Every Woman's Bible Genesis sampler - Flipbook - Page 42
GENESIS 21
32
could have children. 18 For the Lord had caused all
the women to be infertile because of what happened
with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.
The Birth of Isaac
The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah
exactly what he had promised. 2 She became
pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham
in his old age. This happened at just the time God
had said it would. 3And Abraham named their son
Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham
21
circumcised him as God had commanded. 5Abraham
was 100 years old when Isaac was born.
6And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter.* All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7Who
would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a
baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”
Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away
When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned,
Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham
8
21:6 The name Isaac means “he laughs.”
21:1-2 Twenty-five years after God first promised Abraham a
son (12:1-4), and one year after the angels visited Abraham and
Sarah (18:1-15), Sarah gave birth. The intervening years had
been filled with difficulty, and the wait was hard, but God kept
his promise.
Come Close
21:6 The name Isaac (yitskhaq in Hebrew) means “he laughs.”
Sarah’s wordplay showed that the laughter of unbelief when the
promise was given (18:12) had changed to the laughter of joy at
its fulfillment. Sarah knew that everyone who had heard would
laugh with her, rejoicing at the news. Hebrews 11:11 commends
her faith in God’s promise despite her struggle with unbelief.
FEARFUL: GOD IS STRONGER STILL
SCRIPTURE CONNECTION: GENESIS 20:1-18
My dad has a letter from his sister, dated
1974. My favorite part is that it’s in fancy,
almost whimsical cursive. But she was a
no-nonsense gal. She graduated college
at a time when many women didn’t go to
college. And she was going to make sure
my dad got an education too.
In many parts of the world today, women
are not offered a full education. Even in
Western culture, we are still gaining ground
in elevating women’s voices. In the ancient
world, Sarah’s voice would have been mostly
unheard, while Abraham’s voice would have
rung influential and powerful.
My strongest place is
trusting in the one true God.
Sarah might have felt fearful and helpless as she was introduced to the pagan
king Abimelech with the lie that she was
Abraham’s sister. But even as Abraham’s fear
held Sarah captive, God could free her still.
God kept Abimelech from touching Sarah.
And Sarah’s faith could grow stronger as she
witnessed God’s deliverance.
There are a lot of strong women out there,
and the ability to trust in God in the face of
mistreatment is an important demonstration
of strength.
REFLECT “That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you
touch her.” GENESIS 20:6
God, help me trust you when I feel helpless
and voiceless. Make me strong, knowing
you are a strong, trustworthy God. Amen.
CONSIDER “Man and woman are
designed to rule together. Exclusion of
women is the opposite of God’s design. To
exclude women is to exclude half of God’s
creation means of ruling the earth. This
means that we must include and celebrate
the influence and presence of women in
all realms of life. Women should be sought
after and encouraged, educated and
equipped, taught, learned with and learned
from, celebrated and needed as essential
partners in the shared task” ELYSE FITZPATRICK AND ERIC SCHUMACHER, Worthy:
Celebrating the Value of Women.
WHITNEY PUTNAM is the senior director of
women’s events and marketing at New Life
Ministries. She is an overall joy-chaser and is
often found dancing in her kitchen.
