A Promise to Sarah

        

                                                             Sunday School Lesson                                  

Lesson: Genesis 17:15-17
                                                                                                 
Golden Text: “Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:14).

INTRODUCTION.  One of the best reasons to believe in God’s Word is the fulfillment of prophecy.  Of course the greatest of fulfilled prophecies involves the coming of the Lord Jesus.  His birth, death, and resurrection are all prophesied in great detail throughout the Old Testament.  The exact unfolding and completion of those prophecies are recorded in the New Testament.  This week’s lesson details an example of prophecy and its fulfillment.  God had promised a land to Abraham and his descendents forever while Abraham had no children.  Even when Abraham tried to remedy this by having a child by one of Sarah’s maid-servants, God performed a miracle to complete His promise to Abraham.

II. ABRAHAM’S LAUGH OF DOUBT (Genesis 17:15-17).  Background for the Lesson:  We learn that Sarai was Abram’s wife in Genesis 11:29-30 and that she was barren, or couldn’t have any children.  The Lord told Abram that his seed, or descendents would be innumerable, and Abram believed God (see Genesis 15:5-6).  However, about ten years later, because of Sarai’s inability to conceive, at her suggestion Abram had a child with Sarai’s hand-maiden, Hagar (see Genesis 16:1-4).  Of course this was not the way God planned to start Abram’s long line of descendents, and it also caused serious trouble in their home.  Abram was seventy-five when God told him to leave Haran and led him to Canaan (see Genesis 12:4-5) where he ultimately settled in Mamre (see Genesis 13:14).  When Abram was ninety-nine, God appeared to him again and repeated His covenant with him assuring Abram that he would definitely become the father of many nations (see Genesis 17:1-4).  At that time, the Lord changed his name from Abram (which means exalted father) to Abraham which means father of a multitude (see Genesis 17:5).  God also established circumcision as the sign of His covenant relationship with Abraham and his descendents (see Genesis 17:7-14).  This is where our lesson begins.
A. A change of name (Genesis 17:15-16). 
1. (vs. 15). This verse says “And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.”  Thirteen years had passed between the birth of Hagar’s son, Ishmael and this appearance by God to Abraham (see Genesis 16:16-17:1).  It was at this appearance that God changed Abraham’s name, and now He changed Sarai’s name.  God told Abraham that “thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.”  Scholars are not sure what the name “Sarai” means but it comes from the same root word as “Sarah.”  It may be that “Sarai” means “princely” but “Sarah” does mean “princess.”  From that point forward, Abraham was to call his wife “Sarah.” 
2. (vs. 16).  In this verse, we are told why God changed Sarah’s name.  God said “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.”  The Lord made the change because He was going to bless Sarah greatly by making her the “mother of nations.”  Even kings would come from her, confirming the royal status of her new name.  God said that “kings of people shall be of her” and this would start with “a son also of her.”    
B. A doubting heart (Genesis 17:17).   At this point the writer says “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”  In response to what God said concerning Sarah, “Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed.”  The fact that he fell on his face indicates submission and respect for God.  However, as he lay there, he couldn’t help laughing “in his heart” or within himself.  Abraham thought that it was physically impossible for a man who was “an hundred years old” and a woman who “is ninety years old” to bear children. 
III. SARAH’S LAUGH OF DOUBT (Genesis 18:9-15).  In the remainder of chapter 17:19-27 (which is not part of the printed text), God confirmed to Abraham that Sarah would indeed bear him a son within the next year, and his name would be Isaac, and the covenant would be established with him and his seed and not with Ishmael.  However, God also said that He would bless Ishmael and make him a great nation (see Genesis 17:19-21).  After God finished speaking, Abraham being ninety-nine years old circumcised himself, Ishmael who was thirteen, and every male in his house including his servants (see Genesis 17:22-27).  Sometime after this, the Lord and two angels appeared to Abraham (see Genesis 18:1-2) and he immediately offered them something to eat and drink and they accepted (see Genesis 18:4-8).  It’s probably this event to which Hebrews 13:2 alludes to when it says “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” 

