Walking Among Them: Sarah

Posted by Lori | 0 comments

Subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss the next article in this series!

The object of this study is to take some time out of our busy, often chaotic days and spend some time with women who have gone before us. Not just any women, but 26 women of the Bible. We’ll “Walk Among Them” and see how their stories relate to our lives. It’s my hope that we will discover God’s presence and grace in our own lives as the lives and lessons of these women unfold before us this year.

Women of the Bible: Lesson 2, Sarah
(begin reading Genesis 11-Genesis 18)

She is one of the women that I can picture in my mind. She was, we are told in Scripture, a woman of uncommon beauty and yet we see that she is one tough cookie as well. There are women throughout the Bible that we can see reflections of ourselves, and if ever there was a woman like that, it would have to be Sarah. Perhaps it’s because we learn more about her and her life than most of the women we will study. Somehow we get to “know” her through her struggles, pain and joy. Perhaps it’s because we recognize so much of ourselves in her and the lessons that she learned in her long life.

Sarah’s story begins in Genesis 11 where we learn that she is the wife of Abram. Her name at that time was Sarai. When Abram receives a message from the Lord, Sarai goes forth with him:

“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.”

As Abram’s wife, she travels along side of him to unknown lands. She faces the unknown faithfully at his side. Moving is no easy task, and in those times it was far more challenging than it is today when the Atlas Van Lines truck pulls up in front of the house. 13 moves in my 18 years of marriage have taught me that moving is not easy. We leave pieces of ourselves in each place we live, and Sarai was asked to leave it all behind for the “message” that Abram had received.

Sarai entered new territory, a new land and if that wasn’t enough there was a famine in this land (Gen 12:10). Clearly, it was going to be difficult for them to survive in this new land of Egypt. Sarai was beautiful! She was uncommonly beautiful and Abram used it for his protection. He knew that if the Egyptian men saw her as his wife, they would kill him and take her. He also knew that if he said that they were brother and sister that this would help him in many ways.

“He treated Abram well for her sake and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants and camels. “ Gen 12:16

Sarai had to “pretend” to be Abram’s sister for safety sake and that earned her a place in Pharaoh’s harem. It wasn’t until dreadful disease plagued the palace that Abram was called to Pharaoh and asked to explain. When he did, the Pharaoh sent them away, taking with them the riches they had acquired while in Egypt. They were on the road again. Another move.

(re-read Genesis 16)

Sarai, being a woman much like us, heard the promise that God made to her and Abram…the promise of a Great Nation. It must have been exciting at first. Imagine God speaking to your husband and explaining such “grand plans.” We’d likely ALL have been on board, even if it meant a few moves. However, these things are all in God’s time, and not in Sarai’s time, and the tendency to become impatient causes us all to, at times, “take matters into our own hands,” with less than fortunate results.

I imagine that she asked the same questions that we do when we don’t get the answers from God that we want, in the time that we want them. “How in the world will Abram see a great nation rise out of his line? How is THAT ever going to happen with an old, barren woman like myself?”

So she does what we’ve all done. She takes matters into her own hands and regrets it later. She regrets that decision deep inside of her soul. Taking matters into her own hands had far greater consequences than she had imagined. She harbors feelings that she likely never expected she’d have for Hagar, the maidservant of Abram. Feelings of hatred and jealousy engulf her. She has to face the consequences for what she put into place.

It’s years later, after the Lord appears to Abram again, changing his name to Abraham and confirming the “covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” (Gen 17:2) Sarai becomes for the first time Sarah and Abraham is assured by God that she “will be blessed so that she will be the mother of nations.” (Gen 17:16) We know that God is responsible for her name change, but why? It’s God’s way of perhaps making a point. Her name now means “princess.” A name change ordained by God; that is a big deal!

Then, it all unfolds at a tent. Not a palace or a royal place, but rather a tent. Abraham sees three men standing, while Sarah chooses not to come out and face it, rather she eavesdrops on the conversation. (How many of us would have done the same thing?) Abraham hurries from his tent to greet them. He orders Sarah to prepare the flour and bake bread for them and he quickly slaughters a calf and has it prepared. It is through these men that it is revealed that “they will return about this time next year, and Sarah, your wife, will have a son.”

