Birth of Isaac

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Welcome! To Our Ancient Future Story: Navigating Scripture Through the Eyes of Family. Where I share with you, Biblical stories, as a family member would tell a story around the dinner table. As children of God, we are a part of God’s family, and His family story has a lot of history. Each week, we will take one story and talk about it, the cultural, historical, geographical, and sociological impacts. We will be looking at these stories from the perspective of our ancestors, through the lens of ancient times, in hopes of learning more about our family. This is Our Ancient Future Story. 

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Welcome back to Our Ancient Future Story, I’m Vic, and I am so excited to share with you the story of the birth of Abraham’s promised son, Isaac! It has been 25 years since God first promised Abraham a son and today we are going to see God come through on his promise! It was a long wait, and Abraham wasn’t perfect along the way, as we discussed a couple episodes ago. But God, still reached out in love and redemption to give Abraham what was promised to begin with, a son of his own flesh and blood. 

So, grab your cup of coffee or something to drink, and get ready to hear the story of the birth of Isaac.

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We open our story today by looking back at last week’s episode when God not only promises a son to Abraham, but this time gives him a name. God came to talk to Abraham for the first time in 13 years, after Ishmael was born. He came promising all the same things, land, wealth, and of course descendants. Abraham who is now 99 years old, starts Laughing. Of course, this sounded absolutely insane! Abraham even says, “Shall a child be born to a man who is hundred years old? Shall Sarah who is Ninety bear a child?” But God, says “Yes, You and Sarah will have a son in your old age, and you shall call him Isaac. 

[Historical Fun Fact: Isaac means “he laughs” because Abraham laughed when God told him he was going to have a child in his old age]

 God continues, “I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you this time next year. Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the men of his household and circumcised them. 

Then, in the next chapter, what seems like hours after they have just been circumcised, Abraham is sitting by the Oak of Mamre (Ma’am Ree) likely recovering, when three strangers shows up at his tent. Abraham immediately jumps up to go speak with them. He offers to wash their feet, encourages them to join him sitting under the Oak of Mamre (Ma’am Ree), and gets up to prepare food for them. Abraham runs around the campsite gathering food for his guest. He first tells Sarah to take flour and make cakes, then he goes to his men (who also have just been circumcised by the way) and tells them to prepare a young calf. Then Abraham takes the curds and milk and the calf that was prepared and gave it to the men. Abraham then stands while they are eating. 

While the men are eating the look at Abraham and ask him, “where is Sarah?” Abraham says she is in the tent. Then the men give Abraham the news that Sarah will have a son at this time next year. Sarah close enough to overhear, starts laughing, because the idea of a woman at her age getting pregnant was completely insane. As soon as she laughed the men asked Abraham, “why did Sarah Laugh?” Like Abraham was supposed to know the answer. Then they say, “Is anything to impossible for the Lord? This time next year, Sarah will have a son.” Sarah tried to deny that she had laughed but the men called her out and said, “NO you did laugh.” Then Abraham walks the men out of the tent and towards Sodom to the road they were traveling. 

            Fast forward one year exactly, to Genesis 21 and Sarah does conceive and bare Abraham a son in his old age. Abraham names the boy Isaac and circumcises him on the 8th day in accordance with his covenant with Yahweh. Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 when the LORD fulfilled his promise of giving them a son. 

            And that is where our story ends for today, God coming through and fulfilling his promise he made Abraham 25 years earlier.  The promise took longer and looked much different than Abraham was expecting, but God was true to his word. Abraham had a son who would kick start the billions of descendants in God’s family. 

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 So, Let’s dig into our story. After solidifying the covenant of circumcision. God comes to Abraham for the fifth time, promising a child for Him and Sarah. But this time, there are a few things we should notice. First location, most of this story takes place at the Oak of Mamre (Ma’am Ree), in Hebron of Canaan at Abraham and Sarah’s home. They had settled in Hebron between Bethel and Beersheba after Lot and Abraham Separate back in Genesis 13. This Oak is sometimes referred to as the Oak of Abraham and it is only referred to three times in our Bible. In all three occasions the purpose is to place Abraham and Sarah’s location, so that the reader knows specifically where they were, since trees were often used as land markers for directions. 

