We observed the Lord’s Supper at church this week. This sacrament is made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, his resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. I was reminded of the meal Abraham served to God, who visited him incognito with two other men.
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.
He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground.
He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.”
So they said, “Do as you have said (Genesis 18:1-5).
Just as God graciously visited Abraham, he also invited the congregation at church to experience a personal encounter with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords through this communion.
Abraham served as the host, while Sarah and his servants prepared the meal.
And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.”
Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.
Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate (Genesis 18:6-8).
The 23rd Psalm offers a different perspective compared to Abraham’s meal with God and the two angels. In Abraham’s story, he acted as the host, and the angels and God were the guests.
In contrast, the 23rd Psalm portrays God as the host, and we are the guests.
This same dynamic is present in the Lord’s Supper, which Jesus shared with his disciples.
Before the meal, Jesus, their Lord and Master, humbly washed their feet, saying, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).
We have many reasons to praise and stand in awe of God, one of the greatest being his willingness to engage personally with humanity.
It’s one thing to see God interact with Abraham, the father of the faithful and a friend of God (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). It’s even more profound that God desires to be our friend.
As Jesus said, “No longer do I call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
Sarah Laughs
I’ve had experiences so discouraging that my reactions ranged from sarcastic or disgusted laughter to fleeting thoughts of profanity. While I’m not certain of Sarah’s exact motivation, she laughed inwardly when God told her she would bear a child at ninety years old.
They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”
Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?” (Genesis 18:9-12).
Henry Blackaby was a successful pastor in California when a small congregation in Canada, believing God’s call, invited him to be their pastor.
Leaving the security of his California position, Blackaby moved to Canada, trusting in God’s promise of fruitful ministry there, despite the congregation’s limited financial resources.
They, too, believed the God-sized promise delivered to them by the Holy Spirit.
The remarkable results of his ministry led him to write Experiencing God, a book that often highlighted their experiences of following God and discerning His will.
Instead of doubting or laughing at the seemingly impossible situation, Blackaby and the church obeyed.
What God-sized vision has He given to you? How are you responding to it?
God’s Response
When Sarah tried to deny laughing at God’s promise, He responded with a powerful question for all of us: “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”
The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”
But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Yes, you did laugh” (Genesis 18:13-15).
The implied answer, of course, is no. Nothing is too wonderful, too large, or too difficult for God.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 