Galatians 4 speaks about this situation with Ishmael and Isaac being the prototype of the Gospel. We cannot be born of the flesh and the Spirit. When you have time read Galatians and compared to Genesis 21, it’s good.
Look at verse 6 to see something we miss in the English, “And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.”” Genesis 21:6.
In the Hebrew the first “laugh” is used as a noun (Sarah being a laughingstock is how we would say it today) and when it says “all who hear will laugh with me” it is used as a verb. Why the change? Sarah was saying when I was barren, I was a person to be laughed at. It was considered scornful for a woman to be barren in these days, but now because of God allowing her to conceive that it would be laughter (joy) to all that hear. There was no way to deny that God did a great thing for Abraham and Sarah, and it came in a time of a barren situation.
Lastly, look at the end of chapter when Abraham gets into a trying situation with Abimelech. He could have said, “God, wait a minute I thought you were leading this show, why are these things happening”, but he didn’t. Look what he says even when circumstances are tough. “Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.” Genesis 21:33.
Abraham said the Lord God, is an everlasting God! All who met Sarah and Abraham from that time forward, even us today realize what God did for them with the promised son, Isaac. We take joy in seeing God come through, we have the joy of laughter and can ourselves say God is an everlasting God.
Remember that when your situation seems barren, when along the journey things get tough, relationships get difficult we know that God is an on-time God, working out things as the everlasting God.
- To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.