Genesis 18:1-15 - Do Not Laugh at God’s Promises!

Genesis 18:1-15

The Son of Promise (Hebrews 13:2)

1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

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.”

15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Sarah doubted the LORD because what He told Abraham and she overheard.  The promise of a son as the channel of an eternal heir was given, which was a picture of the promise of the Son of God by faith through Abraham and of a nation on earth through Isaac in the people who would be known as Israel.  Unfortunately, when the incredulous promise of a fleshly heir was told to Abraham at their advanced age well past their child bearing years, and she heard the angelic announcement as Mary (Luke 1:31-32, 34-35, 37-38) would many generations later, but she doubted and laughed at the prospect instead of trusting God’s word to them as her husband had.  In the end she did learn the lesson when she was with child, do not laugh at God’s promises!  At that time, however, Abraham trusted God though initially doubted as he both fell in worship and had a chuckle of incredulity himself (Genesis 17:17) as he heard after being renamed from Abram to Abraham and was reassured of the promise (Genesis 17:19) of the son to come, and then he was asked why his wife had also laughed at God’s messenger.  The LORD God reminded them through His messenger that there is absolutely nothing too difficult for the LORD (Jeremiah 32:17, 33:3) to accomplish because with God nothing is impossible (Matthew 19:26, Romans 4:19-20, 21-22).  Sarah denied laughing in disbelief, but Abraham held to the promise as if like the man speaking to Jesus who said in Mark 9:24, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”  Do we doubt the promise of saving grace in Christ and the hope of our resurrection to life after death given by the same certainty of promise by the same faithful God?  After reading this account from God’s word of trust in the midst of uncertainty and seeming impossibility, may we rather trust Him as we take the Lord at His word and rest fully on the hope (1 Peter 1:13) we have in Him.  His promises of salvation and eternal life are no laughing matter, no matter what the unbelieving (Titus 1:15, Revelation 21:8) say to dissuade and ridicule us in our resolve to trust God with our certain hope spoken to us by God’s word and recorded in scripture to remind us that nothing is impossible with God, even when we fail Him.