The lady of focus for October's edition for my series, "Women Of The Bible" is Sarah, wife of Abraham.
Women Of The Bible- Sarah
Genesis 11:27-30
“This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child.”
Genesis 12:1-5
“Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.”
Genesis 12:11-20
“And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.”
Genesis 15:5
“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.””
Genesis 16:1-10
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”
So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.””
Genesis 17:3-6
“Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.”
Genesis 17:15-16
“Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.”
Genesis 18:11-14
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.””
Genesis 21:1-3
“And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.”
Galatians 4:22-23 & 28
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise.”
“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.”
Women of the Bible, so many to address!Women Of The Bible- Sarah
Genesis 11:27-30
“This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child.”
Genesis 12:1-5
“Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.”
Genesis 12:11-20
“And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.”
Genesis 15:5
“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.””
Genesis 16:1-10
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”
So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.””
Genesis 17:3-6
“Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.”
Genesis 17:15-16
“Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.”
Genesis 18:11-14
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.””
Genesis 21:1-3
“And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.”
Galatians 4:22-23 & 28
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise.”
“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.”
Let’s take a look at Sarah, in Hebrew she’s “Princess.”
Mother of the Nations and wife to Abraham,
And yet her days did not unfold according to her plan.
Her life of high adventure was filled with thrilling things,
Her beauty was so striking that she caught the eye of kings!
Blessed with wealth and status with honour to her name,
And yet her lack of children caused this woman dreadful pain.
But God had promised Abraham that He’d remove this mar.
He said that his descendants would outnumber every star!
A promise from our God above to do a work, divine.
Yet Sarah really struggled to await God’s perfect time.
Her spirit grew impatient as she waited on the Lord.
So orchestrating things, she tried to rush the plans of God.
Her efforts led to heartache for generations after,
Though God still kept His promise and He filled her heart with laughter.
Oh may we see the lesson, Lord teach our hearts afresh.
Help us to be patient and not act upon the flesh.
Let us not be tempted to fulfil Your promise faster
For Sarah shows us clearly this will end up in disaster.
May our time of waiting be a season of refining,
Let us trust in You as we await Your sovereign timing.
May we learn from Sarah and those who came before,
Let us wait upon the Lord, for all He has and more!
Psalm 27:14
“Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Psalm 130:5
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.”
Lamentations 3:25-26 “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.”
Micah 7:7
“Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.”
Points For Reflection And Insight
The real-life character of Sarah is yet another deeply complex and fascinating woman found within the Bible. Her life story has many highs and lows and she provides us with a wonderful example of how God keeps His promises.
It’s incredible to think that Sarah was sixty five years old when she and Abraham set off on a journey that would lead them into uncharted territory. It’s even more amazing to consider that she was ninety years old when she gave birth to Isaac! If ever there was a life that testified of God’s power over the “impossible,” it would be Sarah’s!
When we first meet this woman, her name isn’t “Sarah” but “Sarai” and it’s interesting to note that she is the only woman in the Bible to have her name changed by God. The change is subtle but there are a few highly significant and beautiful reasons why God changed both Sarah’s and Abraham’s names.
The first thing we can observe is that “Sarai” means, “my princess” and this carries the weight of having status within one family only. The name “Sarah” however, indicates a higher standing and means “Princess” in a way that signifies she is Princess to all.
This was the woman who would become known as the “Mother Of The Nations.” Royal lineages would come through Sarah and she would even be the mother of the royal line of King David. The very line from whom our Saviour, Jesus Christ would come!
Likewise, the name “Abram” means “father of many” which probably felt like a cruel irony, considering he was the father of none for so long. The name “Abraham” however, means “father of many nations” and was reflective of the promise and covenant that God was establishing through Abraham.
The second and possibly most beautiful reason for the changing of names in this chapter is the significance behind the insertion of the letter “H.” In Hebrew, the letter “H” is known as “the breathing consonant” as “H” (hhh) is made with the sound of breath. The Hebrew word for “breath” is “ruach” but this word can also be translated to mean “Spirit.” The context around the use of the word “ruach” therefore determines the meaning.
