“And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:”
My Notes
What Does Romans 4:19 Mean?
"He considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb." Abraham's faith involved a deliberate choice not to focus on the physical impossibility. He didn't ignore the facts — he considered them and chose not to let them determine his belief. The word "considered not" (katanoeo — to observe, to consider carefully) doesn't mean he was unaware. It means he chose a different object for his attention.
The two impossibilities — Abraham's dead body and Sarah's dead womb — represent the complete biological case against the promise. Both partners are past the age of reproduction. The equipment on both sides has ceased functioning. The impossibility is bilateral.
Paul's description of Abraham's body as "now dead" (nenekromenon — deadened, made dead) uses a past participle: the body has been deadened. It's not just old — it's functionally deceased in its reproductive capacity. And Abraham's faith operated against this deadness.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What are you 'considering' most — the impossibility or the promise?
- 2.How is 'not considering' different from denial?
- 3.What in your situation is 'dead' on both sides, requiring only God's power to produce life?
- 4.How does what you focus on determine what you believe?
Devotional
His body was dead. Her womb was dead. Both partners past the point of biological possibility. And Abraham didn't focus on the deadness. He focused on the promise.
The word 'considered not' doesn't mean Abraham pretended his body worked normally. He was nearly a hundred. He knew the reality. The 'not considering' wasn't denial — it was prioritization. He acknowledged the facts and then chose to give more weight to God's word than to the body's condition. The promise received more attention than the problem.
This is the practical mechanism of faith: what you consider determines what you believe. If you spend your attention on the impossibility — the dead body, the dead womb, the dead situation — the impossibility becomes your reality. If you redirect your attention to the promise — the word God spoke, the character of the God who spoke it — the promise becomes your foundation. Same facts. Different focus.
The bilateral impossibility is important: it's not that one partner was capable and carried the other. Both were dead. Both had failed biologically. Neither could contribute to the fulfillment. The promise had to be fulfilled entirely by God's power because no human capacity remained. When both sides are dead, only resurrection power produces life.
What are you considering — the deadness or the promise? Both are real. Both are facts. But one defines your faith and the other defines your fear. Abraham chose to let the promise define him.
What are you choosing?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
He staggered not at the promise of God,.... There is no reason to stagger at, or hesitate about any of the promises of…
And being not weak in faith - That is, having strong faith. He considered not - He did not regard the fact that his body…
He considered not his own body now dead - He showed at once the correctness and energy of his faith: God cannot lie;…
Having observed when Abraham was justified by faith, and why, for the honour of Abraham and for example to us who call…
being not weak i.e., at that crisis; so the Gr. implies. Under that strainhe did not succumb; in faith he rose to the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture