Abraham From Idolatry to Patriarch, Part 2

It’s fashionable, in some quarters, to imagine that a conversion has to be a dramatic event: Heartfelt weeping, a walk down the “sawdust trail” to the front of a revival tent, or perhaps a deathbed confession. The more drama, spectacle, and publicity that can be attached, the better.

But there are times when conversion—or the evidence thereof—can be quiet, humble, hardly noticed. This incident in Abraham’s life is one of these. The patriarch is sitting at “the tent door,” the Bible tells us, and sees three visitors in the distance. Abraham jumps up, runs to meet them, and bows low before his guests. Rejecting their demurrals, he insists on offering them due hospitality, and then some.

Abraham told his guests, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant” (Genesis 18:3–5).

Of course, Abraham served more than “a morsel of bread.” He had fine cakes of meal prepared, and a roasted calf, hearty fare and not an inconsequential recognition that the guests deserved proper treatment.

It turns out these visitors were more than just coincidental travelers on the road past Abraham’s tent, en route to Sodom. They were angels of the Most High, and they made a promise to Abraham: In a year, you and Sarah will have a son.

Abraham’s act of hospitality was so important that centuries later the writer of a New Testament epistle invoked it: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” (Hebrews 13:2).

Abraham showed his converted heart by his faithfulness to God in being kind to his visitors. How do we live out our professed belief?

Reflect: If “some have entertained angels unawares,” what circumstances can you recall that might fit that description? As we have opportunity, let’s be sure to exercise the spiritual gift of hospitality!

Key Bible Texts

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, (Genesis 18:2 KJV)