Unsung Heroes: Abraham’s Cook

Introduction: Cooks, those who prepare meals for others, are not mentioned very often in the Bible. Their roles and functions were important, no matter where they were. In this passage, Abraham was surprised to see three Unexpected Guests arrive at his tent “in the heat of the day”. Following customs of hospitality, Abraham arranged a meal for Them. What happened then?

Text, Genesis 18:1-8, KJV: 1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Thoughts: Abraham was resting at his tent’s door when the Three Visitors came by. Abraham promptly showed Them all the courtesy They were due. Abraham did some things, but he was wise enough to delegate some things to others, including “a (certain) young man”. He was apparently the one who prepared a dinner for Abraham and the Visitors.

When the meat was finished, Abraham took it, along with butter and milk, and gave it to the Visitors. The rest of the passage has additional details, but the young man who prepared (“dressed”, KJV) the calf was never mentioned except here. He must have done a good job, because there is no record anyone asked for a re-heat or anything else. Never named, never mentioned again, this young man helped prepare a meal for the LORD Himself!

To all people who have the gift or talent of cooking, meal preparation and the like, THANK YOU! Many of us don’t have that ability (okay, maybe we can prepare some things, like canned or frozen foods) but we’re grateful for those who do. This was especially true in days gone by, for instance here, where an unnamed, unsung hero, helped Abraham and ministered to the LORD. Little things like this may not be noticed on this earth (there is no record Abraham ever thanked this cook) but the LORD sure noticed! This cook’s example of being faithful in even a small thing is something each one of us can do, and I hope we do exactly that.

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)