God's Covenant Confirmed
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Text: Genesis 17:1-18:15
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
2 I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
5 No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8 And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
9 God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you.
10 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.
11 You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12 Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.
13 Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
14 But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah.
16 And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
19 But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
21 But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
22 When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.
24 So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen;
26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.
27 And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.
1 Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
2 And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.”
7 Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8 Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked. “There, in the tent,” he replied.
10 Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
11 And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 And the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’
14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
15 But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”
PRAY
Introduction
God is faithful to His promises, even when we struggle to believe. And His promises endure despite our circumstances or doubts.
Abraham and Sarah both struggle to trust God in this passage. In fact, both of them respond the same way when God makes the same promise to them regarding Sarah having a son. They laughed! “Good one, God! That’s funny. Got any more jokes up Your sleeve?” It appears that Abraham was even literally rolling on the floor laughing.
But God wasn’t laughing. He was serious. This 99 year old man and his 89 year old wife were going to have a son next year. He meant what He said.
God’s promise was so unbelievably good and humanly impossible, that they were sure God was joking. But God wasn’t joking. He was dead serious. His impossible promise was true. And as we’ll see in Genesis 21, Sarah did indeed have a son. And his name Isaac, which means “he laughs”, served as a lifelong reminder of when Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s promise.
Has anyone ever said something so unbelievable to you that you laughed, and then you realized they were serious?
I’ve seen some video clips of a guy at the gym who is dressed up in a janitor’s uniform and carrying around a mop and bucket. He’ll stop by someone who’s lifting heavy weights - doing squats or bench press or something like that - and he’ll offer them advice on how their form is incorrect, they’re not lifting the weights the right way. And the men just laugh at him, because what does a scrawny looking janitor know about lifting heavy weights? And he proceeds to pick up the weights - like hundreds of pounds - and move it around like it’s nothing. And all the guys are standing around him with their jaws on the floor. It seemed so unbelievable, but it was true.
God’s promises in Scripture often seem unbelievable like this too. Too good to be true. Not possible from our human perspective.
But nothing is too hard for God.
Genesis 17 begins with God’s confirmation of His covenant with Abram, which involves name changes for him and his wife, additional promises, and the sign of the covenant.
The Confirmation of the Covenant
The Confirmation of the Covenant
v. 1-5
In v. 1-2, God Appears to Abram and Calls Him to Faithfulness
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. 2 I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Abram’s age
So chapter 17 starts off by telling us Abrams age, 99 years old. And if you remember from chapter 16, the verse right before this, it had said that Abraham was 86 years old; so 13 more years have passed since Abram’s and Hagar’s son Ishmael was born.
The Lord’s appearance
And now the Lord appears to him, and it seems from this that it's indicating a physical appearance of God to Abraham.
God’s new name
Then God reveals a new name to Abraham. God Almighty — El Shaddai.
This name would be important to Abraham to give him the confidence that he needs that God will be able to do what he's about to promise — because what God is about to promise will seem impossible to Abraham. He needs to know God’s power, to know the God of the impossible.
So God reveals this new name, God Almighty — El Shaddai, the all powerful God.
And then he gives a command.
God’s command
He says, walk before me and be blameless. He is calling Abraham to faithful obedience, to follow his rules and regulations, to live according to God's character.
God’s covenant established
And he says in verse 2, I will establish my covenant between me and you…
When we find that expression establish a covenant, it means to reaffirm or confirm a covenant that has already been made.
When a covenant is first made, Hebrew uses the expression to cut a covenant. But this covenant has already been cut, and now God will establish it — confirming once again His commitment to His promises to Abraham.
God’s promise
And He gives a promise at the end of v. 2: I will multiply you exceedingly.
God had promised this regarding Ishmael in Genesis 16, but now He makes this promise to Abraham.
In v. 3-5, God Gives Abram a New Name
3 Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
Abram’s response
First, we see Abram's response to this revelation and command from God in v. 1-2. It says, then Abram fell face down.
And this appears here to be an act of reverence and worship from Abram toward the Lord.
God’s promise
And then God speaks to him: As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
So God tells Abram, he's going to be the father of many nations, not just one nation.
We typically think of Abram as the father of Israel, and that's true, but God says here that Abram is going to be the father of many nations.
The new name and its meaning
And, of course, this promise that God is giving him goes along with a new name that God is going to give him. In verse 5, God changes his name: No longer will you be called Abram [which means exalted father], but your name will be Abraham [which means father of a multitude], for I have made you a father of many nations.
And so God is promising through this name change what he is about to do for Abraham. He is going to turn this exalted father into a father of a multitude.
And he gives some promises in v. 6-8 of this covenant that he is establishing. Some of these are new promises, and some we’ve seen before.
