Sarah

Women of The Dawn

Sarah/Sarai

Key Scripture: Genesis 12:1-20, 16:1-8, 17:1-22,18:1-15 21:1-13, Galatians 4:22-31

Her Name Means: "Princess" Revealing Sarah's place as a "Mother of Nations" 

Her Character: Sarah was a princess in bearing and character. She could be strong willed and jealous.

Her Sorrow: That she struggled with her faith most of her life.

Her Joy: At the age of ninety, she gave birth to Isaac. (Son of Promise) She became the mother of the nation of Israel. Although she struggled in her faith, God saw fit to include Sarah as the first woman named in the Hebrews 11 "Faith Hall of Fame."

Her Story: Sarah’s story begins with Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans. At 65, she and her husband Abraham were living a nomadic life and began a journey to Canaan. A land fertile with the promises of God but barren of everything cherished and familiar. God had promised Abraham and his offspring, "from him would come not just a family, clan, or tribe but an entire nation, a people who would belong to God as no other people had." At 65 and never having conceived this must have been a stretch for Sarah to put faith to.

A famine made life so severe that they moved on to Egypt where King Pharaoh ruled. Abraham suggested a deceptive plan to save their lives. "I know what a beautiful woman you are and the Egyptians will kill me but let you live." "Say you are my sister and my life will be spared because of you." This was a truth as she was his half-sister on the side of her father (Terah). Sarah landed her in Pharaoh's harem. She admitted to her royal admirer that she was the wife Abraham. Her fidelity to Abraham secured her eventual escape. They soon settled back in Canaan.

After eleven years from leaving their homeland Sarah had still not conceived. She told Abraham to lay with her handmaiden Hagar. Hagar bore Abraham a son "Ishmael." Sarah's lack of faith in her ability to conceive brought long years of anguish. Sarah and Hagar's relationship became very contentious. When Ishmael was 13, God told Abraham that He would not establish His Covenant with Ishmael that Sarah would give birth to a son. Sarah laughed out of unbelief and fear. A year later Sarah gave birth to Isaac.

When Isaac reached 13 Sarah was to come face to face with an even greater fear. At God's command Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac upon an altar. In her sorrow she remained obedient to God. God did not demand the sacrifice. There is no record of Sarah after this event, but we can assume she enjoyed the love and companionship of a devoted husband and a loyal son until her death.

Her Place in God's Divine Plan: Attached to the linage to the Messiah. Her son Isaac would father Esau and Jacob. Jacob would father 12 sons who would become heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah would come David, and finally Jesus of Nazareth, God's promised Savior.

Her Challenges Along the Way: Sarah waited 90 years to have a baby. Certainly she had given up hope of ever seeing her dream of motherhood fulfilled. Sarah was looking at God's promise from her limited, human perspective. But the Lord used her life to unfold an extraordinary plan, proving that he is never limited by what usually happens. Sometimes we feel like God has placed our lives in a permanent holding pattern. Rather than taking matters into our own hands, we can let Sarah's story remind us that a time of waiting may be God's precise plan for us.

Her Victories:  A woman who lived a strenuous life filled with adventure that began with a promise and ended with laughter.

Lesson We Can Learn from Her Legacy: Waiting for God to act in our lives may be the hardest task we ever face. It's also true that we can become dissatisfied when God's solution does not match our expectations. Sarah's life teaches us that when we feel doubtful or afraid, we should remember what God said to Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14.)

Family Tree:

Father - Terah
Husband - Abraham
Son - Isaac
Half Brothers - Nahor, Haran
Nephew – Lot

Death: Sarah died at the age of 137. Abraham buried her in a cave in Machpelah.