I was wondering what You would do if Jesus showed up today at Your home? My reaction would probably be passout….but I wanted to show a lesson on the reaction of a man named Abraham when Jesus showed up at his place.
A lot of people never consider that Jesus was the Lord of the Old Testament or Covenant or Marriage. He was not called Jesus then but referred to as the Angel of the Lord or Malchezedek, the King of Salem…or even Lord, .but “Jesus” the Word and Creator of all was visiting His people continually during those days.
It was one such day that Abraham was sitting under the trees of Mamre. These oaks there were interesting, because in other parts of the Bible they are referred to as terebinths or gods (idols)….even were used in divination.
Abraham made his camp there after parting with Lot. Lot had chosen the cities and fertile areas of the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah and left Abraham basically in the wilderness.
Abraham was sitting there and saw 3 “men” approach. He ran to meet them. Now this is a man who is 90 years old and it says he RAN, told his wife, Sarah, to make bread…she was no spring chicken either at 80…..and then he RAN and prepared a lamb for them.
It does not say that Abraham recognizes Jesus from previous times. Middle Eastern hospitality was very good…..but the reaction of Abraham seems to indicate that he knows very well who the central character is, because he serves them personally and that is an act of submission.
Abraham was now a great man blessed by God. He has great wealth and numerous servants. He in fact had not too many years previous rescued the people of Sodom and the cities of the plain when they were conquered and led away by a rival king.
During the visit, Jesus asks where Sarah is…..and says that she will be pregnant and give birth in 9 months…..she laughs in hiding…..and He asks why she laughed.
If Abraham and Sarah did not understand who was visiting…..they do now and Sarah is frightened.
Next, Jesus announces that He will not hide the reason of His coming. It was to destroy the cities of the plain for all the evil that was in them…..those cities were very wealthy and the people were haughty, arrogant and as an example of how bad they were….when the Angels come to take Lot out….the men of the city line up at Lot’s door so they all can rape these new “men” all night…..Lot offers his daughters to them as an appeasement.
Not exactly a nice place to visit….but then America has these areas in every major city.
As Jesus and the Angels are leaving….Abraham then tags along showing his human side in not understanding…..not being all knowing…..because Abraham starts interceding for the cities in a clever way. He starts questioning God repeatedly…..What if there are a 100 righteous people there????? 50????? Even on down to 10…..each time the Lord says that He will spare the cities if there are that many there.
See, Abraham in his ignorant compassion did not realize the loving reason why God was destroying Sodom and the cities of the plain. They were an evil people and wealthy…they were corrupt and corrupting everyone who came in contact with them. View a righteous man like Lot…..the things he did…..and how the Angels literally drug him out the next day….because Lot was so in love with his lifestyle which was soon to become a deathstyle.
The actions of those cities would have spread throughout the whole world and interfered with God’s plan of salvation.
God had just destroyed everyone but Noah not that many years before….He would incorporate Capital Punishment for sinful places like Ninevah and Tyre…..even onto His own People…..Israel and Judah…..for the sake of saving people it was necessary to remove the sin….the evil. It is no different today in societies needing protection from evil and God commanding civil Government to employ capital punishment in necessary cases.
There is only one verse which follows the rest of this story concerning Abraham. The Bible reads….and Abraham rose up early and went to the spot where the men had left him the day before and Abraham beheld the smoke from the plain…..and God earnestly remembered Abraham.
It had to have been very tough on that good man, Abraham. He did have interaction with those people. Imagine if Jesus told You that Akron or Lake Charles or Augusta…..or Fargo along with other cities were going up in smoke tomorrow…..You would naturally feel compassion and interfere.
After all……those were people there……
But God in His all knowing understood with compassion in how they would harm everyone eventually by doing the wrong things.
It is interesting though at the end of all this……it states God earnestly remembered Abraham……..if You remember destruction had just occurred….death……but God in that sowing of death…..was about to bring real life to this world through Abraham…..in the birth of Isaac……who through him…..would bring Jesus in His human form into the world.
The recording of the visit of Jesus to His friend, Abraham is one of the most in depth in the Bible….because the main theme is not about death….it is about the reflection of God bringing forth real Life…..and how it differs from the life the world shows as good.
Try reading that story sometime in Spirit…..savoring each verse….it is a most wonderful story of Hope.
God watch over all of You.
