by Gwen R. Shaw
 

FOREWORD 

        The fact that the Bible has recorded so much about Sarah reveals how important she is in the plan of God. She is, not only the mother of Israel and much of the Arab world, she is also the “mother” of all who are followers of her son, Jesus Christ, for the Word of God says that by faith we are the sons and daughters of Abraham and Sarah, for we are children of the “free woman.” 

        The greatness of God was in Sarah. She was a woman of great courage and strength.  

        So great is her honour, that she is mentioned in the Hall of Fame of the Eleventh’s Chapter of Hebrews. 

        “Through faith also Sarah 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. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable” (Hebrews 11:11-12). 

        Together with her husband, Abraham, she travelled throughout much of the then-known world. She was chosen by two kings to be their wives. One was the greatest king of his time, Pharaoh of Egypt. She lived in tent or palace. She was called the most beautiful woman in the world, had great riches, hundreds of servants at her call, suffered the curse of barrenness for many years, made some terrible mistakes, but knew how to pray through to victory, when, in the end she held her son of laughter in her arms and nursed him at the age of ninety.  

        Her beauty, even in old age, was so great that in the Aggadah it is written, “even Abishag the Shunammite, whose beauty is extolled, never achieved half of Sarah’s attractiveness.”  

        Life was not easy for her in those days, but she had great faith as she journeyed with her husband in his earthly wanderings, always looking for that city whose Maker and Builder is God.  

        The only land she ever possessed became hers only after her death when Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah for her burial place.  Only then did she have a place she could truly call “home.” 

        It was the sacrifice of her death that secured forever Eretz Israel for her, her children, and her children’s children.

Gwen R. Shaw

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Sarah

PRINCESS FOR ALL MANKIND

 THE MYSTERY OF SARAI’S TRUE IDENTITY

        Because Sarah’s original name was Sarai and Abraham’s was Abram we will begin the story by calling them Sarai and Abram, and we will change it when the Lord changes it. 

        Sarai means “a princess of her own people.” 

        Sarah means “a princess for all mankind.” 

        The ancestors of Sarai came from the godly line of Seth through Noah and his son Shem (Genesis 11:10-32, Luke 3:34-38). 

        Sarai had a golden opportunity to learn about the history of her people, for Noah lived another 350 years after the flood, and died only after both Abram and Sarai had been born.

        They knew about the building of the Tower of Babel, the cruel dictatorship of the world’s first powerful deceiver, dictator and war monger Nimrod, and they saw how the people were now divided and spoke different languages, but their family retained the original language which had been spoken before the flood. This was the language that their descendant, Moses, would one day use to record the first oracles of God, the TORAH. It is still a living language today. 

        Sarai was ten years younger than her husband, Abram. They were closely related and had probably grown up together. 

        Their exact relationship to each other is uncertain. There are two different theories. 

        The first is that she is the daughter of Haran, Terah’s son, who died in the Ur of the Chaldees, leaving three children, Lot, Milcah and Iscah (Genesis 11:29). According to this theory, Iscah is the pet-name of Sarai.  

        The second is that Abram’s father, Terah, married a second time, after Abram was born, and when Abram was ten years old his father had a daughter, Sarai, by his second wife, whose name is Sarai.

        In Genesis 20:12 Abram explains to King Abimelech about their relationship when he said, “And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife” (Genesis 20:12). 

        Does this mean that Sarai was Abram’s half-sister? 

        Or is our first theory more correct, that she was the daughter of Haran, and therefore a niece of Abram’s? 

        We know that Abram married Sarai, but what we don’t exactly know is, who Sarai was. That they were closely related, there is no doubt. 

FATHER TERAH LEADS THE FAMILY OUT OF UR

        When Terah left the Ur of the Chaldees to begin his long journey to the Land of Canaan, he took with him his two living sons, Abram and Nahor, and the children of his dead son, Haran — Lot, Milcah, and Iscah, who probably is the same person as Sarai, and is called by that name from then on. Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah, their nieces. 

        Terah took the well-travelled road along the Euphrates, but it was a difficult journey in those days, and he only got as far as Mesopotamia, where he stayed in a place called Haran until he died at the age of 205. Today it is in the far eastern reaches of Turkey, and tour guides claim they can show you Sarai’s house! 

