Today’s passage tells of how God spoke to Abram, promising him the family he and Sarai wanted, instructing him on the rite of circumcision, and issuing them with new names – Abraham and Sarah.

Two things in particular stand out to us from this passage. The first is God giving the couple their new names. Throughout the Bible, a new name seems to show the start of something: when Jacob became Israel, it pointed to his sons, who would become the twelve tribes of God’s nation. When Saul became Paul, it demonstrated a new start for him as a disciple of Jesus rather than a persecutor. When Simon became Peter, it was a declaration of his faith near the start of his time following Jesus. In a similar way, after renaming Abram and Sarai, God promises that the start of the family line that will bless the whole world in the birth of Jesus.

The second point we can take from this is the fact Abraham, and later Sarah, laugh at the apparent absurdity of God’s promise. Abraham’s citation of their age as a barrier to childbearing is, to be fair, perfectly realistic from his point of view. It can be assumed that medical science was not quite at the same level as it is now, however, the people of the time could not have failed to notice that women ceased to bear children at a particular age. On top of this, we have a huge number of miracles such as these to support our belief; Abraham did not have this advantage. As far as he was concerned, it was not possible for Sarah to have a child. Therefore, his laughter is a perfectly natural reaction. However, God does not hold their doubt against them; He blesses them with a child, whom He instructs them to name ‘Isaac’, meaning ‘he will laugh’. I love how God seems to have a sense of humour!

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Lord God, thank you that your promises are certainties. We’re sorry for the times we’ve doubted. Please help us in our unbelief and use us for your purposes to see your works completed.