By Faith: Sarah (Genesis 18:9-15)

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We are talking about stepping out in faith.

Last week we talked about Abraham. Now, we transition to Sarah.

J.D. Greear writes:

What will you do when you realize that the foundations of your life aren’t as permanent as you thought?

Before D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones became one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century, he had been a promising young medical doctor, trained at the best British medical school and the protégé of the most well-known surgeon at St. Bart’s Hospital in London. Just as he was reaching the apex of his medical career, one of his colleagues, another rising star, was dating a young woman who unexpectedly got sick and died.

A few days later, the man appeared at Lloyd-Jones’ door and asked to sit with him by the fire. They sat there for two hours, in silence, as the man kept his gaze on the fire. Lloyd-Jones’ friend had seen the joy of his life taken from him—and he had no response.

This encounter changed the trajectory of Lloyd-Jones’ life. Seeing the vanity of all human greatness, he left medicine to become a preacher, reasoning that even the best medicine, valuable as it is, cannot stop death.

Our perceptions and best wisdom are always in flux. Everything is crumbling, no matter what it is. Tim Keller once said that many seek the Lord after realizing their “cities” have no foundation. Like Lloyd-Jones’ friend, they encounter some crisis so acute that they aren’t equipped to handle it. It feels like the ground itself is giving way under their feet.

We all need a city with a lasting foundation. Hebrews 11 tells us that’s what Abraham realized (Hebrews 11:10). When God blessed him, he called Abraham away from what was familiar and secure to an unknown place where the only thing Abraham had left was to depend on him. Abraham knew all about the impermanence of this life.[1]

And… Sarah was with him. Sarah had been by his side. So, let’s talk about Sarah.

Let’s read:

Hebrews 11:11–12 (ESV)

11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

  1. Let’s put this passage in context.
    1. In verses 1-8, Abraham receives visitors (Genesis 18:1-8).
    2. The Lord himself and two angels visit Abraham near Hebron (Genesis 18:1-3).[2]
    3. Then we see Abraham ministering to his heavenly visitors (Gen. 18:4–8): Abraham prepares a meal of veal, cheese curds, milk, and bread for his visitors.[3]
  2. Now, we see the reaction of Sarah (Genesis 18:9-15).
    1. The details (Gen. 18:9–10): In her tent, Sarah overhears the Lord’s promise concerning the birth of Isaac.[4]
    2. Genesis 18:9-10: 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
    3. Now the angels and the 3rd man, likely the preincarnate Christ, ask him where Sarah is.
    4. Sarah was listening at the tent door.
    5. Verse 11 says they were old and advanced in years. Sarah was past childbearing (literally, the manner of women).
    6. Sarah laughs in unbelief (verses 11-12):
    7. Genesis 18:11-12: 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
    8. Her laugh is a laugh in disbelief, a lack of faith.[5] It says that she laughed to herself.
    9. Keil and Delizsch: Abraham also had laughed at this promise (Gen. 17:17), and without receiving any reproof. For his laughing was the joyous outburst of astonishment; Sarah’s, on the contrary, the result of doubt and unbelief, which had to be broken down by reproof, and, as the result showed, really was broken down, inasmuch as she conceived and bore a son, whom she could only have conceived in faith (Heb. 11:11).[6]
    10. It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” V[7]T 24 (1974): 454–73.[8]
    11. However, Timothy Keller makes the case that she is referring to sexual pleasure. He shares: What does this pleasure mean?” Right away I used to think (and you probably would think too) she is saying, “I am very old. I’m past the age of childbearing. Am I supposed to have the pleasure of a son? That’s not what she thinks. That’s not what she is saying, because the word for pleasure is sexual pleasure. Right away what she thinks about it is the fact is, “Abraham and I aren’t even having sex.”[9]
    12. NET: Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.[10]
    13. Is anything too hard for the Lord (verses 13-14):
    14. Genesis 18:13-14:
    15. 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
    16. I love how the Lord questions; this is the Lord.
    17. The Lord asks why she laughs.
    18. The denial: in fear, Sarah denies that she laughed in unbelief.
    19. Genesis 18:15: 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
    20. I love how the Lord responds, “But you did laugh!”
  3. Applications of faith:
    1. We all must trust God with our children and grandchildren as Sarah did.
    2. First, notice that the Bible does not gloss over the sins of the people. Sarah had faith issues as far as her being the mother. But she did trust God’s major plan.
    3. If you go back to Genesis 12, we read that Abraham was to be the father of nations. Sarah trusted God but did not know how this was to happen. In Genesis 17:17, we find out that this was to happen through her womb. Sarah, being 90 years old, was to have a child. 
    4. But we can look ahead and see that Sarah’s child was born in Genesis 21:2 and named Isaac, which means “Laughter.”
    5. This was somewhere around 2000 B.C., and then when Hebrews was penned some 2000 years later, Sarah is remembered for her faith.
    6. She trusted God.
    7. Sarah had watched everyone else raise children, and now it was her turn. The Bible says in verse 14: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”
    8. How are we doing with trusting the Lord? How are we doing with trusting the Lord with our children on a day-to-day basis? How about even after they are grown?
    9. In that manner, we are best to remember that God’s faithfulness is unending and we must trust Him, who can do all things, with our children.
    10. Some Scripture:
    11. Psalm 89:1-2 (and the rest of the Psalm) are about God’s faithfulness.
    12. Psalm 91:1-4 compares God’s faithfulness to an eagle sheltering us under His Wings.
    13. Psalm 100:5 is about God’s faithfulness.
    14. Psalm 108:4: God’s faithfulness reaches to the skies.
    15. Psalm 143:1: O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. (from New International Version)
  4. How do we have faith? How do we trust God?
    1. Pray and talk to God. We must live with Jesus.
    2. Have silent time before the Lord. Read Scripture and listen. Meditate/ruminate on passages. Worship the Lord.
    3. Prayer partners are important (Ecc. 4:12; Prov. 27:17).
    4. Lean on your church family for help.
    5. Read testimonies of those who stood strong in faith in difficult times.
    6. Pray for a faith that is head and heart.
    7. Go to the Bible and read the Scripture passages on faithfulness.
    8. Talk with a small group or prayer partner, or me. Talk with a Christian counselor.
    9. For those going through tough times, I would welcome the chance to listen and pray with you.

