Notes from the Corner - Hospitality Series No. 4 - Old Testament Hospitality

One day Abraham was sitting out a hot afternoon underneath an oak tree. He looked up and saw three strangers approaching. He jumped up and rushed to greet them. Without so much as asking their names, he pressed them to pause at his camp for a “a little water and something to eat.” They consented, so he rushed off and came back with a feast fit for kings (Gen 18).

This is the first story of hospitality in the Old Testament. It’s not the last. In many of these stories, the hosts, like Abraham and Sarah, receive God’s blessing through the guests they welcome into their homes. Think of Rahab and the Israelite scouts (Josh 2) or the widow who welcomed Elijah to stay in her upper room (1 Ki 17). God wants to bless us by the strangers we make welcome in our homes.

God commanded the Israelites to welcome and provide for outsiders and strangers (Dt 10.18-19), just as God sheltered and provided for the Israelites (see Dt 10.14-17, 20-22). God commands no less for believers today.