DIVINE VISITATION OF ABRAHAM

DIVINE VISITATION OF ABRAHAM

I explore the meaning of divine visitation in the Bible, focusing on Genesis 18 to understand Abraham’s physical encounter with God and two angels, and how his readiness, humility, and hospitality shape what follows.

Chapter Markers
- 0:00 Divine Visitation Through Abraham
- 1:33 Angels In Human Form
- 3:10 What “Visit” Means In Scripture
- 5:10 Divine Visitation As Judgment
- 7:55 Visitation As Care And Deliverance
- 14:30 Redemption: God Visits Through Jesus
- 17:45 Genesis 18: A Physical Encounter
- 21:20 Humility And Hospitality Open Doors
- 25:45 Sarah’s Barrenness And Lot’s Crisis
- 31:10 Appointed Times And Preparing Your Heart

Transcript

Divine Visitation Through Abraham

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Divine visitation, my focus is going to be looking at Abraham. God visiting Abraham. Do you know that spiritual entities can appear or present themselves in a human form? And most often they present themselves in a male form. The reason I'm making this statement to see if we as believers were aware that spiritual entities such as angels can take the form of human beings to interact to be here in the physical world. Yes, it is possible. It happened in the Old Testament, and we see it in the New Testament as well. That spiritual beings they can have a physical form to live in this world. So we're gonna look at Genesis chapter 18, verse 10 to 11. And this encounter is very unique. It's actually physical, it's not spiritual. And what we see here is the pre incarnate Jesus appearing and conversing with Abraham. That's what we see here. The preincarnate Jesus appeared to Abraham. Okay, so Jesus has been around. He has been around.

Angels In Human Form

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Before we um look at that case study of Abraham, let's look at what does it mean to visit. I look it up just out of curiosity, because the word visit occurs in the old testament about 52 times, in the new testament about 10 times. It means to attend, to muster, to pay attention to, to seek, to look about for, to visit upon, like in terms of punishment, as to deal with, to pass in review, to appoint, assigned, lay upon as a charge, deposit. The key focus here is give attention to or to attend to. In this context, you visit, let's say, the poor, the afflicted, the sick, to see how they are living, to look upon in order to help or to benefit, to look after or have care for, provided for, speaks of God,

What “Visit” Means In Scripture

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and also to look about or to look out for. Let's look at facts and different reasons behind divine visitations. Why do we call it divine visitations? It could be any visitations, but the reason why we call it divine visitation is because it's just a word that is an adjective that describes the type of visitation relating to God. Anything that is divine has to do with God. So this visitation is not human, it's not human visitation. So that is why we use the term divine visitation, implying that it is God who is gonna visit people, not human. Okay, and this visitation is always initiated by God. God is the one who always initiates to visit people, okay, and also there is a time of visitation expressed at times in a day of visitation or in a year of visitation. All of this are in the Bible. For example, in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 12, it states, Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. So it's an appointed time that God Himself will come and do something for somebody, or do something for a particular set of people. Divine visitation entails God coming to see a person, it could be an individual, it could be a group of people, or it could be a place for a particular purpose. So when we talk about divine visitation, is God coming to see a person, people, or a place to accomplish a particular purpose?

Divine Visitation As Judgment

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What are some of the reasons why we have divine visitation from God? I'm gonna list some of the points according to the scripture. Divine visitation in a negative sense, which is mostly used, it refers to a time of God's vengeance, recompense, and punishment upon people to render them the dues of their conduct and character, that is their sin. Sometimes the Bible will state the day the time of punishment, it could be a time of affliction, it could be a time of distress, it could be a time of calamities, it could be a time of judgment and destruction. And there are several verses in the Old Testament that depict this negative sense of divine visitation. For example, in Exodus chapter 32, verse 33 to 35, and the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. Now therefore, go lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment. So this is divine visitation for the purpose of punishment. In Hosea 9 7, the days of punishment have come, the days of recompense have come. Isaiah chapter 10, verse 3. What will you do in the day of punishment and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? Jeremiah again 10 verse 15. They are futile, a work of errors, in the time of their punishment they shall perish. Amos chapter 3, verse 14, that in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altar altars of beta, and the arms of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. And then Exodus chapter 20, verse 5. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God, I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. So we see this varation or reason for divine um visitation in a negative sense of God coming down to render punishment, judgment on people mainly because of their sins. Another reason why we have divine visitation, it means that

