Sermon notes November 9th, 2025
GENESIS 18
Some of you may be thinking I’m picking on Abraham too much. Well, I am for good reason. I’m trying to get you to understand God was developing him and growing him to be that Great man of Faith that the Apostle Paul was talking about. No one starts out a great man or woman of faith. It grows on us and in us. Faith comes by hearing:
Romans 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
• This principle is that when one’s faith in the living Christ is personal and real, then that believer will confess this openly and by mouth to others. This will form the part of you that is called a changed or transformed lifestyle.
Genesis 18:1-3 New King James Version
1 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.
• I would like to see this place, because it was a significant place in Abraham’s life. Abraham moved to Mamre when he came back into the promised land from Egypt and built an altar there (Genesis 13:18) and apparently stayed there for some time. Abraham purchased a field and cave at Mamre, using it for Sarah’s burial (Genesis 23:17-19). Abraham himself was buried there (Genesis 25:9), and his son Isaac will also be buried there as well. (Genesis 49:30, 50:13).
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,
• Apparently, this happened a short time after the events of Genesis 17. In Genesis 17:21 God said Sarah would give birth one year later, and at this time she was not yet pregnant; so, this couldn’t be more than three months after the events in Genesis 17.
3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
• Here again, the LORD came to Abraham, and he recognized Christ in human appearance. This is another presentation of Jesus in human form before His incarnation, here among the three men visiting Abraham. Though the LORD (in the Person of Jesus Christ) appeared to Abraham twice before (Genesis 12:7, 17:1), we don’t know if Jesus looked the same each time, but Abraham visually recognized Him.
Genesis 18:4-6
4 Please let a little water be brought, andwash 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.”
• According to the customs of that culture, Abraham enthusiastically offered the hospitality of his house to these travelers.
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
• He tells her to use with three measurements orseahs of fine flour. In modern measurements, this would be approximately 21 quarts or liters! That would make an extravagant amount of bread for just three men. But the cakes / loaves are just the beginning. Abraham is engineering royal feast.
Genesis 18:7-13
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.
• The young man was a servant to Abraham, possibly Ishmael, who was trained in such tasks, according to some commentaries.
• He was instructed to prepare the calf quickly. The young man prepared the calf, and along with curds and milk, it was served to the visitors.
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.
• In ancient times, and especially in hot climates, meat needed to be prepared and cooked immediately as refrigeration was non-existent. The process of killing, draining the blood, and basic butchering was efficient. The meat was likely cut into pieces and roasted over a fire or boiled in a pot to cook quickly. A tender, young calf would cook faster than an older, tougher animal. Modern estimates for similar processes suggest a few hours for a thorough cook, but the urgency in the text implies much faster preparation, possibly just cooking the best parts quickly.
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?’
• Why did Sarah laugh: God heard Sarah’s laugh even though she laughed within herself. The sense was, her laugh could not be heard normally, but God heard it nevertheless. There was nothing hidden before the LORD.
• We might live very differently if we remembered that God hears and knows everything we think and speak.
• At the appointed time I will return to you:When Sarah laughed at God’s twice-given promise, we might think God would take the promise away. Instead, God responded by dealing with her sin of unbelief, not by taking away the promise.
• If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself
2 Timothy 2:13
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful;He cannot deny Himself.
• Is there anything too hard for the LORD:God would demonstrate through Abraham and Sarah that there is nothing too hard for the LORD, and that God can even triumph over the weak faith of His people.
• Hard is the same Hebrew word for wonderful in Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given… And His name will be called Wonderful. Jesus is our “wonderful” One, and He isn’t too hard or wonderful for God to give unto us.
• The LORD said to Abraham: Significantly, God dealt with Abraham about this, not Sarah herself, because Abraham was the head of his home. God promised that it would happen, and at the appointed time.
Genesis 18:14-18
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.”
• It is strangely characteristic of us to believe God’s promise for a long, long time, enduring through much discouragement along the way, until the promise is almost there, and then we find doubt. We are grateful that He is greater than our doubts.