“So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” (Gen 18:13)

Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Will I really have a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too hard for the Lord? Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But He said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

It is in this passage that I meet Sarah in myself. I would be lying if I sat here and typed that I would have had the faith to BELIEVE that birth at 90 was possible, even with God’s hand. I would have laughed too! Sarah’s humanness just speaks volumes to us in this one verse. Not only does she laugh, but she lies about it, only to live out the plans that God so lovingly promised to her and Abraham. This covenant made by God.

For each of us a close look at Sarah will reveal something different, but like most of us, Sarah is a complex woman of faith whose life exposes failures, much like our own. It is in Sarah we see our own impatience, faith, joy and the consequences of sin.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE WALK:
With each woman that we study, I’ll have some thoughts and ideas for reflection, meditation and journaling that will be called “Reflections from the Walk.” It’s in Walking Among Them that we can learn lessons to take with us on our daily walks.

1. Spend some time in contemplation, thinking about the ways in which YOU relate to Sarah.

• Do you see yourself in the impatient Sarah at some point in your life?
• Are you the faithful wife that Sarah was to Abraham? (How would you have reacted to Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac? (Gen 22)
• Are you the risk taker Sarah, one willing to jump in and try new things?
• Are you the anxious Sarah?
• Are you the skeptical Sarah?
• Are, or have you, ever been the jealous Sarah?
• Are you the Sarah who tries to cover up her “white lie” to God? (“She was afraid, so she lied and said, I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” Gen 18:15)

2. Sarah’s life and lessons are referenced in the Bible. Spend some time looking up these verses and noting what is being reinforced, especially in the New Testament.
References:

• Gen. 49:31
• Isa. 51:2
• Rom. 4:19; 9:9
• Heb. 11:11
• 1 Pet. 3:5-6
• Gal. 4:26

3. Let’s revisit the quote from the last study on Eve.

“The weaknesses we see in the people of the Bible are the very weaknesses we ought to recognize in ourselves. Live Eve who ate the forbidden fruit we are vulnerable to temptation when we act on our own. Like Abraham, who lied about his wife to save his neck, we are vulnerable to temptation when we are scared. Like David, who slept with Bathsheba while his men were off to war, we are vulnerable to temptation when we are idle. Like Elijah, who wanted God to end his life, we are vulnerable to temptation when we are exhausted. Like Peter, who denied his Lord even after he promised to die for him, we are vulnerable to temptation when we are overconfident. In other words, we are vulnerable to temptation practically all the time.”
Phillip Graham Ryken

While Sarah isn’t mentioned in the quote above, why do you think Sarah was vulnerable to the temptation that led her to “take matters into her own hands” in regards to giving Abraham permission to sleep with her servant, Hagar. Was it fear that drove her behavior? Was it exhaustion? Was it pride?

4. Think about this phrase from Genesis 21:6
“Sarah said, “God has brought me LAUGHTER, and everyone who hears about this will LAUGH with me.””

How is laughter a part of your life. Is your home filled with joy and laughter? Why or Why not?

Journal personal thoughts on laughter, and look at the promise God gave to Sarah many years before that ended in laughter.

Consider this quote by the Southern writer, Eudora Welty:
“The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy.”

Journal for the week the times that you “LAUGH.” What was the source of that laughter? Was it Godly laughter or was it at another’s expense? Was there enough laughter? Ask God to show you joy and laughter amidst the “daily grind.”

It’s in looking and walking with our sister Sarah that we can see ourselves revealed in so many ways, the good, the bad and the ugly. The lessons of Sarah are shared with each of us today, living in our modern world. It’s in this walk with Sarah that we can learn so much; taking away wisdom from a woman who was chosen by God despite her weakness and failures, and come to realize God’s promises for each one of us.

Join me on February 14, 2009 for our next “Walk Among Them.” We’ll be taking a walk with Rachel.

Download the study questions in a pdf file.

{Homepage photo courtesy pirizoe}

Lori is a 5 year homeschool mom to 3. Currently a 8th grader, a 6th grader and a 4th grader. Lori insists that when she was wrestling with the decision to home school, a gentle voice guided her with the words, “you know what you should do.” Never looking back, accepting the challenges and rewards and CONSTANTLY clinging to THE ROCK…”No Storm can shake my inmost calm when to this ROCK I’m clinging.” Lori hopes to impart peace and inspiration amidst the daily chaos. Be sure to visit her blog at All You Have to Give and at Internet Cafe Devotions.