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 Copyright © 2007 The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory. All rights reserved. |
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Women of the Bible May 2007 Bible Study by Gladys DeMichael
SARAH – THE MOTHER OF A NATION
Background: Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham, had the given name of Sarai, meaning “a princess”. She was a member of an honored family from Ur of the Chaldees, the daughter of Tereh. The promise of ancestorship of many nations came with the change of her name from Sarai to Sarah; “I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her” (17:16). The root idea of Sarah means “to rule”. Thus, Sarah was partnered with her husband, whose name was also changed from Abram to Abraham (17:5), in the great blessing of the covenant. Abraham was ten years older than Sarah (17:17). They shared the same birth father but had different mothers (20:12). Marriages between near relatives were common for religious reasons in those days.
Among the classified names of the Bible are those known as “sacramental names”; so called because they are names given by God Himself or under His inspiration for fulfillment of a particular promise. A sacramental name became a seal of an established covenant between God and the recipient of such a name. Abraham and Sarah bear “sacramental names”, signifying the gracious purposes and promises of God.
Only two women are named in the celebrated roll of those remarkable for their faith. Sarah is the first and Rehab the second (Hebrews 11:11, 31). (See Bible Study – April, 2006 – Rahab – A Transformed Woman”) Both Sarah and Rahab lived by faith and died in faith (Hebrews 11:13).
Sarah was sixty-five when she began a journey that would lead her into uncharted spiritual territory. Her life became Abraham’s. Where he went, she went, not as a lesser person but as a strong influence. Together they experienced the changes and challenges of nomadic life and found in them great spiritual significance. Abraham, man of God, was willing to forsake country, family and the right of inheritance in the extended family of his father for the unknown, with Sarah ever at his side. Her love and loyalty were blessed by Abraham’s devotion to her. Looking at today’s maps, their journey takes them from southern Iraq up to northern Syria, down to southern Israel, and on into Egypt. Imagine Sarah’s sacrifice. She was asked to leave behind all that was familiar and safe, to turn her back on all that she knew and go somewhere else (11:31). Was their pain in her heart? Were there tears in her eyes? Probably, but Sarah took a giant step of obedient faith and acted on God’s instructions.
Biblical Truth: Obedient faith is crucial. It makes our pilgrimage on earth possible. It does not insist upon an explanation. “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, wherever you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track (Proverbs 3:5-6 THE MESSAGE).
The Bible declares that Sarah was unusually beautiful (12:11, 14). She seems to have had beauty that grew more attractive as she aged. Her loveliness caused Abraham to fear that kings would fall in love with her beauty and that’s exactly what happened. Genesis 12 tells about one of those times. As their caravan went down to Egypt, they encountered the powerful Egyptian pharaoh. Although this impressive leader possessed great wealth and massive military forces, he wanted something more. He wanted beautiful Sarah as an addition to his harem. He was in a position to have everything he wanted. Amazingly, Abraham and Sarah had discussed this possibility and now it was a reality (11-13). What was Abraham’s solution to this potential problem? “Let’s lie…we’ll tell them you’re my sister…” Sarah was taken to the pharaoh’s house and into his harem. Scripture is silent on what happened to Sarah in her harem-prison. We do know that she faced her fears, silently waited on the Lord and God rescued her at the perfect moment. (17-20).
Twenty-five years later, Sarah was forced to exercise her faith again in an almost identical harem experience with Abimelech, king of Gerar (Genesis 20:1-13).. She has ended up in the harem of a pagan ruler, all because she is still at age 90 so remarkably beautiful. Was God in this? Absolutely! He would use this experience for Sarah’s journey of faith and she would, once again, trust Him and He would protect her.
Biblical Truth: God works in mysterious ways! In His own time and in His own way, He rescues His people. Even when a situation seems utterly hopeless and loneliness surrounds us, we can know for certainly that we are never alone and never without hope. “Our great God is still our Refuge and Strength; He is ever aware of our problems and fears. Thus we have no business doubting Him…” (Psalm 46:1-2a PSALMS NOW).
God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side. With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way, He will make a way. Don Moen
While it was true that Sarah was Abraham’s half-sister, the assertion in reality was a falsehood. A half truth is always a lie and brings negative consequences. God expresses His displeasure with Abraham and Sarah but He did not allow His plan to make of them a great nation to be turned aside through their moral failure.
