Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.
Angel's Sword
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. (Genesis 18:1-2a)
The Great King called forth two of His greatest champions, the angels Araton and Soterasiel.
"Go with My Son to the fallen planet. There you will find a man named Abraham, whose nephew lives among the cities of the plain. Their sin cries out to Me and I can no longer bear the stench in My nostrils. I will send fire from heaven to eradicate the cities. Get Lot and his family out of there and to the mountains for Abraham's sake."
Araton bowed his head. "Yes, Most High, it will be done."
A bright light surrounded the throne for a second, then the Son appeared in the guise of an ordinary Middle Eastern man in his early thirties. "Let's go," He said.
Soterasiel, ever the serious one, had a niggling thought in the back of his mind. "Somehow, Lord, I don't think this is going to be the last time we will see You as a human being."
Araton gaped. "Soterasiel!"
The Son laughed. "Araton, I am not offended. Soterasiel is correct; you will yet see Me thus again." He gestured downward at His human form.
His face grew sober. "Come, let's go give Abraham and Sarah the joyous news.
Araton and Soterasiel greatly enjoyed Abraham's hospitality. He was a true man of the east; great and courteous to all travelers. And he had the Lord's heart.
Speaking of which...
The Son smiled as he regarded the woman who ducked out of sight. Like any typical woman, she had to know what was going on. He chuckled at that.
"Sarah will soon have a son as I promised you," the Lord told Abraham.
Sarah gasped. Who was this stranger? He had to be joking!
She gave a short bark of short laughter. "Me? Bear a son at my age? Abraham and I aren't spring chickens!"
The next words that reached her ears made her blood run cold. "Why did Sarah say...?"
"I did not!" she yelled back.
"Yes, you did laugh," the words came to her clear as day.
"Who are You?" she asked, peering at the three travelers, one of whom looked square at her.
"Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." (Genesis 18:14)
"You will call his name 'Isaac'," the Lord added.
It took every ounce of will power for Araton and Soterasiel not to laugh. Humans were amazing creatures. They were relieved that the Lord hadn't struck her dead when she'd lied to Him.
The Son raised an eyebrow at Araton just then.
Araton ducked his head and blushed, causing Soterasiel to laugh softly.
Very few things can make an angel blush.
The three men arose and thanked Abraham for his generous meal and walked with him up a winding path to a hill with a lone olive tree for shade.
Araton and Soterasiel, knowing their orders, left the Lord and Abraham and continued on towards the cities of the plains. Araton felt sick to his stomach, if he'd been human.
Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" (Genesis 18:17)
"Something's troubling You," Abraham noted, following the Lord's gaze.
Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. (Genesis 18:20-21)
"Before the night is over, the cities of the plain will be no more," the Lord quietly replied.
It was Abraham's turn for his veins to turn to icicles. "Lot!" he blurted out. "Lord, surely You won't do this if innocent people are in the city?"
"Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)
The Son sighed. He didn't often make bargains; humans often said that God never made bargains. Contrary, He called them covenants and took them very seriously. He understood that Abraham was concerned for his nephew and his family. His heart went out to this man.
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." (Genesis 18:32b)
Abraham looked up and saw that he was alone on the hill. He looked down and saw the two other men, no, angels, and watched them make their way into the city.
Bowing low to the earth, he offered up prayers to the Lord for mercy, thanksgiving, and the joy of having a son in the near future. Lastly, he prayed for the lost souls of the cities of the plains.
Death was in the air.
"Did it feel weird to be human?" Moses asked the Lord.
"No more than it will when I do so again," the reply came.
"I'd love to meet You then," Moses said, finding it hard to imagine the Great God as a mortal.
"We'll see," came the Most High's traditional oblique answer.
Moses thought back over to what the Lord had told him. "Isaac," he murmured, "means 'laughter'. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when He told them they would have a son in their old age."
He shook his head. "You have a crazy sense of humor," he told the Lord.
"Wouldn't be the first time I've been told that," came the off-hand reply.