The Promises of the Covenant
The Promises of the Covenant
v. 6-8
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
Fruitfulness - tying back to Adam & Noah
In that first promise, when God says, I will make you exceedingly fruitful, we ought to think of God's original design in creation. This ought to take us back to Genesis 1.
What was it that God commanded Adam and Eve to do when he first created them? He created them in his image, and he said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. And so fruitfulness was God's command to humanity in the beginning.
And when God established the covenant with Noah in Genesis 9, we see that command repeated. Be fruitful and multiply,
And now God says, I am going to fulfill that command, that purpose through you, Abraham. I will make you exceedingly fruitful. You're going to be the fulfillment of that promise of that command back in Genesis chapter 1 and repeated in Genesis 9.
The fruitfulness that God intended for humanity from the beginning will come about through Abraham and his seed, his offspring.
Nations and Kings
And again, God promises nations that will descend from Abraham and even kings. Kings will descend from him. And of course, if we know the Bible story, this is hinting to us of something great that is to come, we find, of course, later on in the history of Israel, the kingdom under the first king Saul, who was a failed king, but then David, with whom God makes a covenant and promises that his greater Son, his seed will be the Messiah, the ultimate eternal king.
Everlasting covenant
And then God says in verse 7
7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And so this covenant with Abraham is an everlasting covenant.
And this expression everlasting covenant is used of four of the six covenants in scripture. It is used of God's covenant with Noah, his covenant with Abraham, his covenant with David and the new covenant.
Those four of the six covenants in scripture are called everlasting covenants
What that means is that, even though there may be a human element of breaking the covenant, there is an element or aspect of the covenant that endures, despite the failure of the human covenant partner.
I will be your God
And what God says here is that I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. That is, Abraham and his descendants are only to worship one God, the Lord, the true God. They are only to worship him. He will be their God. They will belong to him as his people.
Land
And then verse 8, he once again reaffirms the promise of land.
8 And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
So he repeats that part again about being their God, and He affirms again His promise of the land.
So these are promises. Some of these things God has already said. Some of these things are new promises that are given here for the first time. And so God makes these promises to Abraham as part of his covenant with him, as he is establishing this covenant with him.
The Sign of the Covenant
The Sign of the Covenant
v. 9-14
Now, God's about to give something which we call the sign of the covenant, in v. 9-14. Some people would see this as a new or distinct covenant from the covenant that God has already made with Abraham in chapter 15, but I think it's right for us to see all of God's communication and promises with Abraham as one singular covenant rather than as multiple covenants. Because he's going to say, as we'll see here, that circumcision is the sign of his covenant. Circumcision is not a new or distinct covenant, but the sign of the existing covenant with Abraham. And so this is a condition of the covenant.
Condition of the covenant
9 God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. 10 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
So this is a condition of the covenant — a human element of the covenant that must be met, that all of the males must be circumcised.
Every male to be circumcised
They must have the flesh of their foreskin cut off, and this will be a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham's descendants. So every one of the males would be circumcised.
12 Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.
13 Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
So every male would be circumcised, and this would happen for in the future generations, for those males that are eight days old. So eight days after they're born, they would be circumcised.
Consequence for disobedience
And notice, there is a consequence for disobedience in verse 14, if any of the men refuse to be circumcised, they will be cut off from the people.
14 But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
They will not get to participate in the promise and blessing of God because they have broken the covenant. And so this was a necessary human condition for participation in the covenant.
And it's an interesting play on words, of course, that God uses here. If you will not cut off the part that I'm telling you to cut off, you in your entirety will be cut off. Your whole self will be cut off if you refuse to cut off that little bit of skin that I'm telling you to. Rejecting God’s condition meant being rejected by God and His people.
Significance of circumcision
Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ Looking Ahead: The Gospel in the True Seed
Circumcision marked Abraham’s children outwardly from among the nations as a sign of priestly devotion. Circumcision was how God reminded his people daily that they belonged to him. As Scripture unfolds, we see circumcision also reminded the people that God wanted more than merely a cutting of the flesh. He wanted an internal “circumcision of the heart”.
The physical act of circumcision pointed forward to a spiritual reality — the need for a new heart so that God’s people could be completely committed to Him. And this requires the work of God.
God promises that He will do just this. He says near the end of Deuteronomy,
6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
And the prophet Ezekiel foretells the day when God will do this:
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.
The NT tells us that this is, in fact, what has happened to believers — those who trust in Christ for salvation:
11 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
And Paul tells us in Romans that belonging to God’s people — being a true Jew — is not a matter of being physically descended from Abraham and being circumcised, but it is a matter of having a new heart:
28 A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
Circumcision was a temporary, physical sign that pointed to something greater beyond itself — God’s purpose to give people a new heart so that they will be devoted fully to Him.
And so this is the sign of the covenant — circumcision is the sign of God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants.
