10.22.26 – Sarah, Part 1
Many Torah-observant men declare every morning, "HaShem, I am glad I am not a woman." Huh? Is that a sexist statement? Nope! The men who make that declaration know they cannot do what a woman does—hence the statement of thankfulness. And they know that behind every successful man is a great woman. A woman's job, as an ezer kenegdo (Gen. 2:18, 20), is never done and is often overlooked by the man she helped make great.
As we look into Sarah's life, I have to confess that most of us—speaking of me, myself, and I—don't know our Bible characters too well. Often, their lives get hyper-spiritualized, even when the text tells us otherwise. We know of their victories but seldom their tragedies—unless it is King David or Judas Iscariot. As a result, we struggle to identify with these lofty people. And on the flip side, those who are ultra-rebellious, we consider so low on the spiritual scale... "we would never be like that"! Heaven forbid.
Fortunately, for our sake, the Bible never glosses over our ancestors' failures. Why? Because this book is not about our story; it is about God's story! This book leaves no room for superhero worship, especially when we take a helicopter view of all the microscopic details.
Now, onto our study... enter Sarah: the barren, feisty half-sister and wife of the Patriarch Abram (Gen. 11:29–30; 20:12); the quarry from which Abraham was dug (Isa. 51:1–2)!
She willingly follows Abram as he leaves his country, kindred, and family (Gen. 11:31–32). But as I have shared in years past, and as I mentioned in yesterday's introduction, her marriage to the father of our faith was not a bed of roses.
Abram has answered God's call for his life. His adventure of lekh lekha—discovering himself—is moving forward. And just as soon as it begins, there is a natural challenge—a famine—that causes him to take common-sense action: go where there is food, Egypt (Gen. 12:10–20). Survival is definitely on his mind! I mean, if Abe dies, the nations get no blessing (Gen. 12:1–3). Survival, self-preservation, is his number one priority, even if it means sacrificing his wife to Pharaoh (Gen. 12:14–15).
What happened when Sarai was with Pharaoh? Hmmm. We are not told explicitly, but what we do know is that Abram was not harmed but rewarded for sharing his sister-wife (Gen. 12:16). Yet Pharaoh was plagued (Gen. 12:17). The million-dollar question is: "What about Sarai? How about God, the One who called Abram to a different land (Gen. 12:1)?" Ohhhh, the choices we make as we discover who He wants us to be.
This was a potential disaster of Abram's making. What a horrible position he put Sarai in! "Listen, honey bunny, just go along with the sister act; sleep with Pharaoh if need be." "But, Abram..." "Now, Sarai, if you don't, you may lose your husband, and you'll be Pharaoh's property anyway..." This is not how a husband fills his wife's love and trust tank. From this day forward, it seems she doesn't fully trust her husband. Will Sarai be able to trust his protection in the future? Her silence tells us little about what is going on in her mind.
On the flip side, it is ironic that Abram takes a very different mindset toward his nephew Lot. Maybe he has learned a lesson on how to treat people through the school of hard knocks and that "phew, that was a close one" event with Sarai.
After acquiring great wealth through Abram's merit, Lot and Abe's herdsmen dispute grazing rights, and Lot is given a choice (Gen. 13:8–9). As a result of Lot's decision to choose the beautiful, garden-like land of the Lord of Zoar, eventually he gets captured by the four kings (Gen. 14:12). Abram rescues Lot from captivity and returns a hero, only to acknowledge God's sovereignty in an encounter with Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18–20). Shortly after, God directly proclaims Abram's destiny (Gen. 15:1).
Though Abram gets it right with others, his honey bunny is still playing second fiddle. What does this mean for us today? The jury is still deliberating (1 Pet. 3:6).
But Abram's lekh lekha is not over. Sarai reenters the story, and now we see a different kind of woman. Sarai is no longer in the background, dutifully fulfilling her husband's requests, even when those requests put her in the bed of another man. This time Sarai makes her will very clear. Why the boldness now? Has she lost faith in Abram's commitment to her? Now she needs to step up and tell him, "How will the cow eat the cabbage?" Sarai knows that God has promised a long line of descendants who will be powerful, influential, and very important. She is more than anxious to see this promise fulfilled. But she has no children. One day she conceives a plan—pun intended—to produce the required offspring, even if it means using another woman.
More tomorrow.
Shalom!
Alan
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