Bulletin Articles
Why did that one get written down?
Have you ever come across some Scripture and think, “why did that one get written down?” One such passage, for me, takes place in Genesis 18, when the LORD and two angels come to visit Abraham. This isn’t any normal visitation, but the one when the LORD promises Abraham and Sarah they will have a child within a year of the LORD’s visit.
It all began with Abraham sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. Suddenly, three men were standing by him, and Abraham instantly recognizes them for who they were. He leaps up to bow down, and then asks them to stay for food, to which they agree. While Abraham is serving them a fine meal, they ask where Sarah is, to which he replies, “There, in the tent.”
The LORD then says that when He comes back to visit within the year, Sarah will have a son. Sarah, who was listening from the tent, couldn’t hold back a laugh, because after all, how can two old, dried-up folks have a baby?
Genesis 18:13-15
But the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’
Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”
Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.
But He replied, “No, you did laugh.”
Of all the conversations Sarah had in her life, very few are recalled, and this is one of them. One where she laughs at what the LORD said.
Why is this one recorded in Scripture? Firstly, this is precisely how their son got his name—“He Laughs”—is what Isaac means. Secondly, there’s a lot to laugh about in this life, thanks to God. But one thing we need to remember is that when God made promises—even seemingly impossible and laughable ones—He took them seriously, and so should we.
