Genesis 18:1-3 - At home with God
Scripture:
Genesis 18:1-3
1 Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he
was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men
were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from
the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,
3 and said, "My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight,
please do not pass Your servant by."
NASU
Thoughts:
God appears in a bodily form to Abraham. One of the 3
visitors is the Lord, and the other 2 are angels:
Genesis 18:33-19:1
33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord
departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
19 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot
was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose
to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
NASU
This is an example of what Bible teachers call a Theophany, a
unique occurrence before Christ came to Earth in which God
presents Himself in a physical form for the purpose of
communication. God is spirit, and so He is merely taking this
form, it is not His true essence, as Jesus taught us:
John 4:24
24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth."
NASU
How envious I am of Abraham! Imagine having God come to your
house in this way -- to talk to Him so directly! And yet, we
are actually more blessed than he in this regard. His
interactions with God were discrete events like this one.
Born again believers today however, are indwelt by the Spirit
of God. He does not need to visit our home for He has made
His home inside of us. Amazing! As Jesus told us:
John 14:16-17
16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He
abides with you and will be in you.
NASU
Prayer:
Thank You, Father! How intimate is our relationship! Who am
I that Your Spirit should live in me?
Amen