Genesis 18 vs 1 to 15 A Tent in the Wilderness

Context for this message is a urban congregation in a midsize Midwestern USA city. That Sunday, the church was putting on a big feast for the neighborhood.

Some of the material here is derived from a lecture by a Prof named Patrick Kiefert and from commentaries on Genesis

The afternoon was beginning to heat up. The sun was blazing in the sky, and the leaves of the giant oak trees near Mamre barely were stirring. This was going to be another of those hot afternoonsth at Abraham had come to expect in the arid climate of this place called Canaan. As he sat in the shade of his tent which was conveniently pitched under the shade of one of the great oaks, Abraham surveyed the site. This Oasis in the wilderness of the southern reaches of Canaan provided for the watering of his many herds of cattle and sheep. It also was a place where many travelers were attracted to because of the sight of the great trees from a distance drew thirsty caravans to the place.

Now we need to try to visualize what an Oasis in this wilderness was like. Since there were many traders who traversed this region on their way from the rich centers of commerce to the north and the South of this region, there were always caravans of camel drivers passing through. They would need to water their animals and refill their water bags themselves. So, they would stop at these places where water was plentiful.

There they would pitch their tents and spend a day or two resting before they would again proceed on their journeys. This area of Canaan was at the edge of the great deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and as such was either the entrance into a more fertile area where the provisions of their journey were going to be more easily attainable, or it was seen as the jumping off place for the journey toward Egypt on the other side of the great desert. But as they came to Mamre, they would stop off for a while to prepare for the continuation of their journey.

The Oasis then became the place where travelers would set aside their rival claims to a place on the road and spend some time with each other and talk about the issues of life as they saw them.

Now it was while Abraham is camped for a while near the great oaks of Mamre, that our story takes place. This morning I want to have us take a close look at what happens in this story because Abraham is the father of believers, and what we see here is a picture of the way the church is to live in the world. The church is to be a tent in the wilderness for the person who is on a journey.

As Abraham is sitting at the door of his tent there in the shade of one of the great trees of Mamre, he sees a small group of people coming toward the Oasis in the heat of the afternoon. One can about imagine the way the heat is shimmering from off the land and Abraham has to peer through the shimmers to make out three men who are standing nearby. These are not the usual traders, they appear to just be three men travelling on foot by themselves. No animals or other people accompany them.

Notice then what Abraham does, he gets up and hurries to meet them and he bows to the ground, and invites them to come into the shade near his tent. There he brings water for their feet and their refreshment.

Now we have to keep in mind that the storyteller has informed us of whom one of these men is, he is the Lord. But Abraham doesn’t know that. He didn’t look up and see a person and say to himself, ohh that’s God I better be nice to him. No this is the way Abraham treated the stranger who came walking toward the Oasis where he was. He hurries to meet him. He gets Sarah to bake some fine bread and he himself goes to choose a calf to slaughter for a meal for these guests of his. It was his desire to be the giver of hospitality which caused him to go out of his way to be of service to the ones who came his way in need. Abraham has no way of knowing whether these men will be able to pay for their meal or not, it made no difference. He is going to provide a fine meal for these men as they stop off on their journey.

As such Abraham gives us a picture of what God wants the church to be. Abraham is often called the father of believers and is referred to as a man on whom we can model our lives for he is called the friend of God. When he is going to leave his disciples, Jesus tells them that he calls them friends. the church is the gathering of the friends of God. And as such they need to know how friends of God act. And Abraham gives us this picture of how he acts when a stranger approaches.

Another reason to pay careful attention to this picture of the friend of God is a parable Jesus tells us in Matthew 25. There in that story we hear about judgment day. Jesus will decide our fate on how we treat other people, and, in speaking to those who have done his will who are his church, Jesus specifically mentions, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Abraham shows us what that means. He provides a place for the stranger on his journey. Nothing is too good for the stranger.

And what happens in the course of the conversation is that both Abraham and Sarah discover that one of the men is the Lord himself. And they find that in welcoming the stranger, they themselves are welcomed into the presence of almighty God. The promise of God will come true within a year. You will have a son and you will call him laughter, or we call it Isaac, for you laugh at the power of God.

Now in our day, we need to realize that there are strangers all around us. In fact, most of us who make up the population of North America consider ourselves to be strangers to most everybody else. Almost everyone will have 3 or 4 jobs in their lifetime, many even having seven or more. The great majority of the population of the United States moves at least four times in their lifetimes. It is in this sort of nomadic situation that we live out our lives.

In recent years there have been three particularly fascinating books written on the subject of the influence of the movie The Wizard of Oz on the North American mentality. And they agree on one central idea — nearly 3/4 of the American population can identify with Dorothy as she makes her way to the emerald city with just a few friends. Ours is a nation that feels like we as individuals, we’re just so many orphans making our way to who knows where up that yellow brick road. And we’re looking for a few safe places to rest on this journey.

As a people, we are looking for an Oasis, a tent in the wilderness where we can stop and be refreshed for a while. Where we will be welcomed because we are people who need to be in relationship with other people. Where we can love and be loved, a place where we can have people deal with us as people rather than as consumers or clients or prospects to be pursued.

Just think of some of the more popular TV programs which have been around (and this is in in the later years of the 90s) there’s a small group of close friends on Seinfeld. There’s small groups of friends on friends. The small circle of friends on home improvement, coach and ER. They all have one thing in common, they portray A relatively small group of people who do not treat each other as business partners or clients or some such functional relationship, they feature people interacting with other people. One reason they’re so popular is that the population of the US watches and says, I want a group like that in my life. But what do you find?

People who have lived somewhere for years and they know only a few of their neighbors. People have just moved to a new neighborhood and have no friends nearby. People have chosen to move to a new community and now have no one with whom to share their lives. People who feel like Dorothy and who are saying to their pets, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto. And they begin their journey to the emerald city alone.

Until they come into contact with one of God’s friends who know the truth about what a church is to be like and they know that the church can be described as a tent in the wilderness. A place of welcoming, a place of hospitality. A place where strangers are made to feel at home. A place where as the people interact they experience the presence of God himself.

When the church sees itself as a tent for the people of God and the stranger who needs to be introduced to God, then there are certain things the church begins to do. First of all, she realizes how important small groups are to people. We cannot deal with 50 people or more on a close basis. It’s more like 10 or less. So the church to seeks to have all its people get into small groups who can walk with each other on their journey. By having small groups we limit the number of people we have to interact with and makes it possible for us to know each other as people.

The church realizes that a tent goes with us on our journey. The church walks along with people as they make their way toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The tent of a small group creates a safe place to get to know each other period no one gets to know others well in a large public setting. It takes time on a small scale in a protected place. Then we find our lives being enriched by each other.

Today we welcome our neighborhood to a meal under a tent. As people who know the word of God and do know God as a friend, we need to welcome those who are strangers and go out of our way to make them feel welcome because in them God himself appears to us.

Are you a friend of God? Then you too, like Abraham your father before you, will make this a welcoming place, a warm place where strangers will find refreshment from the heat of the days of their lives and know that God is in this place.