The one great grief of Sarah and Abraham was that through their long life together they had no children. Barrenness, to a Hebrew woman, was sometimes regarded as a divine disfavor. This constant grief of barrenness caused Sarah to make a great mistake. In spite of the fact that, along with her husband, she had received the divine promise, that from her “nations would spring”, Sarah got impatient and sought a more logical way to God’s will (16:1-6). She got tired of waiting for God and took matters into her own hands. After all, she really had waited a long, long time and was getting older every day. She set up a surrogate mother plan with her Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. This plan had disastrous results (16:4-8) and far-reaching consequences. Jealousy cropped up early. Sarah blamed Abraham for the bad decision. Pregnant Hagar was too much for Sarah, and Sarah mistreated Hagar until she fled to the desert. Hagar’s son, Ishmael, was not the son of promise. God however, was not unaware of Hagar’s plight. He knew all about her and cared for her (21:8-19).
Biblical Truth: God’s timeframe can seem very slow to this world’s way of thinking. But who do you think knows the best way? “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you, for the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are those who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18 NKJV). When we will not wait for Him, God must wait for us to come to our senses.
In His forgiving love and mercy God appeared to Abraham again when he was 99 years old and assured him that his long barren wife, although now 90 years old would conceive. To confirm His promise God changed their names. Upon hearing the voice of Almighty God, Abraham fell on his face and in the course of conversation with God laughed, not in disbelief but in amazement and dismay. He marveled at the accomplishment of the naturally impossible, yet believed and was filled with the joy of a man of faith (17:17). As for Sarah, when she heard the news, “she laughed within herself (18:12) and when her son was born her laugh was one of joy (21:6). He was named Isaac, which means “He (God) Laughs”. Her joy knew no bounds. She received strength to bear Isaac when she was so old because she came to believe in the faithfulness of God. If Abraham is “the father of all them that believe” (Romans 4:11; Galatians 3:7) then surely Sarah is “the mother”
Biblical Truth: “Is anything too hard for the Lord”? (18:14). This question is a truth to recall every time God confronts us with a challenge that we have never faced before. It becomes the central question of faith when we deal with God’s promises for us. When our life seems to be in a “holding pattern” and we’re waiting for God to act, or He is asking us to step out in a new direction for His glory, we must believe, “nothing is too hard for God”.
Got any rivers you think are un-crossable? Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through? Oh, God specializes in things thought impossible And He can do what no other power can do. Oscar C. Eliason
As Isaac reached manhood, Sarah was to come face to face with an even greater trial. At God’s command, Abraham obediently made all preparations to sacrifice their beloved Son of Promise upon an altar. We can imagine Sarah’s anguish of heart as she watched her husband and son depart for the mountains in the land of Moriah. And yet, this woman who had developed great faith can now turn to the same omnipotent God and remain obedient to Him.
There is no record of Sarah in the years that follow her son’s and husband’s return from Moriah. We do know that through every trial of her faith, she emerged as a woman of power and we can assume she enjoyed the love and companionship of a devoted husband and loyal son until her death .
Sarah is the only woman whose specific age is stated in scripture. She was 127 when she died. Abraham lived for another 38 years following her death and died at the age of 175. He purchased a cave at Machpelah (23:9) as a sepulcher for Sarah and when he died, his sons buried him beside her.
Through Abraham and Sarah the nation of Israel was born, the lineage of Jesus Christ was begun, and the plan to bless the world with a Savior continued to develop. God’s plan rested on the shoulders of a man and woman of faith! How remarkable!
Ponder – Praise – Pray:
“Faith is the willingness to receive whatever He wants to give or the willingness not to have what He does not want to give”. Elizabeth Elliot
In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time. Lord, please show me every day, as You’re teaching me Your way, That you do just what You say, in Your time. In Your time, in Your time, You make all things beautiful in Your time. Lord, my life to You I bring, may each song I have to sing Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time. Diane Ball
Prayer Thank you, God, for loving me in spite of myself. You know that waiting is one of the most difficult experiences of my Christian walk. Help me to trust You completely for the promises You have made to me. May I be a person of “joy” and “laughter” as I testify to the wonderful way You accomplish Your purpose despite my weakness. Amen
June Study REBEKAH – A SPIRIT OF CONTROL |
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