It seems that by inserting the letter “H” into “Abram” and making it “Abraham,” God is placing the “breath/spirit” consonant directly into his name. This is highly significant as it appears that God is communicating to Abram that He is putting His Spirit into not only his name but also his life. God created a special covenant with Abraham at the same time which involved circumcision and this was to set him apart. The picture created shows he was to cut away “the flesh” and walk after “the Spirit.”
The same is then done with Sarai’s name as she becomes “Sarah.” Again, her name is given the “breath/spirit” consonant and this action creates such a powerful message for their lives. She, like Abraham, is to become someone who is to live in close fellowship with God, no longer walking after the desires of “the flesh” but living a life in accordance with “the Spirit.” God was drawing both Abraham and Sarah into a different dimension, a life of faith and a deeper commitment to Himself.
What makes this picture even more incredible is that the letter “H” is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and all throughout Scripture, the number five is associated with God’s grace. The numerical value of the word “grace” is five and so here we can observe an insertion of God’s grace into the names and lives of Abraham and Sarah. Not only that, the letter “H” appears as the fifth letter in both of their names, highlighting the beautiful truth that they are being brought into this close relationship and special covenant, purely by God’s grace.
As we read through the covenant God makes with Abraham and Sarah, we read twenty four times that God says, “I will do this” or “I will do that.” He reiterates everything that He has promised to them and emphasises that it is He who will do the miracle in their lives. Abraham will become a “father of many nations” through God’s power, not his own and Sarah will give birth to a son through God’s efforts, not hers.
The depth of meaning behind the changing of their names really blows my mind and highlights the encouraging truth that God works through people’s lives through no “worthiness” or “power” of their own but purely because our God is gracious.
It’s reassuring to read that Abraham and Sarah were far from perfect and yet God worked through their lives in spite of their faults and flaws. We see failings on both their parts, many times and yet God achieved mighty things through their life together.
Within the book of Genesis, we read about how Abraham, the Patriarch of Israel was prone to telling half-truths to save his own skin and foolishly heeded the voice of his wife to impregnate Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant.
Abraham was unwise to go along with Sarah’s impatience and he should have led the way in spiritual matters. It would have been far better if he had reminded Sarah of God’s promise and covenant, instead of agreeing to physically lie with Hagar.
While this “surrogate mother” arrangement was common practice in that time and culture, it still goes against God’s will and His plan for marriage. Although Abraham didn’t actually go on to marry Hagar, he did lie with her as if she was his wife. Multiple wives was never a part of God’s plan for mankind and this was expressed in Genesis 2:24. It reads,
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
God’s decree was that one man would be joined to one woman in a one-flesh relationship. This helps us understand why Sarah’s actions were so damaging and clearly not in line with God’s promise for her.
Sarah’s personal pain, caused by waiting for a child led her to become impatient when waiting to see God’s promises fulfilled in her life. Her words, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children,” clearly reveal that she believed in God’s sovereignty over the womb but then she acted against that belief. Her frustration, dissatisfaction and unbelief led her to a place of sinning against her own marriage. These “arm of the flesh” efforts didn’t resolve the issue but rather caused more damage than ever. Her actions led to increased levels of heartache and strife for not only her but countless others too.
Not only did Sarah’s meddling create contempt and conflict between herself and Hagar but the effects of her actions created waves that still ripple through our lives today.
The son born to Hagar and Abraham was called Ishmael and he became the ancestor of the Arab Nations. Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac however, went on to become the ancestor of the Jewish Nations. We still see to this day, the strife and conflict between these two neighbouring peoples which stems from the women who bore them. Knowing that the Arab and Jewish Nations come from brothers makes the war between them even more heartbreaking.
It certainly puts an incentive into the heart to pray for Israel and pray for a spiritual awakening within the Arab people. The truth remains that God visited Hagar in the wilderness and allowed the birth of Ishmael to take place. This shows us that God has a purpose and a plan for those people. The name “Ishmael” means, “God will hear” and so may the Lord hear our prayers for all lost souls to repent and turn to the one, true, living God, Jesus Christ.
