In Chapter 18 three visitors make a call on Abraham on their way to Sodom. They are referred to as men (18:2, 16, 25; 19:5), angels (19:1 and 15), and at least one is addressed as the Lord (18:1, 3, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32 and 33). Are they angels or men? ...or God?Also, forgive me for skipping ahead to Chapter 19, but of the three, since only two scout out Sodom, where'd the third person (referred to as the Lord) go?
What do you think?
I can't believe that I either forgot or didn't understand before that Abram was talking to the Lord (in the flesh)in this encounter.
ReplyDeleteVs 20 of chapter 18 would suggest that he too went to Sodom and Gomorrah. But I will see tomorrow
Well, it says the two went off to do their business of shaking down Lot, the third stood there with him and we have the 'bargaining' over how many are needed to stop the destruction. A sad day for any town, when they can't even come up with a handful!
ReplyDeleteAlso a side note for ch. 16, I like that God was willing to help Hagar and Ishmael, even though the boy was conceived out of disbelief and a 'wild donkey of a man' (how'd you like that label for your kids?) - God blessed him as a nation just because he was Abraham's son. It really says something that God kept up his end of the bargain, the blessing of any offspring of Abraham, rather than just rubber-stamping "VOID" on Ishmael's head.
Leslie, three guests showed up at Abraham's. Two are recorded as being involved in the Sodom saga, yet the third one definitely said he was going to check it out.
ReplyDeleteCould it be the two went to see how things were going in Sodom as representatives of the third? Agents, if you will?
One commentator wrote that the third man (actually a Christophany - an earthly appearance of Christ before he became incarnate) may have been doing reconnaissance in Gomorrah.