In this chapter, Abraham demonstrated hospitality (see Hebrews 13:2). God appeared to him through angels who manifested physically; there were two angels and the Angel of the Lord (a theophany of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament). Abraham decided to welcome them and cooked for them. They pronounced a blessing on his family and reaffirmed the Word spoken regarding the offspring of Abraham through Sarah. God revealed the coming of Isaac to him, and since Abraham doubted, God asked him:

“IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD?” (See Genesis 18:14).

God revealed His secret to him because of the intimacy and integrity with which Abraham walked with Him (see Genesis 18:22 and Genesis 19:1). Abraham continued to speak with God while the two angels proceeded on their journey to Sodom and Gomorrah. If Abraham had not welcomed God (through the angels), he would not have known that his nephew Lot was in danger. Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah as well as for Lot. Consequently, God promised to spare the righteous.

I must highlight here that God’s appearances in physical form are called “Theophany” (from the Greek words: Theo “God,” Phaino “appear, make visible.”). Even though angels could be seen in the appearance of men (Abraham saw three), one of them had a more glorious appearance than the others. Abraham called him “Lord,” and in other biblical translations, he is referred to as “the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of the Lord.”

Many commentators have said that this refers to the appearances of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament before He came physically into this world through Mary. This is confirmed by the fact that many identified him as “the Lord” or “the Angel of the Lord.” Jesus is the Word and has been from the beginning (see John 1:1-3; 12-14; Colossians 1:15-16). John explains that no one has seen God “the Father,” except for the “Son of God,” Jesus (see John 1:18).

Jesus said that Abraham saw Him and rejoiced (see John 8:56-58) and that He walked with Israel in the desert (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Jesus did not begin to exist when he was born of Mary, but rather came into the world when he decided to manifest himself, in human form, as a mortal man (see Philippians 2:6-11). One point is clear here: In the Old Testament, God appeared to people in physical form and was often referred to as the Angel of the Lord.

This text is an extract from the book “THE PENTATEUCH: Under the Eyes of Grace” written by Dr Rhema Divin NGOY.

We invite you to read the following article “Substitution sacrifice”.