And then in the next section, we see in v. 15-22 that God gives a new name and promise for Abraham's wife.
A New Name and Promise for Sarai
A New Name and Promise for Sarai
v. 15-22
Her new name and its meaning
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
So God not only changes Abrams's name to Abraham, but he also changes Sarai's name to Sarah.
And the names Sarai and Sarah basically have the same meaning, but they're probably a different dialect. They both mean princess, which again has to do with the idea of royalty descending from her and Abraham. So although there doesn't seem to be a significant difference in the meaning between these two names, the fact that God changes her name is a very significant thing. Anytime God changes somebody's name in scripture, it indicates that God's about to do something big in that person's life.
The promise of a son from Sarah
And he says in v. 16, I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. Up until this point, God, as far as I know, had not specifically told Abraham that the descendant that he promised would come through his wife, Sarah.
So Abraham still might be expecting, and we'll see in a few verses here, that his son Ishmael is going to be the fulfillment of that promise. But now God says, the promised seed, the one that I have promised you, the offspring that I've told you about, is going to come through Sarah, your wife. I will bless her with a son.
Sarah the mother of nations and kings
And she will be the mother of nations, God says. So again, the same promise is made to Abraham and Sarah that they will be parents of nations and kings of people will descend from her, God says.
So the same promise is given both to Abraham and Sarah. And so God is showing that the promised seed is going to be the offspring, the son of Abraham and Sarah. Well, how did Abraham respond to this news?
Abraham’s response of laughter
v. 17, Abraham fell face down. And if that was all that we had, then we might think that his response is the same as it was back in verse 3, where he responded to God's revelation of his name, El Shaddai, God Almighty. Well Abraham falls facedown again, but then what does he do?
17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”
He laughed.
Have you ever laughed when God said something? Maybe some of God's words, the things that he has said in his Word, just seem impossible to you. Could it really be true?
Well, what God is telling Abraham here is humanly impossible. He is too old. Sarah is too old, as we'll read in the next chapter. “The way of women has ceased to be with Sarah”. She is past the age of child bearing. It is physically impossible for her to have children…
And so Abraham laughs when God reveals this to him.
Abraham’s plea for Ishmael
And he says to God in verse 18,
18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
No, let's just let Ishmael be that promise seed, okay?
Abraham wants to get to choose the promised seed. He says to God, oh, that Ishmael might live under your blessing.
“I already have a son, God. That's good enough.”
But that's not God's plan.
God’s response: Son Isaac - the promised seed; blessing for Ishmael too
God responds in v. 19-21
19 But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
21 But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
So God promises, yes, I will bless your son Ishmael just as you've asked. He is your son, and I will bless him too, and make him fruitful and multiply.
But he's not the promised seed. Isaac, your son with Sarah, will be the promised seed. It will be through him that the promise of Genesis 3:15 will ultimately be fulfilled. The seed who will crush the serpent's head will come through Isaac, Sarah's son.
And think about the significance of this name, Isaac. The name Isaac means, he laughs. Why do you think that was his name? What was Abraham's response when God told him that Sarah was going to have a son?
He laughed.
And now, for the rest of his life, he's going to be reminded of that response to God every time he calls his sons' name. every time he calls his son's name, he will remember that he laughed when God gave this promise.
God goes up
Well, in verse 22, it tells us,
22 When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
And so, again, this appears to be some kind of a physical appearance of God to Abraham, as God goes up. He somehow rises into the sky. It doesn't give us a lot of details here, but it appears that God had appeared some in some physical sense to Abraham, here.
And then in the final section of chapter 17, we see Abraham's obedience to God's command.
Abraham’s Obedience
Abraham’s Obedience
v. 23-27
All males, young and old, circumcised
So what was Abraham's response to God's command, to this sign that God gave him? v. 23-27 tell us,
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.
24 So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen;
26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.
27 And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.
Abraham obeyed. And look at the way he obeyed:
Right away, all the way, and with a happy heart
It says in verse 23, on that very day. This was not delayed obedience. This was not partial obedience. This was not obedience with a bad attitude.
We tell our kids that they need to obey right away, all the way, and with a happy heart. And when I was young, I learned it quickly, sweetly, and completely. So there's different ways of expressing that, but that is that our obedience should not be delayed. We don't get to choose the time of our obedience.
When God makes it clear that we need to do something, we do it right away. We obey as soon as we can. And we do it all the way. We don't just pick and choose what parts of what God says that we're going to obey. We do it all. We obey completely, all the way, and we do it with a proper attitude, with a happy heart, with a proper attitude of submission to God's will, just as God told him, it tells us at the end of verse 23.
So Abraham is being careful to obey God right away, all the way, and with this proper attitude of submission and obedience to God.
