The Faith Of Abraham and Sarah

“I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3 NKJV).

God makes a crazy promise to Abraham. A promise so crazy that few Christians believe it today.

God promises to bless those (plural) who bless Abraham and to curse him (singular) who curses Abraham—implying that more will be blessed than cursed. And if that isn’t enough, God goes on to say that all the families of the earth shall be blessed through Abraham.

But Abraham and his wife Sarah are too old to have children. How can this promise happen if Abraham’s wife has no Seed?

It can be embarrassing when your God promises you impossible things, so Abraham tries to help God out twice. The first time was by offering one of his trusted servants as an heir (Genesis 15:2-3) and the second time was by having a child with Sarah’s maidservant (Genesis 16:2).

But God doesn’t need Abraham’s help. God insists that the promise will come through Sarah’s seed. And this is too much for Abraham:

“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” (Genesis 17:17 NKJV).

Abraham laughs. And I wonder if he told God’s absurd promise to Sarah, because when she hears God say it, she laughs, too:

“And [the LORD] said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’” (Genesis 18:10-12 NKJV emphasis mine).

While Abraham and Sarah had doubts about God’s ability to give them a child, they embrace the rest of God’s promises once that child arrives.

“And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac” (Genesis 21:1-3 NKJV).

Abraham names his son Isaac which means laughter. And Sarah loves the name:

“And Sarah said, ‘God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me’” (Genesis 21:6 NKJV).

At first, both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God, because they thought He promised too much. But then they laughed with God. And they even believed that all who hear will laugh with them.

What do you think?
Joseph