We can see laughter in God’s timing of Isaac’s birth. God had promised Abraham would have many descendants. When no child came for years, Sarah had her maid be a surrogate mother. Yet, that was not God’s will, and God promised Sarah would have a child. Genesis 17: 15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.” [1]
God had just renamed Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (Father of multitudes). Yet, Abraham laughed when God told him Sarah would have a child. When God visited Abraham and Sarah, He told them they would have a child within a year. Sarah laughed at that. Genesis 18: 12 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” [2]
God had named this miracle son even before conception. Genesis 17: 19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac.[3] This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “he laughs.” We think there may have been over twenty years between the first mention of many descendants and the birth of Isaac. That is a long time to wait, but it happened in God’s timing.
Humor in God’s Timing
God’s timing in our story demonstrated to all involved that He was responsible for the birth of Isaac. No human could take credit for this miracle baby. Not only had there been laughter during the prophecy of Isaac’s birth, but there was more laughter as a result of his birth.
Genesis 21: 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.
6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” [4]
It was laughable that a man aged 100 and a woman aged 90 had a baby. God does have a sense of humor. Plus, Isaac would have brought much joy to his parents.
God’s Timing in Our Lives
We can trust the timing and faithfulness of God. Isaiah 49: 8 This is what the Lord says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. [5] His timing is often not ours because He sees the big picture that we can’t. We must trust His goodness. He sent Jesus at just the right time for us.
Galatians 4: 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. [6]
To learn more about laughter in God’s timing, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/gods-faithfulness-in-our-lives
[1-6] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.