A.  A promise (Genesis 18:9-10). 

1. (vs. 9).  Sometime during the meal Abraham provided for the Lord and the two angels, this verse says “And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.”  They asked Abraham where his wife was and he replied that she was inside the tent.  We can’t be sure as to why God asked this question because we know that He knows everything, and He certainly knew where Sarah was.
2. (vs. 10).  Then in this verse we read “And he (the Lord) said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.”The Lord told Abraham that He would return to him “according to the time of life.”  This probably means that God would return sometime within a year, or more specifically nine months later, and at that time “Sarah thy wife shall have a son.”  Sarah was now eighty-nine years old, and Abraham was ninety-nine (see Genesis 17:1).  Abraham was ten years older than Sarah (see Genesis 17:17).  We are told that Sarah was listening in on the conversation inside the tent and was able to hear what was being said.       
B. An impossibility (Genesis 18:11-12). 
1. (vs. 11).  In this verse the writer says “Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.”  Once again we are reminded that both Abraham and Sarah were “old and well stricken in age.”  The phrase “and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women” means that Sarah had passed her time of menopause, making it physically impossible for her to have children.  Note:  While Abraham may have been able to sire a child, Sarah was beyond child bearing age.  In Abraham’s day it was not that unusual for men to sire children after reaching one hundred years of age.  It seems that Terah, Abraham’s father was 130 years old when Abram was born (see Genesis 11:32; 12:4) and Abraham continued to have children after Sarah’s death (see Genesis 25:1-6).
2. (vs. 12).  This verse says “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”  The word “Therefore” refers back to verse 10 where it is said that Sarah heard the Lord’s conversation with Abraham from the door of the tent.  She then “laughed within herself,” silently saying “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”  In other words, hearing that she was going to have a child within a year, and realizing that she had “waxed” or grown old, she doubted that there was any way for her to “have pleasure” or the joy of having a son.  In addition, she said not only was she old, but her “lord” was old as well.  The term “lord” is how she referred to her husband, Abraham.
C. A reprimand (Genesis 18:13-15).
1. (vs. 13).  Here Moses writes “And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?”  This is undeniable proof that one of the three men talking with Abraham was the Lord, because He knew that Sarah laughed even though she did it silently within herself thinking that no one heard her.  The Lord knew Sarah’s thoughts and asked Abraham why she laughed.  To laugh at the promises of God is the same as doubting them.  To further confirm that God knew Sarah doubted His ability to keep His promises, He answered His own question by saying she laughed while she said “Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?”  In other words, her laughter accompanied her thoughts that it was physically impossible to bear a child at her age.
2. (vs. 14).  In response to Sarah’s doubts, the Lord asked a rhetorical question “Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”  The answer to this question is of course not!  Nothing is too hard for God.  The Lord Himself declared that “At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” The phrases “the time appointed” and “according to the time of life” both refer to nine months later when Sarah would give birth to a son.  And it happened just as God said, for Genesis 21:2 tells us that the Lord did visit Sarah and she bore Abraham a son “at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”  Whenever life’s situations cause us to doubt God’s ability to keep His promises, we would do well to remember Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”  There are no limitations on what God can do!
3. (vs. 15).Realizing that the Lord knew what she was thinking, this verse says “Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.”  Sarah denied that she laughed because she was afraid.  But God quickly replied, no, but you did laugh.  The psalmist wrote that “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are futile” (see Psalms 94:11).
