Sarah and Abraham Were Dead

IN Genesis 18:11 we read this:

“Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.”

Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in years. That means that they were decrepit, senile, tottering in their old age. Sarah had long since passed the age of childbearing, for we read in God’s Word that “the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.” In Hebrews 11:11 we read:

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.

What was true of Sarah was true of Abraham also. He too had passed the years of fertility, and was sexually impotent to produce a child in the natural course of nature. The verses we quoted include Abraham as being old and well-stricken in years; and referring again to our opening Scripture in Romans 4, we gain the following interesting information. Speaking of Abraham, Paul says in Romans 4:18-22:

“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’ ”

Here, then, is the divine record itself. Abraham’s body was dead; Sarah’s womb was dead. Unless a miracle happened, they could have no children. But God promised a son and Abraham believed God’s promise, even though it meant a miracle; and this faith saved him. The birth of Isaac was as great a miracle as the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom he was only a type. Abraham believed God’s Word concerning this son, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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