Sarah's Story

I'm going to tell a little more of Sarah’s background story, so hang with me.

Ten generations have lived and died since Noah landed his ark, and Sarah and Abraham are in the land called Ur around the fertile crescent – they are childless. Custom of the day would allow Abraham to divorce her on the grounds of barrenness, but he doesn't. :)

One day Abraham hears a voice telling him to move to the land of Canaan and that he will be blessed and become the father of many. At the age most of us are thinking about retiring and taking it easy, Sarah, 65, begins an incredible journey ... a geographical, spiritual, emotional, and physiological journey. She begins a divine journey … a journey she hopes will mean she’ll finally have children.

Yes, Sarah changed her life because this God had promised to make her husband’s seed produce a large nation. She was wrapped within God’s holy, and wholly miraculous, plan to create a people that would walk the earth carrying Him in their hearts.

But life was tough in Canaan – a famine hit the land – and the couple decided to leave the place God had called them to and seek provisions for themselves. They headed south to Egypt. Arriving at Egypt, Abraham suspected the men there might kill him in order to attain his beautiful wife. So, he devises a plan and tells Sarah to claim they are nothing more than brother and sister.

She does and soon Sarah is taken into the Pharaoh’s harem. I can still recall the first time I read Sarah and Abraham’s story in the Bible more than a decade ago. I was so mad at Abraham; I couldn’t believe he would let his wife be taken into another man’s harem! Now I am able to see that he was trying to keep the both of them alive and ensure they would have plenty of food, shelter, and provision.

Sarah would be well provided for in the harem, and Pharaoh would pay “her brother” for the privilege of owning her. Pharaoh gave Abraham a handsome assortment of sheep, donkeys, cattle, camels, and servants. So it seems Abraham and Sarah had succeeded in acquiring both protection and provision for themselves. But God was none too pleased.

He immediately struck Pharaoh and his whole household with disease. Pharaoh figured this had something to do with the new woman brought into his harem and learned the truth from Abraham. And this is the point I would expect the chosen couple to be killed, or at least stripped of all their possessions, but Pharaoh feared their God and sent them on their way with their possessions. In the end, it was actually God that provided for them in Egypt.

This is where we picked up the story in our reading. It would seem that God’s plans are back on track now with Abraham and Sarah reunited and in the right place. But we’re dealing with a woman here. And women can be impatient, am I right? We can be planners and schemers, and take-controllers. When the God-promised child didn’t seem to materialize, Sarah took matters into her own hands and gave Abraham her maidservant, Hagar, to sleep with. Are your eyes rolling?

I also used to get mad at Abraham for sleeping with Hagar, but this was a common practice of the day when your wife was barren. Not to mention that this was Sarah’s idea!

You know how women can be very persuasive, and not give it a rest until their husbands comply. So Abraham sleeps with Hagar and there is soon trouble. As Hagar’s belly grows, so does Sarah’s envy. As Abraham’s attention is turned to Hagar and his child she is carrying, Sarah’s jealousy takes root. Perhaps Sarah now thought her plan was a mistake (one that could not be reversed) but was unwilling to admit it and took her regret out on Hagar.

Sarah’s pragmatic attempts to help God keep His promise brought her and the world anguish. The descendants of Hagar and the descendants of Sarah are still fighting today in the Middle East. Why did God allow Ishmael to be born? Honestly, I don’t know. I could speculate about God’s ways and His grand plans … His ability to see the future and our ability to freely choose if we will follow God or rebel. I can’t say for sure, but I do know this from our study of Eve: God can be trusted to have our best interests in mind, even when it does not seem like it. Remember?

Fast forward and Sarah is about 90. She overhears angel-men telling Abraham that she will have a child – from her own body this time – within the year. She laughs.

How will me and Abraham uh-hum, you know? How can a barren woman get pregnant and give birth, much less at this age!? This is impossible, she thought, so much so that its laughable.

When the Lord called Sarah out about laughing, it wasn’t because He is so stuffy that laughter isn’t allowed in His people. The exchange between them wasn’t really about laughter at all. It was about faith.

If you recall, she took off years ago for Canaan believing the promise God had made about her and Abraham having children – a great nation. Somewhere along the way, her faith in God dissipated, and she no longer thought this possible. Read Gen. 18:15 again substituting the word “doubt” for “laugh.”

Sarah: “I didn’t laugh (doubt).”
God: “No, you did laugh (doubt).”

But despite Sarah’s doubt and skepticism, despite her lying to God and her deception in Egypt, despite her taking matters into her own hands and then jealously mistreating Hagar, despite all this …

“The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.” (Gen 21:1-2)

There are so many noteworthy things about the verses above. Like the fact that God was faithful even when Sarah was less than. And the fact that it shows His plans will always unfold at “just the time” He purposes.

However, what I really love in the verses above is the two words “for Sarah.” God did for Sarah. Not just for His own grand plans. Not just for the history of the world. Not just so we could study and learn from her today, but God did “for Sarah.” What love God had for this woman!

Now, again, substitute the idea of faith for the word “laughter” in Gen 21:6.

And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter (faith). All who hear about this will laugh (believe in Him) with me.”

Some reflection questions:

Is there some “Egypt” or “Hagar” in my life – some area where I’m not trusting in God’s provision?

Has God given me a dream or a promise that I’ve given up on? … What am I “laughing” about?

I can’t wait to hear from you - what did you feel or learn when reading Sarah’s story?

Don’t worry if someone has already posted something similar – the writing and recording of your thoughts is part of your process, so go ahead and post!