IV. SARAH’S LAUGH OF JOY (Genesis 21:1-7).  In the remaining verses of chapter 18 (not part of our printed text), the Lord and the two angels finished their meal and God determined to share with Abraham that He was going to Sodom and Gomorrah to judge them because “their sin is very great” (see Genesis 18:16-22).  In verses 23-33, Abraham attempts to intercede for any righteous people who may be in Sodom and Gomorrah, no doubt hoping that Lot and his family would be spared.  Chapter 19 details the arrival of the two angels to Sodom and being met by Lot who offered them lodging (see verses 1-3).  But before they could rest for the night, the men of the city surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that he bring out the two men so they could have their way sexually with them (see vss. 4-5).  Lot, knowing what they wanted to do to these two angels begged them not to do wickedly, and he offered his two daughters to them instead (see vss. 6-8).  But these men wanted Lot’s two guests and attempted to attack him, but the angels pulled Lot back into the house and struck the men of the city with blindness (see vss. 9-11).  At this point the angels told Lot to get his family out of Sodom because they were going to destroy it, but his sons-in-law refused to leave as they made fun of Lot (see vss. 12-14).  Verses 15-29 tell of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the escape of Lot, his wife and his two daughters with instructions from the angels not to look back (see vss. 15-17).  However, Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt (see vs. 26).  Verses 30-38 detail the plan of Lot’s daughters to get him drunk so he would lay with them in order to produce children as they said “to preserve seed of our father” (see vss. 30-34).  They both became pregnant and the older daughter gave birth to a son and called him Moab who became the father of the Moabite nation.  The younger daughter also bore a son and called him Ben-Ammi who became the father of the Ammonite nation (see vss. 35-38).  It’s interesting that the descendents from this sinful act of reproduction by Lot and his daughters gave birth to two nations that would ultimately be lifelong enemies of Israel.  In chapter 20, we have the story of Abraham’s lapse in faith in Gerar when he lied to king Abimelech saying that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife because he was afraid that the king would kill him if he knew Sarah was his wife and he wanted her for his own.  The king, believing that Sarah was Abraham’s sister took her to be his wife.  However, God intervened by coming to Abimelech in a dream and stopping him from taking Sarah.  The king confronted Abraham asking why he lied and Abraham replied that he did it out of fear.  At this point the king gave Abraham sheep, oxen, menservants, and women servants and gave them to Abraham and also returned Sarah to him.  He also told Abraham that he could settle anywhere in Gerar that he desired.  Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and God allowed the king and his wives to bare children because the Lord had prevented anyone from baring children due to the incident with Sarah.  The remaining portion of our text now begins with chapter 21.
A. A promise fulfilled (Genesis 21:1-3). 
1. (vs.1).  Now in this verse we read “And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.”  It had been twenty-five years since Abraham arrived in Canaan (see Genesis 12:4) and it must have been hard for Abraham and Sarah to continue believing that God was going to fulfill His promise of an heir.  However, now twenty-five years later, “the Lord visited Sarah as he had said.”  The Hebrew word for “visited” is used in Scripture indicating that when God visits people it is more than just to see them.  It is to give attention to them in a special way, either with blessing or judgment.  In this case, blessing is meant because God came to Sarah “as he had said” to do for her “as he had spoken” or promised.
2. (vs. 2).  This verse leaves no doubt that God kept His promise.  Moses wrote “For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”  The emphasis here is on the truthfulness and surety of God’s word, for at exactly the time God had given to Abraham (see Genesis 18:14) “Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age.”  We see in this both the power of God as well as His impeccable timing.  Therefore, we should remember this when God appears to delay. 
3. (vs. 3).  Now we are told that “Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.”  In obedience to God’s direction (see Genesis 17:19), Abraham named the child “Isaac” which means laughter or he laughs.  No doubt this would remind his parents of their laughter when they were informed that they would have a son.  
B. Abraham obeys a command (Genesis 21:4-5). 
