Was Isaac born to Abraham and Sarah without physical contact between them?
I believe that Isaac was the legitimate seed of Abraham, but have a doubt whether he was born out of normal physical contact between Abraham and Sarah. Because Romans 4:19 says that his body was as good as dead then. Yet he believed that God would keep His promise. Then the question is, did God miraculously cure Abraham's infertility & menopause condition of Sarah in order to beget Isaac, or did God miraculously form the seed of Abraham in Sarah's womb without Abraham's physical contact with Sarah by His almighty power?
Romans 4:19
NIV - 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead - since he was about a hundred years old - and that Sarah's womb was also dead.
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Asked February 13 2015
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Arun Kumar
Supporter
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JD Abshire
Supporter
The Lord apparently fixed Abraham's infertility issues and Sarah's. after Sarah's death Abraham remarried. By his second wife Ketura he had six sons. Genesis 25:1-2 "Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah." (See also 1 Chronicles 1:32). Remember, Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5) but did not die until age 175 (Genesis 25:7). I believe Isaac was conceived naturally, through physical contact. After all, the Lord raised the dead, made the blind to see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak and the lame walk. "Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." (Genesis 18:14) "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)
Shayne Joseph
Supporter
He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised y He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore z "it was accounted to him for righteousness. I think Romans 4:21 speaks to the amazing restorative power of God. I would say that God's miraculous will allowed Abraham to perform physically through faith and obedience to Gods infinite plan.
Zeleke Banjetea
Supporter
In my opinion the scripture is very clear with out a doubt that Abraham physically performed to get Issac because that is exactly what God promised Abraham. This is the conversion btwn God and Abraham, and the promise of God to Abraham about Issac. Genesis 15:2-5 2 But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Benjamin Atkins
Supporter
There is a possibility Sarah conceived the child by the Holy Spirit without the physical seed of Abraham, but to accept this, you must first accept that Abraham and Sarah were already "one flesh" through marriage. This is the only way to justify the seed coming from Abraham's own body, as God promised. Genesis specifically indicates that Ishmael was conceived sexually through Hagar by Abram. However, scripture does not specifically mention Abraham's physical participation in the conception of Isaac. Moreover, God tells Abraham that God himself will perform for Sarah what God had already promised "about a year from now." Then the scriptures say that God did for Sarah what he had promised when the child was conceived, not Abraham. The most significant scriptural objection to such an interpretation would be from the writer of Hebrews who claims that Levi pays tithes to Melchizedek while Levi was still in the loins of Abraham. This more strongly suggests that Isaac was also, literally, "in the loins" of Abraham. However, a weak argument could be made that the loins of Sarah are equal to the loins of Abraham due to the "one flesh" argument. One other factor concerns the "seed" of Christ in Abraham as seed that is not required to be literal male semen. Note God's promise to Eve that it would be "her" seed that would have enmity with the seed of the serpent. Thus, the Christ seed can come either from a male or a female, but according to God's promise, it would be a female's seed, as it obviously was in both Sarah and Mary.
Suegra Feliz
Supporter
According to Paul in Galatians 4:29, Ishmael was born "in the ordinary way," but Isaac was born "by the power of the Spirit." This suggests that, just as in Mary's conception of Jesus, there was a supernatural process at work when Sarah conceived. In Genesis 18:10, the Lord says, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." We don't have an account of God returning, but Genesis 21 does say that "The Lord did for Sarah what he had promised." God wasn't doing this "for" Abraham (e.g., via his fertility); he was doing it "for" Sarah. We are simply not told if Abraham was involved. Either way, it is not attributed by Paul to an act of the flesh but to an act of the Spirit. As for Abraham's sons by Keturah, we are told about them only after the fact. Genesis 25 is not chronological.
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