WOMEN OF THE BIBLE: SARAI (SARAH)

 WOMEN OF THE BIBLE: 

  SARAI (SARAH)

“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:11‬).

When I think of Sarah, I try to imagine how she really was. The Bible describes her as “very fair to look upon'' meaning very beautiful. Her beauty wasn’t only from the outside but also from the inside. She was humble, selfless, virtuous, obedient but she was also impatient. “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭15:13). She had a very strong faith but also doubts. Very similar to almost all of us.

Because of Sarah’s beauty, Abraham was scared that someone would kill him and take his wife. I guess we forget sometimes that God is always protecting us, and we try to do the job for Him. When we do the job for God nothing comes out right. The Bible tells us God will fight for us. “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:14‬). “And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12:17-20‬).

Abraham knew what kind of a woman he had. A woman every eye would look at and admire. “And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive” (Genesis‬ ‭12:11-12‬).

Sarah was humble, selfless and obedient enough to call her husband lord; To think of others before her. “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” (1 Peter‬ ‭3:6‬).

A virtuous woman like Sarah was hard to find in those times and I also believe nowadays. The Bible says “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil All the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; She bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth meat to her household, And a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, And strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: Her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, And her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: For all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; Her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing; And she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31:10-31).

Sarah, like all of us had her mistakes, she was impatient and lied to the Lord; just because she lied does not mean we should. She was impatient because she was getting to the age where for sure she would have not been able to bear children. She lied because she was scared. “And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭18:9-15).

Sarah’s biggest mistakes were to doubt, lose faith and to lose patience. I cannot imagine waiting almost 100 years for a son or for anything I really want. I think I would have lost not only my faith and patience, but I would have probably not believed in God anymore. This is why a lot of people don't believe in our Lord because of their past. They have prayed for something, and nothing happened. They think no one is there to listen, no one loves them and it's not true. God loves everyone that is why He sent His Son to die for us. We need to be like Sarah and Eve to keep looking upon the Lord. They realized without God they were nothing.

A bonus story:  My mom was another Sarah. By listening to my parents and their stories, it’s a blessing to have parents like mine. Today 02/21/22 my parents were telling me the story of how they got engaged and the big party they had. Mom was saying my grandpa was not agreeing so their pastor talked to him, and everything went well after that. When my parents got married my mom did so much more than a normal wife would do for her husband; myself included. She said back in the day in my birth country a servant of God got treated with great respect. She would clip his fingernails and toenails, shave him, cut his hair, iron all his clothes, and serve him the best portion of food. She said she would get up at two or three in the morning every day so that she could spend time not only with him but with their eight children as well. My dad confirmed these stories, it made me so happy to hear them remember their lives as newlyweds. Now I would like to say: I have a great mother, a virtuous mother that worked hard next to my dad to give us a good godly life. I am so grateful to my Lord to give me great parents like them.

Likhi Roush