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| 1 And Jehovah appeareth unto him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about 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 lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, three men standing by him, and he seeth, and runneth to meet them from the opening of the tent, and boweth himself towards the earth, |
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 he saith, 'My Lord, if, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, do not, I pray thee, pass on from thy servant; |
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| 4 let, I pray thee, a little water be accepted, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree; |
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| 5 and I bring a piece of bread, and support ye your heart; afterwards pass on, for therefore have ye passed over unto your servant;' and they say, 'So mayest thou do as thou has spoken.' |
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| 6 And Abraham hasteth towards the tent, unto Sarah, and saith, 'Hasten three measures of flour-meal, knead, and make cakes;' |
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| 7 and Abraham ran unto the herd, and taketh a son of the herd, tender and good, and giveth unto the young man, and he hasteth to prepare it; |
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| 8 and he taketh butter and milk, and the son of the herd which he hath prepared, and setteth before them; and he is standing by them under the tree, and they do 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 say unto him, 'Where [is] Sarah thy wife ' and he saith, 'Lo in the tent;' |
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| 10 and he saith, 'returning I return unto thee, about the time of life, and lo, to Sarah thy wife a son.' |
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| 11 And Sarah is hearkening at the opening of the tent, which is behind him; |
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| 12 and Abraham and Sarah [are] aged, entering into days the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah; |
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 Sarah laugheth in her heart, saying, 'After I have waxed old I have had pleasure! my lord also [is] old!'
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| 14 And Jehovah saith unto Abraham, 'Why [is] this Sarah hath laughed, saying, Is it true really I bear and I am aged Is any thing too wonderful for Jehovah at the appointed time I return unto thee, about the time of life, and Sarah hath a son.' |
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| 15 And Sarah denieth, saying, 'I did not laugh;' for she hath been afraid; and He saith, 'Nay, but thou didst laugh.' |
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| 16 And the men rise from thence, and look on the face of Sodom, and Abraham is going with them to send them away; |
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| 17 and Jehovah said, 'Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing, |
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 and Abraham certainly becometh a nation great and mighty, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth |
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 have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning 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 Jehovah saith, 'The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah because great; and their sin because exceeding 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 go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming unto Me they have done completely and if not I 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 turn from thence, and go towards Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before Jehovah. |
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| 23 And Abraham draweth nigh and saith, 'Dost Thou also consume righteous with 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 are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; dost Thou also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty the righteous who [are] in its midst |
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| 25 Far be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been as the righteous so the wicked far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice ' |
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 Jehovah saith, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then have I borne with all the place for their sake.' |
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| 27 And Abraham answereth and saith, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord, and I dust and ashes; |
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| 28 peradventure there are lacking five of the fifty righteous dost Thou destroy for five the whole of the city ' and He saith, 'I destroy [it] not, if I find there forty and five.' |
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| 29 And he addeth again to speak unto Him and saith, 'Peradventure there are found there forty ' and He saith, 'I do [it] not, because of the forty.' |
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| 30 And he saith, 'Let it not be, I Pray thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: peradventure there are found there thirty ' and He saith, 'I do [it] not, if I find there thirty.' |
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| 31 And he saith, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there are found there twenty ' and He saith, 'I do not destroy [it], because of the twenty.' |
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| 32 And he saith, 'Let it not be, I pray Thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: peradventure there are found there ten ' and He saith, 'I do not destroy [it], because of the ten.' |
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 Jehovah goeth on, when He hath finished speaking unto Abraham, and Abraham hath turned back to his place. |
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