Sarah: Part II

When we last left Sarai, she and Abram had returned from Egypt to Canaan.  Up to now, Sarai had born no children.  Abram had a vision from the Lord, and in their conversation together, Abram said that he had no child, and thus one of his servants was going to be his heir.  At this point, the Lord said, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir…Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them…So shall thy seed be.”  (Gen. 15:4-5)

Not only was Abram going to have a son, his descendants were prophesied to be numberless as the stars in heaven.  The trouble was that Sarai still was not able to have children.  Due to this, Sarai came to a decision of her own.  She had an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar, and Sarai told Abram, “Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing; I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her.”  And the record says that “Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.” (Gen. 16:2)

It’s hard for us in our day and with our culture to fathom Sarai’s decision in some sense.  Polygamy was an accepted practice then as compared with Western culture, but it’s still baffling why Sarai was not only okay with Abram taking another wife, she was the one who suggested he do it.  I could speculate, but I don’t want to get into it with this post.  The Bible spends most of its time talking about what people did, not why.  The only written explanation was what Sarai said:  she was barren and Abram might get children through Hagar.

It was a decision Sarai seemed to regret quickly afterwards.  “And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.  And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived:  and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.  And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.  But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.” (Gen. 16:3-6)

I’ve known some people who judge Sarai harshly, and in some TV adaptations I’ve seen, she’s depicted as somewhat of a villain.  I don’t see that and find it very unfair to her.  The Bible shows that it was Hagar that despised Sarai.  As best I can judge, as soon as Hagar realized she’d conceived, she treated Sarai with contempt, disgust, and utter loathing.  I even assume that Sarai was being abused, perhaps verbally or mentally.  In any case, Sarai was being treated so badly that she went to her husband to do something about it.  Correction, she went to him to ask the Lord to do something about it.

Abram didn’t though, and I find how he handled this domestic affair very interesting and inspired.  He told her, “Behold, thy maid is in thy hand.”  Abram was married to Hagar now and was expecting a child, but that in no way made Hagar better than Sarai.  Abram didn’t forget that he’d married Sarai first and they had been with each other for many, many years.  It seems that Abram was giving Sarai a very gentle reminder that she had more authority and prominence than Hagar had in the household.  Or put another way, he’s saying, “Hagar is treating you horribly, but you have the power to stop it.”  I don’t see Abram avoiding responsibility for protecting his wife, but he was giving Sarai the chance to act and empower herself, take control of a bad situation and not ever having to be afraid of abuse anymore.

Sarai listened to Abram, and the scripture says that “Sarai dealt hardly with her.”  We have no idea what Sarai did to punish Hagar, but I assume that it was deeply humiliating for Hagar.  Enough so that Hagar ran away for a time before an angel told her to return and submit herself to Sarai.

Hagar had a son whom she called Ishmael, and at this point Abram was 86 years old.

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect…behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.  Neither shall they name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” (Gen 17:1, 4-7)

I’m including part of the Abrahamic covenant in this story about Sarai because this doesn’t just represent what the Lord did for Abraham, because Sarai becomes part of this covenant as well.

“And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.  Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?...And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him…Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” (Gen. 17:15-17, 19, 21, emphasis added)

According to my Bible’s footnotes, the word “laughed” in this context comes from the Hebrew root "tzachak," which can be translated both as "to laugh" and "to rejoice."  I find that each word connotes something different about how to interpret the story, which I'll touch on a little bit later.  I’ll also add that the name Sarah means “princess,” clearly showing how highly the Lord felt about her.

On another occasion, three holy men came to Abraham, and he being very excited had Sarah put together the best preparations to host them, not shirking on any of the good food.  During their visit, “the [holy men] said unto [Abraham], Where is Sarah thy wife?  And he said, Behold, in the tent.  And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.  And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.  Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.  Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?  And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?  Is any thing too hard for the LORD?  At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.  Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid.  And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.” (Gen. 18:9-15)

It’s an odd little side story to the holy men’s visit, but instructional in its way.  I get the feeling that Sarah wasn’t aware at this point of the promise the Lord had made to Abraham concerning the birth of their son, Isaac.  But this being her first hearing the prophecy from the holy men, I’m inclined to interpret her laughter the same way as I do Abraham’s, as rejoicing.

If she’s rejoicing, though, why would she be afraid when the Lord called her on it?  Well, she hadn’t told anyone her thoughts.  This was kept entirely to herself, and I doubt that she intended to share this with anyone.  But you can’t hide your thoughts from the Lord, and the Lord spoke to Abraham at that moment and told him what Sarah was thinking.  It must have been unnerving for her husband to reveal to her what the Lord had said to him.  However, if she had had any doubts before that her husband was a prophet, this experience surely would have been a sign to her of his office and standing with the Lord.