1. Who came to Abraham while he lived in Mamre? "And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground." (Genesis 18:1-2)
2. Who were these men? "And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord." (Genesis 18:22)
"And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground." (Genesis 19:1)
3. Did Abraham recognize the Lord as one of the three men?
4. How did Abraham show his hospitality? "And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, pass not away, I pray you, from your servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort you your hearts; after that you shall pass on: for therefore are you come to your servant. And they said, So do, as you have said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat." (Genesis 18:3-8)
5. What exhortation based upon this occurrence is given to us? "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2)
6. When the men rose to go, what did Abraham do? "And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way." (Genesis 18:16)
7. What did the Lord say? "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?" (Genesis 18:17-18)
8. Why did the Lord honor Abraham in this manner? "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him." (Genesis 18:19)
9. What did the Lord say of Sodom and Gomorrah? "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous." (Genesis 18:20)
10. What did Abraham say to the Lord? "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Will You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city; will You also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from You to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from You; shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:21-25)
11. What reply did the Lord make? "And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." (Genesis 18:26)
12. In what spirit did Abraham continue his plea? "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." (Genesis 18:27)
13. What was the second request, and the reply? "Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: will you destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it." (Genesis 18:28)
14. What concession did the Lord still further make in answer to Abraham's earnest prayer? "And he spoke unto Him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And He said, I will not do it for forty's sake." (Genesis 18:29)
15. How did Abraham still further pray, and what was the result? "And he said unto Him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And He said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there." (Genesis 18:30)
16. For what still smaller number did the Lord say He would spare Sodom? "And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake." (Genesis 18:31)
17. Finally, how many righteous persons did the Lord say would save Sodom? "And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake." (Genesis 18:32)
18. In this simple narrative, what scripture do we see fulfilled? "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16)
19. Cite some notable instances where wicked men's lives were spared on account of a righteous man. "But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God has given you all them that sail with you. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." (Acts 27:21-25)
"And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends: for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that you have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job." (Job 42:7-9)
20. What relation do the righteous sustain to the people of the earth? "You are the salt of the earth." (Matthew 5:13)
21. Will the presence of righteous men always be sufficient to save the wicked from merited punishment? "Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness." (Ezekiel 14:19-20)
22. What is the only safe place for people to occupy? He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust; His truth shall be your shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:1-4)
Notes:
We cannot always judge people by their appearance. In fact, judging from the appearance is about the most unsafe thing a person can do. Those three men who came to Abraham were no doubt very ordinary looking. Very likely they looked heated and dusty. Nevertheless two of them were angels, and one was the Lord himself. What a lesson for us, and how forcible are the words of the apostle: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2)
How many people are there who would invite the Saviour into their houses if He passed by just as He used to walk along the dusty roads of Judea and Galilee? Isaiah said that there was no beauty in Him that He should be desired. When we think of all the circumstances of the case, we shall be less likely to justify ourselves by condemning the ancient Jews for not accepting Christ. Their conduct was inexcusable; but would we have done any better?
It may not be amiss in connection with this incident in Abraham's life, to speak of the ancient practice of feet washing. Many people claim that in washing His disciples' feet, as recorded in (John 13:1-17), the Lord was simply impressing on them the importance of hospitality, and that He did a thing that was very common in those times. Christ's own statement to Peter: "What I do you know not now," (John 13:7) and also the simple fact that it was a thing absolutely unknown for a host to wash the feet of a guest, ought to be sufficient to disprove this; Abraham was the prince of hospitable men; but he said to the men: "Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree." (Genesis 18:4)
They were to wash their own feet, just as they were to rest themselves. No principle of hospitality or courtesy required one man to wash another's feet; but Christian fellowship does require just that, and not only that, but all the service one for another that may be implied by it.
Another lesson that ought not to be lost sight of may be learned from Abraham's prayer for Sodom.
• First, Abraham asked for just what he wanted, and
• Second, he was importunate. He gained confidence as he proceeded.
There is altogether too much formality in prayer. By this we do not wish to be understood as favoring in the slightest degree that familiar style of speech that is becoming common, with a certain class, and which cannot fail to shock a reverent person. Prayer should be uttered just as one cannot help uttering it if he realizes the greatness of the One whom he is addressing; but still the petitions should be such as would be made to a father.
A great deal of the formality in prayer is due to the fact that people don't expect to have their prayers answered. In fact, all the formality in prayers comes from that source. The people who have the most faith will be the most careful in their petitions.--Signs of the Times, March 9, 1888--Lesson 11 - Sabbath, March 17--Genesis 18:1-32.
E.J. Waggoner