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Scripture: Genesis chapters 11-23
Genesis 20:12
Noah, then Shem, plus eight generations and we get to Terah. Terah the father
of Abram (Abraham), Nahor and Haran (Genesis 11:26) Abram and Nahor married
women who were descendants of Haran. Sarah was probably Abraham’s niece.
(Genesis 11:29)
I would like for us to consider what we know of Sarah’s life as Abraham’s
wife. She probably had known Abraham all of her life. They lived in Ur of the
Chaldees and she probably assumed they would stay right there close to their
families. Then one day her father-in-law says, “Let’s move.”
…and they did. Their entire family units did not move, so Sarah undoubtedly
left behind her parents and most of her siblings. No mail, no telephone, no
computer, and no thought that she would ever see her family again. Vacations
weren’t a common occurrence. Many women today would be fussing about not
wanting to move away from Mama or away from their friends. They moved to Haran
and lived there until Terah died.
Then God told Abraham that he would be blessed but God wanted him to move again
and this time to leave all of their extended family behind. They foolishly allowed
Lot and his family to move with them. It is very possible that Lot was Sarah’s
half-brother. Abraham and Sarah moved from Haran to the land of Canaan. At Sichem
in the plain of Moreh the Lord told Abraham to build an altar and worship Him.
(Genesis 12:8) Abraham built the altar at Bethel and then they continued to
move southward. It was as they traveled south that they faced a famine in the
land. Can’t you just imagine Sarah fuming about this? First they move from
their families because her father-in-law wanted to move, then they stay out
there in Haran for years. Then Abraham decides to move again. He doesn’t
know where he’s going but he’ll recognize it when he sees it. Then
there was a famine! How many of us would have been saying, “Well! He should
have known enough to stay out of the desert.” However, Sarah sticks with
her husband and they travel into the land of Egypt.
Now this wonderful man she married not only has her away from her family and
is having trouble providing for them he now realizes that his wife is beautiful
and the heathen Egyptians just might murder him to have her! Now wouldn’t
that give you a real sense of security? So Abraham and Sarah lie…or at
least stretch the truth.
I would like for you to grasp the impact of Sarah and Abraham’s travels.
The exact location of Ur of the Chaldees is unknown and there are four different
city ruins that have been thought to be Ur. We do know that all of those ruins
are in the land of modern day Iraq. They moved northwest to Haran in what is
present day Turkey. From Haran they traveled southeast to Canaan which is in
modern day Israel. When they left Canaan they continued to journey southward
to Egypt. When they left Egypt they began traveling northward toward the area
of the Dead Sea and back into Canaan. Throughout these hundred’s of miles
of travel they were walking or on camels in mostly arid, dusty areas. They traveled
through areas where they did not speak the language and where customs were very
different from their own. While Sarah was married to a wealthy man we must realize
that the traveling they did would have been a hardship on anyone. She did not
have the modern advantages of a rented air-conditioned truck, reinforced boxes,
or a hired moving company. This was pack-it-up and carry-it-with-you to use
as you travel moving.
Remember, throughout this time Sarah is childless. How many times do woman get
mad at God or their husbands because they have no child? I have known of women
who left a marriage because their husband would not or could not give them a
child.
You remember the time near Sodom that Lot was captured and Abraham had to go
rescue him and all his possessions. Just like today when a husband is in the
military. The husband may be assigned to duty away and his wife must face weeks,
months sometimes years of having to manage alone. Sarah remained faithful to
her husband.
Then there was the rampant homosexuality in the surrounding communities and
the judgement of God on Sodom and Gomorrah. Sarah like many of us lived close
to a wicked and immoral lifestyle. Throughout it all Sarah was right there at
Abraham's side.
In desperation Sarah suggests that Abraham father a child by Hagar and Sarah
will accept the child as her own. If Hagar even knew what the plan was, she
may have changed her mind…or never agreed in the first place but she was
a servant and had no personal rights. The closeness between the two women was
gone once Hagar conceived and the stress level in the home increased. How many
of us would graciously accept the knowledge that our husband had been with another
woman, even if it was our idea? Not only had he been with another woman while
he was married to us but we had said we would accept the child as our own and
were now expected to raise the child. I can’t imagine…
There was always the promise of God but believing the promise is not always
easy. It wasn’t easy for Sarah…she laughed at the thought that she
would become pregnant when she was 99. Do we sometimes doubt that God will do
what He says? It’s been so long and yet? God fulfills His promises in His
way and in His time.
Abraham and Sarah moved over and over again. Sarah entertained God’s messengers
on short notice. Isaac was finally born and raised. At age 127 Sarah died. We
often focus on Abraham as the father of the nation of Israel. We read and hear
the various accounts of Abraham’s life but in this lesson we are focusing
more on Sarah. While Sarah is an Old Testament woman God refers Sarah in the
New Testament as an example to us. 1Peter 3:1-6 “Likewise, ye wives, be
in subjection to your own husband; that, if any obey not the word, they also
may without the word be won by the conversation (life) of the wives; While
they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. (reverence)
Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and
of wearing of, or of putting on apparel;
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible,
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of
great price. For in this manner in the old time the holy women also, who
trusted God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands:
Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long
as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”
You see, Sarah lived a difficult and often unstable life without the closeness
of family and home but she faithfully stood with her husband and her name is
listed in God’s Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11:8-16.
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