Can you believe she laughed?
She was pushing 100 years old and God made a specific promise to her. He told Sarah that within a year she was going to be a mom—even though she was barren and well beyond the normal age for motherhood. Upon hearing this, she laughed (Gen. 18:10-14). Then after being confronted by God about her response she denied it; but God persisted, “No, but you did laugh.” (Gen. 18:15).
God made a great promise but Sarah couldn’t believe it. She laughed in the face of such an unbelievable promise.
This isn’t the end of the story. A year later God makes good on his promise:
“The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.” (Gen. 21:1–2)
Just as God said (Gen. 17:16, 19, 21; 18:14) he came and visited her and gave her a son. The promised son has come.
So, what happens? Sarah laughed again.
“And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”” (Gen. 21:6–7)
This time it’s different. Whereas before Sarah laughed with doubt now she laughed in amazement. God brings her from mocking to marveling. He shows his powerful grace, mercy, patience, and love for foolish doubters like us.
I remember as an unbeliever making sport among the Christians whom God put around me. On one particular occasion I was doing my best to tempt a believer into acting out and losing it. With self-control, he calmly said, “Raymond, God is not mocked.” Within a year I was arrested by the sovereign grace of God and bowed the knee to King Jesus. I went from laughing in doubt to laughing in amazement. God brings mockers like me to marvel.
In Sarah’s case she has an immediate reminder of her mocking. The name of her baby boy is Isaac, which means “he laughs.” Here in this narrative when God fulfills his promise to Abraham and Sarah the whole situation is enveloped in laughter. However, the memory of her foolish mocking fades away in the bright light of God’s faithfulness. The occasion of laughter (the birth of Isaac) is a monument of God’s faithfulness that overshadows Sarah’s faithlessness. While her mocking laughter is not completely gone, it fades into the background to providentially point her and us to her marveling laughter from God’s faithfulness.
While the situation certainly is not the same, surely you can relate to the data points. God overcomes our petulance with his patience. His faithfulness overrules our faithlessness. He takes mockers like you and me and makes us marvel at him. Praise God that former mockers stand amazed, marveling at such a God! May this give us humility before God and hope in our evangelism.
