Bible Character Study: Sarah

Abraham is considered the first missionary in the Bible. He left his home in Ur at God's instruction to go to a land he did not know. Sarah is then, in effect, the first missionary's wife.

Sarah left her home and all she knew to follow her husband. In those days she could not leave her husband and travel home to visit her family from time to time. She said goodbye to her family permanently and launched out into the unknown. She went from living in a comfortable home in Ur to dwelling in tents and dealing with constant travel and dust in the desert.

Along with the feelings she must have experienced when she left her family and followed her husband, she faced another struggle. Sarah was the first woman in the Bible to experience the sorrow of barrenness. In Bible days, a woman's value was diminished if she could not bear children. Being without children left her to be looked down on by others and disgraced. Sarah then made a monumental mistake. Rather than trusting God she decided to handle it her own way. She gave Abraham her handmaid, Hagar, to be his concubine. The Bible says that she talked Abraham into taking Hagar.

How often have we been impatient and made a decision for ourselves rather than waiting on God? I know that I am guilty of convincing my husband to do something he was uncomfortable with. Sarah did just that and caused pain to everyone involved.

When Hagar did conceive and bear a son, Sarah went wild with jealousy and loathing, she even blamed Abraham for taking Hagar. God, in His mercy, promised that Sarah herself would conceive and in her old age she did conceive and have a child of her own. However, she still had to bear the consequences of her wrong actions. She cast Hagar and her son, Ishmael, out of her home and demanded that her own son, Isaac, receive all of the inheritance. Abraham gave in to her demands and poor Hagar and Ishmael were cast out.

Sarah's life gives us a mixed example. One one hand, we must take her example and be willing to forsake all to follow God's will for our family. On the other hand, we must not push to have our own way and violate the laws of God. Furthermore, we need to remember to consider others and not blame others for our mistakes.