DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What stands out to you about God specifically promising that Sarah—not Hagar—would bear the covenant son?
Sarah waited about 25 years to see God fulfill this promise. What makes waiting on God difficult for us?
Sarah had previously tried to take matters into her own hands with Hagar, yet God still blesses her. What does this teach us about God’s grace toward our failures?
Sarah’s name change represented a new identity and role in God’s plan. In what ways does becoming a Christian give us a new identity and purpose?
Abraham obeyed God “that very day.” Why do we sometimes delay obedience when we sense God leading us to do something?
GOD BLESSES SARAH
In last week’s passage, we saw God revisit Abraham and revisit the covenant he’s already made with him. But, one of the biggest differences between this encounter between God and Abraham and the others is the command to be circumcised.
As we learned last week, circumcision was intended to be a mark on the male reproductive organ that acted as a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham and his descendants. Signs give direction; they point to something. So, circumcision was an outward sign for Abraham and his descendants. It served as a reminder to Abraham and his descendants that God had made a covenant with him. It served as a reminder that God would be (and was) the one to fulfill his promise to Abraham. It was a visible mark that communicated “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” It existed not because of human ability, but because of God’s faithfulness to His promise.
So, at this point in the story, Abraham is likely nodding his head in humble adoration and agreement. He has just recently married Hagar who bore him a son who is now 13 years old. So, Ishmael would be the avenue to which this promise would be fulfilled. But, as we will see in our passage today, God had a different plan.
In verse 15, God says to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
This sign of circumcision would be a sign of something miraculous. God was going to do something that only he could do. He was going to open up the womb of Sarah and give her a child. And it would be through this child that all of the promises God had given them would come to pass.
What a moment of grace this would have been! Like, let’s really wrap our minds around this contextually for a moment. 25 years earlier, when she was about 65 years old, Sarah first heard God’s promise that her husband Abraham would have an offspring through whom all the nations would be blessed. For years she held onto the hope that somehow that promise would be fulfilled through her. She quietly held onto the hope that her barrenness would be no more… that she would hold a child of her own… who would be a small link in the chain of God’s redemptive story!
But, as the years have ticked by, she looked at her barren state and her old age, and she had begun to conclude that there was no way that promise would be fulfilled through her. Her womb remained barren. Her body grew older. And quietly and slowly, she began to conclude that perhaps the promise would not come through her after all. So, she sought to take matters into her own hands. She looked at all of the data and concluded that 70-something year old women don’t have babies, so maybe God had a different plan. Therefore, she told her husband to marry her servant Hagar in order to conceive a child through her. And Abraham does so, leading to Hagar conceiving and having a child name Ishmael.
So, for the past 13 years Sarah has been likely struggling with great shame and remorse as she’s wrestled with the reality that it was her that was the problem all these years. It was her womb that was closed. And she’s been sitting on the outside looking in at this promise. But, now, years later, as God revisits his covenant with Abraham, he speaks a direct promise… not just to Abraham, but to his bride Sarah.
To the woman who had been barren her whole life, God said, “I will bless you!” To the woman who had lived a life marked by shame, God said, “I will give you honor.” To the woman who had given up on the idea of her having a child of her own, God said, “I will give you a child!” To the woman who dealt harshly with her servant Hagar, God dealt kindly with her.
God. blesses. Sarah.
Friends, there is the subtle, gentle, and very powerful reminder here that God’s timing is not our timing, and God is far more gracious and kind that we could ever imagine.
Some of us may feel a little bit like Sarah today. Some of us may feel like we’ve lived our entire lives on the sidelines watching other people play the game we long to play. Some of us may feel like we’ve lived our entire lives in the shadows watching others live in the limelight that we long to be in.
Yes, sure. We’ve received God’s blessings in many great ways, just like Sarah. But, if we’re honest, it sometimes feels as though our lives lack any great significance or purpose, just like Sarah. Perhaps, by the worlds standards, your story feels like it’s been marked by quiet sorrow. If that’s true of you, may Sarah’s life be one of encouragement for you today.
A life in the shadows is not a meaningless life. There’s great purpose in the shadows! There’s great purpose in the mundane! There is great purpose in the waiting! And maybe the very place where it feels like God has been silent is the place where He is preparing to work in profound ways.
God’s timing is not our timing, and God is far more gracious and kind than we could ever imagine. The last time we see Sarah speak, it was her complaining about the negative repercussions that came from her trying to take matters into her own hands. The last time we see Sarah act, it was her dealing harshly with a pregnant woman. Yet, God blesses her. Let that be a comfort to us who often make bad decisions. Let that be a comfort to us who often fail miserably.
SARAI TO SARAH
God speaks a blessing over Sarai’s life, changing her name from Sarai to Sarah. And what’s taking place here is fascinating, beautiful, and it was honestly a little bit confusing to me at first. Throughout the book of Genesis, name changes often signify a turning point in someone’s life. God isn’t just in the business of giving out nicknames for nicknames sake. A new name marks a new identity that is directly tied to a divine calling wrapped up in a redemptive purpose. This moment is exactly that for Sarah and Abraham’s. This is a turning point moment for them! Her new name marks a new chapter in God’s unfolding plan for her and the rest of humanity!
Now, both names here come from the Hebrew root śar, which means “prince” or “ruler.” The name Sarai likely means something like “my princess,” while Sarah simply means “princess.”
That’s a subtle shift. But also a significant shift. The name Sarah expands the scope of her influence from personal to universal. Sarai is possessive, while Sarah is broad! Her identity is no longer confined to a small circle (my princess); it is shifting to something much larger. Her story is transitioning from Abraham’s household to the nations. As God puts it in verse 16, “[she will] become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her (v.16).”
