Sermon for Trinity Nine – Sunday August 1, 2021
Calvary/Marquette ● Soli Deo Gloria

Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

Genesis 18:1–15 (NKJV)
Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

In the Name of Jesus, the Christ,
Dear Fellow Redeemed in His Blood –

It’s an expression found in the ‘Minnesotan Dialect’ of the English language, but I’m not sure if it’s used among ‘Yoopers’. When someone stops by to visit during the time of a regular meal, the host will say to his visitors, “Since you are here, let’s have a little lunch.” If you’ve never lived in Minnesota, I should explain that ‘a little lunch’ doesn’t mean that the meal will be tiny sandwiches (although that’s possible). The expression ‘a little lunch’ can include anything from a light meal to a full blown three course meal. “Let’s have a little lunch” means essentially, “Sit down, let me get you something to eat.”

When what appeared to be three men appeared suddenly in the vicinity of Abraham’s tent door by the ‘Large Trees’ near Mamre, not far from Hebron, the Patriarch offered them all a ‘little lunch.’ As we will see, ‘a morsel of bread’ meant more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or some fried spam. It turns out that there was a little something for everyone.

We will use that expression as our theme this morning, “A little something for everyone.” We will see how the occasion served an opportunity for Abraham to exercise his faith and provide for the needs of three strangers (the LORD and two angels). There was also a little something for Sarah, for the reason that the LORD appeared near the ‘tall trees’ of Mamre was to confirm to her that His Promise was indeed good, and that she herself would give birth to a son within the year.

We will find that in this Scripture there is ‘a little something for each of us’ as we are reminded to look for opportunities to exercise our faith in love, dwell on God’s Promises and remember that God knows even the thoughts of our hearts and still loves us – it’s no laughing matter.

May God the Holy Spirit bless our study of these words, remembering that ‘all these things happened to them as examples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:11).” Amen.

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It was during the heat of the day, probably the early afternoon hours, when Abraham found himself sitting in the shade of his tent. He was 99 years old, probably taking a nap.

When he opened his eyes and looked out the door of his tent, he suddenly saw three men standing in the distance under one of the large trees.
It probably wasn’t a surprise to see people in the area, since Abraham was camped near Hebron, likely along a road running north to south in the Judean Hills.

The Scripture here tells us that the LORD appeared to Abraham, and then proceeds to tell us how that happened. Abraham saw what appeared to be three men in the distance, one of them Yahweh in human form, the others angels appearing as human beings. There isn’t any reason in this Scripture that leads us to believe Abraham recognized them for who they were.

It was for Abraham an opportunity to exercise his faith and provide for the needs of others.

…when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

Let’s not forget that Abraham was at least 99 years old (Genesis 17:1). Pretty energetic, wouldn’t you say? He urged the three strangers to sit down and he’d have water brought to wash their feet. It was common courtesy in a dusty, arid region like Palestine. Why? Well, you know how your feet get if you wear sandals and take a hike on a hot day, right?

Abraham offered to bring them a ‘bit of bread.’ They agreed to stay for a bite to eat.

Abrahams offered ‘morsel of bread’ was a more than a piece of buttered bread. When he asked Sarah to throw together this ‘morsel’ he instructed three measures (literally: 3 Seahs) or about 30 quarts of fine meal flour be made into bread. In addition, he personally chose a young male calf and instructed a servant to butcher and prepare it.
He gathered ‘curds’ (a type of cheese, not butter) and milk and set ‘the little lunch’ before them.

They ate before him. We may wonder how the LORD God and two angels disguised as men could eat food…let us remember that God can do anything. They didn’t eat Abraham’s food because of their need, but for his sake. Likewise, the Resurrected Jesus would later eat broiled fish and honeycomb before his disciples – not because he needed it but because they needed to see it (Luke 24:41-43, John 21:12-13).

Abraham didn’t join them; He stood by like a servant prepared to provide any other need.

Do you think that Abraham’s hospitality was overkill? Was his service lavish and unnecessary? If we think so then perhaps, we should review our own hearts. When the Apostle Paul speaks of the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ the ‘Spiritual Fruit’ prompted by the Holy Spirit and produced by a living faith he describes these attitudes (Galatians 5:22-23):

“…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.”

When we walk down the street and see other people, we should train ourselves to see them all as people for whom Jesus died! Instead of looking down our noses at the shabby appearance of some or bearing a grudge toward others, we should be ready to exercise our faith and show love toward others. Ours is not to be a bitter, sarcastic attitude. Let’s not look to be hospitable to pat ourselves on the back, but to glorify our Savior Jesus in all things.

This wasn’t a test for Abraham to see whether he would pass Hospitality 101. This was an opportunity for him to exercise his God-given faith. No doubt thinking of this very event, the writer to the Hebrews encourages us all (13:1-2):

“Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”

Let us also look for opportunities to reflect Jesus’ love to others -- not only by inviting strangers to lunch, but by bringing to them the saving message of Jesus. God grant us opportunities to exercise our faith in acts of love toward others, not only those we love (Luke 6:32-36).

