GENESIS 17
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarahshall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will giveyou a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
– Genesis 17:15-21
GENESIS 17 SARAI’S NAME CHANGE & PROMISE OF ISAAC
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
Sarai was included as part of God’s covenant with Abraham,
So, her name was also changed by God from Sarai to Sarah
Because Abraham was to be the father of many nations
She will also have the title “mother of many nations.”
To fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, Sarah will be blessed with a son
Despite her old age of ninety, she was still going to bear a child
Abraham rejoiced knowing that there’s nothing impossible with God
He fell on his face to praise the Lord whom he knew will proceed with his plan.
In this account, Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah as part of God’s covenant with Abraham. Since he was to be father of many nations, his wife Sarah was to be his partner to bear his offspring. Even though Hagar bore Abraham’s son Ishmael, it was through Sarah’s own child Isaac that God was going to establish his covenant. What is so amazing in this covenant is how God made it possible for her to bear a child at the age of ninety. Abraham rejoiced and laughed knowing that his God can do even the impossible.
REFLECTION
- How is Abraham’s faith evident in this account?
