Written by Paul Lane
The Word
1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21:1-7 (ESV)
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Genesis 18:15 (ESV)
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Hebrews 12:3-6
Reflection
In Genesis 18, when Abraham, and Sarah, are visited by the three strangers, Abraham receives a promise that he will have a son. Sarah laughs at the thought and then denies that she did, but the main stranger challenges her and says, “no, but you did laugh.” Now, in Chapter 21, Isaac comes and there is laughter.
My first duty for this passage is to point out that the name Isaac means laughter in case you could not get it from the text. So, this could be a scoffing laughter or a laughter full of the most abundant joy. It is up to you. As for me, I choose joy. This passage fills me full of the deepest and most pleasant fatherly thoughts. I too became a father later in life, though not quite as late as Abraham. Think of a man who is having trouble wiping the smile off his face. That was (and is) me.
As in Chapter 18, in this chapter, God includes Sarah in the conversation. In fact, He starts with her. God says that He made a promise to her and has now fulfilled it. So, let us put away any thoughts of Sarah’s participation in the promise only being tangential to God’s plan. She is center stage and not movin’!
I found lots of explanations for why God might have selected the eighth day. There seems to be a medical explanation about vitamin K being at the highest on the eighth day, which helps with healing. Then there is one about the mother being considered unclean for seven days after birth, so the eighth day is the first day in which the couple could be intimate again, thus being able to show joy during the ceremony. Then there is also the thought that the number eight biblically means the number for abundance. These are all great ideas to think on, and we can probably get something out of them. But the most important thing about the eighth day is that Abraham was obedient to God’s instruction.
Application
I find it interesting that we often look to God to fulfill our needs, wants, and desires as if God would be doing us a favor. And we forget that God has his own plan, and that we are part of it. It was not Abraham going to God and pleading for a son. It was God making a promise and then fulfilling it. The chapters leading up to this point are really about Abraham and Sarah learning to trust that God will be faithful and that the promise that God make is worth pursuing. In our lives we must work to see that both our true.
Read these verses slowly. Drink in the moment. Imagine Sarah sitting quietly, taking in the moment, and enjoying God’s faithfulness. She “…conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.” Think on the simplicity and wonder of it all.
Consider Abraham. He manages to marry an incredibly beautiful woman. God shows up and makes him a promise, then Abraham proceeds to give God every reason from Him not keep the promise. Then finally, He shows him that He is still faithful. Abraham must have had dreams that he had put away about being a father and raising a son. Every father has dreams of their sons being someone special in life, breaking records and shaping history. Abraham must have thought these dreams were not for him.
Now God shows up and re-awakens them. And now those dreams and that promise are confirmed. Yes, this is a moment that you should come to with a light and joyful heart. The life, the hope, the nations that God promised Abraham include you. And when the great day of ingathering comes for us, we will think of this day, this moment in time and say, “yes, the Lord is faithful, all the time.”
Prayer
Lord, as you say in Your word, a hope deferred makes the heart grow sick. But You are true to Your promises, even when we are not true to You. Lord, give us the strength to be faithful and the grace to repent when we are not. Let us not grow weary in waiting for Your promises, but let us take courage in knowing that You will fulfill it soon, and when You do the fulfillment will be more complete than our imagining. In the grace of our Lord Jesus, amen.
City Life Starter 
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