Tuesday
Read Genesis 18:1-15 (21:1-7)
The LORD appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day, 2he looked up and saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to meet them. Bowing down with his face touching the ground, 3he said, “Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you. 4Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree. 5I will also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your journey. You have honoured me by coming to my home, so let me serve you.”
They replied, “Thank you; we accept.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread.” 7Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready. 8He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.
9 Then they asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
“She is there in the tent,” he answered.
10 One of them said, “Nine months from nowq I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening. 11Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods. 12So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.”
13 Then the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child when I am so old?’ 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she said.
“Yes, you did,” he replied. “You laughed.”
[
21 The LORD blessed Sarah, as he had promised, 2and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. 3Abraham named him Isaac, 4and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. 6Sarah said, “God has brought me joy and laughter.w Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” 7Then she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
]
They replied, “Thank you; we accept.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread.” 7Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready. 8He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.
9 Then they asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
“She is there in the tent,” he answered.
10 One of them said, “Nine months from nowq I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening. 11Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods. 12So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.”
13 Then the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child when I am so old?’ 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she said.
“Yes, you did,” he replied. “You laughed.”
[
21 The LORD blessed Sarah, as he had promised, 2and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. 3Abraham named him Isaac, 4and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. 6Sarah said, “God has brought me joy and laughter.w Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” 7Then she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
]
Think
Abraham didn't know that the three men were angels. He saw three fellow human beings walking in the hottest part of the day and he offered them the kindest most generous hospitality he could think of. Water to wash their feet, a meal, shade to rest. In a world of hostility Abraham offers love and grace.
Pray
Teach me to stop a while in the heat of the day. To rest and listen for your voice. And when I see you - let me pour myself out in generous love and kindness.
No comments:
Post a Comment