Genesis 18.9-15-The Lord's Prophecy and Promise of Isaac's Birth

Thursday January 26, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 18:9-15-The Lord’s Prophecy and Promise of Isaac’s Birth

Lesson # 89

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 18:1.

This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 18.

This evening we will study Genesis 18:9-15 where the Lord prophesied to Abraham of the birth of Isaac for the benefit of Sarah.

Genesis 18:1, “Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.”

Genesis 18:2, “When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.”

Genesis 18:3, “and said, ‘My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.’”

Genesis 18:4, “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.”

Genesis 18:5, “and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant. And they said, ‘So do, as you have said.’”

Genesis 18:6, “So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.’”

Genesis 18:7, “Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.”

Genesis 18:8, “He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.”

Genesis 18:9, “Then they said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’”

The Lord and the two elect angels ask Abraham a rhetorical question that is designed to politely open the conversation about Sarah.

The promise that the Lord is about to make to Abraham that Sarah will conceive a child must be heard by her since she must conceive by faith, and therefore the promise must be made to her.

Hebrews 11:11, “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”

In the days of Abraham, it was customary that the women did not sit with men at dinner, at least not with strangers, but confined themselves to their own place.

Therefore, we see that Sarah is out of sight but she must not be out of hearing so that she can hear the promise and accept it by faith.

The interjection hinneh, “there” indicates that Abraham is pointing in the exact place where Sarah was located, namely, inside the tent.

“Oriental courtesy perhaps in those days already forbade to all except intimates to inquire after a wife. These visitors give indication of their authority by making the inquiry” (H.C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, volume 1, pages 539-540).

The fact that the Lord and the two angels inquire as to the whereabouts of Sarah by naming her reveals to Abraham further that his guests are not of this world.

Genesis 18:10, “He said, ‘I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.”

We see that after the Lord and His two angels had finished eating lunch that the conversation begins and the purpose of the visit is revealed.

The scene concerns the Lord and Sarah but as a married woman she apparently stays inside the tent out of sight of the visitors while the Lord addresses her by talking to Abraham.

In Genesis 17:15-21, the Lord prophesied to Abraham that he and Sarah would have a child who they would name Isaac.

The Scriptures seem to imply that this prophecy was unknown to Sarah because Abraham didn’t tell her but here in Genesis 18:10-15, the promise that she will conceive a child with Abraham is made to her.

This promise in Genesis 18:10 is giving Abraham more details regarding the Lord’s original promise in Genesis 15:4 that his heir would be a natural born son.

Then as we studied last evening in Genesis 17:16-21, the Lord guaranteed that Sarah would bear this natural born son.

Now, in Genesis 18:10, a time limit is set for the fulfillment of the promise.

The promise “I will surely return to you at this time next year” does “not” mean that the Lord would visibly appear to Abraham again in a theophany or Christophany at the same time the following year.

But rather it means that He would intervene on behalf of Abraham and Sarah and exercise His omnipotence to fulfill this promise that Sarah would have a child with Abraham.

This interpretation is confirmed since the Lord did “not” visibly appear to Abraham the following year but rather the Lord exercised His omnipotence and enabled Abraham to impregnate Sarah.

The promise that Sarah would conceive a child with Abraham in her old age was based upon God’s Word and power.

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

From the human perspective, the fulfillment of the promise was impossible but from the divine perspective, nothing is impossible with an omnipotent God.

Luke 1:37, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The Lord plainly reveals Himself through this promise since only the Lord could make such a promise to Sarah.

Romans 4:17, “(as it is written, ‘A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU’) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”

The Lord is making a promise that demands faith on the part of Sarah since the omnipotence of God is appropriated by means of faith.

Matthew 17:20, “And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’”

Genesis 18:11, “Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.”

Abraham was ninety-nine years of age when he received this promise from the Lord since Genesis 21:5 records that Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born.

Genesis 18:10 records the Lord promising Abraham that Sarah would have a child at the same time the following year.

Sarah was eighty-nine years of age when she received this promise from the Lord since Genesis 17:17 reveals that Sarai was ten years younger than Abraham.

