May the mumbling commence!
God comes through with His
promises… always. And the promise given
to Sarah and Abraham was no different.
Read from Peterson’s The Message:
God visited Sarah exactly as he said he would; God
did to Sarah what he promised: Sarah became pregnant and gave
Abraham a son in his old age, and at the very time
God had set. Abraham named him Isaac. When his son was
eight days old, Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded.
Abraham
was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.
Sarah said,
God has blessed me with laughter
and
all who get the news will laugh with me!
She also
said,
Whoever would
have suggested to
Abraham
that Sarah
would one day nurse
a baby!
Yet here I am! I’ve given the old man a son!
The
baby grew and was
weaned. Abraham threw a big party on the
day Isaac was weaned. (Genesis 21:1-8)
Now read the same passage from the
NIV translation:
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." The child grew and was weaned,
and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a
great feast. (Genesis 21:1-8)
God’s promise will come in due
time. God is punctual with His
promises. And that fact means grace for
us. I like the gracious nature of the
NIV at the beginning of this passage.
And I like the blessedness of the laughter in Peterson’s work. (Though
it is but one interpretation of the Hebrew that sometimes has a bitter connotation
to it.)
And I like the hope that was born
where there was no reasonable expectation of hope. I lament that Peterson edits this hope
out. In the NIV, Sarah speaks about
nursing children – plural. Peterson speaks
of only one baby – singular. Sarah’s
hope was rekindled, and she did not doubt that the Lord could give her more
children after Isaac.
That’s amazing grace! It’s no wonder that a great feast was held at
the weaning of Isaac. It was a big
shindig… a big party. It was unbridled
thanksgiving to God.
How appropriate on the week of
Thanksgiving, here in the US!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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