Visitation As Care And Deliverance

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God's inspection and supervision of people. Look what it states in Psalms chapter eight verse four. What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? Psalms 17 verse 3. You have tested my heart, you have visited me in the night, you have tried me and have found nothing. I have proposed that my mouth shall not transgress. So what we see here is God inspecting humanity to observe their conduct. Divine visitation also refers to God's remembrance, attention, and attendance upon his people. Genesis chapter 50, verse 24 to 25. And Joseph said to his brothers, to his brethren, I am dying, but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land to the land of which he sowed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry my bones from there. And then we see the fulfillment of this in Exodus chapter 13, verse 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under a solid hood, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you. So that prophecy that Joseph had of God visiting his people to take them out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land. And and and Joseph took an hode with his brethren, asking them that guys, um, God is gonna visit you, and I want you to take my bones from here. I don't belong in Egypt, I belong in the promised land. So remember to take my bones. So this prophecy was fulfilled. Not only was God taking the children of Israel out of Egypt, God also was able to do it for Joseph to ensure that Moses took the bones of Joseph and bring them along while they were going to the promised land. Okay, so we also see divine visitation refers to God's deliverance and breakthrough for his people from afflictions, oppression, bondage. God pretty much comes to rescue his people. And we see a perfect example in Exodus chapter 3, verse 16 to 17. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt. And I have said, I will bring you, I'll bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Parasite and the Evites and the Jubasite to a land flown with milk and honey. Wow. So what we see here is God visiting his people to get them out of Egypt because God remembered their afflictions and God wants to deliver them. And we see an example in Exodus chapter 4, verse 31. So the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord has had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked on their affliction, that they bow their heads and worship. Wow. So when God visits you to deliver you from your affliction, your response will be an act of worship. Because God remembers what you have been going through, and God is coming down to visit you in a supernatural way. We also see divine visitation refers to God's care and goodness. We see an example in Psalm 65, verse 9. You visit the earth and water it. That is God taking care of the earth. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water, you provide your grain, for so you have prepared it. So we see God's meticulous care of the universe, and we see his goodness towards the earth, the planet. Return, we beseech you, O God of hosts, look down from heaven and see and visit the vine. The vine here represents God's people. That God is coming to visit from heaven and to take care of his vine. Matthew chapter 25, verse 36. Jesus Christ gives us a specific example of God visiting, of what God wants you and I to do. We as believers is state, I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. So we as believers, Christ is encouraging us to go to the sick, to visit the sick, to visit those in prison, to visit those who are naked, to visit those who are um um who need clothes and take care of them. And see how they are living. And whatever we can do to help, it is our responsibility, our responsibility to help them. And then Matthew chapter 25, verse 43. I was a stranger and you not take take me in. Naked and you do not clothe me. Sick in prison, and you not visit me. So what we do in a practical sense, what we do to one another, especially when we are in in difficult situations in life. Some of you might be in prison, some of you might be strangers, some of you might be naked, some of you, some of you might be hungry. Jesus is encouraging us as believers to visit in a sense of looking upon people, what they are going through, and to care for them. So that is divine visitation. God is using believers to visit people who are less privileged, people who are uh less fortunate, people who are going through difficulties in life. Okay, so divine visitation also refers to God's dispensation of mercy. Look what it states in Luke chapter 1, verse 75. Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the day spring from on eye has visited us. So when God visits you, sometimes God will visit you to extend grace and mercy. Another render of

