11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
11 By faith Sarah herself [emphatic]
Sarah, the wife of Abraham, went without a child until her late 80s. It took great faith on her part to believe that she could bear a child at that age. Sarah was almost 90 years old at the birth of her first child (Ge 17:17).
also [even] received strength to [for the purpose of] conceive seed,
Sarah was barren for a long time (Ge 11:30). However, by faith she received the ability to have seed deposited in her body. Even a doubter walked by faith after time.
and she bore a child when she was past the age,
This happened far beyond her normal age for conceiving.
because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
Sarah began as a doubter but ended as a person of faith. Sarah was incredulous when she overheard God’s promise to Abraham that she would bear a son (Ge 18:11–12). She asked, “How could a woman of my age conceive a baby?”
God in His grace countered her incredulity with the words “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Those words by God must have eventually pricked her heart to claim that promise from God.
The Lord honored her request in Genesis 21:1. Thirteen years later, Sarah matured to the point where she became an example of believing women (1 Pe 3:6). By faith Sarah believed God’s promise that Abraham would not only have a child but that he would be the father of a great nation.
PRINCIPLE:
Faith conquers doubt.
APPLICATION:
It is always easier to doubt than to believe God. Sarah’s first impulse was to doubt she would ever have a child. She was a woman of incredulity and unbelief at an earlier point in her life. However, it takes strong faith to come out of doubt like Sarah. Sarah’s faith contributed to the advancement of the nation Israel.
Earlier in Sarah’s life, she took things in her own hands by recommending to Abraham that he have a son by Hagar, her maid (Ge 16:1-4). She did not look to God to have a child but devised her own system of having a child. That scheme produced Ishmael, the first of those hostile to the Jews, the Arabs.
Sometimes there is a delay of walking by faith in some people. It took some time for Sarah to believe God’s promise. She needed to learn the lesson of Isaiah 40:31 where the person who waits on the Lord will renew their strength. Eventually she judged Him faithful who promised.
