“Beg” by Shane and Shane
“Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.””
Genesis 18:1-3
Abraham was hanging out in the shade of the terebinth trees while encamped in a place called Mamre, later to be known as Hebron (Genesis 13:18; 23:17). This area of the South (also called “Negev”) is known to get pretty hot during the day; the summer temperatures can reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say it’s not the weather you want to be working in, so it was common to do hard manual labor early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Abraham was a pretty smart guy so we find him pulling up some shade and cooling down, however he doesn’t chill out. Abraham was watching for God.
How do I know?
When Abraham notices three strangers roll up into camp he runs out into the heat and bows down in worship and says, “My Lord”. The word “Lord” that he uses here isn’t the polite phrase equal to our modern day “sir”, but is “adonay” actually the proper name of God only.
This brings to mind a challenging question for me. Am I as hungry and determined to watch, worship, and work to serve the Lord during my daily grind. If it was me in this situation I would have probably listed the reasons why I deserved to relax instead of run. Abraham probably had already put in a full day’s work, it was pretty stinking hot out, he was entitled to some R&R in the shade, besides he had plenty of servants to show some hospitality to the three guests, but that’s not Abraham’s heart. We see that even after all the reasons for excuse Abraham was still hungry enough to meet with God, to speak with Him, and to serve Him, he didn’t want to be passed by or miss out on anything.
I reckon we can learn something here.
You see, when we’ve worked a full day and we’re looking for some well deserved personal time, we desire to kick back and turn on the boob tube instead of kicking it up and opening the Word. We think of every excuse to cash in on entitlements instead of realizing that we’re missing out on the true treasure of personal time with God. God doesn’t want us during the commercial breaks, He wants our full attention!
When was the last time we hungered for God’s presence like Abraham, when we were exhausted and it was hot but we still burned with passion to run to the Lord instead of rest on our rear.
Does your recliner and remote see more use than your knees and the Word?
If you find the answer to be, “Yes” then I encourage you to take a look around like Abraham. You just might see the Lord has come to visit with you… don’t miss it!
Chances are you might find yourself more blessed, rested, and refreshed than what you would have received had you stayed in the shade.