        Many years later Eliezar travelled here to find a wife for Abram’s son, Isaac. And Jacob, Isaac’s son, did the same, at his father’s command. Both Isaac and Jacob married women who were their cousins. 

        It seems that Terah and his family lived in Haran quite a few years because Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran to go to the Land of Promise (Genesis 12:4). Sarai was sixty-five, and hoping and praying for a son.

 
GOD CALLS ABRAM TO LEAVE HIS FAMILY AND GO TO THE “LAND OF PROMISE” 

        The Lord spoke to Abram, after his father died, and said, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3)    

        They left behind them Abram’s brother Nahor, his wife, Milcah, and their eight children — Huz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel, who became the father of Rebekah and Laban. Bethuel also had a concubine by the name of Reumah who bore him three sons, Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and a daughter called Maachah.  

        They followed the old trade route from Haran that led through the ancient city of Damascus. This may have been where Abram acquired his faithful servant, Eliezar of Damascus (Genesis 15:2), but on the other hand, he may have purchased him at the slave market in Haran, because Genesis 12:5 states, “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came” (Genesis 12:5). 

        They crossed into the land of Canaan north of today’s Sea of Galilee, and continued south until they reached Shechem, where Abram built his first altar, and where the Lord appeared unto him and told him, “Unto thy seed will I give this land:” (Genesis 12:7). 

        From there, he continued his journey south to a place near Bethel, where he again built an altar. From here he continued still further south.

EGYPT, WHERE SARAI’S SORROWS BEGIN
 

        Because of the famine in the land, he continued journeying on to Egypt to live there.  Whether or not Abram was in God’s will when he went to Egypt we do not know. But that it became a snare to his soul is evident. He lied about his relationship with Sarai, saying she was only his sister, and not identifying her as his wife.  

        He also acquired a maid servant by the name of Hagar, who became the mother of his firstborn son, Ishmael, and the source of much trouble in his and Sarai’s lives. Egypt was the beginning of Sarai’s great sorrow of soul. 

        Genesis 12:11-20 tells the story of their lies and intrigue. It is a sad story, and one hates to link it with a man so great as Abram, and a woman like Sarai, but the Bible tells it as it is. 

        As they were getting close to the Egyptian border great fear for his life fell on Abram. He immediately resorted to his own wisdom and scheme of how he would save himself. He said to Sarai, I know that you are beautiful, and when the Egyptians see you, they will want to kill me so that they can take you.  

        I wonder if he had ever told Sarai before that she was beautiful? He had seen her all the sixty-five years of her life, but now he was looking at her with a new perspective. She didn’t look like the average dark-skinned Egyptian, with copper-toned skin, she was fair, and probably had golden hair — still without a trace of grey. Many women are beautiful in their sixties.  

        Every woman likes to be flattered, even Sarai, so it wasn’t difficult for Abram to win her over through flattery. 

        History tells us that Abram’s fear was valid. Ruthless men of that part of the world had killed more than one woman’s husband, and taken his wife into their harem. Abram had no doubt heard incidents from others as he chatted with other men when he and Sarai spent the nights at the traveller’s inns on their long journey. But his plan to save his life was not one of trust in God.

        It is interesting to read how he reasoned with her, “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Genesis 12:13). 

        Was it really for her sake, or was it for Abram’s sake?

        Many times we don’t know our own hearts. It is so easy to deceive ourselves and pretend that our reasons for doing “kind” deeds are for others, when we ourselves are benefitted by them. There are many who take great pride in being recognized for their philanthropic works. God is looking for those who are pure of heart, and whose motives are pure before Him. 

        Sarai was obedient to her husband. What other choice did she have in those days? 

        But things would never be the same between them. As you read and study and meditate on their lives you begin to see the fine line of separation come between them. 

        Separation between a husband and wife doesn’t begin in the divorce court, it begins in the heart, when harsh words are spoken in anger or agitation, especially when spoken in front of others to humiliate and belittle the other person. Nor does all the “sweetness” and cuddling that takes place in privacy make up for it. It takes more than petting and caressing the “pot” to heal the crack in it. 

        Many marriages are not merged one into the other, they only have a resemblance of being emerged. Outwardly, life goes on the same — smiles, flattering words, a lingering touch, an act of helpfulness, but deep within, there is a pain that seems to go away only to flare up with every sharp and painful rebuke. 

        Sarai, beautiful one, you were hurt when you were offered up as another concubine to some Egyptian who would purchase you to satisfy his lust so that your beloved Abram could live safely in the land. 

