In addition to studying the word of God daily, a spiritual discipline I started incorporating in my habits is to read through the Bible in a year. This is me simply listening to the word of God without necessarily meditating or studying. It is a habit that forces me to be filled with the word. This week, as I was reading the word, I was struck by the stories of Abraham and Lot as it pertained to the topic of hospitality. It was hard to separate their act of hospitality with the blessing they incurred following that. Hospitality in the Bible can be defined as taking care of a stranger. In biblical times, it was often geared towards caring for travelers who needed food, shelter and lodging. In the Levitical law, God instructed Moses that His people were to care for the stranger and sojourner among them (Leviticus 19:33-34). Hospitality was such an important principle that the LORD ensured it be a law, a command that had to obeyed. More than a thousand years later, hospitality remains important to the LORD and for those who fear Him, it must be taken seriously. In our current context, we are so individualistic that we seldom think about the other. In today’s post, I would like to remind us of this ancient command that still holds true for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The book of Genesis recounts the story of how Abraham became a father. Prior to becoming a father, God had revealed to Abraham that his descendance would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5); that he would become the “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:4). When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the promise of God to Abraham had still not come to pass. Yet God reminded Abraham of His covenant with Him and reiterated clearly that he would become a father. Abraham even wanted to make things easier for God proposing that the LORD established His covenant with Him through his other son Ishmael (the son he got through his wife’s servant Hagar). But God was very clear that His covenant with Abraham was not through Ishmael but through the son that Sarah his wife would bear him. Following that event, Abraham had settled in the oaks of Mamre and the LORD appeared to him. There, he saw three men who were standing in front of him. Upon seeing them, Abraham ran from his tent door to meet the men and bowed himself before them. He then pleaded and insisted with the men to allow him to bless them with food and water. The men agreed and Abraham quickly went to his wife Sarah and ordered that a meal be prepared for their unexpected guests, choosing the best of what he had (you can read the story in its entirety in chapter eighteen of Genesis). The men ate and asked where Sarah his wife was. Then, they announced that Sarah would become pregnant a year from that encounter, and we know from the rest of the story that it happened exactly as what the men prophesied. My point with this story is that it took Abraham’s showing hospitality to strangers, whether these were angels or not, without this kindness shown to the men, I doubt Abraham would have been a beneficiary of the prophecy these men had. I know the LORD would have ensured His covenant with Abraham came to pass irrespective of Abraham’s failing, but I do think, the fact that this incident is included in the Bible should cause us to see how important it is to bless others through the gift of hospitality. How Abraham knew the three men were special we are not told, what we are told however is how he treated them. This good treatment almost sealed the accomplishment of God’s covenant with him. What impresses me with Abraham is that he did everything with haste. It is clear that there are moments of opportunities in life that one should not miss. This was one of them for Abraham and he acted as God expected of him. I believe that Abraham’s hospitality, this simple act of kindness posed to the three men opened the door for him to be in the know thereby allowing him to intercede before the LORD for the life of his nephew Lot.
In a similar way, Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom when he saw two of the men that met with Abraham prior. Upon seeing them, Lot rose to meet them and pleaded with them to come lodge at his house. I cannot help but think his uncle trained him well. Lot pressed the men strongly as it says in the Bible so that they accepted to come into his abode. When they came to his house, Lot made them a feast and they ate (Genesis 19:1-2). However, we are told that the men of the city, men of Sodom came to Lot’s house to demand that his guests be handed over to them to have sex with them. Lot begged with the men of the city and even offered his two virgin daughters in the place of his guests, but the men of the city would not hear anything. Lot’s proposal to bring his virgin daughters was already outrageous, but it was not sufficient for the men of Sodom. It just goes to show how perverted the city and its people were. At this point, Lot’s guests brought him into the house, shutting the door behind him and striking the men of the city who were at the door with blindness. They then revealed to Lot who had sent them and what they came to do asking him to gather his family if they wanted to escape the destruction of the city. Lot ended up escaping God’s judgement with his daughters. This story is worth reading in its entirety. There are many things that can be said to have contributed to Lot’s escape including Abraham’s intercession, but the fact is Lot’s kindness to the angels cannot be discarded. The parallels in these two stories are evident and I believe for us today, we can take from it that practicing hospitality brings blessings.
The book of Hebrews commands us to not neglect to show hospitality to strangers because by doing so, some have entertained angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2). Similarly, the apostle Peter also commanded believers to “show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). Many other instances can be drawn from the Bible to show how important hospitality is. Being obedient to the LORD has its perks. He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him after all. Your obedience to God is first and foremost for you. It acts as a vehicle for God to entrust you with more of Him and what He has for you. I pray we learn to forgo of ourselves for the betterment of the stranger, including the poor, the widow, the orphan, the needy.
A Word Aptly Spoken 