Sometimes in our humanity, we have difficulty in understanding God's assessment of His children.
God called David "a man after mine own heart" (1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Kings 11:4; Acts 13:22).
David is also called a "patriarch" and a "prophet" (Acts 2:29, 30), but we remember that David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband. Then the question is raised, "How could he be a man after God's heart?" God looks on the heart and sees the whole picture while we see a couple of events.
1 Samuel 13:13: And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast
not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee:
for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
1 Kings 11:4 : For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned
away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his
God, as was the heart of David his father.
Acts 13:22: And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be
their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son
of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Acts 2:29, 30: 29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to
him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ
to sit on his throne;
Peter was an apostle who is presented a loyal servant of Jesus Christ and a leader in the early church, but we remember that he denied the Lord three times.
Thomas was an apostle of Jesus Christ, but the thing which most people remember about Thomas is that for a while he doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ until he saw the hands and side of Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews listed Sarah as a person whose faith is an illustration of the statement in Hebrews 10:38, "The just shall live by faith." Sometimes we wonder why she is listed when we 193
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remember some events in her life.
SARAH'S CHALLENGE
The promises of God.
The promise was that in Abraham's seed the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Her challenge was whether the promise to Abraham included her (Genesis 16:1-5). The specific promise concerning Sarah was when she was 89 years old (Genesis 17:15-21). Then there was the repeated promise concerning Sarah (Genesis 18:9-15).
Genesis 12:1-3: 1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I
will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed.
Genesis 16:1-5: 1Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an
handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said unto Abram,
Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto
my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to
the voice of Sarai. 3And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian,
after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her
husband Abram to be his wife. 4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived:
and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into
thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes:
the LORD judge between me and thee.
Genesis 17:15-21: 15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou
shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16And I will bless
her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother
of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17Then Abraham fell upon his face,
and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an
hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18And
Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19And God said,
Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac:
and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with
his seed after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have
blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21But my covenant
will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the
next year.
Genesis 18:9-15: 9And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said,
Behold, in the tent. 10And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to
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the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in
the tent door, which was behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and
well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I
have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13And the LORD said unto Abraham,
Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am
old? 14Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return
unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15Then Sarah
denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst
laugh.
The peril of growing old.
It caused her to think she could not bear children (Genesis 16:1-5). There was the deadness of Sarah's womb (Hebrews 11:12; Romans 4:16-19). Caused her to laugh when she heard the angel of the LORD say that she would have a son (Genesis 18:9-15). Why was Sarah rebuked for laughing at being told that she would have a son and Abraham was not rebuked when he laughed (Cf. Genesis 17:15-21 and Genesis 18:9-15? Genesis 17:17: "Then Abraham fell upon his face,
and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old?
And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" Abraham's laughter was accompanied by the deepest act of reverence. His question was not for information. It was an exclamatory question of Joy. See Romans 4:18-21. John 8:56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw
it, and was glad." When Sarah laughed, (Gen. 18:12), there was no such act of reverence. She
"laughed within herself." Then she denied that she laughed (Genesis 18:12-15).
Since Sarah was 89 years old, it may have been a shock and a great surprise that she would give birth to a son. But when she realized that this was indeed a promise from God, all doubt vanished.
It is affirmed in Hebrews 11:11 that Sarah "received strength" through faith. At the feast of rejoicing when Isaac was weaned, Sarah said, "God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." To laugh "within herself was one thing; but it was quite another thing to be
"made to laugh" by God.
SARAH'S COURAGE
It was her reminder of God's power (Genesis 18:13, 14). It was the response of faith to God's Word (Hebrews 11:11). Sarah "received strength to conceive seed" (Genesis 17:15-21; 18:9-15; Genesis 21:6).
Genesis 21:6: And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear
will laugh with me.
SARAH'S CONCLUSION
Hebrews 11:11c ,".. .she judged Him faithful that promised."
God's Word was heard (Genesis 18:14).
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God's Word was kept (Genesis 21:1, 2).
Genesis 21:1, 2: 1And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD
did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a
son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
As He said (Verse l). Which God had spoken (Verse 2).
Sarah's testimony
Genesis 21:6: "And Sarah said, God hath made to laugh, so that all that hear will
laugh with me."
Hebrews 11:11: "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive
seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged
Him faithful who had promised."
This is what Abraham had done.
Romans 4:20, 21: "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that what He
had promised, He was able also to perform."
Conclusion
God's children are never presented as being perfect in the flesh. They are truthfully presented with all the same frailties and infirmities which we all have.
That is why we have a record of their lives.
Romans 15:4: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for
our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have
hope."
We must look away from the "great crowd of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) unto Him Who is the Author of their faith (Hebrews 12:2) and the Giver of strength.
God spoke, and as soon as Sarah understood the meaning of what God said, she "judged Him
faithful Who had promised." When God's faithfulness was realized, Sarah could say "God hath
made me laugh."
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