born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?

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1 October 13, 2013 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON A Promise to Sarah MINISTRY INVOCATION Almighty God: Our existence is predicated on Your Love for us and for that we are humbled as well as blessed. There is No One greater than You. In Jesus Name, Amen. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND Maintaining a strong relationship with Christ now prepares us for the relationship that we will have with Christ in eternity; Jesus stressed that planning and being prepared will help people reach important goals. THE APPLIED FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVE We believe in the indwelling of the Holy Ghost for all believers and that the Holy Ghost verifies and validates the Believer as part of the Body of Christ. TEXT: Background Scripture Genesis 17:15-17; 18:9-15; 21:1-7 Key Verse Genesis 21:2 Lesson Scripture Genesis 17:15-17; 18:9-15; 21:1-7 Genesis 17:15 17 (NKJV) 15 Then God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her. 17 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 18:9 15 (NKJV) 9 Then they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? So he said, Here, in the tent. 10 And He 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.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old? 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 1

2 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh! Genesis 21:1 7 (NKJV) 21 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. COMMENTARY Genesis 17:15-17 Verse 15. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, who, not having hitherto been mentioned in any of the promises, is now expressly taken into covenant, and accordingly receives a new name thou shalt not call her name Sarai, my princess ; princely, noble, the heroine ; strife, contention; with special reference to her struggle against sterility, but Sarah princess, the meaning being that, whereas formerly she was Abram s princess only, she was henceforth to be recognized as a princess generally, i. e. as the mother of the Church or as princess to the Lord, shall her name be. Verse 16. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her (the first intimation that the promised seed was to be Sarai s child), and she shall be a mother of nations; literally, she shall become nations - kings of people shall be of her. Verse 17. Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed, rejoiced; marveled; laughed for joy. And said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is (literally, to the son of) an hundred years old? A suggestion of natural reason which was over-ruled by faith, though better regarded as the exclamation of holy wonder, or as an illustration of believing not for joy. And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Yes. What reason declared impossible was possible to faith. He considered not the deadness of Sarah s womb (Rom. 4:19). Genesis 18:9-15 Verse 9. And they said unto him (i. e. the Principal One of the three, speaking for the others, interrogated Abraham during the progress, or perhaps at the close of, the meal saying), Where is Sarah thy wife? (thus indicating that their visit had a special reference to her). And he said, Behold, in the tent. It is 2

3 obvious that if at first Abraham regarded his visitors only as men, by this time a suspicion of their true character must have begun to dawn upon his mind. How should ordinary travelers be aware of his wife s name? and why should they do so unusual a thing, according to Oriental manners, as to inquire after her? If thus far their behavior could not fail to surprise the patriarch, what must have been his astonishment at the subsequent communication? Verse 10. And he said (the Principal Guest, as above, who, by the very nature and terms of his announcement, identifies himself with Jehovah), I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life. Literally, at the time reviving; And, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. I. e. at the time specified. Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Verse 11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age. Literally, gone into days, i. e. into years. This was the first natural impediment to the accomplishment of Jehovah s promise; the second was peculiar to Sarah. And it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Verse 12. Therefore (literally, and) Sarah laughed within herself Abraham had laughed in joyful amazement at the first mention of Sarah s son; Sarah laughs, if not in unbelief, at least with a mingled feeling of doubt and delight at the announcement of her approaching maternity saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? literally, and my lord, i. e. my husband, is old. Verse 13. And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, a question which must have convinced Abraham of the Speaker s omniscience. Not only had he heard the silent, inaudible, inward cachinnation of Sarah s spirit, but he knew the tenor of her thoughts, and the purport of her dubitations saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which (literally, and I) am old? Sarah s mental cogitations clearly showed that the temporary obscuration of her faith proceeded from a strong realization of the weakness of nature, which made conception and pregnancy impossible to one like her, who was advanced in years; and accordingly her attention, as well as that of her husband, was directed to the Divine omnipotence as the all-sufficient guarantee for the accomplishment of the promise. Verse 14. Is any thing too hard for the Lord? Literally, Is any word too wonderful, i. e. impossible, for Jehovah? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life and Sarah shall have a son. Verse 15. Then Sarah (who had overheard the conversation, and the charge preferred against her, and who probably now appeared before the stranger) denied, saying, I laughed not. Sarah s conduct will admit of no other explanation than that which the sacred narrative itself gives. For she was afraid. The knowledge that her secret thoughts had been deciphered must have kindled 3

4 in her breast the suspicion that her visitor was none other than Jehovah. With this a sense of guilt would immediately assail her conscience for having cherished even a moment any doubt of the Divine word. In the consequent confusion of soul she tries whatever seems to be the first impulse of detected transgressions. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. With a directness similar to that which he employed in dealing with the first culprits in the garden, not contending in a multiplicity of words, but solemnly announcing that what she said was false. The silence of Sarah was an evidence of her conviction; her subsequent conception was a proof of her repentance and forgiveness. Genesis 21:1-7 Verse 1. And the Lord Jehovah; not because the verse is Jehovistic but because the promise naturally falls to be implemented by him who gave it visited remembered with love though it sometimes means to approach in judgment. Sarah as he had said God s word of promise being ever the rule of His performance and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken i. e. implemented his promise; the proof of which is next given. Verse 2. For Sarah conceived, through faith receiving strength from God for that purpose; the fruit of the womb, in every instance God s handiwork being in her case a special gift of grace and product of Divine power and bare. Abraham (literally, to Abraham) a son in his old age literally, to his old age; at the set time of which God had spoken to him. God s word gave Abraham strength to beget, Sarah to conceive, and Isaac to come forth. Three times repeated in two verses, the clause points to the supernatural character of Isaac s birth. Verse 3. And Abraham called the name of his son the naming of a child by its father is, that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him (the latter clause being added to distinguish him from Hagar s child), Isaac laughter; the name appointed for him by God before his birth. Verse 4. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old (literally, a son of eight days), as (not only because, but in the manner in which) God had commanded him. Verse 5. And Abraham was an hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him. Literally, at the time of bearing to him ἐν τῷ τεκεῖν Isaac. Thus Abraham had waited twenty-five years for the fulfilment of the promise a remarkable instance of faith and patience as Isaac s birth was a signal display of Divine power. Whether Isaac was born at Gerar or at Beersheba cannot with certitude be inferred. Verse 6. And Sarah said, the spiritual elevation of her soul being indicated by the poetical form of her speech. Differing from Mary s magnificat in having 4

5 been uttered after, and not before, the birth of the promised seed, the anthem of Sarah was obviously designed as a prelude to that loftier song of the Virgin. It consists of two sentences, the first containing two, and the second three lines God hath made me to laugh. Or, retaining the order of the Hebrew. Verse 7. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? Literally, sarah suckleth sons. Many of the greatest saints in Holy Scripture, and even our Lord himself, were nursed by their own mothers (Wordsworth). For I have born him a son in his old age. Literally, I have born a son to his old age. RELATED DISCUSSION TOPICS CLOSING PRAYER My God: I am grateful to have found You and kept You in the forefront of my being. Bless us continually with Your grace and mercy. They represent bountiful blessings for all of us. Amen. 5