Redemption: God Visits Through Jesus

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why God visits, divine visitation refers to God's redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. So this one particularly speaks of Jesus as God who visited his people. In Luke chapter 1, verse 68. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. So Christ's coming is a manifestation of God visiting his people, Israel, not only Israel, but also extending that visit to the Gentiles, to you and I. So when we talk about divine visitation, the actual the um the actual manifestation has happened with Jesus Christ being that visitor that came to redeem God's people, that came to save the rest of the world. Luke chapter 7, verse 16. Then fear came upon upon all, and they glorified God saying, A great prophet has risen up among us, and God has visited his people. So whenever the whenever the people witness great signs and wonders, or when they see the manifestation, the power of God, they will attribute it to a great prophet being used by God, and then God has surely visited his people, God has remembered his people. Acts chapter 15, verse 13 to 17. And after they had become silent, James answers, saying, Men and brethren, listen to me. Simon has declared how God at first visited the Gentiles, that is us, to take out of them a people for his name. And with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written. So we are in the New Testament, and one of the disciples of Jesus here, James, is confirming the message of Simon, that is Peter, saying that God has visited us the Gentiles as well. In the salvation plan of God, he had Israel and the Gentiles in mind. So he's just referencing the Old Testament, saying that in verse 16, after this I will return and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David. That is that is speaking of the children of Israel, which has fallen down. I will rebuild its runes and I will set it up, so that the rest of mankind, that is you and I, may see the may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who does all these things. So in the salvation plan of God, it included the children of Israel and the rest of humanity. God has visited us, and God wants to visit those people who don't know about Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is God's visitor of his presence, of his purpose to save mankind, to bring them back to himself. Now let's look at the focus really. That is the um divine visitation of Abraham.

Genesis 18: A Physical Encounter

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Okay, so this visitation is not spiritual at all because Abraham has had dreams and visions of God appearing to him. But in this case, the Bible states that in verse Genesis chapter 18, verse 1, that the Lord appeared to him. This appearance of God was actually visible and tangible, it was physical. God was God took the form of one of the um the three men because there were three men that visited Abraham. God was among them. So this was not like a spiritual divine visitation, this was an actual reality, a physical, visible, tangible manifestation of these three men. Two of them were angels, and then the Christ incarnate, pre-incarnate, okay? Because God has spoken to Abraham in multiple times through dreams in a spiritual way. But this time around, God visibly visited Abraham to converse with Abraham one-on-one. There were parties involved in this divine visitation, not just Abraham. The Lord was involved, the two angels, Abraham and his wife, Lot and his family. These were all parties involved, okay? When you look at it in Genesis chapter 18, verse 1, it says, as he was sitting, so when God appeared to Abraham by the tarubine trees of Marah, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day, then Abraham, Abraham was sitting in a particular location, and that location is the same place where Abraham built an altar. This is very important. So Abraham was sitting at that same place where Abraham built an altar to God. There's a reference in Genesis 13, verse 18. Let me read that quickly. Then Abraham moved his tent and went and dwelt by the Tariban tree. Again, that tree, we God knew exactly where to meet Abraham. Abraham dwelt beside a particular tree in Mam, yeah, Maram, which are in Ibrahim, and built an altar there to the Lord. So that location where Abraham lives, he built an altar to God. So God knew exactly where to find Abraham, and it's not just an ordinary place, the atmosphere was set, the atmosphere was ready to welcome God and the other angel. It was an altar where Abraham was, it was an altar on its own. And what do we know about altar? Altar is a place where spiritual entities interact. An altar is a place for access points for spiritual activities. So you're expecting God to come down to converse with Abraham at a place that is already suitable for such to happen. How is this applicable in our Christian life? We want to have divine visitation, but we have not created the atmosphere in our own lives and in the in the surrounding that can be so conducive to welcome, to usher in the presence of God. So this is something that I learned while I was doing my study. I'm like, wow. So the Bible is very specific in terms of location, time, and all that stuff. They are there for a reason. And this is the takeaway, okay? So God met Abraham where Abraham was stationed,

Humility And Hospitality Open Doors

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and where Abraham can be found. So in this meeting, I'll read in Genesis chapter 2, 18, verse 2. So he lifted up 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. Okay. So there are two things about Abraham that we can learn from this meeting. Two approach and actions of Abraham. Number one, the humility of Abraham and the hospitality of Abraham. Abraham was so humble when he met these three men. The Bible states that he bowed himself to the ground. That's a sign of humility.

