Sarah

FIRST MOTHER OF ALL NATIONS
GENESIS 11 – 23

IMAGINE: Being barren for ninety years, your husband is pushing one hundred years of age and an angel appears with the daunting news of a pregnancy on the horizon.

Waiting is hard, waiting is generally not fun. Waiting for something that appears impossible sometimes makes you question your own sanity, especially when others think you need to question your own sanity.

Abram and Nahor took wives:
Abram’s wife was named Sarai
Sarai was unable to conceive;
she did not have a child.
Genesis 11:29,30

Sarai lived in a culture that measured women’s worth by their fertility. Sarai was barren. This wife of Abram was a very real person with feelings just like other women throughout all generations. She just wanted to be a mom. There were also other factors to take into consideration when a woman failed to conceive.
In that society and at that time it was considered shameful for a wife to not bear a child for her husband. It was believed God (or even pagan gods of fertility), were the ones to open and close the wombs. It was considered a curse from God or the gods if children were not born to the couple. Strangely, it was the barren woman who was considered the carrier of the curse and not the man.
God had told Adam (Gen. 1:28), and later Noah (Gen. 9:7), to go forth and multiply. Fruitfulness was considered God’s special blessing. Sarai had not received this special blessing and may have felt shame, frustration and embarrassment for a very long time.

Terah took his son Abram,
his grandson Lot (Haran’s son),
and his daughter-in-law Sarai,
his son Abram’s wife, and they
set out together from Ur of the
Chaldeans to go to the land of
Canaan. But when they came to
Haran they settled there.
Terah lived 205 years and
died in Haran.
Genesis 11:31,32

Terah and his family temporarily settled in Haran after leaving Ur of the Chaldeans, located in modern-day Iraq. Ur was the original home of Abram and Sarai and was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Ur was also the capital of the ancient Chaldean Empire in ancient Mesopotamia. The city contained riches beyond imagination and Ur was the wealthiest of cities with a population believed to be approximately 300,000 at the time of Abram and Sarai.
God called Abram out of Ur as he was to leave his home and country and go where God would lead. Instead of going on to the land of Canaan, some 600 miles into their journey, Terah decided to set up house in Haran (i.e. Aram-naharaim – Gen. 24:10; Paddan-aram – Gen. 25:20), Mesopotamia.
Terah possibly stopped traveling because of his age and there was still approximately 500 more miles to go. Their route did not go directly across the desert but up along the Euphrates and down the Jordan Valley as this would have been more fertile land to travel. Haran was located north near modern-day Syria’s border with Turkey.
Another reason for the stop may have been for religious reasons. Joshua 24:2 notes Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. The god of the region was “Nanna” the moon god, also named “Sin”. The two chief seats of Nanna’s/Sin’s worship were Ur in the south of Mesopotamia and Haran in the north.
Ur was made up of two main areas: a very religious, sacred place or the common district. The common district was a highly advanced culture. There were market places, schools, libraries, and many of the people were very wealthy. There were lush gardens and many conveniences were at their disposal.
The temple, on the other hand, was in the “sacred place” protected by strong walls. The moon god, which Terah and possibly other family members may have served, was considered creator of all things.
Jewish tradition has it that Terah, which means “wild goat”, “loiterer”, or “wanderer”, was a wicked, idolatrous priest who manufactured idols. Staying in Haran gave him great business opportunities and thus no reason to leave this part of the region.
This is the atmosphere Abram and Sarai grew up in until God’s call on Abram’s life. After his father died, Abram and Sarai then continued from Haran to Canaan to create a new lineage, distinct from his pagan ancestors.

The Lord said to Abram:
Go out from your land,
your relatives and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you.
Genesis 12:1

When called out by God to go to a land he nor Sarai had never seen, he was middle-aged, prosperous, settled and completely engulfed in pagan surroundings. Terah’s son Nahor and his wife Milcah remained in Haran choosing not to leave with them on the journey into the unknown.

