This post is from Moms Take Ten episode 89, “Moms in the Bible–Sarah part 2, which you can listen to wherever you listen to podcasts or at https://sites.libsyn.com/403493/moms-in-the-bible-sarah-part-2
Last month we studied the life of the servant Hagar. This month we look at her mistress. Sarah and her husband Abraham are well known Bible characters. They were advanced in years and barren, and yet God had given Abraham a promise that his offspring would become numerous, a great nation, and through them all the nations would be blessed. Ten years had passed since Abraham heard the glorious news. Ten years of waiting for a child. Ten years of failed attempts at pregnancy. At this point, Sarah turns to her servant Hagar and enacts a typical cultural practice of using a servant as a surrogate. But that was not how the Lord intended for the child of promise to come about. We spoke about this in our first episode on Sarah, which I’ll link in the show notes. In that episode, we learned from Jeremiah 29 that God wants us to live well in the wait, and trust him to accomplish his plan.
The Genesis narrative, on the other hand, shows that Sarah struggled to wait. Ten years felt long enough to her. She doubted God and so she took matters into her own hands. Another thirteen years more, and we find Sarah standing inside the tent, listening to the Lord confirming his commitment to Abraham and specifically declaring that it will be through Sarah that the child will be born. Her response was disbelieving laughter. She still doubted.
And yet, when the author of Hebrews writes of the people of faith from the beginning of Scripture, he commends Sarah for hers saying, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.” (Heb. 11:11)
Isn’t that fascinating? We know that the Lord himself inspired the words of Scripture. Her mention here is not a mistake. But how can it be true?
The apostle Peter also commends Sarah to us in his first letter. More than commends, he sets her up as an example for all women to follow, starting with the phrase “For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves” (1 Pet. 3:5) Holy women who hoped in God. Peter goes even further in his description of Sarah than the author of Hebrews did. He calls her holy. He says she hoped in God.
Let’s read the whole passage, “For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”
Peter is making a connection here, using Sarah as an example. How do we not fear? How do we handle our wait well? How do we live by faith, whether we are seeing God’s hand at work or not? Through hope. Hope in the right person–God. Hope for the right thing–his promises. This is not wishfulness. This is not crossing our fingers. This is a confident expectation because of who we are anchoring ourselves to. Only in God and his promises can we find the assurance that is faith.
Faith-filled. Holy. Hope-filled. This is how the Bible describes Sarah.
Where do we see Sarah like that? When baby Isaac is placed in her arms, she says, “God has made laughter for me” (Gen. 21:6). Something must have happened between the encounter with the Lord at Mamre and the birth of her son. God must have been at work. Of this, John Piper says, “She gives God the glory for the child, and so we may assume, with the writer to the Hebrews, that God’s rebuke and the reminder that nothing is too hard for the Lord restored Sarah’s faith and caused her to hope in God.”
Did she mess up after that? Oh yes. Not long after that moment of laughter, we find Sarah furious with Ishmael and ordering Abraham to kick both Hagar and Ishmael out of their household.
Reading the ups and downs of Sarah’s story can elicit a number of responses. We can judge her and criticize her for her lack of faith and poor decision making. Our self-righteousness shakes its head at her and thinks, “Well I would never do such a thing.” Which, of course we all would because we all do struggle at some point with doubting God and taking matters into our own hands, of letting our anger get the better of us. In our moments of honesty and humility, we admit that. In those moments we empathize with Sarah and understand. We see ourselves in her and we grieve the times and ways we have doubted, sought control or lashed out.
God uses the stories and passages of Scripture to show us his character, and to teach us about our own. His inclusion of Sarah’s story is incredibly gracious to us. He sets a woman before us that we can relate to, who embodies our feelings and doubts, and he shows what he can do with a life like that. Though she doubted, he used her. Though she was faithless at times, he was faithful all the time. Though she messed up, he defined her by her successes, or rather, his successes in her.
Faith filled. Holy. Hope filled.
That is how he chose to describe her life.
What a testimony that he who began a good work in you, in me, will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ (Phi. 1:6).
In Christ, the life of a believer is not defined by or described by our sins, our failings, our mistakes, or even our accidents. We are defined by Christ. We are described by the work of Christ in our lives. Our identity in him began in the garden of Eden when he determined that all human beings would bear his image. (I encourage you to listen to our recent episode on Eve for more on that.) We are image bearers. Ephesians 2:10 calls us His workmanship. He made us and he loves us.
When we entrust our lives to Christ, believing in him who died for us, we become holy and righteous. 1 John 1:9 promises that, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Will we still sin? Yes, until we enter glory we will still wrestle with our sinfulness. But that is no longer who we are. Sarah herself still sinned but that was not her identity. Instead, as Romans 8 declares, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (v.1)
When Peter was speaking of Sarah, he said that we could be her children. He was not referring to the physical lineage of Abraham and Sarah, but to their spiritual lineage. When we believe in Christ, we join their family, God’s family, the family that Peter calls “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9a) We join the lineage of faith filled, holy, hope filled women, and men, that chose God above all else.
You are who he says you are.
There is nothing you have done that his grace cannot cover.
No parenting moment that he cannot redeem.
He loves you.
Lord, help us to see you as you are. Help us see ourselves as you see us. Today and every day. We thank you for the good work that you are doing in us. Amen.
Lyssa Stoyko 