Genesis 18:11 records that Sarah was already in menopause and would have to be the beneficiary of the Lord’s omnipotence in order for her get pregnant and the promise of a child be fulfilled.

Genesis 18:12, “Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’”

Notice that Sarah laughed to herself, inaudibly upon hearing the Lord’s promise to give her a child in her old age.

From the human perspective this promise was utterly ridiculous.

Sarah’s laugh was due to unbelief since she knew that physically it was no longer possible for Abraham and her to enjoy sexual relations again.

As we noted in Genesis 17:17, unlike Sarah, Abraham did not laugh out of a lack of faith since the Lord did not rebuke him for his lack of faith as He did with Sarah when she laughed.

This interpretation is substantiated by Romans 4:16-22, which confirms that when this promise was made to Abraham, he believed that God could deliver on this promise.

Hebrews 11:11 teaches that Sarah’s unbelief was temporary since she also later on believed that God could deliver on His promise to give him and Abraham the ability to have a child together.

We must not be too hard on Sarah for we must remember that she laughed “not” out of arrogance but because of a life of long disappointment resulting in hopelessness and sadness.

Also, we must understand that unlike Abraham Sarah did “not” know who these visitors were and it seemed ridiculous for a strange man to come into their home and make such a promise to her husband.

“I have become old” is the verb balah (hlB), which refers to something that is used daily and has become worn out by time and use, thus it can mean, “to wear out, to waste away, to become old, to decay” and indicates that Sarah was saying to herself that how could she become pregnant when she was old and worn out.

Also, notice that Sarah calls Abraham “lord,” which is the `adhon (/w{da*), which is a term of respect for the authority of Sarah’s husband Abraham.

The only thing good that Sarah said was calling her husband “lord,” and the Lord had Moses put it down in writing as well as Peter in 1 Peter 3:1-7.

Genesis 18:13, “And the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’”

The Lord reveals His omniscience in that He asks Abraham why did Sarah laugh when she laughed to herself, inaudibly rather than audibly.

Psalm 94:11, “The LORD knows the thoughts of man.”

Now, don’t miss this, remember Sarah laughed in unbelief and she thought this was an ordinary stranger and not the Lord Himself making this promise to her and Abraham, thus, we see that the Lord seeks to reveal Himself to Sarah in order to trigger her faith in the promise.

The Lord does this by revealing His omniscience to Sarah by telling her that she laughed, which she did, but to herself, inaudibly.

Only she and the Lord would know that she laughed to herself, thus, by revealing to Sarah that it was indeed the Lord Himself making this promise to Abraham that she would have a child the following year, the Lord caused her to exercise faith in His promise to give her a child in her old age.

The Lord addresses Abraham rather than Sarah since he is the authority in the marriage (see Eph. 5:23) and was responsible for informing Sarah of His promise to him in Genesis 15:4 but it appears he didn’t inform her.

Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

“Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” is a rhetorical question that demands a negative answer, namely, that nothing is impossible for the Lord.

Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”

Henry M. Morris, “He who created all things surely controls all things. He who enacted the laws of nature can change them if He wills” (The Genesis Record, page 341).

The Lord verbally reveals His identity to Abraham and Sarah by identifying Himself as the Lord and declaring His omnipotence to the both of them.

Therefore, in Genesis 18:9-15, we see the Lord exercising His omniscience and proclaiming His omnipotence, which He will exercise the following year on behalf of Abraham and Sarah.

The Lord repeats the promise recorded in Genesis 18:10, “At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Notice that the Lord adds the expression “at this time next year”, thereby reaffirming the promise to Abraham that appears in Genesis 18:10 with the one made here in Genesis 18:14 to Sarah.

Genesis 18:15, “Sarah denied it however, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’”

Sarah lies to the Lord claiming that she didn’t laugh because she suddenly realized whom she was conversing with and was overwhelmed with fear that the Lord might discipline her for laughing at the promise but in His grace, He did not.

The Lord gently but authoritatively rebukes Sarah for her unbelief in His ability to perform that which He has predicted would come to pass.

Sarah has found out that you cannot hide sin with God (1 Jn. 1:5-10).

Hebrews 4:13, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”