1. (vs. 4).  After Isaac’s birth, this verse says “And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.”  Abraham circumcised Isaac on the eighth day of his life, or when he was “eight days old.”  He followed exactly the instructions for the covenant that the Lord had given him when He changed Abraham’s name and said that He would make him a father of many nations (see Genesis 17:4-12).   At that time God established a special sign for the covenant just as He had done with Noah and the sign of the rainbow.  However, for Abraham the sign was to be the circumcision of every male child eight days after birth (see Genesis 17:10-12).  This was not a new rite, for circumcision was practiced by others in the ancient world.  However, it was given new meaning as a sign of the covenant.  Soon after establishing the covenant, Abraham, at the age of ninety-nine, his son Ishmael (Isaac was not yet born) and all other males of his household were circumcised (see Genesis 17:23).  This was done because God had said that any uncircumcised male would be cut off from his people because he had broken the covenant (see Genesis 17:14).  Circumcising his son was not the end of Abraham’s spiritual responsibility to his son because circumcision didn’t guarantee righteousness before God (see Romans 2:25-29).  Abraham understood that inward righteousness comes only through trust in God (see Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:9-12).  Therefore, he committed himself to teaching his family the same faith that he had (see Genesis 18:19).  In the same way, parents who publicly dedicate their infants to the Lord today must realize the responsibility this entails.  The dedication ceremony itself has no real benefit to either the child or the parents.  It merely declares that the parents intend to teach their child the ways of God and introduce him or her to the Saviour which involves a lifetime commitment.  Note:  In later Jewish history, circumcision took on a meaning far beyond what God originally intended.  In the early days of the church, some claimed that redemption could only be extended to those who were circumcised.  The Judaizers said “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (see Acts 15:1).  However, Paul made it clear that the circumcision of the new covenant was spiritual, not physical (see Romans 2:25-29; Galatians 5:1-4; Colossians 2:11-14).  Scripture gives no reason why circumcision was performed on the eighth day.  But from a practical standpoint, according to the authors of None of these Diseases, S.I. McMillen and David E. Stern, who are Christian medical doctors, “the important blood-clotting element, vitamin K is not formed in the normal amount until the fifth to the seventh day of life…It is clear that the first safe day to perform circumcision would be the eighth day, the very day that Jehovah commanded Abraham to circumcise Isaac.”  This can be confirmed medically as the ideal time for the procedure to be performed in order to prevent uncontrolled bleeding and excessive trauma.
2. (vs. 5).  Here we have the statement “And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.”  This emphasizes the miraculous nature of Isaac’s birth.  We can rest assured that God will fulfill His promises and know that delay does not mean no.  Patience is absolutely necessary to have as we develop our trust in God.  Isaac was born fifteen years after God had told Abraham he would have a son.  God’s timing is not necessarily our timing.  It’s important not to get discouraged thinking God will not do what He says.  We must not waver in our faith. We must stand firm and keep believing.
C. A moment enjoyed (Genesis 21:6-7).
1. (vs. 6).  After Isaac’s birth, this verse says “And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”  No longer laughing in doubt, Sarah now laughed with joy saying “God hath made me to laugh” which is literally “God has made laughter for me.”  Sarah attributed this joy to God and His power, and went on to say that “all that hear will laugh with me.”  In other words, since God had made her laugh, everyone who heard about it would laugh with her.  She was overcome with the joy of this moment.
2. (vs. 7).  Finally, in this verse we read “And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.”   Sara, still reveling in her new found joy mused saying “Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck?”  Here she is saying that the thought of her “giving suck” or nursing a baby at her age would never have entered anyone’s mind; thus no one would have suggested it to Abraham.  What she was experiencing was far beyond human imagination, for she had “born him a son in his old age.”   Note:  Of course none of this was beyond the mind of God.  He did in fact tell Abraham that Sarah would have a child when it seemed impossible.  This should remind us that God delights to call things that are not as though they were (see Romans 4:17) and to bring to nothing things that are, so that no one can glory before Him (see I Corinthians 1:28-29).  God has His own agenda and His own mode of operation for achieving it.  We serve a God who can easily do what looks impossible.
                                 
V. Conclusion.  The Lord promises and delivers.  Only God can foretell the exact time of birth and gender of a child with complete accuracy, especially when both parents of the child are well beyond the normal age to conceive.  We too may encounter circumstances in life when it seems that nothing can be done to bring about any blessing or spiritual benefit.  However, God is not at a loss to rescue us.  He who created us for His glory can do the miraculous.