The Birth Of A Son
THE BIRTH OF A SON
GENESIS 21:1, 2
INTRODUCTION:
Paul Harvey has used an expression that applies to this passage...”Now for the rest of the story...”
I. Abraham meets some very important visitors--(1--8) Abraham invites the Lord and two others to a meal--Abraham
A. sitting at door to his tent
1. not to rest
2. but to cool off
a. this time of day--part of the hottest part of the day
b. the shaded open front of the tent
(1) usually produced a breeze
(2) resulting in a natural fan
B. looks up to the distance horizon
C. sees three men walking towards him
1. custom of the day
a. start traveling at sunrise
b. continue till midday
c. then look for some resting-place
2. who were these three men?
a. three spiritual heavenly beings in the likeness of human beings
b. thoughts about these three beings
(1) some scholars says they were all created angels
(2) other scholars say that one of them was the pre-incarnate Son of God
Jesus before He took on flesh as described in
John 1 “and the Word became flesh”
v. 1 seems to say that one of these beings was
God (“And the Lord appeared unto him in
the plains of Mamre”)
D. runs towards them
1. custom of the day-
a. host to rise from his sitting position
b. if one of the visitors is of superior rank, host to advance
a little towards the stranger
c. bow very low
d. turn around
e. lead the visitors to the tent--either
(1) putting an arm around the visitor’s waist
or
(2) tapping him on the shoulder as they go to the tent
(3) assuring him of welcome to the tent
2. but Abraham does the extraordinary thing--runs to greet the visitors
a. sees that the men are wearied from their journey
b. possibly overcome by the heat
c. “bowed himself towards the ground”
(1) a token of reverence--a common expression in the oriental nations
(2) a salutation to one in particular
(a) because He excelled the other two
E. the actions of Abraham towards the three strangers
1. gave prompt attention to the needs of his guests (vv. 2, 6-7)
a. had bread baked for the guests
(1) bread--baked daily
(a) baked by the women
(b) just enough for the daily use
(2) a very short process
(a) flour mixed with water
(b) made into dough
(c) rolled into cakes
(d) placed on the earthen floor
(i) which had previously heated
by fire
(ii) fire had been removed
(iii). cakes covered by hot embers
(iv). dough soon baked
(v). eaten immediately
b. ran to the herd
(1) selected a choice, tender calf
(2) gave it to a servant
(3) told servant to prepare the meat
c. took all including milk and butter to the three guests
2. bowed down to the ground
3. politely
a. addressed one of his guests as “my lord”
b. called himself as “your servant”
HE ACTED AS IF IT WOULD BE A FAVOR TO HIM IF THEY ALLOWED HIM TO SERVE THEM
4. washed their feet--a very common act because
a. people traveled with naked fee
b. under a burning sun
c. washing of feet
(1) a great remedy for the alleviation of weariness
(2) to clean them from the dust of the road
(3) as an act of honor to the guest
5. stood nearby while they ate--v. 8--assuming the posture of a servant ready to meet their every need
a. to refill their cup with fresh milk
b. to get some more meat
c. to get whatever was needed
II. (9-15) God reconfirms His promise of a son
A. We may wonder why God repeats the promise again, so close to the time when He said it previously. After all, it seems that God had been silent about the promise for more than thirteen years, now He comes personally to repeat it twice in three months
1. begins the conversation by asking “Where is your wife Sarah?”---- Sarah--heard the question
a. intentional for
1. Sarah
(1) must conceive by faith
(2) thus she must recognize the promise
Heb. 11:11 “By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled
to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.”
(3) women
(a) not allowed to sit at meat with men
(b) particularly not with men strangers
(c) confined to their own apartments
(4) OUT OF SIGHT BUT NOT OUT OF HEARING
b. note the use of the name “Sarah”
only the Lord would know that Sarai had been changed to Sarah
Abraham probably noticed the use of the new name
made him realize that these weren’t ordinary visitors
these visitors were from God Himself
2. Abraham’s response: “There, in the tent.”
“She’s not out here among us for she is a woman, but she is where she belongs” (don’t get me wrong here, this was the custom of that day)
B. We need to hear God's promises over and over again; it is a way that God uses to encourage and develop our faith: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17) (“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”)
1. the promise: “Then the Lord said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’” (10)
this promise
first been promised almost 25 years earlier in the town of Ur
repeated several times since
2. response of Sarah--laughed to herself
Ray Stedman says in his sermon “When God Comes to Dinner”
“(Sarah) hears the question and the promise, and she realizes it is God who is saying that she will have a son. She looks at her 90-year-old body, long since almost dead. She looks in the mirror and sees the whiteness of her hair, the wrinkles in her face. She feels the arthritis in her bones. And when she hears this, she laughs cynically to herself. She made no sound at all, but laughed to herself, we are told. But beyond the curtains, the Lord read her thoughts and said to Abraham, "Why does Sarah laugh in her heart? Is anything too hard for the Lord? I'll set a date for this: I'll be back next spring and she shall have a son."
Sarah
believed but needed more faith
like many of us
a father came to Jesus
asking for Jesus to heal his son who had seizures
Jesus: “Everything is
possible for him who believes.”
father responds like we and
Sarah needed to
respond: “I do believe; help me
overcome my unbelief!’
Mark 9:23-24
Abraham
believed
but Sarah
did not respond with a wish to get more faith
responded by lying about her laugh
“Who me? Laugh”
refused to admit doubting the Lord’s
promise
C. Then, a profound statement by the Lord (as if God could do anything else but a profound statement)
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Sarah
recognized that the Lord knew her heart (she had laughed to herself and the Lord knew that she had laughed)
found that her heart was open and known to God
nothing hidden from God
III. Now, the scene changes our text for today lets progress in time to a year later: 21:1-2
“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”
Again quoting from Ray Stedman: “’Nothing is too hard for the Lord. If he has promised, then it shall be done.’ Through faith she received power to conceive when she was past age because she counted him faithful who had promised.”
A SON WAS BORN JUST AS GOD HAD PROMISED FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS
APPLICATION:
God keeps His promises
God’s timing for His promises are not our timing
For Abraham it took 25 years from the time he received the promise until it’s fulfillment
Abraham was 75 when God called him and
100 when Isaac was born
Sarah was 65 when they started their journey of faith
and 90 years old when she bore Isaac
Could it be that Abram wasn’t ready for the birth of a son
just look at what he did later:
lied about Sarai being his wife
not just once but twice
took Sarai’s handmaiden and fathered a child by her (which to the mind-set of that day was o.k. but not right in God’s sight)
Eventually, when time was right, Isaac was born!
THEREFORE, REMEMBER THAT GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES IN HIS OWN GOOD TIME
what are some of His promises?
comfort Is. 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
“FOOTPRINTS”
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the (look at the card in billfold)
final deliverance from sorrow and pain
Rev. 21:4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”