Day 1: Vayera/Genesis 18:1-15
The meeting of Elohim, along with the two other “men” at the Oaks of Mamre, is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden encounters with Adam and Chavah. Abraham greets his guests with the entreaty to rest under the tree. This is a shadow of the communion Elohim shared with His creation before their sinful fall. He would walk in the Garden during the cool of the day. It could be presumed that they would all rest, talk, and share under the Tree of Life since it was the centerpiece of the Garden of Eden.
The Oaks of Mamre encounter between Abraham and Elohim was, also, a foreshadow of the giving of Torah and arrival of Messiah. There are many representations of what did or what would happen disclosed in Abraham’s encounter with Elohim at Mamre. Some of these revelations precede Torah so as to lay a foundation of Truth and intercept wrong interpretations. Others affirm the ongoing agelessness of YHVH as they reflect His perpetual calendar, blessings, and abundance.
A common misconception, even erroneous ideology about Torah is that Covenant keepers should not eat or mix meat and dairy. Orthodox Jews even have separate preparation areas and dishes to prevent crossover contamination of these two food groups; and, they will only eat one after six hours of eating the other in order to prevent mixing in the stomach. This seems to be moot in consideration of what Abraham fed the Angel of YHVH and His companions. Essentially, they ate cheeseburgers even if they were not on the buns. All the makings, curds, bread, and beef were presented at the meal, along with milk to wash it down. The common Jewish dogma of no dairy with meat should be canceled out with this menu line up, fed to Elohim Himself!
And, talk about provision and blessings! Not only did Abraham have a choice calf prepared for dinner, but consider the amount of flour used to bake bread cakes— there’s a phenomenal amount. Abraham tells Sarah to prepare three seah/measures of fine flour. This would be the equivalent of almost ninety cups of flour or around twenty-seven large loaves of challah bread. It is no wonder that Jewish tradition regales Sarah as blessed in the tent and in the kneading bowl. Her cup truly ran over with abundance. (It should be noted that cooking this amount was probably a feast being prepared for all of Abraham’s house, not just five people.)
Elohim used interesting language when proclaiming the arrival of Isaac and His to be expected visitation the following year. It was not just a random visit or at a random time. Elohim would come back to Abraham at the moed/appointed time the following year, at which point Abraham and Sarah would have a son of their own. This is another foreshadow of Torah’s revelation concerning the Feasts and their appointed times. Not only was this established at creation by the signs and seasons proclaimed in the stars, moon, and sun, but it was the confirmation of YHVH’s calendar and the timetable He keeps. This, in fact, could explain why so much bread was to be baked by Sarah.
The appointed time/moed in which Elohim could have visited Abraham was Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Like the seder style meal that Yeshua shared with His disciples prior to Pesach, Elohim (as the pre-incarnate Messiah) shared a meal under the Tree with Abraham. He prophesied to Abraham that a son would be born. This son would represent Messiah as one that was willingly offered for the sin of man.
A second witness to this time of year would be Lot and his encounter with the two angels. He was the only man found righteous in the Valley of Siddim. After leaving Abraham, the two angels that were with Elohim meet up with Lot. Lot, in turn, gives hospitality to them, just like Abraham did. Instead of bread cakes (with leaven), however, they are fed unleavened bread along with another feast. This is just a very short time after their encounter with Abraham. While this may not be conclusive of Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it does allow for a strong case to be made. Sarah could have been getting rid of all the yeast, Abraham could have had a choice calf ready, and Lot could have known not to serve leaven during that appointed time since he grew up in Abram’s household.
It is true that Torah in its totality would not be revealed for over four hundred years later. Yet, it is equally true that YHVH Elohim does not change. What would be true four centuries in the future was true during the lifetimes of Abraham, Noach, and Adam. It is our preconception of how and when YHVH reveals His Truth to man that needs adjusting as we assume to know just how the flow of events took place. In reality, the patriarchs of old had more knowledge of Truth than we could possibly imagine. With that Truth, the righteous patriarchs willingly obeyed and were faithful. The Truth we have has been revealed to us via the Books of Moshe. That does not begin with Shemot/Exodus but with B’reisheet. The clues, foreshadows, and shadows themselves are found in all the pages of Torah, the Tanak, and Brit Hadasha. How much more accountable are we to Truth since it has so plainly been revealed to us?
Dwell upon Psalm 89:14-15, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and Truth go before You. How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O YHVH, they walk in the light of Your countenance.”