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He

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Refer to one of the three men as my Lord, that this is what makes that one of the men in this meeting was God. Because you cannot call angels my Lord. Angels don't have that title as my Lord. Okay? So one of the men was Jesus Himself, pre-incarnate. He requested favor in the sight of one of the men among the tree. That's the one that he addressed as the Lord. And he referred to himself as the servant. So we see the humility of Abraham display when he approached God as a man. Okay? Not the two angels. And we also see the hospitality of Abraham. So you see, Abraham, God has already worked in Abraham's character. Abraham was ready to receive God. So if we're expecting divine visitation, the question is: are we ready to receive God? Readiness is not just to prepare food or it's not just to cook, but readiness in your own life, your life as a living sacrifice. Because God told Abraham, walk before me and be blameless. Abraham feared God. Abraham respect God. Abraham humbled himself before God. So we see Abraham is a caring person, he takes care of other people. Let me recontinue to read. It says, Please let a little water be brought. Now we're looking at the hospitality of Abraham. And wash your feet and rest yourself under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh your heart. And after that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant, and they said, You know what? Do as you have said. So we see a display of hospitality from Abraham to the three men. Okay? Hebrews chapter 13, verse 2 states that do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so, some may have unwittingly entertained angels. That is why, if you're expecting divine visitation, you have to prepare yourself. You have to prepare your heart, you have to prepare your character. Abraham, we see his humility in action, we see his hospitality in action, we see the place where God made Abraham is already on an altar. So everything was everything was ready, everything was suitable for such a time for God to visit Abraham. Most times we want God to visit us, but we have not put things in place. We have not put things in place. Okay? So let me continue to read. So Abraham or it into the tent to Sarah and said, Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes. And Abraham ran to the to the herd, took a tender and a and a good calf, gave it to the young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 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. Wow. Abraham prepared delicious meal for them, and the angels and God himself, these were men, so because they took the form of a human being, so they have the capacity to eat, even though they were spiritual entities. Okay? Now, there are two problems

Sarah’s Barrenness And Lot’s Crisis

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for this divine visitation that God visited Abraham, and there are two special people in Abraham's life that is Sarah and Lot. That is Sarah and Lot. So the problem for this divine visitation is that Sarah was barren. God knew that Sarah was barren. Okay, and Sarah tried to fulfill God's promise of having a child by devising her own plan. And she used Ega as a second wife to Abraham. And now Lot had an issue. God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, an impending destruction of the place where Abraham's nephew Lot resides. So that those are the two problems for this divine visitation: the barrenness of Sarah, Abraham's wife, and the impending destruction of the place where Abraham's nephew Lot was. Okay. Now, with all these two problems, what God did was two things again: the son of promise and the salvation of promise. Like I said earlier on, when we talk about divine visitation, it refers to God's remembrance, attention, and attendance upon his people. In the case of Sarah and Abraham, the son of promise, God came because God remember his promise. God came to pay close attention to the situation of Sarah. God also came to make sure that Sarah received her deliverance and breakthrough from barrenness in the physical. Now in verse 9, and they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? So he said, Here in the tent. Okay, then the Lord said, That's the now God is making the promise. I will certainly return to you according to the time of life. And behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son. God is already there, physically there, right? Now God is saying that I am making a promise that I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come according to the right time, the time of life where Sarah will produce life. Look at the reaction of Sarah and Abraham. And they said, Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. That is the fact. And Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old as well? Now, God said everything, God made a promise. But God insisted that this is possible. And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I surely bear a child? Again, sometimes when we have that divine visitation, we might think that can this be real? What God is doing or what I'm seeing? That has happened to me before. Where God visited me, not like in a tangible way, like he did with Abraham, but I feel like God, this time in my life or this season in my life, God has remembered me. And I feel like, wow, is this real? Can this be possible? Can God deliver me from this? And that's happening to me right now. Where I am getting a deliverance of a strong bondage in my life that has taken me so many years to overcome. But I feel like God has broken true, God has helped me to overcome that. And I'm still in disbelief. I'm like, wow, can this be real? That is divine visitation. So God was saying in verse 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 sound, a son. So God was insisting that, okay, your wife is laughing, thinking that it's funny. Your wife is laughing, thinking that it's not possible. But you know what? There's nothing too hard for me. God is so confident in himself. There's nothing too complicated. There's nothing like I don't care about your age, I don't care about how long that problem has been in your life, I don't care about the natural cause, but there's nothing. I am here physically to tell that what I'm capable of. If I I got if God can come down in the human form to interact with you, what makes you think that God cannot allow you to have a child or God cannot create a child in your world? If God can come down, come down from heaven and take the form of a human being to humble himself, to come to your level, to talk to you one-on-one, to tell you his promise, what is it that God cannot do? But Sarah denies saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid, and he said, No, but you did laugh. Okay, now

