Abraham had shown great hospitality to the three men. One of them
was a Theophany, that is, God appearing in human form, long before Christ’s incarnation.
And the other two were angels that accompanied the Theophany. After the meal,
they asked Abraham, “Where is Sarah your wife?” By this time it would not be a
surprize that Abraham would have concluded that he was visited by the divine. Why
do we think so? At no time did he introduce Sarah to them, yet they knew her
name and that she was barren. And the Lord was here to address the issue of her
inability to bear a child. So the Lord said to Abraham in the hearing of Sarah,
“I will surely return to you at this time next year; and
behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Though we are not told of Abraham’s response, we
are given a glimpse to Sarah’s response. She was discreetly somewhere inside the
tent because that was the position required of a married woman in their
culture. Genesis 18:11 specifically tells us that she had past the age of child
bearing, meaning she was already well beyond her menopausal age. Humanly
speaking there was no way she could conceive, and she knew that well. On
hearing what Abraham was told, she laughed to herself and mused, “After I have
become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord (Abraham) being old also?” Sarah
was not sneering arrogantly at the news she heard. She was laughing to herself
because she knew that her own physical condition, and Abraham’s age, would make
the conception of a child impossible.
Sarah
probably did not expect God to know her silent response to the news, but He did.
So the Lord plainly asked, “Why did Sarah laugh?” To laugh at the suggestion of
something humanly impossible is not uncommon. In today’s setting there are
still people, even Christians, who believe that miracles are things of the
past. As Christians we worship and serve a miracle working God. He is still in
the business of the miraculous. We must learn to live in the rhythm of miracles.
The fact that we continue to breathe, and our hearts continue to beat every
moment of the day, attest to our miracle working God. The different organs of
our body that function perfectly and coordinately are in themselves God’s
miracle in operation. Believe it or not, we are God’s miracle going somewhere
to happen.
Sarah’s
musing of disbelief brought about a statement by the Lord that must be etched
indelibly in our heart: Is anything too difficult for
the Lord? Whatever situation we each may face, be sure that our Lord is fully
aware of them and He is working out the solution on our behalf. What we need to
do is to collaborate with Him in obedience. There is nothing in life that God
does not have an answer. The thoughts that Abraham and Sarah had were too human
and too earthly. Their response to the news is a lesson for us to never question
the ability of God. In Sarah’s situation the Lord emphasized again that “At the appointed
time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a
son.” With God there is no impossibility!
Sarah probably stepped forward, feeling
embarrassed, as she denied that she laughed. The parting shot of the Lord to
her was, “No, but you did laugh.” Nothing is hidden from the Lord. This underscores
the necessity for us to be honest with the Lord. Surely Sarah would never
forget that incidence. Why? For the son she was to bear and give birth to, would
be named Isaac, meaning laughter. Henceforth, she would never forget the
miracle of God every time she looked at her son. We serve a miracle working God,
so let us live in the rhythm of the miraculous!
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