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
• Somehow, I believe Sarah interjected herself into the actual conversation. I believe she was serious when she said she didn’t laugh, because it was within herself. This becomes Sarah’s revelation moment. Sarah is a woman of God and now she knows for herself Godhears even our thoughts. Plus, I believe if Abraham had disclosed his earlier conversation with God to Sarah it might have been easier for her to except this news. If there is a blame, I blame Abraham.
Genesis 18:16-19
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord,to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
• Abraham went with them to send them on the way: In that day, it was customary for a hospitable host to accompany his guests on their journey for a while as they departed.
• And the LORD said: God asked Himself a question. He didn’t do this because He didn’t know what to do or needed to process His thinking. God asked Himself this question to reveal His thinking to us, the readers of Genesis.
• Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing: Because of what God would bring from Abraham (a great and mighty nation), and because Abraham had to be a great leader (that he may command his children and his household after him), God determined to reveal to Abraham what He would soon do with Sodom and Gomorrah.
• The reasons stated in this passage are important. God’s purpose in revealing this to Abraham was not just to share interesting or shocking information, and it wasn’t to simply satisfy Abraham’s curiosity. God wanted to do something in Abraham’s life through what He would reveal to him.
Genesis 18:20-22
20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
• We see the two men were actually the angels who visited Sodom in Genesis 19. The third person in the party was actually the LORD Himself.
• Abraham came near to the LORD. Effective intercession is a matter of drawing near to God so we can pray with His heart.
Genesis 18:23
23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
• In discussing this question, in a sense, Abraham reminded the LORD of His own nature and principles (shall not the Judge of all the earth do right). Abraham thought that God, as a righteous Judge, could not and would not punish the innocent in the same way as the guilty.
• Effective prayer speaks knowing who God is, and how God works in a particular situation. Effective prayer doesn’t see itself as a passive spectator in what God does, but effective prayer acts as if it must actually remind God in prayer.
• We might find it remarkable Abraham even cared about the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He might have just prayed, “LORD, get my nephew Lot out of there first,” but he didn’t. Abraham’s heart was full of sorrow and compassion, even for the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18:24-33
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So, He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So, He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”
33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
According to the Bible, the people of Sodom were profoundly wicked, described in Genesis "exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord". Their evil was a combination of severe social and moral failings, culminating in a pervasive atmosphere of corruption and a complete lack of regard for others. Key aspects of their behavior, according to various biblical texts, included:
• Arrogance and Pride: The prophet Ezekiel states, "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy" (Ezekiel 16:49). This overindulgence and self-centeredness led to a proud and haughty attitude.
• Lack of Hospitality and Cruelty: Hospitality was a sacred duty in the ancient Near East, but the people of Sodom were notoriously inhospitable and cruel to strangers and the vulnerable. When two angelic visitors arrived in the city, Lot welcomed them into his home. The men of the city, young and old, gathered around the house and demanded that Lot "bring them out to us, that we may know them" (Genesis 19:5). This demand was a threat of gang rape and sexual violence intended to humiliate and abuse the foreigners, a severe violation of guest-host norms.
• Sexual Immorality and Perversion: The New Testament book of Jude refers to the cities giving themselves over to "sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh" (Jude 1:7). This is often interpreted as a reference to a widespread practice of homosexual acts, specifically the non-consensual, violent nature described in Genesis 19. Other interpretations suggest the "strange flesh" refers to the attempt to have relations with non-human (angelic) beings.
• Injustice and Idleness: Other prophets also condemned Sodom for sins such as adultery, lies, strengthening the hands of evildoers, and generally not helping the poor and needy.
• Total Depravity: The people of Sodom were so universally wicked that God told Abraham he would spare the city if even ten righteous people could be found there, but ultimately, only Lot and his two daughters were saved, indicating the total moral corruption of the city.
Ultimately, the people of Sodom were considered evil because their society was characterized by profound moral corruption, violence, a total lack of compassion, and a general rebellion against God's laws, which eventually led to their destruction by divine judgment. Listen to what the New Testament has to say about people who refuse to repent or to even acknowledge their lifestyle as sin:
Romans 1:24-28 New King James Version
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
