1 And the LORD appeared vnto him, in the plaines of Mamre: and he sate in the tent doore, in the heat of the day.
2 And he lift vp his eyes and looked, and loe, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, hee ranne to meete them from the tent doore, and bowed himselfe toward the ground,
3 And said, My Lord, If now I haue found fauour in thy sight, passe not away, I pray thee, frō thy seruant:
4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feete, and rest your selues vnder the tree:
5 And I will fetch a morsell of bread; and comfort ye your hearts, after that you shall passe on: for therefore are you come to your seruant. And they said; So doe, as thou hast said.
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent, vnto Sarah, & said; Make ready quickly three measures of fine meale, knead it, and make cakes vpon the hearth.
7 And Abraham ranne vnto the heard, and fetcht a calfe, tender and good, and gaue it vnto a yong man: and he hasted to dresse it.
8 And he tooke butter, and milke, and the calfe which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them vnder the tree: and they did eate.
9 ¶ And they said vnto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly returne vnto thee according to the time of life; and loe, Sarah thy wife shall haue a sonne. And Sarah heard it in the tent doore, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age: and it ceased to be with Sarah after the maner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within her selfe, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I haue pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the LORD said vnto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying; Shall I of a surety beare a childe, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed will I returne vnto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall haue a sonne.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not: for she was afraid. And he said, Nay, but thou diddest laugh.
16 ¶ And the men rose vp from thence, and looked toward Sodome: and Abraham went with them, to bring them on the way.
17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I doe;
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, that hee will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keepe the way of the LORD, to doe iustice and iudgement, that the LORD may bring vpon Abraham, that which hee hath spoken of him.
20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodome and Gomorrah is great, and because their sinne is very grieuous:
21 I will goe downe now, and see whether they haue done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come vnto me: and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodome: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23 ¶ And Abraham drew neere, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peraduenture there be fifty righteous within the citie; wilt thou also destroy, and not spare the place for the fiftie righteous, that are therein?
25 That be farre from thee, to do after this maner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be farre from thee: Shall not the Iudge of all the earth doe right?
26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fiftie righteous, within the citie, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham answered, and said, Behold now, I haue taken vpon me to speake vnto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes.
28 Peraduenture there shall lacke fiue of the fiftie righteous: wilt thou destroy all the citie for lacke of fiue? And he said, If I find there fourtie and fiue, I will not destroy it.
29 And hee spake vnto him yet againe, and said, Peraduenture there shall be fourtie found there: and he said, I will not doe it for fourties sake.
30 And he said vnto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speake: Peraduenture there shall thirtie bee found there. And he said, I will not doe it, if I find thirtie there.
31 And he said, Behold now, I haue taken vpon mee to speake vnto the Lord: Peraduenture there shall bee twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenties sake.
32 And hee saide, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speake yet but this once: Peraduenture ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for tennes sake.
33 And the LORD went his way, assoone as hee had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned vnto his place.
The Lord appears to Abraham. (1-8) Sarah's unbelief reproved. (9-15) God reveals to Abraham the destruction of Sodom. (16-22) Abraham's intercession for Sodom. (23-33)1-8 Abraham was waiting to entertain any weary traveller, for inns were not to be met with as among us. While Abraham was thus sitting, he saw three men coming. These were three heavenly beings in human bodies. Some think they were all created angels; others, that one of them was the Son of God, the Angel of the covenant. Washing the feet is customary in those hot climates, where only sandals are worn. We should not be forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares, #Heb 13:2|; nay, the Lord of angels himself; as we always do, when for his sake we entertain the least of his brethren. Cheerful and obliging manners in showing kindness, are great ornaments to piety. Though our condescending Lord vouchsafes not personal visits to us, yet still by his Spirit he stands at the door and knocks; when we are inclined to open, he deigns to enter; and by his gracious consolations he provides a rich feast, of which we partake with him, #Re 3:20|.
9-15 Where is Sarah thy wife? was asked. Note the answer, In the tent. Just at hand, in her proper place, occupied in her household concerns. There is nothing got by gadding. Those are most likely to receive comfort from God and his promises, who are in their proper place, and in the way of their duty, #Lu 2:8|. We are slow of heart to believe, and need line upon line to the same purport. The blessings others have from common providence, believers have from the Divine promise, which makes them very sweet, and very sure. The spiritual seed of Abraham owe their life, and joy, and hope, and all, to the promise. Sarah thinks this too good news to be true; she laughed, and therefore cannot as yet find in her heart to believe it. Sarah laughed. We might not have thought there was a difference between Sarah's laughter and Abraham's, ch. #17:17|; but He who searches the heart, saw that the one sprung from unbelief, and the other from faith. She denied that she had laughed. One sin commonly brings in another, and it is not likely we shall strictly keep to truth, when we question the Divine truth. But whom the Lord loves he will rebuke, convict, silence, and bring to repentance, and if they sin before him.
16-22 The two who are supposed to have been created angels went toward Sodom. The one who is called Jehovah throughout the chapter, continued with Abraham, and would not hide from him the thing he intended to do. Though God long forbears with sinners, from which they fancy that the Lord does not see, and does not regard; yet when the day of his wrath comes, he will look toward them. The Lord will give Abraham an opportunity to intercede with him, and shows him the reason of his conduct. Consider, as a very bright part of Abraham's character and example, that he not only prayed with his family, but he was very careful to teach and rule them well. Those who expect family blessings must make conscience of family duty. Abraham did not fill their heads with matters of doubtful dispute; but he taught them to be serious and devout in the worship of God, and to be honest in their dealings with all men. Of how few may such a character be given in our days! How little care is taken by masters of families to ground those under them in the principles of religion! Do we watch from sabbath to sabbath whether they go forward or backward?
23-33 Here is the first solemn prayer upon record in the Bible; and it is a prayer for the sparing of Sodom. Abraham prayed earnestly that Sodom might be spared, if but a few righteous persons should be found in it. Come and learn from Abraham what compassion we should feel for sinners, and how earnestly we should pray for them. We see here that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Abraham, indeed, failed in his request for the whole place, but Lot was miraculously delivered. Be encouraged then to expect, by earnest prayer, the blessing of God upon your families, your friends, your neighbourhood. To this end you must not only pray, but you must live like Abraham. He knew the Judge of all the earth would do right. He does not plead that the wicked may be spared for their own sake, or because it would be severe to destroy them, but for the sake of the righteous who might be found among them. And righteousness only can be made a plea before God. How then did Christ make intercession for transgressors? Not by blaming the Divine law, nor by alleging aught in extenuation or excuse of human guilt; but by pleading HIS OWN obedience unto death.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.