Sarah, The Mother Of Many Nations

Genesis  17:15-16                                                                           Mother’s Day 2011   5/8/11

Kevin E. Jesmer

“God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ 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.’” (NIV)

     Happy Mother’s Day! This is the day that we honor our mothers for who they are and all that they do. We only have one mother here today with us. Her name is Julie. One of us has a mother over 4,000 miles away in South Korea. He misses her a lot. But luckily they can talk together every Saturday on Skype. One pastor, in a church with homeless people, gave the people change and the opportunity to phone their mothers. The Bible says “Honor your father and your mother.” We must honor our mom’s simply because they are our moms. How are you planning to honor our mom? Today, in this passage, we want to learn about a very famous mother. She is Sarah, the wife of Abraham, a mother of many nations. Why is she called the mother of many nations? What characterized her faith? How can we be like her? This will the subject of our spiritual quest today.

Part l: Sarai…A Supportive, Believing Wife

We are all very much familiar with Genesis. In the text we can learn so many things about Sarah. From Gen 11:29 we learn that; The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. One meaning given to her is, “My princess”. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sarai) This could mean that she was raised up by her parents as a princess. She may have even looked like a princess. In Genesis 12:11; “Abraham said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are.’” She was a very beautiful woman, even at age of 65. Here, beauty came from her inner character. It has been said that character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, an inner discipline, a fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful. That is how Sarah could be beautiful even in her senior years. Think about Psalm 31, which is all about a woman of noble character. She is worth more than rubies no matter what her age.

Sarai was Abraham’s close relative. From Gen 20:12 we learn that Sarahwas Abraham’s half-sister, the daughter of his father though not of his mother; and she became his wife.Today we think that this is kind of weird, but in those days it was not unusual to marry your cousin, or your half sister. It solidified extended family and tribal bonds and kept wealth within the family.

Sarai had a personal agony of life. She could not have any children. She was infertile. In that culture there was a lot of pressure to bear a child, especially a son. This must have caused her sorrow, knowing that she was not able to produce an heir for her husband. There would be no one to carry on the family name, nor someone to pass on the wealth or the family treasures. Not only that, she would have felt that she was cursed by God because of her sins. It must have been a source of grief for Sarai. For years she could have fretted that her husband would blame her and leave her.  But she and Abram still loved each other. She was confident in her husband’s love for her and they served other kids, like their young nephew Lot, treating them like their own.

For the first fifty years of marriage, they worshipped the local gods, for they came from an idol worshipping family. Things went on the same, every year, until one day God came to disrupt their routine life. Look at Gen 12:1-3; “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 ‘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. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’” 

     This call from God was not just to Abram, but also to Sarah. It affected their whole family. Look at 12:4-5, “So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.” It is not easy for a 65 year old lady to follow the spiritual inspiration of her husband. They must have talked about it during their “pillow talk” time. It was a struggle for her to leave her routine, secure, comfortable life. She would also have to leave her family and her people and her father’s household. She would have to leave her daily “woman’s” fellowship who met at the well every morning. She would have to leave the comforts and conveniences of home and go where there as new food, new languages, new customs, and even new dangers. She would have felt lonely and insecure.  But she accepted the whole concept and made a decision to follow her husband wherever this new God led them. She accepted her husband’s calling as her own calling and, though it was very uncomfortable and inconvenient for her she committed the rest of her life, living a tent life with her husband, in the arid lands of Palestine.

The first real test of their relationship came when they encountered a famine. Genesis 12:10 reads, “Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.” A famine meant that there was not enough food for the animals. They faced a quest for survival. And so they left the Promised Land and went to Egypt. On arriving there, they were afraid of the local Pharaoh, that he would kill Abram and take Sarai into his harem.

And so Abram devised a scheme. Listen to Genesis 12:11-13; “As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” Abraham was trying to save his own skin, at the expense of his wife. He lied and she was taken into Pharaoh’s harem. She was 65, but she was beautiful. King Tut’s dad lived to 110 years old. And so a woman who was 65 was like robbing the cradle. She would have been assign to give spas and beauty treatments to other young ladies and teach them in regards to poise, manners, protocol and proper speech. Can you image how Sarai felt? She was abandoned by her own husband because he was afraid of loosing his life! She submitted to the plan however, even though she did not like it. She also forgave her husband and prayed to God to deliver them out of their foolish predicament.

But God was with this family of faith and rescued them from Abram’s foolishness. After God’s sovereign intervention they returned to the Promised Land. Look at 13:1-4, “So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.”  Despite of their foolish mistakes, God gave them great wealth. Abram repented and went back to the place where they first began to live by faith and Sarai went with him. She must have been relieved that the whole ordeal was over and thanked God that Abram learned a great lesson. She learned that timeless truth that God never abandons those whom he has chosen.

Part ll:  Their Practical Life Together.

Their practical life together was not easy. From Gen 13:18; we can see thatAbram moved his tents and built an altar to the LORD.  Actually Abram built many altars to the Lord over the years. Each time he built the altar he was declaring his thanksgiving to God and his fresh decision of faith to follow the Lord and a renewed commitment to hold onto God’s promises.

Abram and Sarai’s tent community was always on them move. People like to live in a secure, stable location with no troubles. But that was not in the works of Sarah. For 62 years she would live a nomadic life. In 14:14,15, We learn that Abraham had 318 militarily trained men who fought in battles.Sarah would have to endure long hours of Abraham being out of the house training his men and even endangering his own life.  When Sarah wanted to go to bed, she would turn and see Abram not there. Where was he? He may have been putting the finishing touches on the huge earthen works for his latest altar.  Sarai was also supportive of her husband when he wanted to offer money to God. In Gen 14:20b, Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of the plunder from the battle.She supported Abram in this and did not stop him from offering God a tithe.

We can see more of the inner working dynamics of their family when they were visited by the three strangers in Genesis 18:1-8. These verses read, “The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.’  ‘Very well,’ they answered, ‘do as you say.’  6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. ‘Quick,’ he said, ‘get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread.’ 7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.”  Their family worked hard together as “one body” to serve three strangers. They did their best to serve others. They gave their best. They were willing to loose some something so that others could be blessed. Sarah was not afraid to the hard work.  Look at Gen 18:6, “6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread.” three seahs is 20 quarts. This could make at least 80 loaves of bread. Sarah obeyed Abram’s direction. She was also very humble. Many wives, if their husbands told them, “Quick! Do this!” would say, “I beg your pardon.” But Sarah simply obeyed and the whole family and visitors were blessed.

She respected Abram regardless of his weakness. There is truth to the saying, behind every great man there is a woman. Behind the great Abraham there was the equally great Sarah. We have already discussed about his lying about Sarah in order to save his own skin. Do you know that he did that twice? Yes he did. (Gen 20:2) Abram often fell into despair about his “No son” problem.  He despaired when Lot left the mission and the Promised Land to seek his own personal benefit. (Gen 13:14) He was fearful when Lot abandoned them again, even after Abram rescued him from certain slavery. (Gen 15:1) It is not easy when husbands fall into fear and despair and sorrow. Some mope around and try to make everyone know how bad they feel. It is hard to bear. But a woman like Sarah, a mother of many nations, knows how to bear their mistakes and their weakness and encourage their husbands and help them to stand up as servants of God with their heads held high. I thank God, for Julie who bears all my sorrows and my despair and stands by me in these down times in my life.  She plants hope and faith in my heart. She is indeed a woman of many nations.