        As Abram and Sarai were welcomed among the great and the wealthy, the princes of Pharaoh saw her and spoke to Pharaoh about her. It didn’t take long before Sarai began to notice that the Egyptians “beheld the woman that she was very fair.” 

        Sarai became more and more uncomfortable as she saw men cast their lustful eyes on her. And then, one day, the uneasiness she felt turned into fear when Pharaoh sent for her. He wanted to meet her. She could not turn to Abram for help, he had already moved out of her bed, so she spent that last lonely night in fear, wondering what would happen to her when the day would come and she would be separated forever from him. She knew that her only hope was God. But did God also hear a woman’s prayer? Or was He only a man’s God? 

        Late into the night Abram did business with Pharaoh’s officers. He had hoped that the price he demanded for his “sister” would be so high, that Pharaoh would refuse to pay so great a dowry. But it didn’t work. No price was too high for this beautiful princess from the north — this “Nefertiti” who believed in a one, true God. And so, the agreement of marriage was signed, and the dowry was delivered to Abram — sheep, oxen, asses, camels in abundance, menservants and maidservants. And Sarai was brought to the grand palace of the most powerful potentate in the universe and prepared for her wedding night, when she would be taken to Pharaoh’s bed.  

        Garments of the finest silks and gossamer in rich and vibrant colours were prepared for her. Jewels for her forehead, her ears, neck, arms, hands, and ankles were given to her. The house of Pharaoh had no lack of gold and precious gemstones. 

        But Sarai was miserable. She had difficulty communicating with the women of the harem, for they did not speak the same language. And those who had been the king’s favorites resented this new-comer, and were jealous when they saw her chests of fine jewels, her gorgeous garments, and the fragrant oils and perfumes. 

        The nights were the worst of all. There was no word from Abram. He dared not try to communicate with her, lest Pharaoh become suspicious. And so, she was alone in her misery and fear. There were times she wept with longing for Abram, and then she would remember this whole thing was his idea. How could he do this to her? Did he really love her? He had said that it was for her sake that they must agree to tell people they were brother and sister, but what was the use of being alive, if one was so unhappy, and so miserable. Did Abram really love her? Wasn’t it his own life he was trying to save? Would she see him again, and did she really want him back, when he could “sell” her as a high priced concubine, to save his life? 

        The days passed slowly in the harem. Every exotic kind of food was brought to her by her maids, but she had no appetite for them. She had never eaten these dishes; one was less appetizing to her than the other.  

        The days passed by, one after another, and she still had not been called into the king’s presence.  

THE LORD PLAGUED PHARAOH’S HOUSE WITH GREAT PLAGUES 

        She was beginning to wonder what was happening. She saw people talking to each other in whispers, while some would look her way and point to her. She knew they were talking about her. 

        Then sickness began to break out in the harem. One after another of the wives, and favorites of the king, fell sick with dreadful fevers that left their skin marked.  Some were at death’s door. Nor did the doctors, who were called in, seem to be able to heal them. The only thing they could do was to give powders to reduce their suffering. Then the men servants took sick! The palace became a kind of hospital, with sick servants lying everywhere about in beds and pallets, and very few who were able to serve the royal family or wait on them, and they too needed help because the plague had struck many of them down also. The odour of sickness hung in the air. Only Sarai remained healthy. 

        When the doctors couldn’t help, the soothsayers and magicians were called before Pharaoh. They asked questions, did enchantments, inquired of their gods, and came back to tell the king that the plague was caused by one woman who had brought all the bad luck. He had to get rid of her immediately, lest he himself die! 

        But how does one break a covenant of agreement? 

        The only way was to call in Abram, discuss the matter — there must be something wrong; — the gods! This woman’s gods were angry. And they were powerful. 

        So Abram was summoned before the king, where, upon interrogation, he revealed the truth. The king was angry with him, for his not telling the truth about Sarai. He scolded Abram, “What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: Now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way” (Genesis 12:18-19).   

        Pharaoh could have had both Abram and Sarai executed, but by this time he feared their God, and he didn’t know but what their God would destroy him, and all of Egypt, if he harmed Abram, so he commanded his officers to treat Abram with honour and respect, and let them go in peace. Nor did he want any of the gifts he had given Abram in exchange for Sarai to be returned to him. He only wanted him out of the country, and that as speedily as possible. 

