Commentary on Genesis 18:1-10a

Sara Koenig

When I was a child, one of my familys common dinner prayers was, Come, Lord Jesus,

be our guest, and let this food to us be blessed.

(My sisters and I liked its brevity and the sing-song nature of the rhyme.) I understood it to be

essentially a dinner blessing, so it was not until many years later that I realized the boldness of the

first part of the prayer: asking Jesus to come and be our guest. What would that mean to prepare

space at our table, in our home, in our lives, into which Jesus could come? What would it mean to

receive him with hospitality and generosity?

Receiving God as a guest is a primary point of this lectionary selection because of the division of

the verses. One could, of course, focus on the Triune God because Abraham is visited by the (one)

Lord, as three separate people. Indeed, as Abraham speaks to the three men (18:2), he alternates

between referring to them in the singular (verse 3) and plural (verses 4-5). Verse 9 has all of them

speaking to Abraham (and they said), but then verse 10 switches to a single subject (and he

said).

Some have explained that though there are three, Abraham occasionally addresses the leader, who

is the one stating the promise in verse 10. But Andrei Rublevs beautifully composed fifteenth

century icon based on this text is sometimes referred to as The Icon of the Holy Trinity, so this text

certainly has an important place in reception history about the Trinity.

Yet an alternate title for Rublevs icon on Genesis 18 is The Hospitality of Abraham. That title

points to the effort Abraham puts, in this text, into welcoming God. In the heat of the day, Abraham

runs to meet these men though, admittedly, if they are standing over him then that journey might

not be too far (Genesis 18:2). His haste continues until the visitors are under the tree eating the

food: he hurries to the tent to tell Sarah to make the bread, runs to the herd, and his servant hurries

to prepare the meat (verses 6-7).

It is striking that Abrahams description of what he will provide in verses 4-5 does not match up with

what he ultimately serves. He told his visitors that he would fetch a little water, and a morsel of

bread. Instead, he gives them a tender good calf from his herd, curds and milk, and cakes made

from fine flour. Obviously, milk and curds (or butter; perhaps something like yogurt or buttermilk) is

better than just water -- in Deut 32:14, the curds and milk signify the abundance of Gods provision.

And the Hebrew word for the type of flour Sarah uses is solet, a word that appears in 1 Kings 4:22

(Hebrew 1 Kings 5:2) to describe the type of flour for the wealthy Solomon, and describes the

choice food with which God feeds Jerusalem in Ezek 16:13 and 19. This is no mere morsel or dry

crust!

It might seem there is something dishonest about telling the visitors they will only receive a little

water and a bit of bread, when something far more lavish is what he has in mind. This could be

explained away under the rubric of humility, that Abraham did not want to be arrogant about his

ability to provide. Or, perhaps Abraham wanted to pleasantly surprise his visitors by not getting their

expectations up. One ancient rabbi explained that this story illustrates how those who are righteous

speak little, but do a lot.

The sequence of events may tempt readers to turn this text into something transactional: Abraham

and Sarah are generous to God, then they are told that they will have a child. If we do our best for

God, then God will respond and give us what we desire. If we are hospitable to God, then God will

be gracious to us. A closer reading of the entire story helps mitigate such an interpretation. In the

previous chapter, when Abraham wondered if Ishmael could be the child of promise, God told

Abraham it would be Sarahs son with whom God would establish Gods everlasting covenant

(17:19). At that point, Abraham and Sarah had not welcomed God, nor had they provided food and

rest for God.

Another detail that helps prevent us from understanding this text as a message that God will bless if

(only) we give our best is found in Abrahams first words to his visitor(s), If I have found grace in

your eyes (18:3). That same language is found in Exodus 33 when Moses asks God to show him

Gods ways, and to go with the Israelites on their way (33: 13, 16).[1] Here, the request is a bit less

bold than that of Moses; Abraham asks that the visitors do not pass by, but sit and rest. But

Abrahams if -- indeed, any of our ifs -- must be met with Gods of course.

Of course Gods grace is there, of course Gods eyes see Gods people with favor. Grace always

comes first. Because that grace is there, Gods people can respond with their best. Because we

have found favor in Gods eyes, it is possible to welcome God with hospitality and generosity, as a

favored and welcome guest.

[1] Gideon also uses that language in Judges 6:19, as does David in 2 Samuel 15:25.