“Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.” (Genesis 21:2, NIV).
A child is a joy to most expectant parents. But what if you were nearly 100 years old? “Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”” (Genesis 21:6, NIV). Abraham obeyed God and named the boy Isaac (17:19) and also obeyed Him in the rite of circumcision (17:12). "Both Abraham and Sarah at first laughed in disbelief (17:17; 18:12), but when Isaac was born Sarah laughed for joy at the supernatural work of grace (v. 6)." [1]
"Abraham was 75 years old when he originally responded to God’s call by leaving his home (12:4). Twenty-five years have passed since God promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation (12:2)." [2] As the passage reminds us, God is faithful to His Word. ". . . the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised . . . at the very time God had promised him." [3] In Genesis 18:10 (NIV), God said to them:
"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."
Faith is always trusting in the revealed Word of God -- always. Today we often hear of people who are trusting in their faith, but that is not faith. Apart from correctly hearing and believing the Word of God there is no faith. My advice, always to Christians is to rest only on the properly interpreted, objective, Word of God -- the Bible. For those areas where God does not give specific promises, He gives us confidence to trust in Him and His character.
“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11–12, NIV).
Father, to us who are so dependent and so depraved, You have give to us Your Book -- Your Word. Outside of this precious Book, there is no object strong enough; there is no object wise enough; and there is no object perfect enough to trust in. You have given to us sufficient promises to live life with great joy. In Your Will You have revealed to us that You are faithful, that You will cause all things to work together for the good of Your people; and You will not abandon those whom You have set Your electing love upon. We are truly blessed. Father, help me in my unbelief to trust You more today and rest solely upon Your grace. Amen.
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1. Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Ge 21:3). Nashville: T. Nelson.
2. Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 21:5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
3. The New International Version. 2011 (Ge 21:1–2). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
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