Whoever reads the Old Testament thoughtfully cannot fail to be impressed with the fact that the people who knew the Lord in the days of which it tells, lived on very intimate terms with Him. It could really be said of them that they knew Him. They did not merely know of Him, but they were personally acquainted with Him.
Simple Living Gives Clear Vision
If you ask for the reason for this familiarity with God, you will find it in this, that the lives of the people in those days were more simple than the lives of people now. They did not live in so great a rush. They did not have so many artificial wants to be supplied. There were not so many inventions as there are now, to make living complex. For it should not be overlooked, that what are called "modern conveniences" have greatly increased the trouble of living.
People often wonder how our forefathers managed to live without the "improvements" that we have. The truth is that they lived much better and more happily than the most of their descendants. Many inventions have now made wants that then were unknown, and people were then, as a general thing, more satisfied and contented. They lived peaceful lives, and had time to think. They did not have so many books, but they studied the vast book in which God is revealed, and He was to them a personal Being, and not an article in the creed.
Abraham's Intimacy with God
Nowhere is the intimacy that existed between God and men more strikingly apparent than in the history recorded in the 18th chapter of Genesis. The Lord himself, accompanied by two angels, visited Abraham in visible form, enjoyed his hospitality, and talked familiarly with him.
When Abraham first saw them he could not recognize in them anything more than ordinary travelers, and such he received them. Yet when he learned, as he soon did by their conversation, that his guests were heavenly beings, it does not seem to have made any difference with him. He did not become embarrassed, and begin to apologize. There was the same free yet dignified hospitality. One would think that he had been accustomed to meet and talk with heavenly messengers every day, and so he had. He was acquainted with the Lord, and to see Him face to face did not throw him out of balance.
How to Treat Our Fellow-Men
There is one thing that we must not forget in reading this narrative, and that is the instruction it gives us as to how to treat our fellow-men. Abraham treated the Lord and His angels just as if they were really ordinary men, because he was accustomed to treat mere men as courteously as if they had been the Lord. He did not have two sets of manners; his best were for everyday use; and when the Lord came to visit him, he could not do any better than he was in the habit of doing. This is true courtesy, true hospitality. It is the courtesy that comes from daily association with the inhabitants of the court of the King of kings.
God Cannot Keep Aloof from Men
When Abraham's guests started away, he accompanied them a little distance. Than the Lord said: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?" (Genesis 18:17-18)
That is to say: "How can I keep a secret from Abraham?"
That is the language of one with regard to another, whose friendship he values; and this was the case. The Lord loves the society of men, and has chosen them for His intimate companions. He cannot hold himself aloof from them. It is wonderfully helpful and encouraging to know that it is not mere pity, that prompts God to seek to save us. It is not merely because He has compassion on us in our fallen condition, but because He loves us. His love for us, and His desire for our companionship, leads Him to search us out. How greatly He longs for us may be learned from the sacrifices He makes to obtain us.
The Lord thought so much of Abraham, that He could not keep anything secret from him; but Abraham is not the only one so favored.
"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." (Psalm 25:14)
Jesus says: "You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you;" (John 15:14) and friends share one another's secrets. Again Jesus said: "The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He does." (John 5:30)
But Jesus also prayed that His disciples might know that the Father loved them even as He loved Him.
"I in them, and You in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent me, and have loved them, as You have loved me." (John 17:23)
Therefore we may be sure that God will show us all things that He does.
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets," (Amos 3:7) and He reveals His secret to them in order that they may in turn pass it on to whomsoever will hear.
The Joy of the Revelation
Many fail to get the comfort that they should from the statement that there is nothing secret that shall not be revealed, because they do not sufficiently consider the connection. Jesus was sending the disciples out to preach, and in forewarning them of persecutions that they must endure at the hands of wicked men, He added: "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak in light: and what you hear in the ear, that preach upon the housetops." (Matthew 10:26-27)
We see that the hidden things that are to be revealed are the deep things of God, which we in turn are to proclaim to the world.
"He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in darkness, and the light dwells with Him." (Daniel 2:23)
God Knows Whom He Can Trust
The best reading of (Genesis 18:17-18) is: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; and Abraham shall surely become a great nation," etc.
The connecting word is "and," and not "seeing." That Abraham should become a great nation comes in incidentally, and not as the reason why the Lord would favor him with His confidence. The reason for that is found in the next verse: "For I know him." (Genesis 18:19)
That was why the Lord could not keep His plans hidden from Abraham: He knew him; He could trust him. How easy of comprehension the character of God is! We do not trust our secrets with those whom we do not know, but only to those whom we know, and whose loyalty is approved. God knows whom He can trust, and He trusts those whom He knows.
"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)
What God's Foreknowledge Does For Us
The expression, "I know him," implies more than mere acquaintance. Gesenius renders it: "I have chosen him, that he may command," etc.
The French of Segond, and the Swedish also have: "I have chosen him."
That is, the Lord had known, or recognized, Abraham in the multitude as a kindred spirit, and had singled him out. He knew what Abraham would do, and He had chosen him to do that very thing. The Lord knew Abraham so well that He allowed Abraham to know Him.
In this we have a sidelight on the unnecessarily difficult question of foreknowledge; for it is evident that the saying that God had known, or chosen, Abraham, indicates that He foreknew him. He knew him beforehand. He knew Abraham before Abraham knew Him. He knows us before we can possibly know Him, He knew Cyrus more than a hundred years before he was born, and appointed him to the great work of his life. He knew Jeremiah, and ordained him to be a prophet, before his birth. So also with Samson, John the Baptist, and, in fact, everybody; only most people will not accept God's foreknowledge, with the position of labor and blessing to which it calls them.
Then let us be glad and rejoice in God's foreknowledge and fore-ordination, for: "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:28-31)
Commandments of Righteousness
God said of Abraham: "He will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord." (Genesis 18:19)
He knew that there would be force to Abraham's commands--the force of his own righteous life. He would command, and it would be done. Here we see a likeness to God's commands: "He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalm 33:9)
Why? Because His own life was in the word spoken. When men "say, and do not," (Matthew 23:3) there is no life in their teaching, and it cannot be expected that there will be any results. The scribes and Pharisees, as the successors of Moses, taught good precepts; but they did not cause the people to do righteousness, because there was not the power of righteousness in their utterances. When a man has learned to rule himself in righteousness, that is, to submit himself completely to the rule of the Spirit, he can rule others; but there will be nothing of the despotic in his commands.
Parents Saved in the Salvation of Their Children
"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)
Abraham's salvation depended upon his children. This is strikingly suggested in the fact that the promise could be fulfilled to him only through his Seed--Jesus Christ. In that the Lord indicates that the salvation of the fathers depends largely upon their sons.
"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the Government shall be upon His shoulder." (Isaiah 9:6)
God could not bring upon Abraham that which He had spoken of him, unless he so commanded his children that they kept the way of the Lord. If the father allows his children to go to destruction, there is fear that he will also be destroyed. The Christian must be able to say with Christ: "Here am I, and the children whom You have given me." (Isaiah 8:18)
The last part of the 18th chapter of Genesis is taken up with the account of Abraham's intercession for the city of Sodom. It reveals in a striking manner the humble boldness of Abraham. There was no self-assertion, he was most humble and respectful, and yet he pressed his petitions with increasing boldness. Each point gained gave him confidence to press another. This speaks volumes for the longsuffering kindness of the Lord. He can be pleaded with in behalf of weakness and transgression.
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)--Present Truth, August 8, 1901--International Sunday-school Lesson for Aug. 18--Genesis 18:16-33.
E.J. Waggoner