Here is a reminder of the passage. Genesis 18:12 DR
And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.
Abraham had been a friend of God for a long time. He had followed God into the new land from Ur. He had made a covenant with God. He had lived his entire life on the promises of God and not on the wealth or status of his family.
He had taken a huge chance in following the God Who Is One.
But, now, suddenly, this God Who walked with Abraham came to him as the Three Persons of the Trinity.
Astounding. Very few would see the Trinity or know the Trinity before the Birth of Christ.
It seems that David did in his psalms.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, of course, knew the Trinity intimately.
Why did the Trinity come to Abraham? It was not merely to warn the man and his people of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was not merely to prophesy the coming pregnancy of the promised child, Isaac.
There is more to this historical fact than prophecies or warnings, as important as these are in salvation history.
The Trinity came to Abraham for three reasons as I understand the text.
The first is that God so loved Abraham that He wanted to reveal Himself as He is to His friend. The Trinity is not only revealed to Abraham, but to us, his descendants in the faith. This meeting prepared future generations for the Incarnation and Pentecost.
Second, God wanted to test His friend and see how faithful Abraham actually was. Did this friend of God really trust God? Did this friend of God, who spoke with God, ask enough? I think not. I think Sodom and Gomorrah could have been saved if Abraham would have asked for more-for five good men.
He did not have enough faith, enough trust in the mercy of God. That mercy would be fully revealed on the Cross.
Third, God came to be with men. He came to be with us through this encounter. He ate with men. He talked. He walked, He haggled. He made promises. He judged. He destroyed.
God loved us so much He did not want to wait to reveal Himself.
I call this meeting the New Eden. What Adam and Eve threw away, Abraham and Sarah obtained-friendship with God. Abraham and Sarah may be analogous to the fallen first parents. Only, these parents trusted in God. They obeyed, not perfectly, but, try they did. They prefigure the New Adam Christ, Who is Perfect Obedience, and the New Eve, Mary, Who is Perfect Human Obedience.
How amazing that God came to be and to do on earth, and prepare all of us for His Coming again at Christmas and at Pentecost.
But, God will come again on the Last Day. This is also part of the history of this meeting.
God was preparing us for the final tribulation and purification of the world.
We are Abraham, as we were spiritually in his loins, as the Apostle tells us.
Abraham was considered "righteous" for his faith in God. He was holy.
He is St. Abraham. And he was told of one of the greatest times of judgement the world had ever seen.
God was spiritually preparing Abraham for purification, to become a great saint.
Pay attention.
To be continued....in Part Two.
To be continued....in Part Two.