(Historical Fun Fact: this specific tree is intentionally called “OAK” instead of tree because in the Ancient Near East there was a tree worshipping tradition used to encourage or exemplify fertility in the land. But here we see a distinct synonym used to avoid such comparison. The writer does not want us to connect Ancient Near Eastern Tree worship with what Abraham is doing here at the Oak. We see this synonym usage throughout the Bible like in Genesis 1:16, when God is creating the “greater Light and the lesser light”, We know he is referring to the Sun and the Moon, but in Hebrew, the words to say Sun and Moon are names of Canaanite gods for Sun and Moon. So, to avoid confusion of what is being spoken about the term “greater Light and the lesser light” are used instead. And this is what is happening here when describing Abraham and Sarah’s location.) 

This Oak tree still stands today, though it is now surrounded by iron fences and held up by metal beams. But visits to this beautiful tree are difficult and therefore few and far between. But I will put a picture of the tree on our social media page so that you can see it. 

I also think it is important to mention that the Oak of Abraham is in Hebron. Hebron is a very significant city in the lives of Abraham’s descendants. It is mentioned over 80 times in the Bible and is considered one of the 4 most holy places in Israel. It is known as the home to the Patriarch Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as well as the place where David was anointed King of Judah, after the death of King Saul and reigned there for the first few years of his Kingship before becoming King over Israel. 

Next interesting thing we should notice is in Genesis 18, God showing up at Abraham’s house in the form of three men. This is unique on its own, because why send three messengers, when technically Yahweh is Abraham’s personal God? But it is good to note how the Ancient Near East viewed travelers and people who lived along the trade routes. Remember Canaan is in the perfect location to be the central trade route from Egypt to the Middle East, everyone has to go through Canaan. Even to participate in the sea trade, one had to be in Canaan. So, there was a culture established and ingrained in every single person who lived along this route. There was a particular way one would interact and show hospitality to these travelers. 

See today in 2021 when we want to travel somewhere we will go online and find the best hotel/Airbnb/campsite or whatever would fit our budget. We look up all the reviews and see what the nightlife is like, if there is any shopping or sites to see. Then we book it with a credit card and go on our way knowing that we have a place to stay in that particular town or city. However, this was not the case in Abraham’s time. First off there were not many travelers that went from city to city. Most people were nomads or stayed in their village they didn’t go “see the world” as we would say. So, when a traveler would come through a town, they were kind of at the mercy of the people living in the town to provide shelter and food. If someone did not offer the traveler a room, they would often sleep in the town square or in a brothel (like the spies who Joshua sent into Jericho). 

The Social implication of Hospitality in the Ancient Near East was to show a warm welcome to those who were traveling. To extend such kindness would reflect high honor on one’s house. However, to refuse to take a guest into your house would be insulting to your guest and would set the precedent of hostility between both parties. Due to the Geographical Location of Abraham and Sarah’s home, it is possible that they were used to hosting at this point, after all they had been living in the middle of a trade route for 20+ years. But there are two things that make this counter unique and hospitality worth mentioning. 

#1 The Identity of these men. It is possible that they were just travelers passing through the region of Canaan. But it can also be argued that these men were angels and Yahweh himself, because Chapter 18 opens with “And the LORD (In all caps so Yahweh) appeared to him (Abraham) by the tree of Mamre (Ma’am Ree).” This is significant because prior to now God has only spoken to Abraham in a vision or audibly, but now there are people in front of him who know His personal God Yahweh. It is also significant because how one would host a deity was different than how one would host a human. 

When someone in the ancient Near East had company over at their house, they would do four things. Wash their feet, give them a place to rest, bring them food and drink, and walk them out. But when one hosted a deity, they would upkeep the Ziggurat, the place where the deity resided, by bringing food and drink to sustain the deity, while also protecting the place of their residency. 

(Historical Fun Fact: We often see this language of feeding Yahweh later in the Old Testament particularly when it comes to Israel’s offerings and sacrifices. But unlike these gods that heavily depended on humans to sustain them with food, water, shelter, and protection, there is NO implication that Yahweh is dependent on humanity at all. Instead, we see Yahweh using this language to relate to his people in a way that they can understand. When reading these passages about offerings and sacrifice we see it is less about “Feeding Yahweh” and more about experiencing a “Communal Presence” with God Almighty.) 