        And so Sarai was hastily sent for, and told to pack her belongings because she must immediately leave the palace. Only after seeing Abram did she understand what had happened, and all that God had done to save her life, her honour, and her marriage.

        And then she knew that God hears a woman’s prayers too, and that He will do as much to save her as He will for any man. So it was that Sarai and Abram left Egypt, being ordered out of the country, taking all their newly acquired wealth with them, and an Egyptian maid servant called Hagar. 

THE SEPARATION OF LOT AND ABRAM

        Abram was now very wealthy in cattle, servants, silver and gold. He journeyed across the Negev and back up to Bethel where he had first raised his tent and built his first altar when he had come into the land of Canaan. Again he offered sacrifices and called on the name of the Lord. He had a lot to talk to the Lord about. Things had not gone well in Egypt. And he felt very unhappy about the whole thing. Sarai seemed to be more distant now. She still had unanswered questions in her heart. And Abram, sensing her drawing back from him, reacted in the same way. Their great wealth had not made them happier. In fact, they seemed to be even more unhappy, because Lot, who had also gone to Egypt with them, and had also become very wealthy in cattle, now added to the problem because there wasn’t sufficient grazing land for both of the families due to the immense size of their herds. This caused fighting between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen, who were not righteous men, like Abram. 

        Finally, things got so bad between them that Abram, in his wisdom, said to Lot, “And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left” (Genesis 13:8-9). 

        Lot, being selfish and greedy, immediately chose the best grazing area, which happened to be the plain of Jordan, because the Jordan River flowed through it. It was indeed fruitful and beautiful. The only trouble was that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were situated in this valley and the Bible says, “...the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13). Yet Lot was foolish enough to “pitch his tent toward Sodom.”

        This was the mistake of his life. It would cost him a great price because, before very long, he would lose every bit of his wealth, including his wife and some of his children, and his grandchildren, for Sodom’s days were numbered, and time was running out. 

        It was after Lot separated himself from Abram that God spoke to Abram and said, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Genesis 13:14-17). 

        The Hebrew scribes teach that to “walk the land” is a legal act which denotes acquisition. 

        After walking through the land and claiming it, as the Lord had commanded him, Abram moved his tent south to the plains of Mamre, the area where Hebron is situated today. He again pitched his tent, and built an altar. He had his home and his chapel in Hebron. It was here that he would spend much of his life and where his and Sarai’s body would rest after death, and where, it is believed they are still resting.

ABRAM SAVES LOT’S LIFE 

        One day Abram received the shocking news that Lot and his family had been captured by foreign troops, and carried into exile. He immediately marshalled his trained servants who had been born in his own house — all three hundred and eighteen of them — and pursued the enemy. He found them at Damascus, attacked them, smote them, and rescued Lot and his family. 

        On his return journey, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, went out to meet Abram and welcome him with bread and wine. He was, not only the king of Salem, he was the priest of the Most High God. He gave Abram a blessing from the Most High God. Upon perceiving this blessing Abram gave the high priest a tithe of all he had seized in the battle. It wasn’t anything that belonged to Sodom that he gave, but the wealth he had stripped from the bodies of the men he had killed in battle, for the soldiers in those days wore medals of gold and silver as good luck charms when they went into battle.

        When Abram received the bread and wine he was reaching into New Covenant times and taking of the Body and the Blood of the Messiah. In so doing, his sins, and the guilt of the shedding of blood, even in warfare, was atoned for. Abram was able to give a sacrifice of tithes that was a sweet smelling savour before the Lord. 

        The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself” (Genesis 14:21). 

        But Abram didn’t want anything to do with that which belonged to Sodom. He knew it was cursed, and would bring a curse upon his family. So he answered the king of Sodom, “...I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:”(Genesis 14:22-23).

        We are never the richer when our pos-sessions are ill-gotten gain. Instead, we are the poorer, for evil money from evil men is evil, and it will cost us dearly in the end. 

        After this victory Abram received a vision of the Lord who promised him, “...Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1).  

        And surely the Lord is a rewarder of all who are righteous and holy in their dealings with God and their fellowmen. 

        Abram was still troubled because he remained childless. He began to feel that the only one who would inherit all his wealth was his faithful steward, Eliezar of Damascus. He didn’t see Lot as a possible heir, for sin had already greatly contaminated Lot and his family. So the only one to inherit his great promises from God was this faithful servant of his, who was also a very godly and righteous man. 

