Sarai (Sarah)

Sarai was married to Abram.  God promised Abram a great nation, a great land, and many descendants. At God’s direction Abram and Sarai, their families and servants left their homes and trekked across the desert for many years to a land God promised them.  During their journey a famine came over the land, and Abram and his family went to Egypt.  Because she was beautiful, and Abram knew Pharaoh would be attracted to Sarai he told Sarai to say she was his sister.  When Pharaoh saw Sarai, he brought her into his house as his concubine and rewarded Abram with cattle and all manner of livestock. God protected Sarai.  He sent a plague on Pharaoh and his houses as retribution for taking Abram’s wife. Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram, and they left Egypt.

God made a covenant with Abram promising him land and a son as his heir. He promised Sarai would give Abram a son.  Sarai was 65 years old. Abram was 75. Ten years passed and Sarai did not conceive, but she believed God’s promise that Abram would have descendants.  If she could not give him children, perhaps her maid Hagar would be the one to bear Abram’s child. She sent Hagar to Abram. According to the law it was permissible for her to allow a union between her servant and her husband if she was barren so they would have the promised son. Hagar was pregnant and her relationship with Sarai deteriorated. Sarai banished Hagar from her home and into the wilderness, but God told her to go back to Sarai and Abram. She did and she gave birth to Ishmael Abram’s first son.

When Abram was 90 years old and Sarai was 80, God renewed His covenant with Abram.  He had Abram to change his name to Abraham and Sarai became Sarah.  When Sarah was 90 years old, she gave birth to Isaac her son by Abraham. God fulfilled His promise that Sarah would have a child.

Biblical Principles

• Abram and Sarai were obedient when God told them to move. (Genesis 12:1)
• God did not punish Sarai and Abram for their deception of Pharaoh. (Genesis 12:20)
• Sarai’s impatience in waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled led her to give her servant Hagar to Abram. (Genesis 16:2)
• Although Sarai banished Hagar from her home twice, she remained in God’s favor. (Genesis 12:16; 18:10; 21:2)
• God rewarded Sarai’s obedience through the birth of a son Isaac when Abraham was 100 and Sarai was 90 years old.

For Women Today

Just as He kept His promise to Sarai and Abram, God keeps His promises to us.  When we ask God to answer our prayers and He promises it will be done His plan for us will be fulfilled.  We do not know His plan for our future.  We do not understand the mind of God that is where our faith comes in. We must believe God’s will shall be done. Sarai prayed for a child, but even after God’s promise and her long wait she thought she would never conceive. Putting Hagar and Abram together was not God’s plan.  His promises are fulfilled in His time.

Waiting for God to fulfill His promises increases our faith. Our wait helps us grow spiritually because our prayer becomes “God you promised.  I’m patiently waiting for your promise to be fulfilled.” Our wait can also transform our character making us more patient and strengthening our walk with God.  Waiting on God’s promises helps us understand His timing and our confidence that when the time is right His promise will be fulfilled.  While waiting for His promise to be manifested in our life, we realize the things that come between our prayer and the fulfilled promise are the foundation for the fulfillment of the promise.  Had it not been for the things God allowed to happen in our lives, what we prayed for would not have been possible.  Sarah and Abraham were blessed by Isaac’s birth. Some of the best things come when we wait on the Lord.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37:7a)

Now I am about to go the way of all earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. (Joshua 24:14)