Scripture Reading: Genesis 18:10

“And Sarah heard in the tent door… “ (Genesis 18: 10b)

The Haftorah says that Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent.

I am so glad that a woman doesn’t have to go to church in order to hear God talk to her. He can and will speak to her in the home — even while she is busy about her household tasks. If she will turn off the television and listen she will hear the voice of God in the same way that her husband does sitting in the synagogue or the church.

The title of this devotion could be, “Wife hears God’s voice in tent while baking bread.”

How many times has the Lord spoken to you, dear sister, while you were washing the dishes, cooking the dinner, cleaning and dusting? He loves to come calling at Your house, especially when He knows that He will find you “in the tent” and not out in the busy commercial world, trying to obey an earthly master, and competing in the dog-eat-dog society of today’s business world. And, Oh, the things He will tell you! What amazing wonders and secrets they will be!

This is what Sarah heard God say, “I will certainly return, unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.”

Had God come down to check out Abraham’s family life to see if it was in order, and if it would be safe to send a son into this kind of an atmosphere?

God certainly was on an inspection tour that day! He was visiting two different homes — the home of Abraham, and the home of Lot.

What a difference He would find! What would God find if He visited your house? Is it in order? Are you spiritually ready to receive your Isaac? Is there enough love in your home? Can God trust you enough to answer your prayers?

Why did the Lord visit Sarah to tell her the news that she would give birth to a son? Was it not enough that God had told Abraham this good news earlier, before he was circumcised? (Genesis 17:21). Couldn’t Abraham have already told Sarah what God had told him? Wasn’t that enough?

No, it wasn’t enough for the wife to get her guidance from God through her husband; she had to hear the promise from the Lord herself. Hebrews 11:11 tells us that when Sarah heard the Lord speak His promise to her, she “received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” She had to personally receive the promise of God in her own heart.

Never be led by someone who says to you, “God told me to tell you…” If God has something to tell you, He will find you, and tell you, Himself. And when you hear His voice it will impart faith to your heart so that the miracle can and will happen.

God was not visiting Abraham to tell him he would have a son — He had already told him. He came instead, to visit Sarah. That is why He asked, “Where is thy wife?”

And what was even more amazing, God promised to be there at the time of her confinement! He Himself would be the Unseen Midwife when she gave birth to her son, for He said, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10).

God is the ever present “midwife,” for He has promised in Isaiah 66:9, “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.”

In the Beginning by Gwen Shaw
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