Genesis 18:1-15 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

We have read the first 15 verses of Chapter 18, and our key text  is found in the form of a question: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  [18:14]. 

You will notice that this statement is made  by the LORD  to Abraham and for  the benefit of Sarah in particular, and with it comes the announcement,   “At the appointed  time I will  return to you , about this  time next year, and Sarah  shall have a son”. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  This  is an exciting question, and  very relevant  for those times  when we would  despair, wondering whether  there is a way out  of that difficult situation in which we might find ourselves. But I am running ahead of myself. Let’s see what happens here, step for step, as we learn valuable lessons along the way.

THE CONTEXT:

Our attention is repeatedly drawn to the great dilemma in the life of this married couple, Abraham and Sarah.  When we meet Abraham in Genesis 12, we read of God’s amazing promises to this man:“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” [12:2 cf. 13:15-17; 15:5; 17:2,4]. The dilemma is this. How will Abraham become a great nation? His marriage has produced no offspring, no children, despite the promise. How is that?  This fact repeatedly brings about a deep crisis   of faith for both.  A point of frustration is reached in Genesis 16   where Sarah suggests (and Abraham does nothing to contradict her) that they try another route. She suggests that they have surrogate children through Sarah’s servant girl, Hagar.  This   apparently  was  a familiar custom for barren couples in ancient  Middle eastern societies.   

It is very clear however, that God   will not be helped out by man’s plans. God has a plan, and He is committed to it.  Humanly speaking   Abraham and Sarah are past child bearing age  (17:17, 18:13), but  God is God, and for this reason, nothing is impossible for Him, and hence our text, “Is anything too hard for the Lord”,  becomes utterly relevant.  “Nothing is too hard for  you!”  This is Jeremiah’s  conviction, when he buys  a field, i.e. real estate at a time when the king of Babylon was besieging  Jerusalem   (Jer. 32:17). “Nothing is too hard for  you!”  This is the vital point of our passage.  And ultimately this is true of the message of the whole Bible.
Nowhere is this clearer than when we consider the DESPERATE plight of man. In Adam’s fall we sinned all.  Every human being is a sinner facing a holy and just God, and therefore every human being stands condemned before this holy God. ”The wages of sin is death” [Rom. 6: 23].  This is extremely bad news for mankind, and the question is asked by Paul in Rom. 7:24, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” It is a question asked by a man desperately seeking for a solution. The answer is given in Rom. 7:25,”Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He has understood that he is doomed to an everlasting separation from God, and there is no thing on earth, no balm in Gilead to heal and cure the sin infested soul of man. There is no thing that can   avert the sure wrath of God.   But Paul, like John the Baptist is helped to look at Jesus, and he can exclaim, “LOOK! The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world“(Jn.1:29,36).  Man’s extremities are the beginning of God’s opportunities.

Annie Johnson Flint (1866- 1932) suffered from  a crippling rheumatoid arthritis and other debilitating illnesses, and she understood this. From her perspective of perpetual pain and suffering  she wrote this wonderful  hymn. Take note specifically of the second verse:

1.      He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, 
      He sendeth more strength when the labours increase; 
      To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, 
      To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

2.     When we have exhausted our store of endurance, 
      When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, 
      When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, 
      Our Father’s full giving is only begun. 

3.      Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, 
      Our God ever yearns His resources to share; 
      Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; 
      The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

4.      His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, 
      His power no boundary known unto men; 
      For out of His infinite riches in Jesus 
      He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

This is the God of Abraham and Sarah.   When they were beyond hope, the Father’s full giving had only begun.

18:1:  This is  the God (LORD - Covenant Name – Yahweh) who in the heat of the day meets Abraham  by the oaks of Mamre[1],  in the form  of three men. It is what we call a ‘theophany’, a ‘God appearing’. We find a number of these in the OT.[2]  In this particular instance the LORD appears in the form of three men. Some commentators have thought that this was a manifestation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That seems unlikely.  Abraham speaks here to the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus (whom he addresses here initially as ‘my Lord’ – Adonai v.3). He  appears here with two angels in a human form.  In   Gen. 18:13 this Lord (Adonai) is then called the LORD (Yahweh) and in Genesis 19:1 the other two persons are identified as angels.

It  appears that there must have been a gradual dawning  upon Abraham that he was in the presence of supernatural beings, and so  with this hindsight, the inspired writer is able to say that “the LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre” (v.1). So it is the LORD YAHWEH in the company of two angels . All three have a body capable of eating and drinking. This was the case also of the resurrection body of Jesus [Lk 24:42,43].  In Matthew 8:11 Jesus speaks of a day when in the kingdom of heaven many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

These three heavenly visitors were coming to reaffirm God’s will to Abraham ,and specifically   for the benefit of Sarah. In this passage we see that Sarah is the one here that really struggles to believe the promise of God.   She needs a reassuring visit from the Lord.  
Don’t you need this from time to time?

