Scripture Daily

Context No. 2851 of 4322 · Genesis

Context · Reflection

Genesis 18:1-5: in context

1The LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, 3and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant. 4Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.”

The LORD appears to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while the old man sits at his tent door. He looks up and sees three men standing nearby, and rather than wait to be approached, he runs to meet them, bows to the ground, and presses them to stay: let a little water be brought, wash your feet, rest under the tree, and I will fetch a piece of bread.

Notice the eagerness. Elderly Abraham runs in the midday heat, bows low, and downplays his own generosity, a little water, a piece of bread, while actually preparing a full feast. He treats three strangers not as an interruption to endure but as an honor to serve, and without knowing it he is welcoming the LORD himself. Again and again in Scripture, hospitality offered wholeheartedly to a stranger turns out to be an encounter with God.

Do I greet the interruption of a stranger's need as a burden, or, like Abraham, run to meet it as a chance to serve?

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