Going back to Sarah and Abraham however, their actions give us a picture that show us we should walk by faith, not unbelief. We must be mindful never to leave God out of the equation and end up regretting what has been done in “the arm of the flesh.” Sarah and Abraham’s time of waiting led them to a place of discouragement which in turn, made them vulnerable to acting in the flesh.
Now might be a good time to ask ourselves,
Have I ever grown impatient to see God act or move and tried to speed things along with my own efforts?
Does Sarah’s story give me cause to pause and reflect the wisdom of rushing things?
Has the “arm of the flesh” ever crept into my life and have I acted on it? If so, what was the outcome?
When we become impatient and try to fulfil God’s promises in our own efforts, it accomplishes nothing and may actually even delay the things of God being fulfilled in our lives. Whatever we attempt to do without God will be a miserable failure or, even worse, a miserable success! We may get what we set out for but if God’s not in it then it’ll be a miserable place indeed. As John 6:63 tells us,
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.”
That’s not to say the flesh produces nothing! The flesh can produce many things and they in turn have their consequences, as we see in the life of Sarah. The works of the flesh have the potential to produce many outcomes in our lives but according to Scripture, they profit nothing. In other words, unnecessary heartache will come from us going against the will of God and taking matters into our own hands if we’ve simply been told to wait.
God knows what’s best for us and His timing is always perfect. It may not particularly feel like it when we’re keen to see a certain thing come to pass in our lives but this is when we have to cling to God’s promises and choose to walk by faith, not unbelief. God is not late or lazy. He doesn’t forget about His people or the things promised to them. He is faithful and worthy to be trusted. Anything that claims otherwise is a lie from the enemy, sent to cause destruction and wreak havoc in our lives.
Let’s take a moment to ask ourselves some more questions in light of some of the things we’ve observed through Sarah’s life so far.
Am I currently waiting to see God fulfil certain things in my life?
Are they promises from God or am I pursuing desires from my own agenda?
In a world where everything is so “immediate,” have I lost the ability to wait for something?
Am I growing impatient to see certain things come into fruition in my life?
Am I in a position of doubting God and His abilities or am I in a season of seeing God unfold His plans for me?
It might be a good idea to make a list of our desires and pray about each one while asking God to show us if these desires are in line with His plans for us and whether it’s time to act or time to wait.
As we go on to read in Genesis, God is faithful even when we are not. The Lord stayed true to His word and in His perfect time, brought the blessing of their son Isaac into Sarah and Abraham’s lives. The name “Isaac” means “laughter” and it’s wonderfully heartwarming to picture the laughter this little boy would have brought to his parents after so many years of sorrow.
Whether it’s a desire for children or a desire for something else such a house, a partner, a better salary or the salvation of a loved one, whatever it is we’re waiting for, it can be so difficult to wait for God to fulfil His promises to us. Often times, we just want to see things happen now and I know I have my own seasons of waiting. They can be very frustrating indeed but I always end up praying, “Lord, I want an Isaac, not an Ishmael!” By that, I simply mean I never want the desires of my flesh and the impatience of my heart to force a situation. I only want what God has planned for me as I know that’s what’s best.
We can’t strong-arm God into doing something and He doesn’t need our help to accomplish His purposes in our lives when it’s simply a case of timing. We’re also not promised an easy or comfortable life as a Christian but what we are promised is God’s help, guidance, strength and provision. He promises He will meet all of our needs in this life with the guarantee of salvation in the next.
Sarah’s impatience could be seen as a cautionary tale to not “give up waiting for God.” Through her story, we see her struggles and weaknesses, her jealousy, skepticism about God’s abilities, envy and bitterness, harshness at times and her impatience. We can also admire her bravery though as she left all that she knew and lived a life full of adventure and miracles!
This woman’s journey began with a promise and ended with laughter. I pray Sarah’s life can inspire us to wait upon the Lord and trust in His sovereign timing. May we seek first, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, knowing that all other things shall be added to us. Let’s praise God that He keeps His promises and may we, like Sarah, laugh with joy as we see God’s limitless power and the fruit of His goodness unfold in our lives. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Sarah shows us, no! He truly is, God of the impossible!
