She is: the second woman in the Bible (Eve being the first) whose name we are given; the only woman in Scripture to have her name changed by God; among the most referenced women in the Bible, alongside examples such as Esther and Mary (yet unlike these women she is mentioned in both Old and New Testaments); part of a small group of named women whose direct words are recorded by the Holy Spirit for our instruction. Behind the recorded words and references, however, is a woman who, like all of us, was deeply flawed yet deemed faithful by God. Through examining some of Sarah’s best, and worst, moments, I hope to show in this article what ultimately makes her an example of a holy woman who did not fear (1 Peter 3:5,6 ESV).
Early Life – Fearless without home comforts
Born into what appears to be a wealthy extended family living in Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:27-29), we learn from later verses that she was a beautiful woman (Genesis 12:11 ESV) and was also the only recorded daughter of Terah (Genesis 20:12) alongside his three much older sons. So perhaps it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that the aptly named Sarai – which means “my princess” [1] – was the apple of her father’s eye and the beautiful baby girl of the family. Following a move to Haran and her marriage to her influential half-brother Abram (later called Abraham, Genesis 17), she could have reasonably expected to continue living the comfortable existence she was accustomed to, until one day her husband heard the voice of the God of heaven commanding him to:
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1 ESV).
From that moment on Sarah spent the rest of her life away from all her relatives, living nomadically in tents, often moving from place to place and eventually being buried in a rough cave on the border of the land neither she nor her husband ever fully occupied. Yet we never read of her, or Abraham, hesitating to follow where God led, or hankering to go back to their old way of life. As far as we know, when God spoke it was only Abram who was present. Sarah had to take an even greater leap of faith by following God’s command relayed second-hand through her husband, yet God already knew her heart, how devoted to Abraham and his good she was, and that wherever Abraham went Sarah would follow unquestioningly.
Those of us who are wives can often find ourselves in the same situation today; the task of deciding where we will live, work and what church we will be a part of ultimately falls to the husband and ours is to submit and follow. This may seem to the world like an unequal partnership but I think Abraham and Sarah disprove that entirely. Only a man who knew and valued his wife’s loyalty and encouragement could announce they were going to leave behind all that was familiar and head into the unknown; only a man who had complete faith in his wife’s capabilities could suddenly leave his possessions, livestock and household servants under her care while he went to fight and rescue Lot (Genesis 14); only a man who had many times been sustained by his wife could unexpectedly bring strangers to their home and expect her to give them a rich and hospitable welcome (Genesis 18).
Sarah made it her life’s work to support Abraham in all that he set out to do, but it was a daily choice and the same is true of us as wives. Each day we can be doubtful discouragers or instead choose to be fearless followers like Sarah.
Mid Life – Fearless despite a husband’s compromise
As is often the case when His followers demonstrate faith and obedience, God allows a trial early on in Abraham and Sarah’s journey from Haran. A famine strikes and, presumably in desperation to find food, Abraham chooses to travel to Egypt, despite knowing that the Egyptians were a brutal nation with customs that were not pleasing to God. He warns Sarah that the Egyptians will notice her beauty, desire her for themselves, and kill Abraham in order to take her.
Inexcusably, he then instructs her to acknowledge him as her brother and not her husband, which saves Abraham but still results in Sarah being taken into Pharaoh’s household as a potential mistress! Imagine poor Sarah’s predicament – refusing her husband’s command could result in his death, yet obeying would expose her to Pharaoh’s propositions, the refusal of which could lead to her own! Yet we do not read of any hesitation or a single word of objection on Sarah’s part; she submits to her husband’s plea and accepts the challenging position this puts her in. Why?
Again, we have to rely a little upon conjecture here, but presumably Abraham had repeated to Sarah these words from God’s promise to him:
“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3 ESV).
In this troubling moment I imagine Sarah must have clung to God’s words: Abraham had not yet produced the offspring through whom God would bless all of humanity so he must be destined to survive this encounter; Pharaoh, albeit unknowingly, had done a dishonouring thing in taking Abraham’s wife and so retribution would follow.
Sarah had to wait and trust God to resolve the situation and those of us who are wives today are often called to do the same thing. Like Sarah, we have flawed, fallen, human husbands, who will not always lead us as they should, and at times we may, like Sarah, find ourselves in frustrating and lonely circumstances that have the potential to cause us to doubt and fear. However, also like Sarah, we have a God whose words we can read and be encouraged by, whose character we can remind ourselves of each day as we wait for a resolution, and whose promises we can rely upon when all else feels uncertain.
Strengthened by faith in her great God, Sarah continued to seek her husband’s good even when he did not consider hers; she remained loyal and obedient to him in the most daunting situation. Thankfully, God ended her trial swiftly but He left a lasting record in the New Testament highlighting her as an example for other women to follow:
“Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” (1Peter 3:6 ESV).
Whilst Sarah left Egypt with her character intact, she didn’t entirely escape its influence, as the second part of this article, covering her later life, will show . . .
[1] https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/faith/women-of-faith/sarah/
