The Symbol of 3
“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.” - Genesis 18:1-2
There is a saying, “good things come in threes.” That statement is particularly true in what we are talking about today. The last couple of days we have looked at two ways in which God changes things in our lives when we allow Him to walk into our home. He will both lift our spirits and give us a new vision. We see that particularly with Abraham in Genesis 18 where Abraham “looked up” and saw three men.
Before looking up and having his spirit lifted, Abraham did not see the three men. There was a new vision he saw once his spirit was lifted. But what is significant about the three men? Many commentators debate this, but that number is significant. What it symbolizes can be viewed as (1) what God has done before, (2) what He is doing now, and (3) what He is about to do.
Remember Abraham and Sarah have waited a long time for their promise to come to pass, and so God has to remind them (and us) of what He has done before. Then, He has to draw our attention to what He is doing right now. Finally, He wants us to consider the blessing, the good news, and the miracles that are coming our way. It is all designed to restore Abraham’s vision, as well as ours.
In other words, this message is not just for Abraham. There is a reason this story was recorded in Scripture because it is for you too! What part of the three do you need new vision for today? Have you forgotten what God has done in the past? Do you have a blind spot for what He is doing right now? Or are you struggling to trust in what you cannot see and what He will do in the future? He is faithful. He has been in the past, He is right now, and He will be in the future.
Ask God to give you new vision in the area you need to see, right now!
There is a saying, “good things come in threes.” That statement is particularly true in what we are talking about today. The last couple of days we have looked at two ways in which God changes things in our lives when we allow Him to walk into our home. He will both lift our spirits and give us a new vision. We see that particularly with Abraham in Genesis 18 where Abraham “looked up” and saw three men.
Before looking up and having his spirit lifted, Abraham did not see the three men. There was a new vision he saw once his spirit was lifted. But what is significant about the three men? Many commentators debate this, but that number is significant. What it symbolizes can be viewed as (1) what God has done before, (2) what He is doing now, and (3) what He is about to do.
Remember Abraham and Sarah have waited a long time for their promise to come to pass, and so God has to remind them (and us) of what He has done before. Then, He has to draw our attention to what He is doing right now. Finally, He wants us to consider the blessing, the good news, and the miracles that are coming our way. It is all designed to restore Abraham’s vision, as well as ours.
In other words, this message is not just for Abraham. There is a reason this story was recorded in Scripture because it is for you too! What part of the three do you need new vision for today? Have you forgotten what God has done in the past? Do you have a blind spot for what He is doing right now? Or are you struggling to trust in what you cannot see and what He will do in the future? He is faithful. He has been in the past, He is right now, and He will be in the future.
Ask God to give you new vision in the area you need to see, right now!
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