It is likely that at first Abraham did not know the identity of these men, so he treated them as he would any other visitor. He offered them water to wash their feet, he invited them to rest under the shade of the Oak tree, He ran all over his camp to get just a small amount of cakes, meat, and milk for the men, and whenever they had finished, he walked them out towards the city of Sodom and saw them on their way. 

And the second reason this encounter was unique was because of the timing. The rhythm of Genesis 17-18 seems to suggest that these encounters with God happened on the same day or at least relatively close together. So, Abraham heard from God, was circumcised, then had three strangers show up out of the blue. Now, I don’t know about you, but even if they were angels, I am inclined to think that after a circumcision, one would not be up for much company. It would usually take a few days to recover. So, how Abraham has enough strength to go running around his property gathering food for these men is beyond me. But remember to refuse to take in a guest who has come to your house would insult your guest and display discord between you. So, Abraham did what he had to do, he dropped everything, even recovery to welcome them, give them food, drink, conversation, and rest. 

The next thing we should notice about this passage is that this is the first time Sarah hears she will become pregnant. This is interesting because all the time before, God spoke to Abraham who then spoke to Sarah. But this time, Sarah heard the promise. She was old, well passed child-bearing years. She had basically given up on the idea that motherhood would happen to her. At this point she has accepted her life of shame, and of being baren and not being able to give Abraham a rightful heir. 

[Historical Fun Fact: A Woman’s value was based on their ability to have children. Women who were able to get pregnant had a higher standing in society than those who were unable to get pregnant. Women are taught from childhood that all they can ever hope to achieve is to be a mother. But, for those women who were unable to have a child brought disgrace on themselves, their husband and both their extended families. Because they were unable to continue the family line.] 

Sarah was barren all her life. She was 65 years old when Yahweh first called Abraham. I’m sure the idea of having a child seemed wild and impossible then. But here she is 24 years later and still no child. So, when she overhears the visitors say, “this time next year Sarah will have a son”, she laughs. 

Right then, the visitors asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the LORD? Sarah will have a son.” When Sarah, tries to defend herself, saying “I did not laugh.” The visitors said very sternly, “You did laugh.” And we feel the air between them gets really awkward. And then the visitors left.

Fast forward exactly a year later, Sarah has given birth to a son in her old age. Abraham named him Isaac, just as Yahweh had instructed. We have to take a moment and talk about why the name Isaac was chosen. His name means “he laughs” which we as the reader are meant to assume that it is referring to Abraham’s reaction to hearing that he will have a son. But it is interesting to see laughter surround Isaac in the earliest years of his life. Everyone in this story laughs at the absurdity that Abraham and Sarah will have a child. Abraham and Sarah both laugh when they hear the news. But once Isaac is born Sarah’s tone changes and she says, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” (Genesis 21:6) Here we see laughter meaning joy! 

Yahweh got the last laugh! Because God had not only fulfilled the promise that was once laughed at, but He has now given them joy through the laughter. What everyone thought was impossible He made possible. And in return Abraham and Sarah experienced the reverence-y of God through their Joy and laughter. 

And when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, in accordance with His covenant with Yahweh. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. That is exactly 25 years after God first called Abraham and promised him a son. 

And that is where our story stops for today. God establishing his everlasting covenant with Abraham. Come back next time because we will discuss the biggest Test God puts on Abraham, to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice before the LORD.

But before we go, I want to close our time together by reading the scripture from which our story comes from today in Genesis 17,18, and 21. I hope that as you listen to this chapter being read that you will embrace all that we have learned, and that this passage will be illuminated for you. Let’s Read.

“God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Abraham fell facedown; he 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?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 

 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. 

The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” So, Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.” Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said.  Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” 

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 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 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 laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” 

When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” Fast Forward 1 year Later:

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

(Genesis 17:15-18:19; 21:1-7)

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Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Our Ancient Future Story, I hope that you really enjoyed it! This episode was written and produced by Vic Harmon. Executive Produced by Amanda Gilliam. Music is Embarking on Adventure by Evan MacDonald. Please Subport the show by subscribing and Rating us. And Be sure follow us on Instagram and Facebook @ourancientfuturestory.

See you next time! Bye!