 2006 08:56 AM