Sarah part two

I have never had too much time for Sarah, Abraham’s wife, but as I read her story again I realize that I am way more like her than I am like Abraham. In fact, I think I have seriously misunderstood her situation. We tend to do that don’t we – we read someone’s story and then we interpret it according to what we understand. Sorry Sarah, I got your story totally wrong.

In Genesis chapter eighteen we have the story of three men visiting Abraham. As was the tradition in his day, he honored these men, and invited them to stay for a meal. One of them was the Lord, although at what point Abraham realized that we can only guess. Abraham is asked where Sarah is, and once he has shared that she was close by, in the tent, one of the three men informs Abraham that he will be returning in a year and at that time Sarah will have a son. Sarah hears this and she laughs. Abraham is asked why Sarah laughed, and because she is afraid she denies laughing.

If you are anything like me, you will read that story and think that Sarah is not only a liar, but she is also not a person of faith. The writer to the Hebrews disagrees. In the great faith chapter, we read that by faith Sarah was able to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. I have read that a few times and wondered what I missed.

The first thing I missed was the context. Here was Abraham, an incredible man who had seen God, heard God, and made a covenant with God. When I read that God appeared to Abraham I step back, recognizing that this man had way more experiences with God than anyone I know. And this was not just one occasion. God made himself known to Abraham in incredible ways. Yet Abraham also laughed when he was told, as a ninety-nine-year-old man, that he would have a son.

Then there was Sarah. The wife of Abraham. And in those days the main purpose for the wife was to bear children, to provide your husband with an heir. Poor Sarah was not able to do that. And I am sure that Abraham shared with her the promises that he had received from the Lord, that his offspring were going to be so many, more than the stars in the sky. That would not have helped her one bit. In her desperation she gave Abraham her maid, Hagar, something that was not unusual in those days. Now who should have been the one to say that that was not a good idea, that they needed to trust God in this situation? Should it have been the person who had seen the Lord, who had received incredible promises from the Lord, or it should it have been the person who was desperate to give her husband what she so longed to give him? I think we can all agree that Abraham bears much more responsibility for this fiasco, than Sarah does.

The question is, however, where do we see Sarah exercising faith? Well, when she heard the visitor telling her husband that she would bear a son within the next year, she asked herself if an old worn-out woman like herself should have a certain pleasure again. I do not think she is referring to giving birth. Any mother will tell you that although it is a great pleasure to have a baby, the process of giving birth is not actually a lot of fun. In fact, it is normally very painful. I think what Sarah is referring to is making love with her husband. It would seem that because of their age, they were no longer coming together to enjoy each other’s body. And I would suggest that because of the word that the visitor brought that day, that changed. In faith, Sarah responded to the word, and had sexual relations with her husband again.

I see the way that the Lord spoke to Sarah was very gentle. He made sure that she could hear him when he was standing talking with Abraham, and then he spoke the promise. No powerful appearances, no darkness and smoke and blood of animals. Simply gentle. A gentle word, and Sarah was able to respond.

That is why I feel much more like Sarah than like Abraham. God has spoken to me gently too. And my response needs to be like Sarah’s – to do my part in response to what he says to me. I felt one time at church that I was supposed to move closer to the front, and not sit right in the back. Now I sit near the front. No big deal. A gentle word, and an easy response. The Lord has encouraged me to focus on thanksgiving, so I do. He has told me to take time to worship daily. So, I do. And when I miss for a day, it’s not the end of the world, I just start again tomorrow. Many small things, but things that I do in response to what I believe the Lord has said to me. Like Sarah.