In this portion we find the story of the birth of Isaac to
Sarah and Abraham.
Genesis 21:1-7 NKJV 1 And the LORD
visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2
For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of
which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was
born to him-whom Sarah bore to him-Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son
Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was
one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said,
"God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." 7 She
also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse
children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."
Sarah is the first of eight woman in the Bible often
referred to as mothers, who were once barren and whom God had later opened
their wombs and caused them to miraculously conceive a child. The number eight, in the Bible, represents
new beginnings and reflects the Hebrew concept of cycles. There are seven days in a week, but the
eighth day is the beginning of a new week; a new beginning.
In the next generation, Rebekah became Isaac’s wife, but she
was barren as well
Genesis 25:20-21 NKJV 20 Isaac was
forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the
Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with
the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea,
and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Then we have Isaac’s son Jacob who was tricked by Laban into
taking his eldest daughter Leah as his wife when all along Jacob desired to
have Rachel.
Genesis 29:21-25 NKJV 21 Then Jacob
said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go
in to her." 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and
made a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his
daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his
maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the
morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you
have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you
deceived me?"
Even though Leah was not loved by Jacob, the LORD opened her
womb and she conceived.
Genesis 29:31-32 NKJV 31 When the
LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32
So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said,
"The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband
will love me."
In this passage we see that Rachel is also barren whom Jacob
took as a wife in return for serving Laban another seven years.
Genesis 29:26-28 NKJV 26 And Laban
said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before
the firstborn. 27 "Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also
for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."
28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel
as wife also.
Rachel remained barren for quite some time but eventually
God opened her womb and she gave birth to Joseph.
Genesis 30:25a NKJV And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne
Joseph…
Next we come across a man by the name of Manoah whose wife
was barren. Again the LORD opened her
womb and she conceived a son.
Judges 13:2-3 NKJV 2 Now there was
a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah;
and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the Angel of the LORD
appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now, you are barren and
have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
This son is none other than Samson. It is interesting to note that the name of
the mother of Samson is not recorded in scripture. She is, in a way, hidden from us. Her son Samson’s name means sunlight, but the
source of “sunlight” is hidden.
#8123. Shimshown,
shim-shone' from #8121; sunlight; Shimshon, an Israelite:--Samson. #8121 shemesh, sheh'-mesh from an unused root meaning to be
brilliant; the sun.
The next barren woman we find in the Bible is Hannah
1 Samuel 1:5-6 NKJV 5 But to Hannah
he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had
closed her womb. 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her
miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb.
Year by year Hannah called out to God for the gift of a son.
1 Samuel 1:7-21 NKJV 7 So it was,
year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her;
therefore she wept and did not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her,
"Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart
grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" 9 So Hannah arose after
they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting
on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD. 10 And she was in
bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11 Then she
made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the
affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your
maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him
to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his
head."
Hannah made a vow and the LORD opened her womb and she
conceived a son; a special son in Samuel.
The next time we see the mention of a barren woman is in the
Gospels with Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias the priest and cousin of Mary the
mother of Yeshua.
Luke 1:5-7 NKJV 5 There was in the
days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the
division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was
Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child,
because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
Again the LORD opened the womb of Elizabeth and she conceived
a son whose name was Yochanan or John.
Luke 1:23-24 NKJV 23 And so it was, as soon as the days of
his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 24 Now after
those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months…
Yochanan is the seventh son to be born to a previously
barren woman, and as such represents Spiritual Perfection and a complete cycle. Just as the seventh day is the culmination of
the week and being the Sabbath, brings a promise of rest, refreshment and renewal,
so too the son of Elizabeth and Zacharias would be destined to point to rest,
refreshment and renewal in the eighth Son to be born of a barren woman. But in this case, it would be a different
kind of barren, a virgin, and a different kind of son, the Son of God! Mary, Elizabeth’s first cousin, who is betrothed
to a man named Joseph from Nazareth, comes to Elisabeth’s home to reveal the
news of her pregnancy.
Luke 1:26-33 NKJV 26 Now in the
sixth month (of Elizabeth’s pregnancy) the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a
city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having
come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is
with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was
troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God. 31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring
forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. (Hebrew = Yeshua) 32 "He will
be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give
Him the throne of His father David. 33 "And He will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Yeshua is the light from God, the promised messiah, born of
a virgin, a son of David, bringing to mankind a new beginning. He is the light of the world, hidden from view
in his first coming because of spiritual darkness and man’s separation from
God. Elizabeth’s son Yochanan reveals
Yeshua as the Son of God to a darkened world.
In the seventh millennium, Yeshua will permanently occupy the Throne of
David in Jerusalem and be a light for all nations to see. After this, the
prophet Isaiah and John in Revelation record a new beginning for creation and
mankind where Yeshua is the only light necessary.
Isaiah 65:17-18 NKJV 17 "For
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be
remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I
create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.
Revelation 21:1-2, 23 NKJV 1 Now I
saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband… 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it,
for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
Shalom and be blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart
Volume 4 of our Bible study series “Shadows of the Messiah in the
Torah” is now available. See our website for details at www.moedministries.com
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