Wives of the Bible: Sarah

Going in somewhat of a chronological order, Sarah would be the next wife on my list after studying Eve. Admittedly, Sarah gave me quite a perplexed perspective as I tried to glean some helpful guidance from her accounts. Some curious things happen in hers and Abraham’s story, and I honestly think I still have a lot to study before I fully understand it all. But here’s what I’ve gathered so far. 

Sarah went along with her husband’s plans of deception. On more than one occasion (Gen. 12:10-20; Gen. 20), Abraham convinces Sarah to lie - or at least mislead - the rulers of the lands through which they were passing. Apparently Sarah was very attractive (Gen. 12:11, 14), and Abraham feared these rulers would kill him in order to get to Sarah if they thought she was his wife (Gen. 12:11-13). So, they agreed to say that she was his sister. Now, this wasn’t entirely untrue, but let’s face it... half-truths are still lies. This whole thing just blows my mind, and I would certainly be curious to know if 1) Abraham was acting out of purely selfish motive to protect his own life and thus disregarding Sarah’s, or 2) Abraham was confused about exactly how God would fulfill His promises to him and he thought he would “help God” try to preserve their lives. Either way, from my vantage point today, I can hardly stomach the idea of my husband willingly allowing another man to take me as his wife!  We know the implications here, and this arrangement potentially compromised Sarah’s purity and reputation. (Though there appear to be no specifics whether these rulers consummated their relationships with Sarah, it would appear that at least Abimelech realized what was happening before it got that far.) Even so, their sin endangered and affected people even beyond their marriage relationship. As a godly wife, I need to stand up to my husband if or when he’s in the wrong in God’s eyes or if our actions could bring sin into our marriage or into the lives of those around us. 

She also took matters into her own hands. And here’s where I’m stepping on my own toes here. She couldn’t leave well enough alone and just trust God’s promise. She thought she needed to help it along.  (How many times have I tried to “help God along”?  Let’s not count...)  Granted, in the beginning, Abraham wasn’t told - as best we can tell - that God’s promise would be fulfilled through his wife Sarah. If I were Abraham, I would think I would have assumed so since God created marriage and loves it!  But it is possible that Sarah and even perhaps Abraham thought that they needed to fulfill God’s plan in other ways. But Sarah’s meddling affected the lives of Hagar and Ishmael (Gen. 16), and ultimately an entire nation of people. In the first example(s) above, Sarah doesn’t exactly stand up to Abraham, and in this case, Abraham doesn’t stand up to Sarah. It makes me wonder if they were both struggling with maintaining their trust in God during the long wait. As a godly wife, I need to trust God, which includes trusting His timing, and help my husband do the same. 

Curiously enough, even with these mistakes and “detours”, if you will, Sarah still saw God’s promises fulfilled. This may be the most encouraging point of all. She couldn’t mess up God’s plan, even with all the mistakes she made. It’s hard to reconcile our free will with God’s sovereignty and providence, and I certainly don’t pretend to understand it at all. But isn’t it amazing that we cannot wreck God’s plans?  I’m so encouraged by that!  Sarah still gave birth to Issac through whom an entire nation of God’s people flowed (Gen. 21:1-7). And we (women) are told in 1 Peter 3:6 that even today we are Sarah’s daughters if we are obedient and fear not (again, that seems to suggest to me that I should work on that whole trusting thing). Not only did she not wreck God’s plans for her life (and the future of the world), but she somehow still serves as a model for us which means God knew her heart and approved of her in spite of these seeming flaws!  As a godly wife, I need to build trust and know that God will fulfill His plans for my family’s life... in His own time.