SARAH: The Mother of Many Nations
Living
by Faith is not a blind leap, but a steady walk with God, taking hold of His
invisible yet powerful hand. It is seeing life and all its circumstances, as
well as the complex challenges, through the eyes of God. It is taking God at
His Word and believing in His promises.
During my
study, I discovered the story of an incredible woman of God who served in the
White House for 24 Years and Prayed Regularly for the Presidents of the USA.
Emma
Daniel Gray was
raised by her grandfather, a former slave who had been sold three times. She died
on June 8, 2009, at the age of 95. There was a big story about her in The Washington
Post because, for 24 years, she was the woman who cleaned the office of
the President of the United States. She served six presidents till she retired
in 1979.
Her
official title was "Charwoman." Mrs. Gray was a devout Christian. She
would stand and pray over the President's chair each time she dusted it, her
cleaning supplies in one hand, the other on the chair. She prayed for his safety and that
he would receive the gift of wisdom. While reflecting on the way she
lived life, her pastor said, "She saw life through the eyes of promise is
the way I'd put it. You can always look around and find reasons to be unhappy,
but you couldn't be around her and not know what she believed."[1] What a powerful
intercessor!
That
is precisely what God's people do: see life through the eyes of promise—and
pray accordingly. In our series on Heroes of Faith, we learned about Abraham, who, despite
all odds, trusted God. His belief in God was credited to him as righteousness,
earning him the title "The Father of Many Nations." We will learn
about his wife, Sarai, who, like many of us, had her weaknesses and doubts.
However, despite all odds and ridicule, she lived her life through the eyes of
promise. God called her SARAH: The Mother of Many Nations.
Hebrews 11:11-16
I. Who
was Sarai in the Bible?
"Sarai
began her life in the pagan world of Ur, located in the land of the Chaldeans,
which is now part of the area known as Iraq. She was the half-sister, as well
as the wife, of Abram. Sarai and Abram had the same father but different
mothers (Gen 20:12).
In those days, genetics were purer than they are today, and intermarriage was
not detrimental to the offspring of unions between relatives. Additionally,
since people spent their lives clustered together in family units, it was
natural to choose mates from within their own tribes and families.[2]
The
name Sarai means princess. She was a very beautiful woman. (Gen 12:11). At age
65, while she was presented to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and at age 90 to
Abimelech, the king of Gerar, Abraham introduced her as his sister to save
himself from being killed. (Gen 20:12).
Sarai had a problem, as stated in Gen 11:30: "Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children." What does Sarah's barrenness have to do with God's plan of redemption? Carol Kaminiski notes in CASKET/EMPTY, "All three of the patriarchs' wives, Sarah(Gen 11:30), Rebekah (Gen 25:21), and Rachel (Gen 29:31), were barren, given the promise of God to Abraham that he would have many children. Their barrenness establishes that the promise made by God can only be fulfilled by God. He alone can bring forth life out of Sarah's barren womb."[3]
Barrenness
in the OT was considered a curse from God. You can only imagine the struggle
and rejection that Abraham and Sarah may have endured. Paul picks up their
struggle in Rom 4:19-21, "Without weakening in his
Faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about a
hundred years old and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver
through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his
Faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do
what he had promised."
II.
Sarah Is A Model Of Faith & Doubt
Our
politicians are great at making promises during their campaigns, but once in
office, they often struggle to keep all the bold promises they made. However,
it is not like that with our God; our God is a promise-making God, but He also
keeps His promises. All the promises in the Bible are "Yeah and Amen."
God has a pretty good track record of keeping His promises.
God
has no problems with our problems, but with our solutions, even then, he can
handle them. How did that play out in the lives of Abraham and Sarah? They had
a problem; they couldn't have children. They were very old and had long since
passed the childbearing stage. It was not a problem for God. He said to
Abraham, 'You should no longer call your wife Sarai; her name will be Sarah.' I
will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that
she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
(Gen 17:15-16).
Abraham
might have thought it was hilarious, so he fell facedown laughing and said to
himself, 'Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?' Will Sarah bear a
child at the age of ninety? The LORD said to Abraham, 'Next year, your wife
will have a son.' Upon hearing the message from the tent, Sarah laughed to
herself and thought, "After I am worn out and my Lord is old, I now have
this pleasure? The Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh?
And
confronted her, doubting and said, Is anything too hard for the LORD. Sarah was
afraid, so she lied and said, "I didn't laugh," but he said,
"Yes, you did laugh." Gen 18:10-15. One year seemed like an eternity
to Sarah, and she was growing increasingly impatient. She took matters into her
own hands. She sent her Egyptian maid servant, Hagar, to Abraham, and Hagar
gave birth to Ishmael. By that one act of impatience, Sarah
ignited a feud between Jews and the sons of Ishmael for over 4,000 years. She
made mistakes, like all of us, but because of her Faith in God, as noted in
Hebrews 11:11-12, Sarah truly became the Mother of Many Nations.
III. A
message from Sarah to the Daughters of Sarah.
Although
Abraham and Sarah lived over 5,000 years ago, the Father and the Mother of Many
Nations still speak to their many sons and daughters of Faith. Abraham would
say, 'Against all hope, have hope in God; in due time, He will fulfill His
promises.' Sarah would say, 'Don't be impatient and take matters into your own
hands; It is too risky! Have Faith in God!
Apostle
Peter uses the examples of the holy women of the past, particularly Sarah, to
teach wives and women in general what truly matters. I Peter 3:1-6, "What
matters is not your outer appearance, the styling of your hair, the jewelry you
wear, the cut of your clothes, but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner
beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old
were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their
husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as
"my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the
same, un-anxious and un-intimidated." (The Message).
Peter's
primary focus is not on women's hairstyles (taking about hairstyles would be a
risky business). Neither was it to have the wives address their husbands,
"Lord," as Sarah called Abraham, my Lord. It was all about what was
truly fitting for women who follow Christ.
The
world places a great deal of emphasis on external beauty. Young girls in
particular struggle to match up with the models they see on Instagram, in
films, and in magazines.
Whereas God is delighted with the inner beauty, as it reads in 1 Peter 3:3, "the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of greater worth in God's sight." (NIV). Many women in the first century, and even now, generally don't like the idea of submission and obedience to their husbands. So, Peter gives them the holy women, in particular Sarah, as examples. He goes on to say, "You are the daughters of Sarah if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." As the children of Abraham & Sarah by Faith, let us follow their example of living by Faith and avoiding their mistakes.
