this growing friendship between God and Abraham, two new developments occur. God visits Abraham in person to announce the soon arrival of the promised son and… God begins to teach Abraham a new part of this friendship – partnership.

‭Genesis‬ ‭18:1‭-‬2‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. [2] He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground….
[3] “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. [4] Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. [5] And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”…
[8] When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees. [9] “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied. [10] Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent….
[14] Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

So important was this announcement that it required a personal visit from God Himself to convince this old, childless couple that it would really happen! Jesus, in His preincarnate state, disguised as a man, came to them with a message, “Your son… next year…!”

“What!” said Sarah, eavesdropping on the conversation, “you must be joking!” laughing in disbelief – hence Isaac’s name, laughter, but it happened just as they were told.

And… this intimate friendship took another step forward, initiated by God Himself. Abraham’s friendship with God was elevated to the level of a prophet. To Abimelech, the Philistine king, God revealed Abraham’s status in a crisis.

‭Genesis‬ ‭20:7‬ ‭NLT‬
[7] Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

God has a special intimacy with His prophets…

‭Amos‬ ‭3:7‬ ‭NLT‬
[7] “Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.”

So, God takes Abraham aside to reveal His plan of judgment on the five wicked cities of the plain.

‭Genesis‬ ‭18:17‭-‬21‬ ‭NLT‬
[17] “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. [18] “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. [19] I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” [20] So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. [21] I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”
[23] Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? [24] Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? [25] Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

Why would God tell Abraham His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Surely it was because Lot lived in Sodom. This news would alert Abraham to Lot’s predicament. Lot would perish with the rest of the city if God did not intervene for him. So, Ahraham boldly bargains with God, based on his experience of God’s righteousness. How could God wipe out wicked and righteous indiscriminately? He’s bigger than that!

God knew what was on Abraham’s mind. Although there were not even ten righteous people in Sodom to save the city, He gave instructions to rescue Lot and his family from death. In the end, only three people survived the disaster, Lot and his two daughters. His wife also perished through her unbelief.

Every step forward along this journey with God tolok Abraham nearer to the place of unshakeable trust in the unseen God. Slowly, experience shaped his knowledge of God’s ways. Slowly, conviction grew that God was reliable, dependable, and trustworthy, no matter what He revealed and what He required.

To be continued…