SARAH WILL HAVE A SON
Genesis 18:1-15
Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (14)
chapter 18
1. The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3. He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
5. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way - now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
6. So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread."
7. Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9. "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said.
10. Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13. Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, ’Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’
14. Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son."
15. Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. After Abraham’s household had been circumcised (17:26-27), God visited again in the form of three men (2). In the heat of the day, Abraham, even at a hundred years old, hurried to welcome them (2-5), hurried and ran to served food (6-8a), and waited on them (8b). What gave him such vigor? It seems the promise of God regarding the birth of Isaac reverberated in Abraham’s heart, filling him with joy and spirit. Faith in God’s promise renewed his strength like a soaring eagle (Isa 40:31). Joyful faith is the secret of youth.
2. God had not come only to visit Abraham, but to address Sarah (9). Abraham had heard it before (17:19), but Sarah seemed to be struggling, even laughing at the announcement (12), just as Abraham had done (17:17). It was not a laugh of joy, but to cover a lifetime of pain, shame, and longing. God understood Sarah, and gave her one word to hold on to: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” God would turn her embarrassing laugh into an endless source of joy for them at the birth of Isaac, whose name means laughter. In the same way, God understands each of us, and sent his Son Jesus to us to address the inner reality of our heart. We need only trust him and his promise and experience the joy of faith today.
Prayer: Father, thank you for healing my deep wounds and longings through Jesus. Help me to trust you today and experience the joy of faith.
One Word: Jesus came to heal our wounded hearts