Laughable
9 They said to him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" And he said, "There, in the tent." 10 Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son." (Genesis 18:9-14)
Sarah and Abraham were old, and Sarah was barren. It had been nearly twenty-five years since God originally spoke the promise of descendants to Abraham, and approximately thirteen years since Abraham's son, Ishmael, was born to their servant, Hagar. So, when one of three unexpected visitors (although we are aware, it's not clear that Abraham and Sarah were aware, that they were speaking with the Lord) proclaimed again that Sarah would have a son, Sarah laughed. When Sarah is called out for her laughter we tend to read it as God's disapproval or even anger. However, the visitor simply reaffirms the promise. And, although Sarah denied laughing when she was questioned, in 21:6, she continued to laugh to herself and she also acknowledged that others will laugh in
rejoicing over her story.
God's promises are sometimes outlandish, hard to believe or even conceive. When God told Noah to build an ark, no one in that generation had even seen rain. When God chose a shepherd boy named David to be king it didn't make sense to anyone - even David's father. When God told a poor, unmarried, virgin that she would conceive and bear a son who would save his people, it sounded impossible. When that son grew up to teach, heal, die and be resurrected it was inconceivable. God's ways are often laughable because they are higher and greater than our wildest imaginings. What's more, God's timing is not ours but, even when we give up hope, God does not give up on us. So we can rejoice in God's promises no matter how laughable they seem.
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100)
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