Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

The sun beat down on the plains of Mamre as Abraham sat at the entrance of his tent. He lifted his eyes and saw three men standing before him. When he got up to greet them, he bowed low to the ground.

"Please don't go away from your servant," Abraham said. "Let me fetch some water for you to wash your feet, and rest in the shade of this tree." The men agreed, so Abraham hurried off to get what they needed.

As he rushed into his tent, he told Sarah to prepare three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. Then he ran out to the herd, selected a tender calf, and handed it over to a young man to cook. Meanwhile, Abraham prepared some milk and butter and set everything before his guests under the tree.

After they had eaten, one of the men asked where Sarah was. "She's inside," Abraham replied. The Lord then spoke up, saying, "I'll return to you at about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son." Sarah overheard this from inside the tent.

Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and she had long since stopped having periods. When Sarah heard this, she laughed inwardly, thinking, "After I've grown old, can I really still enjoy sexual relations with my husband? He's just as old as I am!"

The Lord asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh when she heard that she would have a child at her age?" Abraham replied, "Why not? Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

Sarah denied laughing, but the Lord knew she had. Then he said to Abraham, "I'll return next year and your wife will have a son."

The men got up to leave, and Abraham walked with them toward Sodom. The Lord said, "Shall I hide what I'm going to do from Abraham?" Since Abraham would become a great nation and all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him, God decided not to keep secrets from him.

Abraham was known for his faithfulness and integrity. He taught his children and household to follow God's ways by doing justice and showing mercy. The Lord said that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was so great because their wickedness was extreme.

He said he would go down to see if the reports were true, but Abraham stood before him and asked, "Will you destroy the innocent along with the guilty? Wouldn't it be fair for the Judge of all the earth to do what's right?"

The Lord replied, "If I find even fifty righteous people in Sodom, I won't destroy it." Then Abraham spoke up again, saying, "What if there are only forty-five righteous people left?" The Lord said he wouldn't destroy the city.

Abraham continued negotiating with God, asking about the possibility of finding forty or thirty or twenty or ten righteous people. Each time, the Lord agreed to spare Sodom for their sake.

Finally, Abraham stopped speaking, and God went his way after finishing their conversation. Abraham returned home, leaving the three men heading toward Sodom.