        The Lord then promised Abram, “...This (Eliezar) shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (Genesis 15:4).

        Then God brought Abram out under the stars of the night and said to him, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (Genesis 15:5).

        God gave Abram a sign — a token of security, as Abram offered a very unusual sacrifice to God. And the Lord told him exactly what would happen in the next four hundred years. 

        1. Abram’s seed would multiply into very many. 

        2. They would sojourn in a strange land that wasn’t theirs. 

        3. They would become slaves there. 

        4. God would judge that nation for the way they treated them. 

        5. God would bring them out of the land. 

        6. They would come out in the fourth generation. 

        7. God would give Abram the land from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

        Abram now knew the entire future of his children and his children’s children. But how many of his experiences he shared with his wife Sarai, we do not know. 

        God had promised Abram that his heir would come out of his own loins, but he had not, as yet, told him that Sarai would be the mother of the son he would have. 

THE SURROGATE MOTHER 

        As the custom still is in many countries, the woman is blamed when a husband and wife are childless. It is the duty of the barren wife to provide her husband with another woman who can bear children on her behalf.  

        It is therefore not strange that Sarai should feel she was the one to blame for the fact that they still did not have children after all these years. So if she is to blame, she must think up a plan to help out this situation. 

        Now Hagar was Sarai’s personal maid, and Sarai had become very fond of her. She was the only good thing about that whole Egyptian venture, which Sarai would rather not remember. So it was no wonder that she began to conceive the idea that God could finally give Abram and her a son through Hagar. Hagar would be, what we today call a surrogate mother. That was a thing that was customary in those days.

        But Abram, being a righteous man, could not simply copulate with her without a ceremony of marriage. He must make her his second wife. She evidently had a higher position than a slave. She was not just a concubine. The Aggadah says that Hagar was a daughter of Pharaoh, whom Pharaoh had given to Sarai as a personal handmaid. 

        And so it was that Sarai said to 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 Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16:2). 

        Sarai fully intended to accept Hagar’s son as her own. 

        The plan seemed to be acceptable to Abram. There is no record of him disagreeing with Sarai, or arguing against it. The Torah simply says, “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” (Genesis 16:3). 

        Let us pause for a moment as we look back at the scene.  

        One day, Sarai says to Hagar, “Hagar, I have grown very fond of you. You are closer to me than the rest of the maid servants. You are almost like a daughter. I remember well the kindness you showed me when I was in Pharaoh’s house, and how you took care of me and calmed so many of my fears. I have always been so grateful that Pharaoh let me keep you when he banished me from his harem. Probably it was because he heard how close you were to me, and that the curse that had fallen on the palace, because of me, might have involved you also, and you would therefore be harmful to the house of Pharaoh. Now, I want to show you a kindness, and elevate you. But I need your help and co-operation. You know how long I have prayed and waited for a son, and now I am too old, as I have passed the time of conception. But still Abram is praying and hoping every day for a son, because he believes God has told him that he will have many children. He needs a younger wife who will bear his child. Would you be willing to become his second wife? You would be given great honour, and I also will be helped, because it will take the burden and responsibility off of my shoulders. All these many years I have tried so hard to have children, but it has been totally impossible. So now it is too late, and I have given up hope. You are the only hope I have. Perhaps God will give me a son through you, and through you I can give Abram his long desired son.” 

        Hagar was in shock when she heard this proposal. Never, in her wildest imagination, had she thought of such an idea. She was young and strong and healthy.  Abram was an old man, four times her age. Could she stand to sleep with him? Could she accept this wild proposal? She knew there would be no passionate love between them, just a dutiful kind of relationship, where he would deposit his seed in her womb and then return to Sarai’s bed. She could never expect him to love her, nor could she love him as a woman should love the man she marries. Nor would she ever have the opportunity to love any other man or be married to someone else. She would be bound to him in a marriage that wasn’t a marriage, for the rest of her life. 

        But what future did she have as Sarai’s maid? If she accepted the proposal she wouldn’t be a slave any longer, she would be a free woman, at least as free as a second wife could ever be. And so she gave her answer, “I will do it.” 

        Sarai thanked her and kissed her; and the two of them began to make wedding plans. 

