Genesis 21:1-7 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Hebrews 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.
Just over 3 months ago, it was reported that a woman from southern India had given birth to her first children: twin girls. They will almost certainly be her only children since her age was also reported: she is 74 years old. She had become pregnant through in vitro fertilization. When the twins were born, her husband said: “We are the happiest couple on Earth today. We have our own children.” That’s quite a remarkable, isn’t it?! A woman 74 years old gave birth to twins! The USA Today headline reporting this read: “A 74 year old woman reportedly gave birth to twins, may be the oldest to ever give birth.”
The writer of that article either doesn’t read the Bible or he doesn’t believe what the Bible says. We have one woman before us today who is older than the woman from India. When Sarah gave birth to Isaac, she was 90 years old. Not only that, artificial means weren’t used in order for her to become pregnant. The fact that she was able to conceive and bear a child is something that can only be explained by what it is: a miracle of God. And this miracle brought great joy to Abraham and Sarah, as Sarah indicates: “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Sarah laughs with joy in her heart because God had made good on his promise to her and Abraham. He gave her the son they longed for. She laughs because God has accomplished this in spite of her doubts. With this miraculous child, she now realizes that she should always trust God’s promises.
Trusting God’s promises wasn’t always the case for Sarah. In fact, her laughter is also a reminder of how she once laughed at God. Sarah and Abraham received 3 visitors. When the visitors first arrived, Sarah and Abraham didn’t realize that one of them was the Lord posing as a human. The Lord told Abraham that in one year from now, He would return and Sarah would have a son. Sarah was in her tent, and when she overheard that, she laughed. By her laughter here, Sarah was saying that’s ridiculous! I’m worn out and my husband is old. We’re past the time of being capable of having children! How can that possibly be true!
Do some of God’s promises seem too good to be true to you? God promises to answer your prayers. But then it seems like he’s ignoring you. He’s not really ignoring you. He’s just saying ‘no’ or ‘not yet.’ God promises that he will be with you always. When you are afraid, your fear may get the best of you and you think that God has abandoned you. He’s there the whole time. Listen to his Word! He’s never gone back on any of his promises.
Or maybe you think that since God isn’t making good on his promises, then you’ll just have to do it yourself. Such was the case with Sarah. When she didn’t think God was going to make good on his promise of a son, she took matters into her own hands. She told Abraham that he should sleep with her maidservant, Hagar so that they could perhaps start a family through her. Do you remember how that turned out? Once Hagar became pregnant, Sarah immediately resented Hagar, and was angry at her husband for getting her pregnant.
When we try to force the issue with God’s promises, it never works out. It is God who has to fulfill his own promises. And he does it in his own way, and in his own time.
In fact, with Sarah, he waited until it seemed it was too late. She was just too old to have a child! But by having her wait, God was doing what was best for Sarah. God had really been molding her (and Abraham) all along.
It started many years before. Abraham and Sarah had settled in Haran. It was there the Lord told Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Sarah was already a senior citizen at this point. She was 65 years old. She was asked to uproot and go to a land that was foreign to her. And why? Because God said so. Now wrapped up in God telling them to move was the indirect promise of a son. The specific promise was that they would become a great nation, and everyone on earth would be blessed through them.
Do you see what God was doing? Trust me with this move. I promise I will deliver great things through you. You will indeed have offspring! From that time on, Sarah and Abraham essentially became nomads. They traveled from place to place frequently. As a result, their trust that God would provide for them would grow.
And in fact, Sarah learned that she had to trust God even above her husband. There were two incidents where they had entered foreign territory where Abraham feared they would kill him if they found out that Sarah was his beautiful wife. So Abraham lied and said that Sarah was his sister. On both occasions, Sarah was taken to the palace. How frightening that must have been for her! But, because God intervened on both occasions, Sarah and Abraham would remain safe.
God gives us people around us for companionship and to help us during difficult times. But all those surrounding us have their own frailties just as you do. God is the one steady companion that you can always trust and who never disappoints.
That is especially true when you remember God’s ultimate purpose for Sarah. How is it that all peoples on earth would be blessed through her and Abraham? Their son Isaac would be a joy to them for more than just the fact that the family lineage would be carried on. You see, Sarah’s child would be a link between the promise in Genesis 3:15 and the Christchild.
Adam and Eve’s act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden led to a broken relationship with God which would affect all people. God promised that the seed of the woman would conquer Satan. Ultimately, God was talking about the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would be born of the virgin Mary. This was the Savior of the nations!
From Eve to Mary, there would be many generations in between that would carry the unbroken line of the Savior. And Sarah and Abraham would play a key role in that line.
Because their son, Isaac, would continue the line of the Savior, is it any wonder that Sarah would laugh in amazement at his birth?! Oh yes, that God could miraculously open Sarah’s womb to have such a child was amazing in and of itself. But that God would use a frail sinner like Sarah is that much more amazing.
God was gracious to Sarah. And in being gracious to Sarah, he was gracious to us! We are the beneficiaries of the promise given to Sarah. We are among the number of people who have been blessed through her. We have ultimately been touched by Jesus Christ.
You can see why a 74 year woman from India, along would her husband would be so happy at the birth of their first children, twin girls. How much more joy can we have that 90 year old Sarah would give birth to her first child, a son. A son whose line would ultimately lead to the birth of the Son of God. Paul Gerhardt expresses the reason for this joy in his hymn “Once Again My Heart Rejoices.” Listen to two of those verses in closing:
Hear! The conqueror has spoken:
“Now the foe,
Sin and woe,
Death and hell are broken!”
God is man, man to deliver,
And the Son
Now is one
With our blood forever.
Should we still fear God’s displeasure,
Who, to save,
Freely gave
His most precious treasure?
To redeem us he has given
His own Son
From the throne
Of his might in heaven. Amen.