Genesis 18:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”

NIV: Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'

NASB: Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'

CSB: Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son."

NLT: Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'

KJV: Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

NKJV: Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Eavesdropping on a conversation, Sarah hears God, temporarily in human form, predict that she will have a child soon. Given her lifelong barrenness, and the fact that she and her husband were both over 90 years old, her immediate response is to laugh in disbelief.

Gently chiding that reaction, The Lord asks a rhetorical question of Abraham and Sarah, demanding a one-word answer: "no." Anything which power can do, God's power can accomplish. God is calling Sarah and Abraham to believe that He would do a seemingly impossible thing for them.

The Lord's question is one that resonates for every person who struggles to trust God in difficult times. God gives great and precious promises to those who trust in Christ (2 Peter 1:4). Often, it feels quite unlikely that such things as God's empowerment, His comfort, and even eternal life could ever happen for us. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

To emphasize that nothing is too hard for Him, the Lord repeats His promise once more: Sarah will have a son when the Lord visits them at "the appointed time" the following year.

Genesis 18:9–15 describes the moment when Sarah overhears a prediction that she will soon bear a child. Given that she is 90 years old, and her husband is approaching 100, Sarah's first response to this is to laugh in disbelief. The person speaking, however, is actually God in human form, and He gently reminds her that such things are well within His awesome power.

Abraham hurries to offer respect and hospitality to three men who appear near his tent. Over the course of the chapter, the men reveal themselves to be the Lord and two angels in human form. As He had told Abraham in the previous chapter, the Lord now reveals to Sarah that she will have a son within the year. Later, the Lord poetically says He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham's nephew Lot lives. Abraham asks, and the Lord agrees, not to destroy Sodom if God finds 10 righteous people there.

God appeared to Abraham in the previous chapter revealing, in part, that Sarah would bear Abraham a son within a year's time. Now the Lord appears again, this time in human form and accompanied by two disguised angels. He reveals to Sarah the same promise. She laughs, and the Lord insists that even her age isn't too hard for Him to overcome. Next the Lord reveals to Abraham that He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham receives the Lord's promise not to destroy Sodom (where Abraham's nephew lives) if He finds 10 righteous people in the city. Unfortunately, the city is beyond saving, and the next chapter details its utter destruction.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/10/2024 5:31:23 AM