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GENESIS 18 AND 19

The very important instruction of chapter 17 is preparatory to what we get here, which is privilege of the most exalted character. When God is known as the One who effects everything for His own pleasure, and faith has learned to laugh by seeing the true Isaac as the Seed of promise, then circumcision can be accepted and known in a practical way, and this brings in conditions where divine visitations can be known. We do not know whether Abraham had any reason to expect a divine visitation, but he was ready for it when it came. John 14: 18 prepares us to expect such visitations. What jealous care should be exercised as to being in suitable condition! One could not think of a higher privilege than to receive a visit from divine Persons.

In chapter 17 Abraham learned that God was going to effect everything from His own side and by His own power, and that He was not going to depend on the flesh for anything; and the man of faith laughed. That is the kind of laughter we need to take up if we are to enjoy such privilege as this chapter presents. It is holy laughter (Isaac means ‘Laughter’); we see God has taken in hand to carry out all His pleasure in the power of resurrection; that leaves man and all his powers completely out; and the man of faith laughs. It is a blessed thing to fall on one’s face before God and laugh because we see that Christ has come in in the power of resurrection, and that every divine thought and promise is substantiated in Him. Isaac came in entirely apart from nature and flesh: so far as Abraham and Sarah were concerned all was death.

^[p. 148] I think we may see in chapter 18 certain things which are suggestive of privileges which now pertain to the assembly. There was a divine visitation, and then ministry to the Lord; then faith was greatly confirmed as we see in verses 10 and 14; then there were confidential communications, and finally intercession. A wonderful group of privileges which are now to be realised in the assembly. It is blessed to be in a state to receive divine visitations; and such visitations are the privilege of the assembly, as we see very distinctly in John 14. “I will ^[p. 151] not leave you orphans, I am coming to you” John 14: 18; “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him” (verse 21). “If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (verse 23). These verses speak clearly of a divine visitation, a divine manifestation, and then there is something even greater, an abiding of divine Persons with a faithful lover. The three things are clearly distinguishable. We do not get the latter in Genesis 18; we could not possibly get it; it is in one sense the greatest privilege of all. John 14: 18 is the privilege of the assembly: the Lord comes to those who miss Him; and that is why the Supper prepares the way for a visitation from the Lord, because if we take it rightly, it shows we miss Him. If we came together to eat the Supper according to its true character, the Lord would be able to say, There are hearts there who miss Me. And the fact that they missed Him would attract Him to them.

Then the manifestation in John 14: 21 is individual (^[p. 149] like that to Mary in John 20); it is “He that has my commandments”. It is the individual lover who has His commandments and keeps them, to whom the Lord gives a new apprehension of Himself: I understand that to be a manifestation — an apprehension of Christ which the soul has not had before. Then John 14: 23 is granted in connection with keeping His word. That is, it is not simply having His commandments and keeping them (as verse 21), but keeping that which expresses Himself. It is the most intimate exercise and activity of affection towards the Lord personally. It is bridal affection, and might be put along with Philippians 3: 8. Hence it secures a peculiar and unique divine companionship, that which is more than a visitation; an abiding of the Father and the Son with the one whose heart is set on Christ Himself. A heart that cherishes Him becomes very attractive to the Father and the Son.

That is the way divine visitations are spoken of in the New Testament. We see in Abraham’s case that there was a suitable response; Abraham ministered to the Lord. That is like Acts 13, “They ministered to the Lord”, and like John 12, “They made him a supper”.

It is rather striking that this is the first occasion in connection with which we get feet-washing mentioned in Scripture: it has often been said that the first time a thing is mentioned in Scripture we get the key to its meaning. It is clearly refreshment here. “Let now a little water be fetched, that ye may wash your feet, and rest yourselves”. It is connected with refreshment: we shall spoil John 13 if we lose sight of that. It spoils it to make the thought of removing defilement too prominent. If you look at feet-washing ^[p. 150] all through Scripture, it is always connected with refreshment and the service of love. Abigail said, “Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord”. She placed herself at David’s disposal for the service of his servants. A woman washed the Lord’s feet; and who can doubt that she ministered blessed refreshment to the heart of that Holy One? It is wonderful to think that we can minister to the refreshment of divine Persons.

There is a difference between the spiritual significance of washing the Lord’s feet and anointing Him. Washing His feet means that He is so precious to me that I delight to minister to Him. But the anointing means that He is precious to God, and God’s Anointed has become our Anointed; we have come into communion with God’s thoughts of that Blessed One. The anointing goes further than the feet-washing, and the house is filled with the fragrance.

We ought to take account of the wonderful privilege we are called to. The Supper is really provided for affection: the Lord gathered around Him not only those He loved but those who loved Him. He put them in the place of a household who had lost their parent. We may gather from Jeremiah 16: 7 that it was a practice with the Jews to break bread in memory of parents who had gone, and the Lord took up this ancient custom when He instituted the Supper. Do we miss Him? Do we like to let Him know that we miss Him? The Supper should be a testimony to all that we miss Him, and if we eat it with right affections, we should have His presence; He would come to us. In this world we are orphans because we have lost Him. If that is true and we feel it, He says, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”. How it would appeal to an affectionate family if a loved parent who had gone could come back! The Lord says, If you miss me, I will not leave you in the place of orphans, I will come to you. For visitation we need a sense that we are orphans, and the breaking of bread sets forth that; for it means that the One we love has died; He is not here.

