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1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." 7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age." ~ Genesis 21:1-7
Today, we transition into Genesis 21 where we finally come to the birth of Isaac. We’ve seen God’s promise to Abraham about this son given over and over. We’ve also seen that prior to him, came another son named Ishmael who was a picture of the bondage of the Law. Isaac, on the other hand, is a picture of freedom from that law by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, every story, and every detail within each story, is a wonderful testament to the faithful dealings of the God of the Bible with man and a picture of the coming Christ. When we feel like life is overwhelming us and things are spinning out of control, all we need to do is pick up the Bible and read and we can see God’s hand of care and protection for all of His people throughout its pages.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him."
This word translated "visited" clearly indicates divine intervention on the behalf of a believer in God. This is the first time this word is used in the Bible. The Lord intervened in Sarah's life in order that she would conceive and give birth to the son whom God had long promised. Sarah is mentioned twice here because she laughed at the promise and then she lied about having laughed about it. Like Sarah, God redeemed us partly so that we will factor in on eternity.
Sarah's laughter was similar to the Apostle Peter's denial of knowing the Lord Jesus after the Lord had been arrested by the Jews in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter denied knowing the Lord three times and was later asked if he loved Him three times. Sarah laughed and then lied and so today’s first verse is used as restoration for her fault. Despite Sarah's doubt and disbelief, the Lord fulfilled His word exactly as He promised.
Isaac's birth was supernatural. He was not born until Abraham and Sarah had reached an advanced age. Sarah was 90 years old and Abraham was 100. It occurred at the set time, some 30 years after God had first promised to give Abraham a son. God waited so long to fulfill this promise to Abraham so that it could only be fulfilled supernaturally by Him. This is exactly what God says about the fruit of the Spirit in our lives which never come from the flesh. The love, joy, peace and patience of God never is the product of man's efforts. The fruits of the Spirit will never come from any attempt on our part to imitate them. We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit by the flesh, because these fruits will always be the supernatural produce of God in and through our yielded lives. These only come by simply appropriating the life of the Lord Jesus in our lives.
In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him whom Sarah bore to him Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him."
God gave to Abraham the object lesson of circumcision to remind Abraham and his posterity that He was for them. God commanded Abraham and Abraham obeyed God precisely. Isaac was circumcised on the eighth day because God knew that it took the human body eight days to build up enough potassium in the body for the blood to coagulate, otherwise the baby would have died due to a loss of blood.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him."
Isaac, the child of laughter was born when Abraham celebrated his 100th birthday. The birth of Isaac was a full 25 years after Abraham's move from Haran to Canaan; it was also 14 years after the birth of Ishmael. The year of Isaac’s birth 2109 BC. In just 1895 years, the Son of God would be born about 45 miles to the north of where Abraham was located in today's passage. No amount of time or distance is too difficult for God to span in order to fulfill His promises.
In v.6-7 of today's passage we read,"6 And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.' 7 She also said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.'"
This laugh of Sarah was completely different in today's passage as it was when she laughed in Genesis 18 where doubt and disbelief ruled. This laugh was the laughter of both wonder and pleasure at what God had done, and she acknowledged God’s sovereign power to overcome even old age and a barren womb. Sarah's unbelief had been replaced by belief. Even though we may have to wait for quite a while for the promises of God to come about in our lives, they will all come to pass as He has promised.
Sarah's laugh impacted others. This underscores the fact that God rarely blesses you and me with only you and me in mind. He created us with a need to be a blessing to others and when we are we will be joyful. It was joy that compelled C.S. Lewis to convert from atheism to enjoying a personal relationship with his Creator. But, Lewis' definition of joy was different. In fact he once said, "Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing."
Lewis went on to write, "All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still 'about to be.'" We were made for something more and that something more leads us to the eternal Son of God. It is only in a personal relationship with Him that all the events of our lives make sense. It is only through the lens of the Lord Jesus Christ that all things make sense, even the hard things of life. This is where true joy is encountered, and joy has the same name that all of the other fruits of the Spirit have, that is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