Sarah also respected her husband as the leader of the house and submitted to her leadership. Listen to what 1 Peter 3:5-6, “For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” This message does not go over well with most ladies in our society, but that is the kind of woman that Sarah was.  We can not get over the fact that the Bible says that the head of the family is the husband. (Eph 5:23) I think this has to do with a man’s character. He wants to be respected and to be in a position of leadership even when he is not qualified. A man can really grow in his inner person if he is supported by his wife to be a servant of God and a husband and father. But he will fall if he is constantly disrespected and unsupported at home.

We think that such a family of faith is easy to produce. But this is not the case. It is hard for a spiritual leader in the church to find a woman who is on the “same page” spiritually. The Bible says that in marriage the two become one. (Gen 2:24) This means that God hopes that a husband and a wife may be one in spirit, hope, faith, love and mission. How can Abraham find a woman that would wander around in tents the rest of her life? Where would he find a woman who would spend time alone as their husband did the work of God? Who would support her husband when he wanted offered ten percent of the family income to the church? Who would serve strangers a feast each time they visited? Who would follow her husband’s calling from God, even to another country? And all the time refer to her husband as her master? (Gen 18:12) This is the lifestyle of the mother of many nations in the Bible. This is the lifestyle of Sarah. May God raise up many mothers of many nations among us so that the kingdom of God may grow and Jesus may be glorified.

Part lll: Sarai’s Impatient Act And Unbelief

Sarah was a great woman of faith, but not perfect. She had her problems. There was a time when she was impatient with God’s timing and God’s will. Look at Gen 16: 1-2, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, ‘The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’” It was 10 years of living by faith. She was now 75 and still no child. Lot was gone and there still was no heir to become a great nation. Ten years! It is long time. And so Sarah came up with a human plan to solve her life problem. She was desperate. Her heart was in the right place, for she wanted to fulfill God’s will. She wanted to please her husband. But it was misguided in how to procure the child and she suffered greatly for years.

Her mistake created a lot of trouble in the house. Look at Gen 16:4-6, “He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.’  ⁶ ‘Your servant is in your hands,’ Abram said. ‘Do with her whatever you think best.’ Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.” There was a lot of tension in the home. She let her emotions get out of control and she mistreated her maidservant. Sarah’s humanness was showing. She might have mistreated Hagar to help Hagar repent and keep her place in the tent village and enduring her safety and provision. She could have also just been poking at Hagar out of her anger.

Sarah was also full of unbelief at times. God came to her to plant his promises in her heart. Gen 18:9-10 reads, “’Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘There, in the tent,’ he said. 10 Then the LORD  said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’ Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.”  She would have a son, Isaac, in God’s time and in God’s way. She would have her child when she was 75 years old. But at first she doubted. 18:11-12 reads, “Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” She really didn’t believe that a woman in her 70’s could have a child. Who could believe it? But she was lacking in faith. One day her laughter of unbelief would become laughter of faith. Our biblical faith says, “Nothing is impossible with God” ( Lk 1:37)

The point is…mothers of many nations are not perfect, just forgiven and still precious in God’s sight. This gives all of us hope because we are not perfect, just forgiven. God can still work through us to make us into mothers and fathers of many nations. Praise God!

Part lll: Sarai’s Name Is Changed To Sarah

God still loved Sarai and chose to work through her despite of her impatient act. Look at 17:15-16, “God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ 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.’ And God said, in verse 17 and 18, “¹⁹ Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’” God accepted Sarah’s faith. He honored her as our matriarch of faith. And God did fulfill his promises in his way and in his time. Kings did come from her, including King David and even Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. God blesses us unconditionally by his grace.

She accepted God’s name change, from Sarai, “little princess” to Sarah which means “mother of many nations”. That means she accepted God’s hope for her and God’s promise that a son would come from her own body. She also accepted her identity as a mother of many nations. No longer could she live as a little princess or even a nice senior wife of Abraham. She would live up to her high calling with a clear identity of who she was in God. Who we believe we are is very important. How you see yourself in God is very important. Have hope and vision for your life and live according to God’s hope for you.

