“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11-12 NIV)
“By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.” (Hebrews 11:11 NET)
So, here’s the question: Is verse 11 referring to Sarah’s faith, or to Abraham’s faith? Commentaries varied on the answer to that, so it’s a bit hard to be dogmatic. Although I will say that those authors who were considered the greater experts on the Greek (even by the others) universally agree that the Greek leans toward it being Abraham’s faith that is in view here.
The NIV offers this alternative translation for verse 11 in the footnotes: “By faith Abraham, even though he was too old to have children—and Sarah herself was not able to conceive—was enabled to become a father because he considered him to be faithful.…”
But, in fact, God’s promise of a child involved BOTH Abraham and Sarah. Genesis 18:10, “Then one of them said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’” Remember too that Sarah had previously tried to fulfill the promise under her own power by allowing Abraham to have a child with her servant Hagar.[1] But Ishmeal was not the son God had promised. God’s promise would not be fulfilled through him:
“So Abraham said to God, ‘May Ishmael live under your special blessing!’
“But God replied, ‘No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.’” (Genesis 17:18-21)
Indeed, in the fulness of time God would do the impossible. A man and a woman who were far, far beyond child-bearing age, described as “as good as dead” (Hebrews 11:12), would in fact conceive a son naturally. This would be the son of promise through whom the promise of God would be fulfilled. It was through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would be “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”
Both Abraham and Sarah would come to understand that the one who had made the promise was faithful. That things which seem to be (and in fact often are) absolutely impossible are possible with God.
But let’s take a moment to look at Sarah. What qualified her to conceive this child by faith? Donald Guthrie says, “according to Genesis she was more conspicuous as an example of doubt.”[2] Remember, she laughed when God promised a son, and F.F. Bruce says “the comment of God on her laughter (Gen. 18:13f.) makes it plain that it was the laughter of incredulity.…”[3]
John Calvin says of this verse,
“But it may seem strange that her faith is commended, who was openly charged with unbelief; for she laughed at the word of the angel as though it were a fable; and it was not the laugh of wonder and admiration, for otherwise she would not have been so severely reproved by the angel. It must indeed be confessed, that her faith was blended with unbelief; but as she cast aside her unbelief when reproved, her faith is acknowledged by God and commended. What then she rejected at first as being incredible, she afterwards as soon as she heard that it came from God, obediently received.”[4]
But Genesis 21:1 says that “the Lord was gracious to Sarah.” And 1 Peter 3:5-6 names Sarah as an example of a righteous woman: “For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” However weak her faith may have been, however she may have faltered during the long wait to fulfillment, Sarah became, by God’s power, the birth mother of the promised son!
It would be good to be reminded at this point that faith, true faith, is not something that we manufacture within ourselves. That is made clear in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:2 where Jesus is called the “archegos,” the author, originator, founder, of faith.[5] And the Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains, “Faith… is not something a person can produce; it is simply a trustful response that is itself evoked by the Holy Spirit.”[6]
Further, faith is only as strong, only as effective, only as sure, as the One upon whom that faith rests. The story of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-27. The strong foundation stood. The house, no matter how solidly it may have been built, fell when it was built upon sand.
Donald Guthrie says,
“In all spiritual encounters it is easier to doubt than to believe, and Sarah must be commended for her willingness to change her approach and to make way for the development of her faith. The conviction that God is faithful is one of the cardinal aspects of biblical doctrine. It is as strong in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. It is the foundation stone of the faith of God’s people.”[7]
God Himself tells us in (for example) Ezekiel 12:25, “But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay.” In some ways the context here is less important, because the same truth is found multiple places throughout Scripture.
Just know that if God has given a promise, no matter how “off the wall” it might be, no matter how extremely impossible it may seem to you, rest upon the firm promise of Scripture that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 29:26)!
Even a child born to a 90-year-old woman and her 99-year-old husband!
Go Deeper
- Relying on The Constant Companionship of The Holy Spirit – Package Offer Video Download Full Series
- Inspiring Faith in Your Children and Grandchildren – Package Offer
- The Evidence for the Historical Jesus – Updated Edition
- Although this was culturally acceptable, it clearly did not meet divine approval. ↑
- Donald Guthrie, Hebrews, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983), accessed at Logos. ↑
- F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964), p. 299. ↑
- John Calvin, “Commentary on Hebrews 11:11,” “Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible,” https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/hebrews-11.html. 1840-57. ↑
- I really wanted to use Ephesians 2:8-10 here, but theologians disagree as to whether it is salvation, the grace, or the faith that is the gift of God. We could most likely argue that all three are gifts, because none of them come from within us.
↑ - Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, © 2004, accessed at biblegateway.com. ↑
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Donald Guthrie, Hebrews. ↑
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