Switched Focus
Genesis 18: 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!”
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Up to this point everything was about Abraham. GOD spoke to
him directly and told him to leave his father’s house and go to a place where I
will show you. Abraham immediately obeyed. GOD then spoke to Abraham a few more
times. But this time was different. JESUS and the angels asked together, “Where
is Sarah your wife/”
My Observations:
- Sarah had faith to go with Abraham to a place GOD told him to go, but she was not told by GOD.
- Sarah had faith to maintain the cattle and the property while Abraham went to rescue Lot and Sodom’s stuff.
- Sarah’s laughter was filled with mixed emotions possibly because up to this point it had been all about Abraham.
“Where is Sarah your wife” seems to be a question to Abraham
that she should have been present at the dinner. GOD knew where she was
physically. But why isn’t she here? Over the years, Abraham may have expressed “his”
relationship with GOD, but did not express hers. Abraham had left out the most
important component to the promise, namely his wife.
Sarah laughed inside herself when she overheard the news for herself. BUT GOD heard the laughter. I believe HE wasn’t scolding her when HE said “No, but you did laugh!”, rather HE was bringing her into the spotlight by speaking to both Abraham and Sarah. The focus was no longer only on Abraham, but on both of them. GOD would return "at the appointed time."
Challenge
- Why did GOD ask Abraham about Sarah’s laughter when providing this conversation to Moses?
- Have you ever felt left out of the promises of GOD while HE uses other people?
- Can you believe that GOD sees you and has a special part of HIS plan specifically for you?