Sarah was truly changed when she experienced God’s great miracle, the birth of the promised son, Isaac. Look at Gen 21:1-5, “Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaacto the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.” Her heart was filled with joy. Gen 21:6-7 reads, “Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’ ⁷ And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’”  Her joy spilled over to others. She had a personal experience and God matured her faith. She was a blessing to others around her. She spread joy and laughter. A mother of many nations should be harbingers of faith and joy and much laughter.

Sarah also knew the importance of nurturing and protecting the work of God. Look at 21:9-10, “But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, ¹⁰ and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”  She knew that Isaac was promised son, whom God would pass on the messianic promises. She knew that it was not right for little Isaac to be subjected to constant mocking, hatred and even possible future assassination. And so she took steps to protect him and nurture a spiritual environment for his growth. May God raise up many mothers who truly care about the spiritual environment of their kids.

God blessed her with a long, fruitful life.  Gen 23:1-2, “1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.”  One hundred and twenty year! And it was not just 120 years of existing with pain and weakness and hoping to die. It was lifetime of fruitfulness and blessing and serving Lord. It was a very fruitful long life. I am not sure what God has in store for us. But if it is long life, may it be a life well lived like that of Sarah.

She left behind  a legacy that testified to her faith beyond death. Even in her death she was remembered as one who believed God and lived by faith. We see where she was buried in Genesis 23:19-20, “Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.” This cave is where many patriarchs of faith were buried . They all had one thing in common. They had faith in God ad lived their lives holding onto the promises of God that were fulfilled beyond their lifetime on earth. They were all on a pilgrimage to a heavenly home, the Kingdom of God.  This was Sarah’s legacy. She was woman on the spiritual pilgrimage, who lived by faith. May God establish such legacies among the faithful women of our land.

Part l: Sarai…A Supportive, Believing Wife

1. What was Sarai’s relation to Abram? (11:29; Gen 20:12; Gen 12:11b) What does Sarai mean? What was her personal agony of life? How would that affect her relationship with Abraham? What was her hope in life?

1. How old was Sarah when God called her husband? (Gen 12:1-5) How do you

think she felt? What was their first life threatening hardship? (12:10) What did

Abram do? (12:11-13) How do you think she felt about this?

1. What was Sarai’s life like? (13:1-4, 18; 14:14,15) How do you think Sarai helped her husband in his time of despair? (14:14; 15:2) think about how she supported him to live his spiritual life? (13:4a, 18;14:20b)

Part ll: Sarai’s Impatient Act

4.   How did she interpret her infertility? How did Sarai show her impatience in waiting

on God? (16:   ) What suggestion did she make? (16:2) What made her do such

a desperate act? How do you think she felt about this?

5.  What happened in the household when Hagar discovered that she was

pregnant? (16:4-6) Why do you think Sarai “mistreated” Hagar? (look at some

other translations) What was her life like during the “silent” years?

Part lll: Sarai’s Name Is Changed To Sarah

6. What was God’s promise concerning Sarai? (17:15-19)  What does her name change mean? Why did Abraham laugh? (17:17)

7. How did Abraham and his household serve the three visitors? (18:1-8) What did Abraham tell his wife to do? (18:6) Think of the enormity of the task.

8. What promise did the visitors have to share with Abraham? (18:9-10) Why didn’t they talk to Sarah directly? How come Sarah laughed? (18:11-12) Why did Sarah lie about her laughter of unbelief? (18:15)

9.   How did Abraham lie about Sarah again? (20:1-2) Why did he do it? What

agreement did they have? (20:13) How did she feel about this?

10. What happened to Sarah? (21:1-5) What was Sarah’s testimony concerning the

birth of Isaac? (21:6-7)

11. What danger did Sarah see in sharing a life with Hagar’s child? (21:9-10) How

could this have affected her and Abraham’s relationship?

12.  How old was Sarah when she died? (23:1) Where was she buried? (23:19-20)

What did that cave become a symbol of?