Wednesday, December 28, 2011

28 Dec. 2011 - Genesis 18:1-8

Genesis 18:1-8
"Abraham's Three Visitors"

This passage opens up with "Then the Lord appeared to Abraham..." This indicates that the three visitors Abraham receives, then, are not merely three strangers, but messengers of God. Looking at this passage with that context in mind, we can look at Abraham's actions in more light than that of mere hospitality.

Abraham honored God through he way he treated His servants. We can see evidence of this through the way in which Abraham lowered himself in servitude to exalt God.

  • Abraham moved from his tent and went to meet the messengers instead of waiting for them to come.
  • Abraham bowed to the messengers when they would most likely have bowed to him, the owner of the tent.
  • Abraham requested that they stay; they did not request his permission to stay.
  • Abraham offered water and food to the messengers instead of the messengers requesting it.
  • Abraham had fresh bread made and a prime calf slaughtered specifically for the messengers instead of bringing food from what he already had prepared.
Abraham sought to honor God by serving His servants. He gave the best of what he had and he treated them as ones of higher station. This, then, models how we should treat God in our daily lives:
  • We should move to Him, not have Him come to us.
  • We should offer reverence to Him, not have Him glorify us.
  • We should ask Him to remain with us, not have Him ask permission to stay.
  • We should be proactive in serving Him, not serving Him in reactively.
  • We should give Him the best of what we have, not serve Him what is convenient.
This is the model Abraham has set for us, to serve and glorify God. to revere him as the highest above all and therefore give our very best.

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