God's been insisting on his promise, but still we've yet to see it come true. No sign of an heir for Abraham yet. Abraham's faith has been boosted by God's words and actions, but he still has to believe without seeing.
God appears to Abraham and Sarah is promised a son
Genesis 18:1-15
God and Abraham discuss the fate of Sodom
Genesis 18:16-33
Angels warn Lot
Genesis 19:1-22
Lot's escape, the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, and of Lot's wife
Abraham's lies to Abimelech
Genesis 20:1-18
Chapter 18 is a remarkable story. God appears in the form of three angels, accepting Abraham''s hospitality, and reiterating the promise of a son. Sarah laughs in disbelief, then lies to cover up her confusion. Abraham, undaunted, gets into a discussion with God, who decides to share his thoughts about the fate of Sodom. With a wonderful bit of bargaining, he reverse haggles God down to 10 righteous people - the price of saving the city. But Sodom is a mess. Lot acts like Abraham, offering hospitality, but his family seem to be the only ones not steeped in wickedness. So the destruction plan goes ahead, and Lot's wife, poor woman, torn in two, looks back and is destroyed.
Chapter 20 is strange! Once again Abraham seems to succumb to fear, passing Sarah off as his sister. The king of the land, Abimelech, takes a fancy to this eligible single woman (as she seems) and only God's intervention through a dream prevents him from adding her to his harem. Strange behaviour from Abraham, who, as we've seen, acts sometimes like an equal to the various potentates he encounters, sometimes like a fugitive. Why does his trust in God waver? Oh, I forgot. He's only human.
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