Lesson 7 – Abraham’s Visitors from Heaven

God came to Abraham with a promise of a son. Abraham’s descendent, our Lord Jesus, comes to us in Word and Sacraments, telling us that in Him all things are possible.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible, the Bible Exploration Guide and the Lesson 7 Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees Abraham with the visitors. Also paper and pencil will be needed.

Look at the list of behaviors below that show welcoming hospitality:

• Offer a beverage
• Open a door for someone
• Smile
• Introduce yourself
• Say please
• Engage in conversation
• Look people in the eyes
• Shake hands
• Say thank you
• Chew with your mouth open
• Say excuse me

This lesson shows ancient Mideastern hospitality in action. As we do, think about our culture and how we help people feel comfortable and welcome, which is the intent of good manners and inviting hospitality.

Prayer:  Almighty God, forgive Your servants when we sin. Make us gracious hosts and thankful guests. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so our words and actions give You praise and honor; through Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.

God Speaks

What does the word theophany mean? Look at the top of Page 2 in the lesson leaflet.

Theophany is a Greek word, and the first part, theo, means "God”.  A theophany is "a manifestation of God or “a special appearance by God among humans”.

Read Hebrews 13:2 on page 2 of the leaflet.

In this lesson, Abraham and Sarah received strangers at their home whom Scripture identifies as the Lord and two angels in bodily forms.

From leaflet page 2 under the BC Hospitality (Before Christ Hospitality) title, follow the directions and write answers to the questions on a sheet of paper.

Read Genesis 18:1-12

What did Abraham do first to welcome the three men (vv. 2-3)? List these actions on your paper. Abraham ran to the men, bowed, and pleaded with them not to pass by without stopping to see him. He said if he found favor in their sight, they shouldn't pass by their servant.

What do you think bowing meant? Bowing showed respect and humility, which is common in Mideastern cultures.

What hospitable actions did Abraham offer the three men (vv. 3-5)? List these on the paper.  Abraham asked them to stop for a visit. He offered water to wash their feet, which a servant probably did, a common courtesy because of dusty roads and sandals. He also offered rest under the oak tree and a "morsel" of bread.

What did Abraham do for his guests (vv.6-8)7 Whom did he ask to help? Add these hospitable actions to your list. Abraham asked Sarah to make bread (cakes). He chose a calf and had a young man quickly prepare it. Abraham personally served the men, taking curds, milk, and meat to them. We aren't told if Sarah baked the bread or if she served it, but she probably did. These foods were well beyond the understated "morsel" Abraham offered.

How could the strangers know Abraham's wife's name? The mystery clears up in verse 10. Who spoke, and what did He say? The Lord said He would return about this time next year and Sarah would have a son.

Sarah laughed at the Lord's words. She was eighty-nine years old! Translate her words into your own (vv. 10-12). Verse 11 implies Sarah was past menopause, making pregnancy impossible.

Who overheard Sarah's laughter and words to herself (v. 13)? The Lord

What did He say in response (v. 14)? "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Then God reiterated He would return in a year and Sarah would have a son.

Why do you think Sarah denied laughing (v. 15)? She may have felt afraid, embarrassed, or uncomfortable.

Who hears our spoken, whispered, and lip-synched words and thoughts? Does that comfort you, or do you feel afraid as Sarah did? The Lord hears all.

Why do you think the Lord didn't let Sarah get away with her "little" lie?  (or us, either?) No lie or sin is too little or too big to our perfect God. Sin is sin, and it separates us from our Holy God. Sarah needed to own her sin. Lying just doubled it. God didn't punish or even chastise her. He just told the truth and reiterated that she had laughed. Fear made her afraid to admit it.

God knows all of our sin. They all separate us from Him. We need a Savior to rescue us from our sin-filled, can't-stop-sinning bodies of death. Thankfully, God sent one in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 7:24-25)!

The intent of manners and hospitality is to help people feel comfortable and welcome.

How did the Lord show hospitality to Sarah and Abraham? How does the Lord show this same hospitality to us? Write these hospitable actions on your sheet of paper. Despite Abraham and Sarah's sin, unbelief, and attempts to "fix" things, God still loved them. He kept His promises to give them a son in Isaac and to bring the Savior, Jesus, from their lineage.

God shows us this same grace in Christ Jesus by forgiving our sins and rescuing us from sin and death through Jesus' perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. He shows us hospitality in the Lord's Supper, where He serves us His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine.

Did Abraham recognize the three men as two angels and the Lord? See 18:10 and 19:1. Abraham may not have recognized them at first, but he figured it out.

Although it seemed impossible, God kept His promise!

Read Genesis 21:1-7, which tells about lsaac's birth.

We Live

On page 4 of the leaflet, read Hebrews 1:1-2 and Philippians 2:6-11

Whom do we know as God’s greatest theophany? Christ Jesus, God's Son and true God, is the greatest theophany. Through Him, God speaks to us.

What did Christ Jesus do for us while "in the likeness of men'"? He emptied Himself and took on flesh. Jesus humbled Himself from birth and was obedient to the point of death, dying on the cross. God's eternal Son lived without sin, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life and forgiveness of sins.

How does God communicate with us today? God speaks to us through His Word, which shows us His Son, and in the Sacraments, where we receive grace and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. 

God speaks to us through His Holy Word in the Bible, through the preaching and teaching of faithful Christian pastors and teachers, and through the comfort and conciliation of Christian friends who share Scripture, God's Law and Gospel, grace, comfort, and forgiveness of sins with us.

How do we communicate with the Lord, the Creator of the universe? We pray to God in Jesus' name. We talk to Him in thoughts and words, whispers and cries for help. We pray the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, the Lord's Prayer.

Watch the video, "What is the Lord's Prayer?” The video shows people praying and shows words of the explanation of the Lord from Luther's Small Catechism.

Read Matthew 19:26:"With God all things are possible”.

How might these words of Jesus have reassured Sarah and Abraham. How do they reassure you?

Read page 17 of the Bible Exploration Guide.

On the back page of the leaflet, read the First Article of the Apostles' Creed and Meaning  from Luther's Small Catechism.

Closing

 As a closing prayer, sing or read the words of the hymn "God's Own Child, I Gladly Say it".