Can God work through us despite our limitations? (Gen 18:1-15)
Gen 18:1-15
On a summer placement as a student, I encountered a young man who was leading worship during our team sessions in the morning. Though a gifted musician and a godly person, he had the most incapacitating stammer, and it was excruciatingly painful to watch him try and get his words out. I remember at the time admiring his courage as he stood up in public to lead our singing and his willingness to be involved in evangelism. If I had been in his place, I would have cowered in a corner resisting all engagement that could put me in such an embarrassing situation. Frequently, however, God does not take away our weaknesses and limitations but shows His strength through them.
Abraham’s hospitality
Abraham and Sarah’s ongoing story speaks to this point. It may seem redundant to repeat the promise of a son after Genesis 17, but Sarah needs to hear it directly, as much as Abraham. What seem like insurmountable obstacles (old age, menopause) are not so for God. First, however, the patriarch’s generous hospitality is highlighted, in contrast to the Sodomites’ shocking attempt to abuse Lot’s guests later (Gen 19:4-5). Without knowing the visitors’ identity,[1] the patriarch throws the household into frantic activity (note the repeated references to hurry, run and be quick – Gen 18:2, 6-7) despite the inconvenience of the midday heat when most are at rest. What he deprecatingly calls a bit of bread (Gen 18:5) is a feast that includes a choice calf (v.7, a considerable expense and a rare treat in a culture where meat-eating only occurred at special celebrations).
Where is Sarah?
Once the formalities are over, the men inquire about Sarah’s whereabouts (Gen 18:9) echoing other incidents (Gen 3:9; 4:9; 16:8). This is not a request for information (as if God did not know), but an opportunity to take stock. Where is Sarah in God’s plans? The fact that these strangers know the name of Abraham’s wife and her new name (Sarah, not Sarai) at that, indicates that they are no ordinary visitors. Why Sarah did not come out of the tent is uncertain. Some assume that women were not meant to be present when male guests were entertained. Whatever the reason, it is symbolic of Sarah’s position who may have felt pushed aside in God’s plans. Abraham possibly has not told her yet the promise of Gen 17:21, so that the message of a son evokes an embarrassed laugh from her and a self-deprecatory remark (Gen 18:12). Her reaction is understandable. First, she cannot know that these strangers bring God’s message, though she may get a first inkling given that they know her name. Similarly in our context, we may hear God’s promise through His Word, but wonder if we have heard it right, if it is really God speaking. Second, the narrator is emphatic that the couple are old, and she is past menopause (Gen 18:11, NASB ‘past childbearing’, literally, ‘past the manner of women’). We are meant to feel sympathy for this woman who dare not hope anymore – her limitations are too great.
From laughter of doubt to laughter of joy
While God gently chides her, He is not unkind. Note how in repeating what she said to herself, God keeps the content neutral (Gen 18:13),[2] and there are no repercussions for her doubts (cf. Luke 1:18-20).[3] In fact, her questions become an opportunity to affirm again the promise and God’s character who can work with our limitations (Gen 18:14). Her fear and denial of laughing (foolish as it may seem) indicate that she now knows who is giving the promise. Strangely, the back-and-forth over laughter, its denial and affirmation (four times, Gen 18:12-13, 15 [2x]) keeps the promised son, Isaac (his name means ‘he laughs’) in the forefront. The laughter that started in doubt and wonder will turn into the laughter of joy (Gen 21:6-7) when God makes the impossible possible. This is not a blanket promise for fulfilling all our desires, but an affirmation that what God wills He will accomplish. As we think of our own limitations, whether physical, in our personalities and abilities, can we trust God that He can work through us despite them?
[1] Readers sometimes speculate on the identity of the ‘three men’ (Gen 18:2). Some argue that they must be the Trinity, though note that Abraham addresses one of them as ‘my Lord’ and then includes the other two in the plural (Gen 18:3-4), thereby distinguishing between the leader and the two escorts. Note also Gen 19:22. Another suggestion is that the references to the LORD (Yahweh) in the later conversation indicate the pre-incarnate Christ (e.g. Gen 18:17, 22). However, there is no evidence for this, and it seems to be driven by a desire to see Christ in the Old Testament and thereby validate it as Scripture. However, this is unnecessary; the Old Testament is God’s Word and testifies of God whether it specifically points to Christ or not. John H. Walton, a specialist in ancient Near Eastern studies, notes that messengers for kings were empowered to speak in the name of their master in the first person so that someone speaking to a royal envoy was as if he spoke to the king himself. Such an envoy was accorded the type of treatment due to the one whom he represented. Walton argues that these encounters with angels or the angel of the LORD should be seen in the same way. Genesis, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 462-66. In other words, angels, often initially perceived as men, were intermediaries for God and they so faithfully represented God and His message that those who met them could say that they have encountered God Himself.
[2] Gordon Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 49.
[3] Readers may wonder why Abraham is not reprimanded for rather similar thoughts in the previous chapter (Gen 17:17-22). Like the contrast between Zechariah and Mary in Luke’s Gospel where the two people’s initial reactions sound similar but God’s response is different, we have to accept that God sees the heart behind the words and we can only gauge the level of faith or its lack by God’s reaction.
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