Appointed Times And Preparing Your Heart

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I'm not gonna focus on Lord because of time. So, and then we see the fulfillment of this in Genesis chapter 21. So the promise was made in Genesis 18, and God says, at the appointment at the appointed time, at the time of life. So they had a time of visitation, and when this time of visitation, God made a promise to Abraham and his wife, and the fulfillment didn't happen right there, the fulfillment happened at another time, another appointed time, and we see that in Genesis chapter 21, verse 1 to 7. And the Lord again is the same word, is the same word, and the Lord visited Sarah since okay, okay. The first instance was God visited Abraham, spoke to Abraham about the problem of his wife, about the problem of Lot, his nephew. That was the purpose of the divine visitation. So God made a promise, and now in verse in Genesis chapter 21. Now, God now had a special time for Sarah. The Bible states that the Lord visited Sarah. This visitation is not physical. The visitation that was talking about, it was physical. Abraham and Sarah could see God as a man talking to them, making such promise. But but the fulfillment of this promise, even though the same word is being used as God visits Sarah, it was not physical visitation, it was spiritual. God was doing all the impossibilities, making them possible in the life of Sarah. God was walking inside of Sarah to make her conceive. So the word itself, visit means to remember, to come to an aid, to attend to. God will visit you in any way. It might not be physical, it could be spiritual, it could be in your heart, it could be God using somebody else to confirm his word to you. And God will also visit you when you see the evidence, when you see the manifestation, when you experience what God has promised you. That's what we see here. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age. At look what very, very specific, at the set time of which God has spoken to him. Wow, the Bible is very precise. God physically visited them and made a promise, and now we see the fulfillment of this promise at the same time that God has spoken to them. Now, another person that was struggling with barrenness, and this lady, God did not visit her physically. But you know what this woman did? Like I was saying, that before Abraham welcomed divine visitation, Abraham prepared himself. The location where Abraham was, Abraham built an altar, and Abraham is a man of humility and hospitality. Now, if we go to 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 21, Anna, she was barren, she had a problem, but she also prepared herself to welcome divine visitation by fasting, by praying. Most of us as believers, we want to experience God's visitation in our lives, but we are not prepared to welcome, to occupy, to accommodate the atmosphere of God's presence. It's a good thing for you to desire, God visit me, visit my church, visit my life, visit my home, visit my country, visit Canada, visit Uganda. But we have not prepared ourselves to welcome the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord. 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 21. And the Lord visited Anna so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before the Lord. This was a woman. This was a woman who was barren, just like Sarah. But God visited them in a spiritual sense. So I'm here to encourage you, child of God. As we are waiting to see God visiting us, let us prepare ourselves to welcome our King. Prepare ourselves in our hearts. Let our hearts be pure and clean. Prepare the atmosphere to usher in the king to come in. He might not come physically, he might. He might come in a spiritual sense. But make sure you are prepared, you are sensitive, you are attentive not to miss that appointment when God will visit you.