Sarah: Part 3

There’s a point when you start to realize that the Bible may not always be told in strict chronological order.  I reached that moment in Genesis 20.  After all the storytelling of Abraham and Sarah’s promise that they would have a son in their old age, suddenly we’re given a story that is almost an exact repeat of their experience in Egypt.

While Abraham and Sarah travelled, they “journeyed from thence toward the south country…and dwelled in Gerar.  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.”  (Gen. 20:1-2)

The story itself is very interesting.  Abimelech never touches Sarah, but while he kept her in his house, he was visited by God and told that he was a dead man for taking another man’s wife.  A curse is put on him and all the women in his household, where none of them can have children.  Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham, along with many treasures and permission to dwell in any part of his kingdom as recompense for taking her.  Abimelech does censure Sarah for her part in deceiving him, but by the end, all is well and he and all the women in his house are healed.

The reason I’m sure that this takes place before the promise of Isaac’s birth is that Sarah is 90 years old when she conceives.  Somehow, I don’t see Abimelech kidnapping an old lady who passed menopause years before.  I’m willing to admit I could be wrong and this is still chronologically correct.  But when I look at the placement, this seems more like a backstory to help explain their relationship with Abimelech in future events; after Isaac is born, Abraham has a property dispute over a well with Abimelech’s servants.  It gets solved calmly by both men, and I think a lot of that has to do with their prior experience with each other.

Well, anyways, Sarah has Isaac, and it’s quite a miracle, what with both her and Abraham’s age.

“And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.  And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age?” (Gen. 21:6-7)

As I wrote in my last “Sarah” post, “laugh” can be interpreted as “rejoice,” which I actually prefer, as it eliminates some confusion “laugh” has engendered among other people.  “Rejoice” also packs a punch of sheer exultation in this moment of Sarah’s life.

There was a problem, though: Hagar and her son, Ishmael.  Last week, I mentioned how Hagar was cruel towards Sarah, and even though she eventually returned and submitted herself, I imagine she must have been bitter ever since.  Her bitterness towards Sarah would have been noticed by Ishmael, and emulated by her.

“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.” (Gen. 21:9)

That’s a little vague.  What or who was Ishmael mocking?  We get insight into this from the apostle Paul, who in his epistle to the Galatians spoke about Isaac and Ishmael.  “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.” (Gal. 4:28-29)

Ishmael was persecuting, or attacking or troubling, his half-brother Isaac, who was 14 years younger than him.  Ishmael was a danger to Isaac, and Sarah acted to make sure that her son was safe.  “Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.” (Gen. 21:10)

Abraham struggled with this one, and you can feel for him.  Ishmael was his son and he loved him dearly.  But “God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (Gen. 21:12)

Sarah might seem harsh, urging her husband to exile Hagar and their son, but bear in mind that the Lord fully supported her decision.  In this case, she was perfectly in tune with what the Lord’s will was.  Ishmael was not only a danger, he was not the heir the Lord chose.  We get insight into this from Paul in the above scripture, when he said that Ishmael was born after the flesh but Isaac was born after the Spirit.  Ishmael was born because Sarah decided to solve her and Abraham’s lack of children her way.  It was her decision to give Hagar to Abraham.  But the Lord was the one who brought about Isaac’s birth.  The Lord showed through Sarah’s barrenness and old age that he commanded miracles and that he was in charge over every aspect of their lives and blessings.  Also, Isaac’s miraculous birth to Sarah in her old age can be viewed as a type of Christ’s miraculous birth to Mary.  The Lord uses all things to testify of his divinity.

On top of that, because of this, Sarah remains an inspirational figure for us today simply by seeing her faith.  Paul would testify, “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” (Heb. 11:11)

I don’t believe the miracle of Isaac’s birth would have happened if Sarah had not had the faith necessary for it.  But because she believed, the Lord worked the miracle, and the testimony of that has carried out after all these millennia.

Sarah was 127 when she died, and “Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.” (Gen. 23:2)

As wealthy as Abraham was, he was effectively a nomad, and though the Lord had promised him that his posterity would possess the land of Canaan, that time was yet still in the future.  At that time, Abraham had no land to bury his dead.  There is a rather sweet story about how he purchased some land from Ephron and the children of Heth for 400 shekels, “the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gather of his city.  And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.” (Gen. 23:17-19)

I don’t know where any of these places are on the map, but this is significant because this would be the place not only where Sarah would be buried, but Abraham, and later their children and grandchildren.  This cave may be one of the holiest sites in ancient scripture, the resting place for these holy men and women whose faith has carried on after all this time and will carry on through eternity.