It is difficult for us today to imagine what life would have been like during the time of Abraham. For example, how could anyone believe that Sarah, at age 90 (cp. Genesis 17:17), was attractive enough for a king to raid Abraham’s campsite and take her by force (Genesis 20:2), not to mention, how could anyone at age ninety bear children? If we would consider age 50, today, to be normally beyond childbearing age, then Sarah, at age ninety in her day, would be like a woman today at age 70 becoming pregnant and bearing a child! Furthermore, would a woman at age 70 be considered attractive enough to any male, who is contextually much younger than she, to want to make her his wife or mistress? Such things simply seem out of the question, ridiculous, perhaps even comical. However, that’s the point! It was also ridiculous to believe such things in the time of Abraham and Sarah. Nevertheless, God made them happen, because he could—he is God after all!
We are told in Genesis 21:1 that the Lord visited Sarah “as he had said” and the Lord did to Sarah “as he had spoken.” In other words, Sarah became pregnant at about 90 years of age. It was in Genesis 17:15-17 that the Lord first told Abraham, Sarah would bear a child, and he would be called Isaac. It was at that time that God made a covenant of circumcision with Abram (Genesis 27:7-14), and he changed his name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) and Sarai’s name to Sarah (Genesis 17:15). In other words, God named everyone at the same time. Isaac, laughter, was so named, because Abraham laughed, when he heard that Sarah would bear a child (Genesis 17:15-17), and both he and his wife were renamed to reflect, what the Lord intended to do, but it didn’t yet appear to be so.
Moreover, the Lord reiterated his promise just prior to his judgment upon Sodom and the cities of the plain (Genesis 18:10; cp. Genesis 19), after which Abraham moved from Bethal to Gerar (Genesis 20:1). It was just after Abraham had moved to Gerar that Abimelech had stolen Sarah away from Abraham (Genesis 20:2). Thus, Abimelech did evil, not only by stealing Sarah, but he stole her very near the time, when the Lord intended to fulfill his promise to Abraham. Therefore, it became necessary for her immediate return, and the Lord wouldn’t be patient with any delay. Abimelech was certainly a dead man, if he refused to deliver Sarah back to Abraham!
Therefore, just after Sarah’s return, she became pregnant and was delivered of Isaac, Abraham’s son, at the set time, which God had told him (Genesis 21:2-3). After eight days, Abraham took Isaac and circumcised him according to his covenant with the Lord, and he was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:4-5). In her joy, Sarah proclaimed that the Lord made her laugh, and all those who would hear of Isaac’s birth would laugh with her (Genesis 21:6), for who would have thought that a woman at the age of ninety would give birth to a healthy baby boy? Such a thought, such a tale, would cause any serious thinking person to laugh, because of what the Lord had done (Genesis 21:7).
This tale can also be superimposed upon Mary, the espoused wife of Joseph. Many jokes are made by unbelievers concerning the birth of Jesus. It would cause anyone to laugh at such a thing. How could Mary become pregnant without Joseph, without a man? For the heckler, such a thing couldn’t be more than a joke, but, as for the believer, he laughs for joy!
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