Bible Study: Genesis 18
Written May 30th, 2007 by Josh Rives | Email This
This passage is always confusing for me. I don’t really understand the correlation between the three men in Genesis 18 and God. It says the Lord appeared and then the three men, so it seems that these three men were separate from the Lord. I think that this is just a form that the Lord took to speak to Abraham. Maybe this is similar to the other times God has talked to Abraham, but it just never told us how God did it before. I imagine that this has to be something similar to the Angel of the Lord, except in the form of three men. Although the passage says that it is the Lord speaking, I think we are led to believe that the Lord is speaking through these three men.
Apparently Abraham did not mistake them for any one else, as evident by his generosity. I have heard it said that this was just basic common courtesy in this time period, but I find it hard to believe that Abraham, who had hundreds of servants, would single out a random group of men walking down the road. There must have been something about them or maybe there was just something about Abraham that let him recognize God. They were truly in the form of men since they ate the food.
Abraham then starts to taking a very noble, yet annoying attitude. I do admire his love for his fellow man, but I feel like he could have gotten to the bottom line a little faster. Do you really have to go down in increments of ten or can you just ask what is the minimum?
I think that whenever we negotiate with God its done in small increments. I think its man who is attempting to define justice and judgment and mercy.
I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy
These are hard words for us to hear. The Judge’s verdict is just. We struggle with the meanings.
Jacob have I loved Esau have I hated.
Election always Just because while they were yet unborn. To us implausible but to the one who sees time timelessly Election.
Their is a religion and a high priest before the Judaism, The Priest Melchisedech The High Priest know as Jesus to the writer of Hebrews. Judaism paid tithes to him. He is the precursor. Perhaps Melchisedech was one of the three?
Any thoughts?
It is not unusual, or it was not unusual at the time, for angels to come to Earth in the form of men. They ate, they drank, they walked, they talked, and some even took wives (which is another lesson all to itself). I do not think that one of the three was actually God himself. From my study of the Bible only two humans ever saw the personal presence of God, Jesus and Moses. Moses only saw God’s back because, as he told Moses, Moses could not see God and live. Moses face shined or glowed from the experience. These three must have been angels, God’s representatives and the one who talked with Abraham was speaking in God’s behalf with full authority (sounds like Jesus, eh?).
These angels came to deliver God’s message and to carry out his decisions. The two that went on apparently knew all about the conversation between Abraham and God as they walked toward Sodom, even though they were not right there. Yet they instantly knew about the ‘deal’ Abraham made.
I agree that there must have been something about them that Abraham recognized as being from God. He knew right away and did not want them to pass him by. I think when one is tuned in spiritually that spirit within us, as the one within Abraham, will indicate other spiritual beings near by. Have you ever just had a feeling about somebody that you could not explain? Yet you simply knew this was a person filled with spirit.
Rev. Will
u are all a bunch of fools,the verse never said angel of the lord or that god spoke through the men,it cleary says the lord appeared,what did Abraham do when he saw them,he bowed himself
and said my LORD, why would he call these men his lord?
The next strange thing about this story is that in the next chapter of the three men went to Sodom and gomoria but the and were greeted as angels of the lord but what does lot say to them 19,2 behold now MY LORDS turn in, i pray u,into ur servants house
and remember when the two men left Abraham was left with the LORD,that means one of them was the lord but how did lot greeted them as his lords,the simple and logical answer is that three lord’s met with Abraham,1 stayed and 2 destroyed Sodom and gomoria,
moral of this;the story suggested that there are more than one lord.thats not my view thats in the bible.
Lord, LORD, lord… these in the original Hebrew text all have different meanings. LORD is Yahwey, meaning almighty God, Lord, usually in Context to God, But also in context to a king or judge, lord in hebrew simply means master. A father as the head of a household would be considered a lord. By learning the meanings and definitions of the original hebrew and greek. It opens up a whole new area of understanding. But you need to keep it in context.
Could the three men be the Holy Trinity ( Father, son and holy spirit)?