Back to the Beginning
A Study of Genesis – Chapter 18
This chapter contains two of the greatest questions in the Bible. These questions
tell us two wonderful things about God:
1) God can do anything.
2) God will always do the right thing.
Knowing and believing these two principles will change your life!
The Promise of a Son (verses 1-15)
Two of these three men were angels, and one was God in human form (verse 1,
13, 17, 20, 22, 26, 33). This chapter begins like chapter 17, when God appeared
to Abraham.
1. Abraham’s humility – He bowed himself to the ground in reverence
2. Abraham’s hospitality – He insisted that these men relax and enjoy something
to eat. What a contrast to the treatment these angels received in Sodom
(Chapter 19).
Hebrews 13:2 – Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares.
Romans 12:13 – Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the
host—the home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant;
the host must appear relaxed and good natured. Hospitality, by contrast, focuses
on the guests. Their needs—whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a
listening ear, or acceptance—are of first importance. (Life App. Bible, 1985)
3. Abraham’s helpmate – The heavenly visitors knew Sarah’s name (verse 9).
Notice the change from “they said” (verse 9) to “he said” (verse 10). God is
speaking and He can do anything!
God gave Abraham another promise of a son through his wife Sarah, even
though she was old and not able to have children. Sarah did the same thing that
Abraham did earlier—she laughed. She doubted how this could be.
She thought to herself, “I’ve been married for some seventy years. I’m old
enough to be a great-grandmother, and there is somebody out there telling
Abraham that, of all women, I am about to have a baby! That’s ridiculous!”
The Lord knew Sarah laughed, even though she never laughed out loud. When
God asked Abraham about it, he wondered, “When did she laugh?” Then the
Lord reminded Abraham and Sarah that nothing is too hard for Him.
Matthew 19:26 – (Jesus said) With men this is impossible, but with God all things
are possible.
Luke 1:37 – (Gabriel said to Mary) For with God nothing will be impossible.
God took as much interest in that son as Abraham and Sarah did because He
knew His plan and purpose to save the world depended on the family line of
Abraham and his descendants down to the time when Jesus would come and die
for the sins of the whole world.
4. Abraham’s honor – God confided in him and told him what would happen to
Sodom. Let’s look at three reasons for this:
A. Abraham’s friendship with God – Three times in Scripture, Abraham is
called the friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23).
The better our friendship is with God, the more we will understand
what He is going to do. One aspect of friendship is “inside knowledge.”
John 15:15 – Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant
knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all
things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
B. Abraham’s future – God promised to bless him. In light of all that God
had planned for Abraham, He wanted him to understand what He was
doing.
C. Abraham’s faithfulness to God – Because Abraham walked with God
and He knew he would guide his family in God’s ways
The Prayer for Sodom (verses 16-33)
This is a classic example of prayer as interceding for others.
Abraham in prayer stood between God and man, between the living and the
dead, and between heaven and earth.
Abraham is standing in the gap.
1. His awareness – God made Abraham aware of the sinfulness of Sodom. God
already knew, but He said this so Abraham would know that He knew. God
always bases His decisions and actions on accurate “intelligence.” Compare this
to the partial and often incorrect intelligence collected by the U.S. government.
2. His approach – Abraham drew near to God. We can do the same.
The Bible shows us how different people reacted when they knew about coming
judgment: When God told Jonah that He was going to destroy Nineveh, Jonah
was glad. When Jesus knew about the coming judgment of Jerusalem, He cried.
And when Abraham knew that God was ready to judge Sodom, he prayed.
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
James 4:8 – Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh unto you.
3. His appeal – Abraham made his request on the basis of God’s character. God
will always do what is right, so we can trust Him in all situations.
George Mueller of Bristol, England was studying Genesis 18 when he learned
the most important secrets of prayer. It taught him to use argument in pleading
his case before God. He would remind the Lord that the little orphan boys and
girls entrusted to his care were not his orphans, they were God’s. It was God’s
work, not George Mueller’s. God said that He was the father of the fatherless, so
he based his prayers on that aspect of God’s character.
4. His attitude – He is aware of his place in the presence of God (verse 27). God
listens to the broken-hearted and the humble.
Micah 6:8 – He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God. That’s exactly what Abraham did—he walked humbly with God.
5. His assurance – He knew that God would not destroy Sodom if only ten
righteous people were living there. He figured that at least ten people were there
(Lot and his wife, his two unmarried daughters, and at least three more married
daughters with their husbands – the word “sons in law” in 19:14 is a plural
meaning more than two). This is the second time that Abraham rescued Lot.
The first time was by force. Now it is by prayer.
Verse 33 – God and Abraham communed with one another in prayer.
Communing means they spent time together and had something in common—a
concern for the people of Sodom, especially Lot and his family.
Back to the Beginning
A Study of Genesis – Chapter 18
This chapter contains two of the greatest questions in the Bible. These questions tell us two
wonderful things about God:
1) God can do___________________________________.
2) God will always do_________________________________________________.
Knowing and believing these two principles will change your life!
The Promise of a Son (verses 1-15)
Two of these men were________________, and one was_______________________________.
(See verses 1, 13, 17, 20, 22, 26, 33)
1. Abraham’s___________________________________
2. Abraham’s___________________________________
Hebrews 13:2 – Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares.
Romans 12:13 – Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
3. Abraham’s___________________________________
Matthew 19:26 – (Jesus said) With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Luke 1:37 – (Gabriel said to Mary) For with God nothing will be impossible.
4. Abraham’s_____________________________– God confided in him and told him what would
happen to Sodom. Let’s look at three reasons for this:
A. Abraham’s_____________________________________
(2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23; John 15:15).
B. Abraham’s_____________________________________
C. Abraham’s_____________________________________
The Prayer for Sodom (verses 16-33)
This is a classic example of prayer as_____________________________________________.
1. His__________________________________
2. His__________________________________
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need.
James 4:8 – Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh unto you.
3. His__________________________________
4. His__________________________________
5. His__________________________________
Verse 33 – God and Abraham_______________________________ with one another.