Lessons From Sarah

Sarah is one of the most influential women of the Bible. But who was she really? What can we learn from her that would apply to us today?

Sarah sat in the entrance to her tent watching in fascination as her husband, Abraham, entertained the Lord and two angels. She had hurriedly made up cakes of fine meal as Abraham had requested. She couldn’t help but watch and listen as they ate and talked.

Then she heard the Lord tell Abraham that she would bear a son! A son at her age? She was 90 years old! How could she have a son now? She laughed to herself at the thought.

Suddenly she heard the Lord say to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh?” Being afraid, she quickly denied her laughter. Too late! For He knew she had laughed. Not only had she laughed at God’s plan for her, but she had lied to Him as well!

What God saw in Sarah

Sarah is mentioned in 38 verses in the Bible and is known as an ancestral grandmother to many people in the world. As the matriarch of Israel, she is considered to be one of the most influential women of the Bible. But who was she really? What can we learn from her that would apply to us today?

Up until a few weeks ago I had given little thought to Sarah. Then a dear friend of mine made the comment that God greatly admired her, and my mind started to wonder if this was true. I think that most of us know the story above from Genesis 18:1-15. The question that immediately popped into my mind was, why would God admire her when she laughed at His plan for her?

To understand, we need to read 1 Peter 3:1-6, where Peter wrote about the character of godly women. He emphasized the adorning of the inner person over outward beauty, and he used Sarah as an example: “For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror” (verses 5-6, emphasis added).

A misconception

I had mistakenly thought of Sarah as a proud woman of such uncommon beauty that kings wanted her even when she was quite old according to our standards. In my experience many beautiful women become vain and proud of their looks and often difficult. But not Sarah.

It is clear from Scripture that she never let her beauty dictate or change her character. She obeyed her husband even to her detriment. Twice Abraham told Sarah to not let on that she was his wife but rather to say she was his sister (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Maybe it wasn’t a lie, but it was certainly withholding relevant information.

I can only imagine the fear she must have felt when she was basically stolen from her husband and taken to the king’s women’s quarters. It is clear that she loved her husband dearly as she was willing to put herself in potential danger to protect him from possible harm.

A woman of faith

Sarah was also a woman of faith. Despite her laughter at the thought of bearing a child in her old age, we know that “by faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11).

Wow! Suddenly my estimation of Sarah as a woman has been tremendously increased. While I have always felt laughing at God’s prophecy was a mistake on Sarah’s part, at least it gives me great hope. If she could be so loved by God despite her faults, perhaps there is hope for one as flawed as I am.

We all have made mistakes in our lives, just as Sarah did when she laughed. However, God did have great esteem for Sarah—as demonstrated by the fact that He says we all, as women, should be more like her.

My list of lessons

I have learned several lessons from my study of Sarah. Foremost is that God works on His timetable not ours, as seen by the timing of Isaac’s birth. He can solve our problems if we put our faith and trust in Him as Sarah did when thrust into the harems. Also, the answers we receive may not always be what we wish, especially when they come about in an unexpected way.

However, despite upsets or disappointments, we must continually strive to be more like Sarah: faithful, loving, submissive, chaste, God-fearing, modest and with a beautiful and gentle spirit.

Thank you, Grandmother Sarah! I am so looking forward to meeting you one day!

Gloria Diliberto lives in Saskatchewan, Canada, on a small, off-the-grid ranch with her husband. She is a mother and grandmother who enjoys hunting, horseback riding and crocheting in her spare time.