Next we find Abraham’s faith confirmed (Genesis 18: 10, 14). “Is any matter too wonderful for Jehovah?” It seems to suggest a blessed confirmation of faith. In the assembly love is cherished and gratified, but faith is also confirmed. Everything that faith has gained is continually confirmed; everything in a sense becomes more real. Peter speaks of the prophetic word being ‘made surer’; certainly not more sure in itself, but more sure in the heart of the believer. In the section from verses 9 - 15 the promise is repeated, and, as it were, confirmed, and we see the unbelief of Sarah. There is often a great deal of practical unbelief with us. But God would have everything connected with the seed — whether viewed as Christ personally, or as the heavenly seed or the earthly — confirmed in our souls.

Then, further, from verse 17 there are confidential communications. How wonderful for God to be on confidential terms with men! He speaks of “Abraham, my friend” (Isaiah 41: 8); God would not hide from Abraham what He was going to do. Judgment was coming on Sodom, and before it came Jehovah took Abraham into His confidence about it. That is another privilege of the assembly: we know what is coming; we know Christ is Heir of the world, and that He will inherit all things, and that before He can ^[p. 152] do so judgment will come upon the world of the ungodly; we are in the secret of it all. The effect of these communications was that Abraham became an intercessor: and that is another privilege which the assembly takes up. The assembly is here to intercede for a world under judgment.

Abraham interceded on the ground first that there might be fifty righteous, and then he came down to ten. We go further than that: we come down to One. Abraham did not go far enough! We know one righteous Man for whom the city can be spared! We can intercede in the full knowledge of the blessed fact that one righteous Man has glorified God about the whole question of sin, and in bearing its judgment, so that God’s attitude to all men is one of perfect grace. Later on in regard to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 5) God said, “Seek ... if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it”. But one righteous Man has been found in Jerusalem and in this world, and He has so glorified God that God’s attitude to the world is now one of perfect grace: and in the knowledge of that we intercede for all men. In Abraham’s case it was ‘peradventure’. In the Old Testament, however precious the typical instruction may be, we are always reminded that some better thing was reserved for us.

While there is to be prayer and intercession for all men there is also to be thanksgiving. We cannot think of divine grace to men without thanksgiving: we give thanks because of God’s attitude to men; we give thanks on their behalf, though they do not give thanks for themselves. God is a Saviour God for every man, and I ought to give thanks for that ^[p. 153] every day: it brings before my heart the immensity of His grace. The blessedness of true prayer is that you can never leave off without giving thanks: that is one great evidence that you have truly prayed. A beloved servant of the Lord used to say that making your requests known means that you have the sense you have had an audience. It is like getting an audience with a great man; you would go away and say, He listened to me, he knows all about it. It is not only that I have asked, but God has heard; and then I give thanks. It does not say in Philippians 4 that you get the petitions, but that the peace of God garrisons your heart; and that is often greater and better than getting what you ask for. It is possible to pray about something you feel you want badly, and after you have prayed to feel, I don’t mind whether I have it or not: if not it is because He loves me and has something better for me! A Christian in the sense of grace knows that if he does not get what he asks for, it is not good for him.

Now let us look briefly at the contrast in the next chapter. Lot sits in the gate of Sodom in contrast to the tent door; he gets a place of honour in the world, but he gets no divine visitation there. Two angels come to him, speaking of providential care; he gets the care of divine Providence, but no visitation. It is to be noticed that he had unleavened bread, which suggests that he was personally apart from the corruption around him. He had a righteous soul. He did his best to honour the divine Providence represented in the angels, when the men of Sodom would have dishonoured it, but he had no power to maintain what was divine. Providence protected and delivered him, but his testimony was of no use; it was ^[p. 154] to them that of a mocker or jester. How like many a worldly believer today!

They made him a magistrate; that is the meaning of sitting in the gate; he got a certain show of honour in the world, but no real honour, and he had no power for testimony. What is very sad, too, is that he dreaded the place of faith’s security. He was told to flee to the mountain, but he could not live without a city; he says, “This city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither — is it not small?” His taste was vitiated; he must have something of the world; he pleads for a city, just a little one! How solemn for a saint to get into such a state as that! The down grade is terrible, and it is a marked contrast to chapter 18. Then Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt; her heart was in Sodom and she shared in Sodom’s judgment. She stands to this day in Scripture as a warning monument — a warning to professors who have never known the separating power of the call of God.

Finally Lot went up to the mountain, but it was through fear, not through faith; and instead of being like Abraham, the father of a multitude of the seed of faith, he became the father of Moab and Ammon, who were always snares and scourges to the family of faith.

In chapter 18 we have seen faith’s privilege; divine visitation; ministration to the Lord; faith confirmed; the man of faith taken into divine confidence; and interceding for the world. We see, too, the moral character of Abraham; he was on a line suited to God’s blessing, and would command his children on the same line. God says, “I know him that he will command his children and his household after him”. Abraham had not only faith, but moral suitability to ^[p. 155] inherit the promises; and he would see that his children went on the same line. Now God says, as it were, You have looked at that; now look at Lot! It is a solemn contrast all through, and is full of divine instruction.

Then Lot’s wife abides as a solemn warning; the Lord calls on us to “remember Lot’s wife”. She did not die to be buried and forgotten. She was a woman who had been close to the people of God, and shared outwardly with them, and yet had no inward part with them; her heart was in the world. She stands in Scripture as a pillar of salt — a warning to everybody to beware of looking back. It is in Luke 17, when the Lord is speaking of judgment coming on the world, that He says, “Remember Lot’s wife”. We have to remember that this world is under judgment, and to look forward to that scene of glory that is coming. God forbid that we should look back on the world or anything that it has got!

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