Abraham gets good news

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the Mighty God. Walk faithfully with me. Live in a way that pleases me.” He also said, “Remember my promise. You will be the father of a great nation, and your family after you will live in this land.” Then the Lord changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah.

Abraham and Sarah were very old, and they didn’t have children. Abraham trusted the Lord, but he didn’t know how the Lord was going to keep his promise. On a very hot day, Abraham was resting under the large trees in front of his tent. Suddenly he saw three men coming towards him. Abraham quickly got up and greeted the men. He invited them to rest in the shade of the trees. He fetched water so that they could wash their feet. Then he went to his wife Sarah. “Bake bread for our guests,” he said. He told a servant to prepare meat for the guests. He also brought out butter and milk.

While the men were eating their meal, they asked Abraham,

“Where is your wife?”

“In the tent,” Abraham said.

Then one of them said, “At this time next year, your wife Sarah will have a baby boy.”

Sarah could hear the men from the tent. She laughed softly. “I’m too old to have babies!” she thought. Two of the men were angels, and one was the Lord. The Lord knew what Sarah was thinking. He said, “Remember that the Lord is the Mighty God. He can do anything. You and your wife will definitely have a baby when I come back next year.” Sarah was scared when she realised who their visitors were. She said, “I didn’t laugh!” But the Lord said, “Yes, you laughed!” Sarah didn’t know what to say. She really, really wanted a baby of her own. Could God’s promise be true? Genesis 17 and 18