        The cloth merchant was brought in for the choosing of the wedding robe, the preparation of the trousseau, and the jeweler came to present his finest of jewelry for their selection. Abram himself, gave her a chain for her neck, ear rings, bracelets and ankle bangles of the finest gold.

THE WEDDING NIGHT 

        The musicians were hired, the wedding feast prepared, and the guests arrived.

        The night of celebration began. The men feasted in their tent while listening to music and watching the dancers late into the night. Meanwhile, Sarai celebrated with their wives and the neighboring women in a special tent brought in and erected for that occasion.  

        Finally the celebration came to an end. It was time for the consummation of the marriage. Sarai took Hagar’s hand in her’s and led her to the tent which Abram had purchased for him and Hagar. From then on he and Hagar would share this tent until it was announced that she was with child. 

        As Sarai pulled aside the tent’s flap and handed Hagar over to Abram, who was waiting, she could feel the young woman trembling. She dared not look into Abram’s eyes. Neither did she dare to let him look into her own eyes. She could not speak, nor answer him, when he bid her good night, and gently touched her shoulder. 

        She hurried out as quickly as she could to her lonely, empty tent, and cast herself, still fully clothed, on her lonely, empty bed. Abram would be good and kind to Hagar. She knew him that well. He would not force her and make her afraid. And as the tears of confusion, pain, grief and sadness fell from her eyes, and her body shook with long pent up emotion, she suddenly remembered the day when Abram had turned her over to Pharaoh’s soldiers, and they had carried her away to Pharaoh’s house to be prepared for his bed. 

        How things had turned around! Abram had given Sarai to Pharaoh, and she had given her husband to a slave girl of Pharaoh’s household! 

        And she was somehow comforted that now he would have to feel what she had felt. For had he not rejected her as his wife, she would not have rejected him as her husband, and given him another wife! 

        We are even! she thought, as sleep slowly took away the grief of the night. Sweet, comforting sleep! 

HAGAR AROUSES SARAI’S ANGER 

        It didn’t take long for Hagar to conceive, and when she did she was very proud of herself, for she saw how happy it made Abram. He began to treat her with respect and concern, for she carried in her womb his first child.

        Sarai, meanwhile, was filled with all kinds of emotions — relief, joy, envy, jealousy and rejection. She saw this new closeness between Abram and Hagar, and it hurt her. Abram was treating Hagar as though she was fine porcelain, and very precious, while Sarai, who because of her age, needed a helping hand now and then, was totally forgotten. 

        To make it worse, when Sarai called upon Hagar to do her usual tasks, she was shocked to find that Hagar did not respond to her orders. When Sarai rebuked her for her disobedience Hagar reminded her, “I’m not your slave any more. I am Abram’s wife. I demand respect. Get someone else to wait on you.” 

        Sarai saw a defiance and disrespect in Hagar’s eyes which she had not seen before. It angered her, so she spoke to Abram about it. 

        “I have made a mistake by giving my maid to you in marriage. She has changed. From the time she found out she was pregnant she has treated me with disrespect. She looks down on me as though she despises me. The Lord has to judge this case — either He takes you, or He takes me. I can’t go on living like this.” 

        Abram knew Sarai well enough to fear her strength and authority. He immediately bowed out of “these women affairs.” He said to her, “Look, your maid is in your care. Do to her whatever  you wish. Deal with her as you like. Don’t bother me with your problem.” 

HAGAR RUNS AWAY FROM SARAI 

        When Sarai saw she had Abram’s permission to punish Hagar she immediately took advantage of it. The Bible says, “she dealt harshly with her.” She was, in fact, so cruel, that Hagar fled from Sarai. She ran away into the desert. 

        This was a very dangerous thing to do, both for her and her unborn child.

        Sarai was relieved to get rid of Hagar, but when she saw how angry and upset it made Abram, because of his concern for Hagar and his unborn child, she realized she had not handled the situation correctly. She had a feeling that even God was displeased with her. She vowed to herself that if Hagar returned she would treat her differently — after all, things were really not the same — Hagar really was Abram’s wife, and she herself had been the cause of it all. Had it not been her idea that Hagar should bear children to Abram? She was the one who had given Hagar into her husband’s bosom. And in so doing, had driven a sword into her own — one that would wound her for the rest of her life, and still does today, as the children of Hagar are fulfilling the prophecy that the angel of the Lord gave Hagar concerning her son Ishmael, “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him...” (Genesis 16:12). 

