After visiting Abraham, two angels headed on to Sodom, arriving in the evening (Gen 19:1). The question of why they arrived so late in the day was asked by the sages. After all, angels are not subject to the constraints in space and time faced by humans.
One suggested answer is that they were not anxious for the cities of the plain to be punished. They wanted those towns to have every opportunity to repent and escape destruction. This answer is consistent with God's merciful nature and desire that as many as possible come to repentance (see 2 Pe 3:9). As Frank Fenton pointed out in a short teaching at Church of the Messiah on February 24, 2024, the Day of the Lord is not necessarily something to which to look forward (see e.g. Amos 5:18). He urged us to help as many as possible find the Messiah before that time comes.
A major theme in Genesis 18 and 19 is hosptality, as exemplified by both Abraham and Lot, who "entertained angels unawares" (Heb 13:2). In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on February 24, 2024, Kyle Kettering looked at the feeding of the 5000 as an example of hospitality.
This famous miracle occurred shortly after the death of John the Baptist (Mt 14; Mk 6). Jesus had wanted some time alone, perhaps to come to terms with what had happened and consider how John's death would affect his own ministry (Mt 14:13). But a large crowd, perhaps a crowd including a number of John's disciples, had other ideas.
Jesus had compassion on this crowd "because they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mk 6:34). And so he exercised hospitality in providing for them. Biblical hospitality, Kyle pointed out, often means putting aside our own wishes and plans. He urged us to "show hospitality to one another without grumbling," as Peter instructed in 1 Peter 4:9.
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