Our word for today is one of the most common human responses found all over the world and throughout history. צָחַק laugh, joke. It is used 13 times in the Old Testament, it is used 4 times in our chapter today Genesis chapter 18. Genesis 18:10-15 Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah צָחַק laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah צָחַק laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not צָחַק laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did צָחַק laugh.” This isn’t the first person to laugh at this crazy idea of a hundred-year-old man and a ninety-year-old woman having a baby. Genesis 17:17 Abraham fell facedown; he צָחַק laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” This is a normal human response when someone proposes the impossible from our perspective based on our own life experiences. We see this when Jesus raises the synagogue leader’s daughter from the dead. Matthew 9:23-26 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region. This miracle was recorded in 3 of the 4 gospels showing how important it is. I like the added detail from Luke 8:53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. A lot of times when God makes promises to us, we just laugh because they just seem too good to be true in this fallen messed up corrupted place. But the good news is that when God makes a promise, we can count on it happening in his time. Jesus encourages us to wait patiently for God to do what he has promised even if it takes most of our lives on this earth into our eternal life. Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Even when it seems impossible and seems like forever God will eventually turn our time of weeping into a time of true laughter. Abraham and Sarah our great examples of faith to us. They waited a long, long, long time on God to bring what he promised into their reality. And God has such a great sense of humor that he names their long awaited promise of a baby boy … well that will be a word for another day.
