টীকা বর্তমানে শুধুমাত্র ইংরেজিতে উপলব্ধ। বাংলা অনুবাদ চলছে।
Genesis 18 — Shall I Hide From Abraham?
Three men visit Abraham at Mamre — one is the Lord. He renews the promise of Isaac. Sarah laughs. The Lord reveals to Abraham His intention to judge Sodom. Abraham intercedes — six descending pleas, six concessions.
“Is any thing too hard for the Lord?”
— Genesis 18:14
- v.1-8 Abraham's hospitality to three visitors
- v.9-15 Sarah's laughter and the renewed promise
- v.16-22 The Lord reveals His intention to judge Sodom
- v.23-33 Abraham's intercession — fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten
A question asked in Genesis 18, answered all through the Bible. Is anything too hard for the Lord? The hundredfold answer of Scripture is no — no miracle, no resurrection, no promise.
Jeremiah 32:17 picks up the same language: "there is nothing too hard for thee." When God repeats a question across centuries, it is because He wants His people to settle the answer permanently.
A startling sentence. The Lord deliberates aloud about whether to share His plans with a man. The answer comes in verse 19 — for I know him — Abraham is in covenant intimacy.
John 15:15 echoes the principle: "I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." God shares His counsel with those who walk closely with Him.
Abraham's deepest theological cry, posed as a question. He is not doubting; he is anchoring. He clings to the character of God in the face of imminent judgment.
This is the foundation of all theodicy. Whatever happens, whatever God does, He cannot do other than right. To question this is to lose the only ground we have.
Abraham's intercession descends from fifty to ten. At every step God concedes. Intercession matters. The prayers of the righteous availeth much (James 5:16).
Why did Abraham stop at ten? Probably because he had Lot, his family, and any righteous in their household in mind — surely ten among them. He underestimated the depth of Sodom's corruption; only Lot and two daughters made it out alive.
The lesson is not that we run out of intercessions but that we should not stop early. Some petitions need to keep being made until heaven answers.
Stop your intercession too early and the result is what Sodom got. Press through every "peradventure." The God who let Abraham bring Him down from fifty to ten will let you bring Him further. Pray until the answer comes or until you are clearly told otherwise.
The Lord who came to Mamre as a guest is the Lord who came to Bethlehem as a baby. The God who let Abraham haggle for Sodom is the God who let the Canaanite woman press Him for her daughter. He has always come down to talk with His own.
Three figures — one identified clearly as the Lord (verses 13, 17, 33), the other two as angels (19:1). Most likely a theophany of the pre-incarnate Christ with two angels.
Abraham's response is immediate hospitality. He ran. Hebrews 13:2 — "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Genesis 18 is the chapter in view.