God triumphs over death and barrenness.
Is anything impossible with God? In the book of Hebrews 11:11–12 is a beautiful and tender one. It is also filled with poetic irony and “true love.” Sarah, by faith, conceives a child (Isaac, whose name poetically means “laughter”). What is truly “inconceivable” is the fact that when Sarah conceives Isaac, she is an old woman. The way of women had ceased to be with her (Gen. 18:11). If that were not enough to startle us, Abraham himself is one hundred years old when he and Sarah conceive Isaac together (21:5). This is truly inconceivable. But again, is anything impossible with God? Of course, God can do whatever He pleases, as long as it does not contradict His righteous nature. Yet the narrative sets a curious stage. In Genesis 12, God began to promise Abraham children. He echoed that promise in Genesis 15 and 17, yet it is not until many years later that Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah. In the intermittent years, during a lonely stage of barrenness, Abraham and Sarah’s faith w...