The Table that Conceals

Written By Julius Shumpert

“By Feeling Abraham…”

Everyone hates waiting! You won’t find anyone saying, “I love going to the DMV” or “The best part of Disneyland is standing in line.” And yet, a huge part of Abraham’s story is about waiting. Hebrews 11:8-12 gives us a quick overview of his journey, describing him as a man of great faith. But when you dig into the actual story, that faith didn’t always look perfect. It looked like doubt, bad decisions, and God renewing His promises to Abraham again and again.

By the time we get to Genesis 18, Abraham has been talking with God for a while—which was a big deal, because it wasn’t normal for him. For 75 years, Abraham grew up in places like the Ur of the Chaldeans and Haran, where people worshipped astrological gods and idols. Abraham’s conversations with God weren’t something he had a reference point for. Abraham was not surrounded by worshippers of God or a singular god. So, when Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going”, that is a huge leap! Abraham is following a God he has never heard of, to a place he has never been, to be the father of a nation he can’t physically produce. Incredibly, he moved even with so much of what God was gonna do being concealed! 

Hebrews 11 highlights Abraham’s waiting with “by faith” moments—but it leaves out a lot of the “by feeling” failures:

  • By feeling Abraham, who saw the Egyptian army, schemed and lied to protect himself and his wife instead of trusting in God. 

  • By feeling Abraham and Sarah, weary from waiting, hatched a plan to have a son by Hagar since God’s promise looked impossible. 

  • By feeling, they treated Hagar so badly she ran away—only to be sent back by God.

Waiting is hard. We know how Abraham’s story ends, but he didn’t. He waited 75 years to hear from God and 100 years to have a child. So when we get to Genesis 18, Abraham is 99 years old, still childless—and then God shows up. But just like God’s plans and timeline, he appeared to Abraham concealed as three travelers.  

Wait on The Lord

“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.”(Genesis 18:1)

The trees of Mamre were a very special place for Abraham. It’s where Abraham first built an altar after God promised him the land (Genesis 12:6–7). The last time Abraham was here, he had just begun the waiting process. Back then, Abraham responded with a sacrifice—an act of faith.  As the smoke rose from the altar, the space between fragile Abraham and Almighty God became apparent. 

But now in Genesis 18, the altar becomes a table that closes the gap between God and Abraham. Instead of an offering, Abraham is bringing an entree. While Abraham is waiting on God to fulfill His promise, he is also literally waiting on God—serving Him. Before Abraham can become the father of many nations, he has to act as a servant. Serving God looks differently at different points in your faith.

Faith works the same way. It has different gears, just like a manual car. You can’t drive in the same gear the whole time. You have to shift depending on where you are and what’s happening. If you don’t the car will stall or not move forward. Faith has gears! 

  • Internal Faith is about holding on to what God has said, even when your reality doesn’t line up yet. It’s reminding yourself who God is and what He’s promised. Internal faith is not living in denial of current responsibility, but it is looking to a hopeful resolution and believing in God’s control of outcomes. 

  • External Faith is how you act on what you believe. If you’re trusting God for something, how are you preparing for it? Your actions should match your beliefs.  

Get in Gear

In Genesis 18, Abraham is in both gears—internally believing, and externally serving. This connects with Isaiah 40:31,

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…”

As Abraham serves these visitors, giving them food and rest, God is renewing his strength by reminding him: “This time next year, Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:10). God is saying it’s closer than you think! 

What must that have felt like for Abraham? Hebrews 11:9 describes what the situation was like when these visitors arrived. Abraham was living in a land promised to him but “like a stranger…living in tents”. He was living in a temporary tent. He had faith, but no fulfillment yet. Genesis 18:1 describes that it was also the heat of the day; the most uncomfortable time to be in the desert. And yet, he was sitting at the door of his tent—right on the edge of stepping into what God had for him.

He didn’t know it, but he was sitting on the threshold of the promise. And God showed up—not with fanfare, but as a guest at his table. God turned a man who was waiting into a waiter. The table may have concealed the visitor’s identity at first but it was all to build up Abraham for what he was about to step into.

Hebrews 11. (n.d.). In Holy Bible: New International Version.

Genesis 18. (n.d.). In Holy Bible: New International Version.

Barry, J. D. (2017). Niv Faithlife Study Bible: Intriguing insights to inform your faith. Zondervan.

Julius Shumpert