A Promise to Sarah

October 13, 2013 Background Scripture: Genesis 17:15 – 17; 18:9 – 15; 21:1 – 7 Lesson Passage: Genesis 17:15 – 17; 18:9 – 15; 21:1 – 7 Some things in life are so amazingly unbelievable that all one can do is laugh. Coincidence cannot explain it away and neither can luck take credit for it. Some miracles can only be accepted as just that—a miracle. Such was the case when God announced to Abraham that He was going to give him a child by his wife Sarah. The fact that the bible gives the details of Abraham’s reaction to the announcement is comforting to me in that it lets me know that I am not alone in reacting in such a manner. When Abraham heard the news, he fell on his face and started laughing. It’s true. That is precisely what is written in the text. What would make a person laugh at a statement that God makes? The fact that the statement is so incredibly unrealistic will do it. Abraham was an old man. He was ninety nine years old when he received this news and his wife Sarah was eighty nine years old. The news was: Your wife is going to give birth to your baby next year. I can imagine that the preposterous nature of the news hit Abraham before he had time to brace himself or think about his reaction. How could he keep from laughing at it? Abraham just fell on his face and let it out. Now, think about this the way Abraham might have. Sarah had been barren throughout their marriage and, according to the bible, she was now beyond menopause (Genesis 18:11). How else do you react to that kind of news? God, as only He can, gave even more details about the baby. The baby will be a boy and from him shall come kings of people and indeed nations. As he laughed, Abraham was probably waiting for the punch line. But in the mean time, Abraham proposed to God a more “workable” solution. God could just take the boy that Abraham had fathered with Sarah’s maid, Hagar, and work His divine plan through him. This boy, Ishmael, was already thirteen years old and almost old enough to start his own family. This would be a much “easier” task for God. Of course God doesn’t need any help so He dismissed Abraham’s offer of an easy way out. The Lord left but apparently Abraham did not share this little information with Sarah. When the Lord returned, He asked about Sarah’s whereabouts. He reminded Abraham again about the promised child by Sarah. This time Sarah heard it and had a very similar reaction as her husband. She was amused by the prospect of such a thing happening to her. Unlike Abraham, Sarah was confronted because of her laughter and she denied it. The Lord rebuked Sarah for her dishonesty. Nine months later she gave birth to Isaac. At the time Isaac was born, Sarah laughed again but this time it was out of joy—and not derision. For she said, others will now laugh with me also. Whether it was meant to be humorous or not, Sarah did not react as though the miracle was in the functioning of her womb but that Abraham could father a child in his old age (Genesis 21:7). Not many women in the bible received specific promises from the Lord. Sarah received a promise and she had the last laugh as a result of it. Robert C. Hudson October 2, 2013