SARAH, SARAI, SARA


THE WOMAN WHO BECAME THE MOTHER OF NATIONS
A. "AND ABRAM AND NAHOR TOOK THEM WIVES; THE NAME OF ABRAM'S WIFE WAS SARAI" - GEN. 11:29
  1. With these words begins the history of Sarai, the wife of Abram:
    1. They became man and wife in the land of Ur of the Chaldees
    2. It was not long after that when Terah, the father of Abram, took Abram and his wife Sarai, and Lot the son of Haran and went to the land of Canaan - Gen. 11:31
  2. The history of Sarai is most interesting:
    1. Because she became the mother of nations
    2. Also, she became the mother of all believers - Gal. 4:26
B. LET US NOTE A NUMBER OF HIGH POINTS IN THE HISTORY OF THAT GREAT WOMAN OF THE BIBLE
  1. Scriptural References: Gen. 11:49, 29-31; 12:5-17; 16:1-8; 17:15-21; 18:20,2-18; 21:1-12; 23:1-19; 24:36-37; 25:10-12; 49:31; Is. 51:2; Rom. 4:19; 9:9; Heb. 11:11; I Pet. 3:6
  2. Name Meaning: She was called Sarai, meaning "princely"; Sarah means "chieftainess"; and Sarah means whom God blesses. She is one of the exceptions in the Bible where God changed her name, "And God said unto Abraham, "As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name" - Gen. 17:15- 16
  3. Uniqueness of Sarah: Strange though it may seem, the first Jew was a Gentile, for Abraham who came from beyond the Euphrates was the first man to be called a Hebrew - Gen. 14:13. The word "Hebrew" means "the immigrant" - and that is true of Abraham and Sarah who sojourned all the days of their married life. What is important is the fact that Sarah became one of the most important women in the world for numerous reasons.
  4. Her beauty: She was, perhaps, the most beautiful woman living - next to Eve. But her beauty brought Abraham and Sarah into great trouble several times. Abraham told her to tell a half truth to the kings in Egypt and Abimelech - Gen. 12:11-20; 20:1-18
C. A FEW HIGH POINTS IN THE LIFE OF SARAH TO BEAR IN MIND
  1. She was of a noble character:
    1. Her great beauty was not confined to her bodily features; but, also to the noble spirit she possessed - I Pet. 3:6
    2. She was possessed of a free spirit and became a type of the New Jerusalem which is free indeed - Gal. 4:22-31
  2. She is the woman of God's gracious promises:
    1. She was promised a son when she was about ninety years old - passed the time of childbirth - Gen. 17
    2. "I will bless her and give thee a son also of her and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her" - Gen. 17:16
  3. Only three other women heard such glorious promises from God:
    1. Elizabeth heard a wonderful promise from the Lord - Luke 1:24-25, 7-20
    2. Mary, the mother of Jesus - Luke 1:26-33
    3. The wife of Manoah - Judges 13:3-6
  4. Sarah was, perhaps, one of the longest lived women of which we have any record save it be Eve, of which age we have no record in the Bible:
    1. Sarah lived to be 126 years old when she died
    2. Also, she was the first woman that had a special burial place as far as the Bible records show - Gen. 23:1-20; 25:8-10
  5. When we think of Abraham and Sarah, two great gospel truths stand high before our minds:
    1. God's promises to Abraham and his seed - Gal. 3:15; Gen. 12:1-6
    2. The promised land - Gen. 13:14-17; Heb. 11:8-16
    3. As yet, we are as Abraham and Sarah were pilgrims and strangers in this present evil world; we have no abiding city - I Pet. 2:11
    4. But our eyes are focused upon a better country and a city which God hath prepared for Abraham and his seed, that is in part what we gather from the life story of Sarah.


Design © John Bryant 2011