{"id":2748,"date":"2015-10-06T10:02:49","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T14:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/?p=2748"},"modified":"2015-10-07T07:10:49","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T11:10:49","slug":"sunday-brunch-three-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/sunday-brunch-three-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Brunch – Three Visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Have you ever heard about breaking bread with angels? Are the three visitors in Genesis 18 angels or human beings?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Genesis, chapter 18, Abraham receives three visitors. From his reaction, it appears that these three visitors are holy.<\/p>\n

He tells his wife Sarah to fix these visitors a nice meal and afterwards, they tell Abraham that his wife Sarah will be with child within the next year. They also warn about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.<\/p>\n

I keep thinking about these visitors, eating a meal with Abraham. Just makes me think that angels may be among us, sharing a meal, and we might not even know it. I often think of eating as a human trait, not an angelic one. I just find it strange and surreal to imagine angels sharing meals with us, right here on earth.<\/p>\n

So, when you discussed this Biblical passage in the past, did you ever dwell on the fact that these angels were sitting down among us, eating as humans? In the passage in chapter 18, these visitors were referred to as men. In Chapter 19, two angels are mentioned. Are the two angels mentioned in chapter 19 inclusive of the three visitors mentioned in Chapter 18? If so, why did only two of the three visitors go on to Sodom and Gomorrah? I suppose the Lord had other duties assigned to the third visitor? Abraham rushed to these visitors, and it appears that he knows that these visitors come straight from the Lord!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please comment!<\/p>\n

………………<\/p>\n

Genesis 18<\/span>New International Version (NIV)<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n

The Three Visitors<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

18\u00a0<\/span>The Lord<\/span> appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.<\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>He said, \u201cIf I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.<\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.<\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way\u2014now that you have come to your servant.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cVery well,\u201d they answered, \u201cdo as you say.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

6\u00a0<\/sup>So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. \u201cQuick,\u201d he said, \u201cget three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.<\/span> 8\u00a0<\/sup>He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate,<\/strong> he stood near them under a tree.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWhere is your wife Sarah?\u201d they asked him.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere, in the tent,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>Then one of them said, \u201cI will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.<\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.<\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, \u201cAfter I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

13\u00a0<\/sup>Then the Lord<\/span> said to Abraham, \u201cWhy did Sarah laugh and say, \u2018Will I really have a child, now that I am old?\u2019<\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>Is anything too hard for the Lord<\/span>? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, \u201cI did not laugh.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

But he said, \u201cYes, you did laugh.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Abraham Pleads for Sodom<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

16\u00a0<\/sup>When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.<\/span> 17\u00a0<\/sup>Then the Lord<\/span> said, \u201cShall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?<\/span> 18\u00a0<\/sup>Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.<\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord<\/span> by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord<\/span> will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

20\u00a0<\/sup>Then the Lord<\/span> said, \u201cThe outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous<\/span> 21\u00a0<\/sup>that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

22\u00a0<\/strong><\/sup>The men<\/strong> turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord<\/span>.<\/span> 23\u00a0<\/sup>Then Abraham approached him and said: \u201cWill you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?<\/span> 24\u00a0<\/sup>What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[e<\/a>]<\/sup> the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?<\/span> 25\u00a0<\/sup>Far be it from you to do such a thing\u2014to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

26\u00a0<\/sup>The Lord<\/span> said, \u201cIf I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

27\u00a0<\/sup>Then Abraham spoke up again: \u201cNow that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,<\/span> 28\u00a0<\/sup>what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I find forty-five there,\u201d he said, \u201cI will not destroy it.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

29\u00a0<\/sup>Once again he spoke to him, \u201cWhat if only forty are found there?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He said, \u201cFor the sake of forty, I will not do it.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

30\u00a0<\/sup>Then he said, \u201cMay the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He answered, \u201cI will not do it if I find thirty there.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

31\u00a0<\/sup>Abraham said, \u201cNow that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He said, \u201cFor the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

32\u00a0<\/sup>Then he said, \u201cMay the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He answered, \u201cFor the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

33\u00a0<\/sup>When the Lord<\/span> had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Genesis 19<\/span>New International Version (NIV)<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

1 The<\/span>\u00a0two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.<\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cMy lords,\u201d he said, \u201cplease turn aside to your servant\u2019s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever heard about breaking bread with angels? Are the three visitors in Genesis 18 angels or human beings?\u00a0 In Genesis, chapter 18, Abraham receives three visitors. From his reaction, it appears that these three visitors are holy. He tells his wife Sarah to fix these visitors a nice meal and afterwards, they tell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[87,30,9,89,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-angels","category-biblical-creatures","category-biblical-musings","category-old-testament","category-sunday-brunch"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paovYP-Ik","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2748"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2752,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748\/revisions\/2752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}