In a similar way, something profound happens to us when we become Christians. Brett hit on this a little last week. Just as Sarah was given a new name that signified a new identity and a role in God’s purposes, we too are given a new identity in Christ and we too are given a role in God’s purposes.
The apostle Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” So, Sarah was called something new, we become something new. And, together, we take on the name of Christian, which signifies our belonging to Christ. We are totally and exclusively his. And just as Sarah’s purpose broadened from her household to the nations, so too does ours. We are adopted into a universal family that consists of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And we have been uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit for the building up of this universal family, the church. Our lives are no longer defined by who we once were. They are defined by the one we now belong to. We are his, and we have been given a unique purpose for his glory!
ABRAHAM LAUGHS
So, God speaks a profound promise of blessing over Sarah. He changes her name because he’s going to do something remarkable in and through her. He is going to give him a son through her. And as we see in verse 17, “Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Then Abraham says to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” There’s a lot to unpack here. But I want us to first notice the tension of Abraham’s response to the LORD’s words. He falls on his face and laughs.
The act of falling on ones face signifies humble worship and adoration. It’s a posture of total reverence and deepest respect. It would serve us well to follow Abraham’s example from time to time. But, as Abraham bowed in reverence, he began to chuckle to himself (Apparently this is one of the first example of church giggles). As Abram began to think about where he was at this point in time, he began to laugh uncontrollably, thinking, “I’m going to be 100 and Sarah will be 90. How in the world is this going to work?” And as he considered their current state, he suggested to God Ishmael, his already 13 year old son— “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
So he’s saying to God, “What about my son who is already here? What about him? Why start over with another child? Let my son be the covenant heir and recipient of this promise!”
Now before we look at God’s response, we need to pause and wrestle with an important question: Was it wrong for Abraham to laugh here?
After all, laughter can often signal disbelief or even mockery. When someone laughs at something that’s said, it can sometimes mean they don’t really believe it.
But in this moment, I think God’s response is very telling.
Later, in Genesis 18, we’ll see Sarah laugh when she hears that she will bear a son. And when she laughs, God confronts her directly: “Why did Sarah laugh?” So, it seems that her laughter is treated as an expression of doubt. But here in chapter 17, when Abraham laughs, God responds very differently. He doesn’t rebuke Abraham. He doesn’t question his laughter. Instead, He answers Abraham’s question and even addresses Abraham’s concern for Ishmael.
That difference suggests that the two laughs are not the same. It seems that Sarah’s laughter revealed a lack of belief, while Abraham’s didn’t.
Was Abraham taken aback by what he had just heard? For sure. Was he wrestling with the reality of what was going to transpire? I’m sure. But Roman’s 4:18-21 says, “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” So, when every human reason for hope had disappeared, Abraham remained hopeful, even as he laughed in astonishment. Abraham, even as he laughed, didn’t let his reality have the final word. When his circumstances gave him no reason to hope, Abraham still hoped in the promise of God.
In response to Abraham’s request concerning his only son, Ishmael, God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelves princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
The first thing I want us to notice is the meaning of the name, “Isaac.” Ironically, it means laughter. What a fitting name, right? When Abraham hears the news, he laughs in astonishment. When Sarah hears the news, she laughs in doubt. And when Isaac is born, Sarah says, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me (Gen 21:6).” So, God turned Abraham and Sarah’s astonishment and disbelief into joy and celebration, and Isaac’s name captures for us this transformation. It highlights the theme of God doing what’s impossible for man. The name Isaac becomes a living reminder that God does what seems impossible to us. He fulfilled an impossible promise. What once felt like a moment of barren shame is turned by God into laughter-filled joy.
The second thing I want us to notice is the fact that God blessed both sons. God hears Abraham’s concern for Ishmael and promises to bless him. Ishmael will become fruitful, multiply greatly, and grow into a great nation. But, God carefully distinguishes here that he will establish his covenant with Isaac, not Ishmael. Ishmael was blessed with national greatness, but Isaac was blessed by carrying the line of redemptive promise.
The third thing I want us to see is a pattern often repeated throughout Genesis, which is God choosing the younger son instead of the older son to carry out his redemptive purpose. We see it with Seth instead of Cain. We see it with Isaac instead of Ishmael. Later we will see it with Jacob instead of Esau. And eventually with Joseph among his brothers. This repeated pattern reminds us that God’s purposes are not determined by human expectations, cultural customs, or birth order. They unfold according to God’s sovereign choice. He is carrying out his plan, his way.
IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE
When God finished this conversation with Abraham, he went up from Abraham. And then “Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. [24] Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. [25] And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. [26] That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. [27] And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.”
What is Abraham doing here? He’s obeying God. God told him to do something, and he did it. This reiterates to us the words spoken to us in the book of James, “Faith without works is dead.” Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, and Abraham obeyed God. His faith was active along with his works. His faith was completed by his works. So, it is impossible to possess true, authentic faith and not demonstrate good works. In the same way that grass naturally grows when rain falls, obedience naturally follows true faith.
You show me a man who believes, and I will show you a man who obeys. If you profess to be a man or women who believes God, then you will seek to be a man or woman who seeks to obey God.
But, as we talk about the obedience of Abraham here, please do not miss the phrase at the start of verse 26, “That very day.” Abraham didn’t delay. He obeyed immediately. As soon as the Lord went up, Abraham got up and obeyed.
Church, when we encounter specific commands in the Bible, we ought not tarry.