But before  a specific word is brought to Sarah, take note of this.  
Abraham’s first response is to minister to the immediate physical needs of his unexpected guests. This is fairly common even today of Eastern culture.   And so Abraham sees to it  that their feet are washed and a  good meal is prepared (18: 4-8).What wonderful hospitality  is shown here, and we cannot help but think of that passage in  Hebrews 13:2[3],  "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for  thereby  some have entertained angels  unawares."  This is what literally happened to Abraham that day.  Hospitality is a Christian grace, and it is required of elders [1 Tim. 3:2 ; Tit. 1:8] and  indeed of  all Christians [Rom.12:13; 1 Pet.4:9). By serving others we serve Christ (Matt.25:40). Having noted this wonderful response to strangers  we now  focus on the purpose of this visit.

The purpose was, as indicated earlier,  to strengthen Sarah's faith. Abraham had previously received a good number  of  visits  from God in terms of  assurance  regarding his future, but Sarah, who was to be the mother of the son of promise really wasn’t doing well at this time. Maybe this was one of Abraham’s great weaknesses as a husband. Did he communicate the previous assurances   from God to Sarah, or was he guilty of the typical husband  thing?   Have you husbands  ever come home and been greeted by your wife, "You didn't tell you that so and so was in the hospital."  And your typical male response was, "Sorry, I forgot".  Did Abraham forget to hold the promises of God before Sarah and so to encourage her? Possibly.

But then  also think of this. 25 years had passed since the promise was first given, and   maybe Sarah had just given up. There was no hope left in her. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” [Prov.13:12]. 

Whatever the case was, Sarah needed a divine visit, and divine encouragement,  and  if  what Hebrews 11:11  says is true  then we know that this visit had done it! “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she had considered him faithful who had promised.”   

Are we not all in need of a divine visit and divine encouragement from time to time? And has God not encouraged you by means of a visit from someone whose words to you,   with hindsight, were like that of an angel?  Is not that also the purpose of the Word preached on Sunday? Are our worship services not meant to be times of divine visitation with our God?   

If God thought that Abraham and Sarah needed  to  be frequently  reminded  of  His promises,  then this is also true  for you and I.  Oh how we need to have regular assurances from God concerning the  meaning of this earthly  pilgrimage, which can be  so hard and long  at times,  when all we want to do  is to curl up like  Elijah  up under a tree and hope to die.   We need regular assurance of the total trustworthiness of all that God says He will do for us. One way in which God does this is by means of having His Word preached o us.

And so, in the context of enjoying Abraham’s hospitality comes the question: “Where is Sarah, your wife?” (v.9).The visitors are indicating that this visit was intended for Sarah.  In this culture it was not common for women to eat with men, and so Abraham says, “She is in the tent”, and now follows that great promise in v. 10 from the LORD: This time next year I will return and Sarah will have a son.’ Being a tent, Sarah is able to hear this and she laughs to herself (v. 12), but it is not a happy laugh.  Can God make a worn out, 90 year old woman  able to  conceive a son?  That is the issue facing Sarah.  And God is here in person to minister to her. That, incidentally is how saving faith and regeneration comes to every believer. Every conversion is a time when Jesus personally  calls individuals  to  believe in  Him,  when they  are personally convicted  to forsake  their  sin  and  to follow Him. 

Sarah laughs the laugh of unbelief . And God responds to her in v.14, "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" Thankfully Sarah's  lack of faith  does not deter the Almighty. The Lord knows her heart.  He knows where she is at.  There is doubt and there is DOUBT, is there not?  There is the doubt of the unrepentant and arrogant person, but this is not Sarah. She believes in God, but for her  it has been  a long hard struggle, and  now God has come to help Sarah’s unbelief. He says that she will have a son.  Mary, you will remember had a similar dilemma . Being a virgin and receiving and doubting the news  that she will have a son , is assured  by  these words from the angel Gabriel: ”Nothing is impossible with God”(Lk. 1:37)

Nothing is too hard for God. Apply this for a moment to your own situation.  Can God  cause your hardened relatives and friends  that you have been praying for so long  to be born again?   Believe in the promise of Luke 11:13: “If you then , who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, How much more will the heavenly Father  give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.“

This wonderful  chapter  reveals to  us a gracious and patient Lord who keeps sending His messengers to us to preach the gospel so that we shall believe and so that we shall be encouraged sufficiently in this  often difficult earthly pilgrimage. 

This chapter  reveals  to us that God is utterly committed to  the fulfillment of His Word , and  that He will  come to us at times personally to affirm and reaffirm  these promises to us, giving us adequate strength to do what he says. 
Amen

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[1] Genesis 13:18 – The oaks of Mamre were at Hebron

[2]  Genesis 12:7-9 ;  Genesis 18:1-33;  Genesis 32:22-30 ; Exodus 3:2 - 4:17 ; Exodus 24:9-11; Deuteronomy 31:14-15 ; Job 38–42.  Frequently, the term “glory of the Lord” reflects a theophany, as in Exodus 24:16-18; the “pillar of cloud” has a similar function in Exodus 33:9. A frequent introduction for theophanies may be seen in the words “the Lord came down,” as in Genesis 11:5; Exodus 34:5; Numbers 11:25; and 12:5.

[3] See also  Matthew  25:35 : "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me in."