“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to the tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried…to meet them and bowed low to the ground.” –Genesis 18:1-2 (NIV)
It’s interesting how this verse emphasizes that these things appeared to Abraham during the hottest part of the day. At this time, he was living in Hebron, which was right by the Dead Sea (Salt Sea), close to Judah and Jerusalem, and not far from Egypt. While this was probably a fertile and manageable land to live in, it didn’t rain very much and, based on location, I’m sure it was incredibly hot in the middle of the day. Hebron was near the Arabian Desert and, while not directly located in it, I’m sure it got hot enough to see mirages in Hebron. Yet, I find it so interesting that when he “looked up” and suddenly saw 3 men standing in front of him, he took it as real and he didn’t second guess, at all, that he was seeing things; vs. 2 says, “When he saw them, he hurried…” Not only that, he got up and served them, going to great lengths to supply all their needs:
“So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. ‘Quick,’ he said, ‘get three sehas of fine flour and knead it and bake it into some bread.’ Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to the servants, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.” –Genesis 18:6-8 (NIV)
He sacrificed his “choice” calf so that these strangers could have something to eat. Abraham was so tuned into God that he recognized these weren’t just ordinary men. He recognized these visitors as God; 1 was God appearing in human form and the other two were probably angels. I believe the point of this visit was actually for Sarah; for her to hear firsthand that she would soon become pregnant with Isaac (vs. 9-15). However, why God didn’t just show up to her individually, but rather he chose to go through Abraham, I’m not sure. Perhaps, it was also to test Abraham and see how quick he’d respond to serve. How often do we second guess God and think that maybe it was just a “mirage,” or random thought in our head? Abraham shows here that we need to be quick and willing to serve, and to serve with all our effort, even if its at an inconvenient and uncomfortable time, like the hottest part of the day.