So Abram went, as the Lord had
told him, and Lot went with him.
Abram was 75 years old when
he left Haran. He took his wife Sarai,
his nephew Lot, all the
possessions they had accumulated,
and the people he had acquired
in Haran, and they set out
for the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:4,5

Abram, now seventy-five years old, left Haran and set out for a 500-mile journey to the land of Canaan. Joining him was his wife Sarai, who was sixty-five years old (Gen. 17:17), and his nephew Lot, along with all their possessions and the people they had acquired.
Sarai, which means “my princess”, indicates she may have lived a very pampered life with high social status. She had been living along the river bank of the Euphrates in and among the unimaginable riches of Chaldea in the wealthiest city, Ur. She is first uprooted from Ur of Chaldea leaving all she knew and all that knew her.

There was a famine in the land, so
Abram went down to Egypt to live
there for a while because the
famine in the land was severe.
When he was about to enter
Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,
“Look, I know what a beautiful
woman you are. Please say you’re
my sister so it will go well for me
because of you, and my life will
be spared on your account.”
Genesis 12: 10,11,13

Abram and Sarai would have to learn to depend on God as their trip to Egypt appears to be of their own planning. Instead of remaining in Canaan after their arrival, they learn there is a great famine and proceed on to Egypt.
Abram and Sarai were husband and wife but because of his fear and her beauty he asks that she present herself as his sister. It appears she agrees to this tale. In actuality, that was not an outright lie as they are half-brother and sister. Both have the same father, Terah, but different mothers. (Gen. 20:12).
Even though Sarai was sixty-five years old, the Egyptians did realize how beautiful she was. Noticing her arrival along with her “brother” she was taken to Pharaoh for his harem. Ancient writings indicate Sarai was second only to Eve in beauty. In enemy territory a man could be killed for his wife since, in Egypt, there was no divorce, only death.
When a woman entered a Pharaoh’s or king’s harem there would be a period consisting of several months to a year for her purification. The ruler or king would not engage in any sexual relations with his new “bride” until the end of her beautification process.
Pharaoh learns, through Divine intervention, that the new lady in town is married and things are not going to go well for him, or his court, if he does not give her back immediately to her husband.
He gives Sarai back to Abram, paying him to the point that Abram becomes very wealthy, acquiring “flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves and camels.” (Gen. 12:16). It is believed this is where Sarai received Hagar as her handmaiden.

Then Abram went up from Egypt
to the Negev – he, his wife, and
all he had, and Lot with him.
Genesis 13:1

Abram and Lot had become very wealthy with many possessions, thus the need to separate. Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley, choosing to live in the cities of the valley and set his tent near Sodom. The Jordan valley was lush and fertile and may have reminded him of the place he had once called home, Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram and Sarai then ventured toward the west and settled in the land of Canaan.

After Lot had separated from him,
the Lord said to Abram, “Look
from the place where you are. Look
north and south, east and west,
for I will give you and your offspring
forever all the land that you see.”
Genesis 13:14,15

Sarai knew God had promised her husband to make him the father of a great nation. She had not become pregnant throughout the many years of their marriage but, the reality of it all was, she is now old. She is not only old but getting older by the day. She needed this process for her husband to begin.
Ten more years had now passed since they had left Haran and still no baby. Sarai was becoming impatient and was beginning to scheme out a plan to get a baby on the way.
In ancient times a man, who had no son, could take a second wife so as to carry on his family name and ancestry. Some marriage contracts specified this was to be done in the case where the first wife was barren. A wife was obligated to have children. If she could not, she then was obligated to find her husband a woman who could bear a child. If a child was born from the union, he/she could be considered the first wife’s child.

Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne
him children. She owned
an Egyptian slave named Hagar.
Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord
has prevented me from bearing
children, go to my slave;
perhaps I can have children by her.”
And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
Genesis 16:1,2

Sarai presented the case to Abram and he agreed to this arrangement. Sarai gave Hagar to Abram and she conceived. Common sense would tell anyone this was probably not a well thought out plan. Offering Hagar to her husband to bear an “heir” may have been acceptable behavior at the time, but in God’s promise to Abram this child would not be the “heir” apparent.
Not too much time had to pass before Sarai realized this was not one of her better ideas. After finding herself pregnant, Hagar began to despise her mistress and looked down upon Sarai. Sarai becomes totally unreasonable and blames Abram for the whole bad plan. Obviously, there was enough blame to go around for everyone involved.
Sarai mistreated Hagar to the point she ran away into the wilderness, possibly trying to get back to Egypt, her homeland. But the Angel of the Lord communicated to Hagar to return to her mistress, name her child “Ishmael” and promised she would become a matriarch in her own right.

So Hagar gave birth to
Abram’s son, and Abram
gave the name Ishmael to the son
Hagar had.  Abram was 86 years
old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
Genesis 16:15,16

Sarai remained without child for another thirteen years after Hagar’s son, Ishmael was born. She had been living in tents twenty-four years now and was getting ready to turn ninety years of age along with her husband turning one hundred on his next birthday.
Sarai appears ill-tempered at times, impatient and frustrated about not having a child of her very own. Looking for a baby now put a whole new spin on the word “hope” as she was now well past child bearing age.

“I will establish My covenant
between Me and you, and I will
multiply you greatly.”
Genesis 17:2

At ninety-nine years of age God came to Abram and reassured him of his covenant with him. It was at this time He changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Abram means “exalted father”, whereas Abraham means “father of a multitude”.

God said to Abraham, “As for your
wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for
Sarah will be her name. I will bless her;
indeed, I will give you a son by her.
I will bless her, and she will produce
nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Genesis 17:15,16

God now brings Sarai into the covenant promise changing her name to Sarah. As mentioned earlier, Sarai means “my princess”, whereas Sarah means “princess”, or “princess of the multitude”. Up to this time the covenant promise had been only with Abraham.

The Lord came to Sarah as
He had said, and the Lord
did for Sarah what He had promised.
Sarah became pregnant
and bore a son to Abraham
in his old age, at the
appointed time God had told him.
Abraham was 100 years old when
his son Isaac was born to him.
Genesis 21:1,2,5

Sarah was now a new mom at ninety years of age. Twenty-five years had passed since she had set out for the land of Canaan with her husband on a promise God had made to him. “My princess” had been through quite a lot in those years. She had moved approximately 1100 miles from the culture and customs she had known for the first sixty-five years of her life. She had been living in tents instead of a nice home. She had been living in a foreign land among foreign people all this time.
Her husband, twice out of fear for his own life, allowed her to be given to a Pharaoh in Egypt and a King in Gerar, claiming she was his sister both times. He also, albeit at her request, had a child with her hand-maiden, which she most likely acquired when they were in Egypt.
Some of Abraham’s schemes nearly lost him his wife, and without Sarah his promised blessing was doomed. Situations Abraham found himself and Sarah in, he was unable to get out of on his own. Thus, God delivered her from the hand of Pharaoh and the King of Gerar, both times making Abraham very rich. God, in His mercy, did this so His covenant promise to Abraham might be fulfilled.

The child grew and was weaned,
and Abraham held a great feast
on the day Isaac was weaned.
But Sarah saw the son mocking –
the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne
to Abraham. So she said to Abraham,
“Drive out this slave with her son,
for the son of this slave will not
be a co-heir with my son Isaac!”
Genesis 21:8-10

Hagar’s son, Ishmael had been Abraham’s only son and presumed heir for the last fourteen years. Mother and son had been held in high regard, but the circumstance changed abruptly when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. At the time Isaac was weaned, Abraham threw a great feast for him. Sarah caught Ishmael making fun of Isaac and that seemed to be all she could take of this concubine and her child.
Sarah knew God’s promise of the covenant blessing being through Isaac. She was not going to allow Ishmael to claim first born rights as heir. Sarah’s statement to “drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be co-heir with my son Isaac” is the last recorded words spoken by Sarah.
Even though Hagar was in the position she had been put in by Sarah’s own making, Sarah had a great dislike for Hagar. Never once does Sarah speak directly to Hagar or even speak her name.
It must have hurt Abraham, on the other hand, a great deal to send his oldest son into the hot desert with seemingly no chance of survival. They were, at Sarah’s insistence, given bread and water and sent on their own into the wilderness.

