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| 1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; |
And the LORD – Not Jehovah personally, but the messenger of Jehovah, Christ Jesus, in human form. E43, E94; R5179:1
Appeared unto him – Temporarily assumed human form, a matter entirely different from his advent as a man when he was "made flesh." (John 1:14) R3946:3
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| 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, |
And, lo, three men – Jesus and two other spirit beings, in the form of men. A183; B127; E94; R5416:3
Angels possess a God-given power of materialization. PD15/24
And bowed himself – Shaw-kaw, worshipped. It is proper to reverence those in harmony with Jehovah. E73
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| 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: |
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| 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: |
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| 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. |
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| 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. |
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| 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. |
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| 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. |
And they did eat – Showing complete materialization. Q744:3
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for some thereby have entertained angels unawares." (Heb. 13:2) R3946:2
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| 9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. |
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| 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. |
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| 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. |
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| 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? |
Sarah laughed – With incredulity when informed of the subject. R2860:2
In joy and appreciation at the time of Isaac's birth. R2860:2
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| 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? |
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| 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. |
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| 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. |
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| 16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. |
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| 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; |
Hide from Abraham – My friend. "I have called you friends, because whatsoever I have heard of the Father I have made known unto you." (John 15:15) R2208:4,5
"The Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants." (Amos 3:7) B22
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| 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? |
And all the nations – Not merely the Jews. A58
Shall be blessed – In due time. E22
With an opportunity of returning to harmony with God, and with everlasting life. R4557:3, R4537:6, R5768:3,5
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| 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. |
For I know him – I have become intimate with him, made a covenant with him, revealed myself to him. R3946:6
That he will – To the end that he may. R3946:6
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| 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; |
The LORD said – Jesus, as a spirit being who merely assumed a fleshly body as a convenience in communicating with men. R5622:5
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| 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. |
If not, I will know – This is stated in simple language so that all may understand that the Lord takes full cognizance of earth's affairs. R3947:2
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| 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. |
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| 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? |
And Abraham – Not rejoicing in the calamity about to come upon his neighbors, but manifesting benevolence and the spirit of a mediator. R3947:3
The righteous - Abraham's solicitude was for the righteous, not the wicked. R3948:1
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| 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? |
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| 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? |
Be far from thee – Abraham petitioned God's mercy on the Sodomites to spare them, if even ten among them were righteous. R5179:1
Do right – As if to say, "Lord, harmonize this matter for me. Show me how this would be just." R3947:4
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| 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. |
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| 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: |
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| 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. |
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| 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. |
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| 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. |
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| 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. |
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| 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. |
For ten's sake – Abraham found that in every case the Lord was no less just and generous than himself. "Blessed are the merciful." In the end he found that God had saved the only righteous one and on his account some that were not righteous; and we shall see in due time that God will save all who were destroyed. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways." (Isa. 55:9) R3948:2
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| 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. |
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