The Lord Appears to Abraham July 13

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Appearances of Christ in the Old Testament

Today we continue with the appearances of Christ in the Old Testament (called Theophanies or Christophanies). There are as many as 50 times that an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament is recorded long before His physical birth (incarnation). These sightings have several things in common.

Christ usually performed miracles when He appeared.
He may also have given prophecies.
He was the one who initiated the encounter.
He allowed people to worship Him (unlike any angels that appeared).
He usually reveals Himself as God during an appearance.
In addition to appearing in a bodily form, He may also have shown Himself through other visible means such as wind, smoke, cloud, or fire.

The Lord Appears to Abraham

Genesis 18:1-15

Then the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.

2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,

3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.

4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that, you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”

7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.

8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)

The Lord Confronts Abraham and Sarah

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’

14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

What did Christ's Appearance Mean?

I always love to read this passage. It makes me laugh a little bit also to think of Sarah laughing. She couldn’t see what the Lord could see and do. We are so much like that sometimes. Abraham runs out to meet the Lord in verse 2, and he bows to the ground as a sign of worship. And the Lord accepts this worship, unlike angels when they appear anywhere in Scripture. Angels always turn away from someone bowing down and worshipping them. Perhaps he recognized the Lord from seeing Him a little earlier in Genesis 12 and also in Genesis 14. Another point to mention is that the Lord prophesies that Sarah and Abraham will have a son; He asks if anything is too hard for Him, and then exhibits that He knows that Sarah did indeed laugh (making Him all-knowing).

Additional texts about appearances of Christ in the Old Testament:

If you have extra time, you may want to look up Genesis 12:7.

You may also want to look up the story of The Lord confronting Balaam in Numbers 22:22-25.