Now Sarah lived 127 years;
these were all the years of her life.
Genesis 23:1

Sarah is the only female in the bible whose age is given. She is buried in the cave of Machpelah which today is called the tomb of the patriarchs. Also buried there is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah, and Leah. The cave is located near the west bank city of Hebron.
Abraham and Sarah were of the Godly line of Adam, Seth, and Shem. He was tenth generation after the flood when God called him to “go out from your land, and your relatives.” Five of his ancestors, including Shem, were still alive and most likely living in Ur which, as mentioned, was the most advanced city of the ancient world. 
When Abraham was born Shem was three hundred and ninety years old. He died at approximately 600 years of age according to Gen. 11:10,11. Noah was eight hundred and ninety-two years old when Abraham was born and then died at 950 years of age as recorded in Gen. 9:28. It is very probable Abraham learned first hand about the flood from his relative who built the ark, Noah, and from Noah’s son Shem who survived the flood while in the ark.
At that time genealogical records were kept and handed down perfectly. Abraham would have known about Methuselah, who in turn had known or known about Adam, giving Abraham knowledge of the creation, itself.
When God called Abraham out of Ur and then again out of Haran, it appears he and Sarah may have been solitary believers in a sea of idolatry. Just ten generations after the flood, seemingly people had, once again, fallen away from God. Thus, God called Abraham, along with Sarah, out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan, with the intent of making a people for Himself.
As mentioned before, Sarah was beautiful and, more than likely, lived a very privileged first sixty-five years. Archaeological expeditions have uncovered remains of Ur which appears to have been a large metropolis. Some of the houses uncovered had twelve to fourteen rooms and were two and three stories high, built around atrium’s with balconies surrounding the homes.
Going from plush garden like surroundings to living in tents in a desert would obviously have a “culture shock” tendency. Our expectations and God’s perfect solutions do not always appear the same and usually are quite different than originally thought.
Sarah had waited ninety years to have a baby. Yes, she had faults, just as everyone has. She was impatient, jealous, fearful, and even angry and mean spirited at times, yet God blessed her with a son in her old age.
As promised, she became the mother of many nations. She is considered the mother of the Jewish people. One of her descendants is the Messiah, Himself.
But outweighing Sarah’s faults was her faith. God had promised Abraham he would be the father of many. The promise, for twenty-five years, over looked any short comings she may have had. Sarah believed even in the face of the “impossible.” Her faith wavered on occasion but in the end, she believed God and He blessed her greatly.
Some of Sarah’s decisions indicate it is not good to get in a hurry and try to out run God in the scheme of things. It is hard enough to try and keep up with God. Trying to get ahead of Him never ends well.

Lesson learned: it is not a good idea to get out of the realm of God’s Perfect Timing for God’s Perfect Plan, especially when He has already given His Perfect Promise.
           

When Sarah died she could not have imagined what lay ahead for both of Abraham’s sons. We are not told if Sarah was made aware of Abraham being told by God to slay their son, Isaac. It is not mentioned in the account if she was even alive at that time. She certainly was unaware, throughout her life time, that the mountain Abraham would ascend with their son would be the very same mountain God’s Son would one day ascend also.
Sarah, having a child so late in life, was how God chose, in His timing, to bring about a new people. A special people, peculiar people, for Himself. This “late in life” child would be the start of the children of promise God had made to Abraham and then to Sarah.
All who belong to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, are the descendants of this child of promise born to this mother of all nations.

Thought for the day:
“The future is always beginning now”.
Anonymous