I have used this story before, but I believe it is worth sharing again.

I love the story of the lumberjack who was preparing to cut down every tree in a certain section of a mountain forest. Just before he began, he noticed a bird building its nest atop one of the trees. Not wanting to harm the bird or its young, the lumberjack took a mallet and pounded on the base of the tree until the bird flew to another tree and began to build its nest there. But since the lumberjack knew that tree was coming down too, he repeated the process with that tree. So the bird moved to a third tree, which the lumberjack knew was coming down also, so he did it again.

He knew that every tree in this part of the forest was coming down, so the lumberjack and the bird repeated this dance a half dozen times, until the bird, highly annoyed, flew away and built its nest on the side of a rock face. The bird probably never understood why the lumberjack attacked each tree he attempted to build his nest in, but the lumberjack’s motive was not cruelty, but compassion. The lumberjack knew that every tree in the forest was about to come down, and he wanted the bird to build its nest in a place axes couldn’t touch it.[11]

  1. What to Do When the World Around You Crumbles. February 3, 2025; By J.D. Greear.

    https://jdgreear.com/what-to-do-when-the-world-around-you-crumbles/ ↑

  2. H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ge 18:1–3. ↑

  3. Ibid, Ge 18:4–8. ↑

  4. Ibid, Ge 18:9–10. ↑

  5. Dr. Rydelnik, Open Line on Moody Radio 08.14.2021 ↑

  6. Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 146. ↑

  7. VT Vetus Testamentum (a journal) ↑

  8. Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ge 18:12. ↑

  9. Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013). ↑

  10. Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ge 18:14. ↑

  11. What to Do When the World Around You Crumbles. February 3, 2025; By J.D. Greear.

    https://jdgreear.com/what-to-do-when-the-world-around-you-crumbles/ ↑

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