APPEARANCE BEFORE ABRAHAM

KEY VERSE:

“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
He said, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.  Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.’
‘Very well,’ they answered, ‘do as you say.’
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. ‘Quick,’ he said, ‘get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.’

Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.  He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.” Genesis 18:1-8

ESSAY:

I've been lamenting over a tough decision the last few days. After much thought and prayer, I still don't really feel like I know what the right thing to do is. I was reminded by my recent readings in Genesis that God, in the Old Testament, often appeared to His people. Here in chapter 18 it says, "The Lord appeared to Abraham..." He doesn't seem to do that anymore. As best I know He has never appeared to me. Or to my friends. Or even to the modern leaders of the church. But in the Old Testament it was a frequent occurrence. Maybe it is because the New Testament church has the Holy Spirit and so God doesn't feel He needs to make a physical appearance. Or maybe it is because if He did appear to us today, we wouldn't treat Him like Abraham did in this chapter:

            "Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground" (Genesis 18:2).

            When Abraham saw God and his angels appear, he worshipped Him. His worship was quick (he hurried) and humble (he bowed low to the ground). Maybe if God appeared before us, we would have to finish our cell phone call first. And then after we hung up, we would recognize it was God and get around to worshipping Him.

            After Abraham worshipped God, he also served Him (Genesis 18:3-5):

            "He said, 'If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way -- now that you have come to your servant'.”

            'Very well,' they answered, 'do as you say.'" (Genesis 18:5b).

            Maybe if God appeared to me, I would get around to serving Him after Wheel of Fortune was over.

            Not only did Abraham serve God, but he got his whole household involved and invested, too:

            "So Abraham hurried {there is that quickness again} into the tent to Sarah. 'Quick,' he said, 'get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.' Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree."

            Abraham enlisted Sarah and his servant in the worship of his God. He was so willing and eager he hurried, and his attitude was contagious. Sarah picked the finest flour. Abraham ran to the herd. His servant quickly prepared it. They gave it their best effort. This was a gold medal winning service performance.

            I am frustrated by my indecision and wonder why God doesn't appear to me as He did to Abraham. Maybe when my worship and my service of God Almighty look more like Abraham's then I'll take the medal stand and be blessed with a personal pep talk from the Coach.

APPLICATION:

There are some big questions that arise from just these eight verses in the Old Testament. Why does God appear in person to Abraham? Why doesn’t God appear to you or me? Why isn’t our worship as eager and earnest as Abraham’s worship? Ask yourself, if God wanted to appear to me in person, what might impede his arrival? Am I too busy to notice Him? Am I too lazy to worship Him? Am I too isolated to involve my friends in the preparation? Ask God to appear to you however, whenever and wherever He wants. And ask Him to help you be ready when He does.

This essay is from my book More Autism and Awesometism: Devotionals From and About a Special Needs Family.