“And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,”
Abraham looks up and sees three men standing nearby. He hurries from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bows low to the ground. The immediacy of Abraham's response — looking up, hurrying, bowing — is the hospitality instinct of a man whose spiritual life has made him quick to serve. He does not yet know who these visitors are; the hospitality precedes the recognition. In the ancient Near East, hospitality to travelers was a sacred obligation — the host bore full responsibility for the guest's welfare. But Abraham's hospitality goes beyond obligation; his hurrying and bowing are the movements of a man who genuinely honors the stranger. Romans 12:13 calls believers to practice hospitality; Philippians 2:4 calls for looking to the interests of others. The application: the disposition to serve must be cultivated before the significant visitor arrives. Abraham's hospitality reflex is already in place; it is not improvised for a divine guest.
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