That takes us to the beginning of chapter 18, where we find another visit from God in verses 1 through 15.
Another Visit from God
Another Visit from God
18:1-15
1 Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. 2 And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
Identity of the visitors
So here it tells us that there are three men, three visitors coming to visit Abraham. Who are these three visitors? In v. 10, it starts referring to one of these men as “the LORD”, and later on in chapter 19 we find that the other two are angels. So these three visitors are the LORD, God appearing in physical form to Abraham, along with two angels, also appearing in physical form there, appearing as men, to Abraham.
Abraham’s reverence
Notice Abraham's response as he sees them, he runs to meet them, and he bows low to the ground, showing deep reverence. Did he know who these visitors were? I'm not sure if he did at first, but I think he probably figured it out by the end of the chapter.
Abraham’s hospitality: washing feet, preparing a meal, waiting on them
3 “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.” 7 Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Notice this great hospitality that Abraham is showing to these men:
He begs them to stay with him and let him serve them.
He says he's going to bring water to wash their feet and so that they can rest in the shade under the tree.
He's going to get some bread ready for them. And he not only goes in verse 6 to Sarah to have her make some bread, but then
He goes and prepares a feast in verse 7. He ran to the herd and found the really good choice calf, gave it to his servant to prepare it as a meal for these men, and he got curds and milk and so he's setting a feast before these men.
And he stood by them waiting on them to serve them as they ate there under the tree.
So great hospitality here, and I do wonder if this particular account is in the author's mind in Hebrews, chapter 13, when he says “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
And that, of course, was the case with Abraham here. He may have known who they were. I'm not sure that he did, though.
The LORD’s promise
Well, as he is waiting on them, the Lord speaks to him.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked. “There, in the tent,” he replied. 10 Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” …
So again, just as God promised in chapter 17, God again, says that Sarah is going to have a son, that Abraham and Sarah together are going to give birth to their offspring through whom the promise will come.
And God puts a time on it: Your son will be here next year. I will come to you this time next year and Sarah will have a son.
Sarah’s laugh
Well, how did Sarah respond to this news? Well, Sarah's hearing this conversation. She is eavesdropping at the entrance of their tent.
10 … Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent. 11 And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
So again, the problem is stated here. What's the problem? Both Abraham and Sarah are past the age of childbearing. It's already too late for them. It is physically impossible. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing — she had already gone through menopause.
There were no children going to be born from her womb. It just wasn't going to happen.
And so, she laughs. Have we heard that before?
She thinks it's impossible. There's no way. There's no way this is going to happen.
God’s response
13 And the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
God responds, “Why did Sarah laugh?” I wasn't telling a joke. I'm serious. I'm going to be here again next year, and Sarah will be holding a son.
And that question in v. 14 is so powerful: “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” If He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, He has the power, the might, to do whatever He wants to. There are no external restraints on the exercise of God’s power.
As King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges in Daniel 4:35, The LORD “does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ ”
No one and nothing can stand in the way of God accomplishing His good plan and purpose. God can and will do what He wants to do.
So, “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?”
No. As Jesus also said to His disciples, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). The angel Gabriel told Mary, “No word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37). And Jeremiah also says, “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”
What is impossible for us is a piece of cake for God. He specializes in impossible situations.
Sarah’s denial and God’s confirmation
Well, how did Sarah feel when God exposed her laugh?
15 But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”
She tries to deny it. No, no, it wasn't me. It must have been the wind. Or maybe it was one of my servants.
She was afraid.
Why was she afraid? Well, I think the fear may have been because she realized that her action was wrong. She realized that it was wrong for her to laugh at God's promise, because God was serious. God meant what he said, and she had laughed at him, so she was afraid.
At the end there, the LORD affirms that Sarah did indeed laugh. God knows everything, and he confirmed, yes you did laugh.
And yet, in God's mercy, there was forgiveness. There was grace to trust him, and in fact, as we'll see in chapter 21, they did in fact give birth to a son, Isaac.
Both Abraham and Sarah struggled to believe God’s promise at first, but by His grace they did learn to trust Him, and God proved Himself worthy of their trust.
Consider what the NT says about the faith of Abraham and Sarah.
Despite their initial struggle to trust God’s promise, they are both held up as examples of faith:
Abraham’s faith:
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
19 Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.
20 Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.
Sarah’s faith:
11 By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised.
I hope this serves as an encouragement to you.
You may feel that your faith is pretty weak right now. But if you keep looking to God and His promises, trusting in Christ, clinging to Him, your faith will grow and persevere by God’s grace.
It is not the strength of your faith that saves you but the object of your faith. If you are looking to Christ, holding onto Him, that’s what matters.
God is faithful to His promises, even when we struggle to believe.
He was faithful then, and He is faithful now. So let’s trust Him.
PRAY
