Sarah laughed at God and He did not mind

I am late to this thread, but freshly meditating on the passage in Gen 18. Here's why I think God did NOT judge her for the cynicism and lying.

1. She did not actually know it was the LORD at first. All she knew was that three strange men had come and Abraham was feeding them.

2. They are outside the tent eating under a tree. She is still in the tent. She is eavesdropping/listening. One of them says that Sarah and Abraham will have a baby within a year. She's 89 years old. Who wouldn't laugh? It's crazy. She had been hearing Abraham talk about God's promises for 24 years...and at this point had resigned that Ishmael was the answer. And probably not in a very happy place in life at all.

3. Then she hears the unthinkable: one of the guests reads her mail. She had laughed "in her heart" and apparently had kept the thoughts we read about to herself. But the LORD heard it! And called it out. Now Sarah is freaked out. This Person knows her every thought and feeling. Then He says, "Nothing is too difficult for God." (Basically whats Gabriel later says to Mary. Gabriel was probably one of the angels present with the Lord.) Now Sarah knows something supernatural is happening.

4. Then the Lord actually speaks face-to-face to Sarah and confronts her with her mockery. She is now trembling with fear and conviction of sin. She tries to hide her sin in shame (suggesting, again, that her mockery had NOT been openly spoken. Perhaps just thoughts, maybe quietly under her breath.)

My take is that for the first time in her life, she has really had an encounter with the living God. As far as I recall, every time before it was only Abraham who met with God. Now Sarah has met the Lord and her sin was exposed. She was humbled.

Hebrews 11:11 says, "By faith even Sarah herself obtained power to lay down seed. For she considered Him faithful who promised." Sarah came to a real and personal faith as a result of God mercifully confronting her sin in a personal way.

This is awesome. Nobody ever gets saved or becomes fruitful until their faith is firsthand and no longer borrowed from someone else.

I believe Sarah's response mirrors that of Abraham's in Genesis 17, when he heard this news for the first time. When Sarah laughs, the Lord asks Abraham why did Sarah laugh, saying "Can I really have a baby when I'm old?" This was essentially the same thought that had occurred to Abraham hearing it for the first time. I believe the Lord was asking Abraham why Sarah was reacting as though she was hearing this for the first time. In Egypt, Abraham (Abram) failed to recognize the valuable role his wife would play in his own story. Even after many tests of faith, and the covenant being expanded to clearly include Sarah by name, in Gerar, only a short while after this encounter with the Lord, Abraham would again uncover his wife and expose her to the desires of another ruler, King Abimelech. Again, Abraham failed to love his wife, like the example set by Christ, to the point he was willing to lay down his life for her. God did not rebuke Sarah because her lie, a shy denial of her own inner response, needed nothing more than a gentle correction. "No, you did laugh," was all the Lord had to say. What Sarah was truly in need of was the cover of a loving husband. Notice, later when Isaac and Rebekah were childless that Isaac prayed for his wife. There is never any indication Abraham prayed for Sarah in her barrenness.

Also, clearly Sarah lacked faith. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for. At this point in her story, I believe Sarah had lost hope. There may have been little affection between her and Abraham, and as is often the case, her life experience to this point was playing a key factor in her view of God. God's purpose with Sarah would move her from a place of believing God was against her, to a place of knowing the love of God and the devoted affection of her husband. Check out Abimelech's rebuke of Abraham as he pays tribute to Abraham on behalf of Sarah. I believe God elevated this princess to her rightful place as the mother of the son of promise.