There was also a ‘little something for Sarah’. For as they were eating or after they finished, the three men began to ask Abraham about his wife, Sarah.
“Where is Sarah your wife?”

In our social media world – where people seem willing to reveal the most private and personal things about themselves – on Facebook, we probably wouldn’t blink if asked about a spouse. If someone on the phone were to ask for our Social Security Number or a Bank Tracking number, we might be a little hesitant.

However, questions like this one were not typical in Abraham’s day…especially from strangers. It was probably contrary to common courtesy to ask a man about his wife in this way, especially to ask of her by name. I can’t help but wonder if the question caused Abraham’s 99-year-old heart to skip a beat or two!

There is more here than a possibly uncomfortable question about a man’s wife. It was possible – if these men were from the area – they might know that Abraham had a wife. They might even know that her name was Sarai. What they wouldn’t have known was that her name had recently been changed…by God.

In the previous chapter of Genesis, Moses reveals that the LORD had appeared to Abraham and promised him that his wife Sarai would give birth to a son. Then the LORD said to Abraham (Genesis 17:15-16):

“… ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.’”

The LORD had changed Abraham’s wife’s name from Sarai (meaning Princely) to Sarah (meaning Princess) because she would be a mother of nations and kings of peoples would rise from her. So how would three strangers know such a thing? Well, because one of the strangers was Yahweh in human form and the other two were his messengers, angels, though it is not revealed to us until the 13th verse.

Whether concerned, intrigued or not, Abraham answered their question:
“Here, in the tent.”
It was then that the ‘leader’ of the three men revealed the purpose of His Coming to Abraham. God had already revealed to Abraham that Sarah would give birth to a son at the age of 90, the son through whom the Promised Savior would ultimately come. Now in mercy, the LORD came as a stranger to personally reveal that Sarah would give birth to a son.

The difference was that this time, the Promises was spoken aloud, in Sarah’s hearing:

10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

This is a somewhat sensitive question for the Ladies. Let’s suppose that the ‘time of womanhood’ has passed for you and you no longer have the monthly visitor. Let’s also suppose that you are 90 years old.

How would you react if someone told you that you were going to have a child? Well, you would probably react like Sarah did…she laughed – within. She didn’t snort aloud and start pounding the floor of her tent. She reacted like most human beings would, “Now that I’m all used up and my husband is still older…now I’m going to have a child? Sure.”

Such a reaction is warranted…except when the promise comes from God. Abraham and Sarah had been promised that from them a great nation would rise, more numerable than the sands on the seashore and the stars in the sky. But since God hadn’t given them any children, they tried to make it happen themselves with Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maid 13 years earlier (Genesis 16). The boy Ishmael’s descendants would become a great nation, but the Promised Savior would not come from him.

Sarah laughed at the Promise of God but she wasn’t the only one. Abraham had also laughed when it was revealed to him, but perhaps not in unbelief but joy (Genesis 17:17). In a year’s time when they had a son they would name him Isaac, which means laughter and Sarah would say (Genesis 21:6-7):
“God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me…Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

But…under the trees at Mamre, it wasn’t a laughing matter. God’s promises never are…because He is faithful, He keeps his promises no matter how fantastic and unbelievable.

After all, with God, nothing, no word or promise of God is impossible. Whether it be the Creation of the World (Jeremiah 32:17) or the birth of a child to a barren woman or a virgin (Luke 1:37) or the promise to create faith in the hearts of human beings (Matthew 19:23-26) – with God all things are possible.

Therefore, when you hear the words of Jesus, “This is my body given for you; this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” -- laugh only for joy, knowing that this promise of God is true and certain.

When the world around us laughs at the Promise of Jesus to return to judge the living and the dead; neither tremble nor doubt, but remember the Promise of God in Scripture (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9):

“…that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation…8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

It is always a dangerous thing to make light of or laugh at the Promises of God. In this case, the LORD called out to Sarah in her tent and called her to repentance.

13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
There is also a little something here for us. Yes, we should be ready and look for opportunity to exercise our faith in works of love, doing so in thanksgiving for the love our Savior Jesus has shown to us. Yes, we should not doubt but dwell on the promises of our God and hold them in our hearts in faith.

Finally, we should remember that God knows the thoughts in our hearts and minds. He knows when we laugh. He knows when we doubt. He knows all things…and yet He still loves us. He knows who we are in the dark and in the light.

Still, despite this He sent His Son - ‘a little something’ for the Virgin Mary and for the whole world – to make things right, to pay our sin debt and to take away our guilt.

Fully knowing His Disciples – inside and out – the same Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed – took a little something, a little bread and a little wine. He said in their hearing that along with that bread and wine He was and would also give to them His body and his blood to confirm their debt was paid in full.

After all, Is anything too hard for the LORD?

He promised a 99-year-old man and his barren wife a son. He delivered. He has promised us still greater things. God help us to cling forever to those promises…which are no laughing matter. A little something for everyone…and more.

Praise God!
Amen.