According to Rashi’s explanation, G-d caused that day to be unnaturally hot in order to spare Avraham the burden of entertaining visitors, but the absence of guests was ultimately a source of anguish for Avraham. Does that mean that G-d’s plan went awry? Was G-d’s interference with the weather patterns a waste? It must be that although the plan was successful, as Divine plans would be, something then happened which changed the absence of guests from being a convenience for Avraham to a cause for his distress.

What caused that change for Avraham? The answer lies simply in the words of the verse: And G-d appeared to him.

Avraham was instinctively generous; to be kind and hospitable to people in need was second nature to him, if not completely inborn. Yet, even Avraham’s generous spirit was only stimulated when he knew or saw someone in need. Therefore, in the absence of a situation requiring his attention, such as when the unbearable heat kept all travelers from passing through his area, Avraham was able to rest and comfortably recuperate from the circumcision he had endured a few days earlier.

But things changed for Avraham when G-d appeared to him. G-d’s immeasurable kindness that was revealed to Avraham on that day evoked within Avraham an even greater spirit of generosity that before. Mirroring G-d’s infinite benevolence, Avraham became filled with such a drive and motivation to be kind and giving, that the lack of passerby suddenly became a terrible source of anxiety, as he wished he could only find someone with whom he could share.

Sensing his anguish, G-d granted Avraham’s new desire. “And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing beside him…”

—Likutei Sichos vol. 5, pp. 329-330, fn. 99

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