Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Genesis. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material.
Stacey
Take a few minutes to savor Genesis Chapters 18 & 19. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations…
18:1 – the Lord appeared to Abraham. He was one of the three men in verse 2.
18:2 – “three men standing nearby” – they just appeared – this is a supernatural meeting.
18:9 – many clues to the travelers’ uncommon nature: the Lord and His messengers knew where Sarah was; they knew the custom that women weren’t welcome in men’s company; they spoke her name and asked about her.
18:10 – Did God show up to tell Sarah personally? He was speaking to Abraham, but knew she would hear Him. Her reaction in 18:12 would suggest the visitor caught her off-guard with the news, so Abraham probably hadn’t shared with her the conversation he had with God in chapter 17. But he had to have shared some of the conversation since she now had a new name!
18:10-15 – “Let’s show more than a little respect.” See Galatians 6:7. (Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible – Higgs)
18:12 – pleasure – “sexual pleasure” (Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible – Higgs – Alter, “Genesis: Translation and Commentary”, 79)
18:14 – “too hard” – pala - .
God calls Sarah by name without referring to her as Abraham’s wife. She is a full participant in this.
18:15 – Why was she afraid? Had she just realized Who was speaking?
18:17-19 – to whom was the Lord speaking? The other two men?
18:20 – Abraham is about to encounter God’s judgment nature.
18:22-32 – “Scripture teaches us to pray by God’s will, which means to ask according to God’s character, attributes, purpose, and providence, while believing that our prayer fits His nature and intent.” (Explore the Bible, Winter 2007-2008, Genesis 1-27) See 1 Corinthians 1:4-7; Ephesians 3:14-19; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; Philemon 4-7.
18:22 – the two men are the two angels in 19:1.
18:22-23 – Abraham’s “badgering” is allowing him to reestablish relationship with God after learning of this new character trait of the Lord’s.
18:23-25 – Judge – Abraham pleads with God based on His justice.
18:24-32 – Abraham is persistently interceding for the people of Sodom. (Explore the Bible, Winter 2007-2008, Genesis 1-27)
18:32-33 – After agreeing to spare the city for 10 people, the Lord leaves. Did He want Abraham to stop asking for concessions? As a parent, the time came to put His foot down and say, “enough is enough.”
What attributes of God have you observed in your study today? How will this change your relationship with Him?
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