The Birth of Isaac Part 2 of 2

by John Lowe
(Laurens SC, USA)

7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

There are some very remarkable truths here that we need to lay hold of. First of all, the birth of Isaac was a miraculous birth. It was contrary to nature. In the fourth chapter of Romans, Paul writes that Abraham “. . . considered not his own body now dead . . . neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb’ (Rom. 4:19). Out of death, God brings forth life: this is a miraculous birth. We need to call attention to the fact God did not flash the supernatural birth of Christ on the world as something new. He began to prepare men for it, and therefore, way back here at the birth of Isaac, it must be a birth that they really have nothing to do with.

Sarah held in her arms God’s gift to the world. It was an unforgettable moment of thanksgiving joy, and sacred dedication. This little baby filled Sarah with wonder. God’s blessings to his covenant people far surpass both their own and other’s thoughts and expectations; who would imagine that God would do so much for those who deserve so little, for those who are even more deserving of His displeasure (Eph. 3:20{3]; 2 Sam. 7:18-19{4]). Who would have thought that God would send His Son to die for us, His Spirit to sanctify us, and His angels to watch over us? Who could have imagined that such great sins would be pardoned, such inferior services accepted, and such worthless worms taken into covenant and communion with the great and holy God?



Scripture Reference and Special Notes

{1] (Ge. 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?

{2] (Ps. 119:74)They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

{3] (Eph. 3:20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

{4] (2 Sam. 7:18-19) Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?

{5] (Ge. 12:1-3) Now 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: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed .

{6] (Ge. 17:7) And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

{7] (Ge. 13:15-17) For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

{8] (Ge. 15:4) And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

{9] (Ge. 17:19) And 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.

{10] (Heb. 11:8-11) By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 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.

{11] (Heb. 10:36) You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

{12] (Rom. 4:17-21) As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

{13] (Eph. 3:20-21) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.