Thy Strong Word

Hosted by Rev. Will Weedon.

With guest Rev. Kevin Martin of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, NC.

Genesis 18

18 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks^[a] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. ²He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth ³and said, “O Lord,^[b] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. ⁴Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, ⁵while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” ⁶And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs^[c] of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” ⁷And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. ⁸Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” ¹⁰The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. ¹²So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” ¹³The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴Is anything too hard^[d] for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵But Sarah denied it,^[e] saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

¹⁶Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. ¹⁷The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹For I have chosen^[f] him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” ²⁰Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, ²¹I will go down to see whether they have done altogether^[g] according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

²²So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” ²⁶And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³²Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Footnotes:

Genesis 18:1 Or terebinths
Genesis 18:3 Or My lord
Genesis 18:6 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
Genesis 18:14 Or wonderful
Genesis 18:15 Or acted falsely
Genesis 18:19 Hebrew known
Genesis 18:21 Or they deserve destruction; Hebrew they have made a complete end

About the Host

Chaplain William Weedon — Rev. William Weedon

The Rev. William C. Weedon accepted the call to serve as The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain and was installed on May 7, 2012. In his director of Worship role, Weedon is responsible for proposing and creating programs that carry out the purposes and aims of the LCMS in matters of worship. As chaplain at the LCMS’ International Center in St. Louis, he works with the president’s office in planning and supervising all chapel services held there, as well as offering informal chaplaincy and counseling services to employees as requested.

A 1982 graduate of Concordia College—New York, in Bronxville, N.Y., Weedon earned Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 1986 and 1998, respectively. Prior to joining the staff at the LCMS International Center, Weedon served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hamel, Ill., since 1992. From 1986 until 1992, he was pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Burlington, N.C.

On August 4, 2014, Rev. Will Weedon joined the Worldwide KFUO Radio team as the program host for Thy Strong Word, a bible study series that examines each book and chapter of the Bible in depth.

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.