Mysterious Dinner Guests

Order of Service

• Welcome and Announcements
• Call to Worship — Jeremiah 32:17-19
• Hymn — God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1
• Scripture Reading — Luke 10:38-42
• Hymn — The Lord's My Shepherd
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Offertory Prayer
• Hymn — In Christ Alone
• Prayer of Illumination
• Scripture Reading — Genesis 18:1-15
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer
• Hymn — All My Heart This Night Rejoices
• Benediction
• Doxology

Sermon Title: Mysterious Dinner Guests

Scripture: Genesis 18:1-15

Introduction

• A. Last week's passage (chapter 17) gave the sign of circumcision and the promise that Sarah would bear Isaac, whose name means laughter. Here Sarah laughs.
• B. The three mysterious men are best understood as three angels, one of whom is Yahweh, the angel of the Lord. This is a theophany, or more precisely a christophany: the Son appearing to the saints before his incarnation.
• C. We should not shy away from the Bible's mystery. Its restraint, compared with pagan myth that fills in every detail, is a mark of authenticity.
• D. The encounter has a purpose. The three men serve as a confirming witness to Abraham's faithfulness, a covenant witness to God's faithfulness, and a convicting witness to Sarah's faithlessness.

I. A Confirming Witness to the Faithfulness of Abraham

• A. Abraham's obedience in circumcising his household (chapter 17) is now matched by his faithfulness in hospitality.
  1. He runs to meet the guests, bows, and calls them "my Lord," recognizing them as men of high honor, and likely recognizing Yahweh among them.
  2. He prepares a meal fit for a king, including fresh meat, which was a rare and generous offering in the ancient Near East.
  3. The image of the president showing up at your door shows Abraham's eagerness: "Sarah, the King of Kings is here!"
• B. Hebrews 13:2 likely has this episode in mind: some have entertained angels unawares.
• C. Christian hospitality is rarely discussed in the church today, even though Scripture speaks of it often.
  1. We live in an isolated age of fortress-like homes, social media, and screens (The Anxious Generation).
  2. Hospitality is one of the most effective ways to counter that isolation and offer a world touching only screens the human touch.
  3. The preacher is not asking for a hospitality guru, only that we put it on our radar, pray about it, and start small.
  4. It can mean simply being visible to neighbors and fellow believers, or being vulnerable enough to receive hospitality.

II. A Covenant Witness to the Faithfulness of the Lord

• A. Unlike the king and queen in The King's Speech, who decline to stay for dinner, the Lord graciously says, "Do as you have said."
• B. The promise is confirmed in the context of a meal.
  1. In the ancient Near East a meal ratified and solidified a covenant.
  2. The Lord promises, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son."
• C. The two angels serve as witnesses, in line with Deuteronomy 19:15 and Numbers 35:30. Sarah's denial in verse 15 is legal courtroom language, with Yahweh as judge.
• D. God goes to great lengths to make Abraham trust his promise.
  1. He calls Abraham in Genesis 12.
  2. He enacts the covenant by passing through the severed carcasses in Genesis 15.
  3. He puts the covenant sign in Abraham's flesh in Genesis 17.
  4. Now he dines with Abraham. It is like a candidate who calls personally and then knocks on your door to eat with you.
• E. Luke 19:5: Jesus tells Zacchaeus, "I must stay at your house today."
  1. The King of heaven, on his way to die for the sins of the world, has time to dine with sinners.
  2. Jesus is always knocking. He wants to assure us of his promises so that we trust him, and so that we may dwell in his home forever.

III. A Convicting Witness to the Faithlessness of Sarah

• A. Sarah, eavesdropping at the tent door, laughs to herself.
  1. The laugh is private, and Abraham does not hear it, but God knows it.
  2. She lies because she is afraid. She has been caught in unbelief by the omnipresent and omniscient God.
  3. The Lord simply says, "No, but you did laugh."
• B. The Lord is always "on the other side of the bookshelf," as in the warehouse story where a coworker's gossip was overheard. God sees what we hide even from those closest to us.
• C. The purpose of this episode is Sarah's transformation.
  1. Her name means princess, but in chapter 16 she is more like a wicked stepsister, mistreating Hagar, and in chapter 17 she does not believe the promise.
  2. Hebrews 11:11 says that by faith Sarah received power to conceive, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
  3. Conviction under the gaze of God brought her to believe that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
• D. Luke 1:37: "For nothing will be impossible for God." The angel announces the virgin birth, which points to Christ.
• E. Application
  1. Some may be fooling everyone around them but hear the Lord say, "Ah, but you did."
  2. The guilt is meant to drive us to Jesus Christ, born of the virgin, who saves wretches and is the power of God unto salvation.
  3. Like Sarah, we are called to receive him, sinner and all. He is knocking, and he longs to lavish us with his love and promises.