Laughter in the Tent

The Story

Abraham and Sarah had waited twenty-five years for the son God promised them. By now Abraham was nearly a hundred, and Sarah was ninety. She had long since stopped expecting anything.

One hot afternoon, Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent when he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He ran to greet them and asked them to stay for a meal. Sarah baked bread, Abraham prepared a calf, and the visitors ate under a tree.

Then one of them asked, “Where is Sarah thy wife?” “In the tent,” Abraham answered. And the visitor said, “Sarah thy wife shall have a son.”

Sarah was listening just inside the tent door. And she laughed to herself. Not a joyful laugh, but a tired one. After I am old, shall I have this pleasure?

The visitor, who was the Lord Himself, heard her. “Wherefore did Sarah laugh?… Is any thing too hard for the LORD?”

Sarah got scared and denied it. “I laughed not.” He said, “Nay; but thou didst laugh.”

A year later, at exactly the time God said, Sarah gave birth to a son. Abraham named him Isaac, which means “he laughs.” And Sarah said, “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”

Reflection