        Meanwhile, Hagar finds herself in that waste and howling wilderness, far from home. Her grief and anger was spent, and her physical and emotional wounds were beginning to heal. And there was grief and hurt in her heart. She was thinking how she had heard Abram give Sarai permission to “do as it pleased her.” Perhaps he had not realized how harsh and hard Sarai would be. But then, Hagar realized Sarai wasn’t the only one to blame — she herself, had done wrong. She had been proud and disdainful towards Sarai, and had said things to her and about her to others that were not proper. If she could go back home, she would be different. She would treat Sarai with the respect she was due. But it was too late. She could never return! 

        As she struggled on, looking for some kind of civilization,  where she could find someone who would give her a drink of water, she saw the sun sinking in the west, tinting the sky coral, pink and deep red. In places it was almost purple. She stopped to gaze at its beauty and take one final drink from her meager water supply. It didn’t even begin to quench her terrible thirst. But she must hasten on. She had to find refuge before darkness descended. She was on her way to Shur, but she knew she would never live to get there if she didn’t find water soon. In the heat of that wilderness people were known to have died within a few hours from sheer thirst and dehydration because of the intense heat. It was like a bake-oven. 

        Just when she felt like giving up because her legs could go no farther, she saw what looked like tents not too far in the distance. Their colour had camouflaged them and hidden them. 

        Upon reaching them she saw a well. No one was about, so she quickly lowered the rope, with the wooden bucket on the end, and brought up water — cool, refreshing, life-giving water! She drank and drank, and then she poured it on her face and head and arms, and she rejoiced at the miracle of water — just plain water! Never in her life had she appreciated it so dearly.
 

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARS TO HAGAR AND SPEAKS OF ISHMAEL 

        Suddenly, a supernatural being stood in front of her! At first he looked like a man, but when she looked at him more closely, and heard him speak, she knew he was an angel of the Lord. He had found her by this well in the wilderness.

        He had come in answer to Abram’s prayers to God, for God loved Hagar and the child in her womb as much as He loved Abram and Sarai. He loves all of us all the time, no matter what we have done. He laid down His life for sinners. 

        When the angel had been commissioned by the Lord God to find Hagar, he knew that the best place to look for her would be at a well. 

        Even today, the daughters of Hagar will be found at the fountain of Living Water. Search for them there, for you will surely find them. They are tired and weary with millennium of wandering in the wilderness. Many have died of thirst. God needs you to go as an “angel of God” to them and give them the message of life — the water, the living water, which, if they drink, they will never thirst again. 

        Suddenly the angel spoke, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” 

        The angel knew the answer to all these questions, but he wanted Hagar to know that, in God’s sight, she was still Sarai’s maid. And then He wanted to get her to confess and talk to him about her troubles. If we can share our troubles it helps to heal our hearts. 

        She answered him, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress, Sarai.”

        Ah!  What a victory! She acknowledges that Sarai is still her mistress!  

        The angel says, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.” 

        What good, sensible advice. After all, where else was there for her to go?

        Sometimes, the best thing to do is to admit you were wrong, and go back to where you came from. 

        The prodigal son did it. But too often pride makes us keep on going, until we destroy ourselves.  

        The angel told her to submit herself under her Sarai’s hands. When the Lord tells you to do a hard thing, He gives you the grace to do it!

        Then He promised her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude” (Genesis 16:10). 

        The very same promise which God had given to Abram was now given to his firstborn son while he was yet in the womb, because he was of the seed of Abram. 

         He told her, “Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Genesis 16:1-12). 

        The name “Ishmael” means, “God hears”. His name would be a reminder to her that God had heard her weeping. She had not been chosen as a wife for Abram because he loved her, nor even because he desired her in a carnal way, but out of convenience. She had been available. Sarai had made sure she was of good breeding, and so she was really not much more than a “baby machine”, and the realization of these facts, together with the grief of this young maiden’s heart, God had not overlooked. She had been born and raised a worshipper of the gods of Egypt, but God treated her as though she was a daughter of Abram. In fact, except for Eve, this is the first account of God speaking personally to any woman. 

        The angel told her Ishmael would “dwell in the presence of his brethren.”

        Although Ishmael was raised in the desert, and probably lived there all of his life, and during the centuries, his descendants have lived there, now, in these end-times these words are being fulfilled as the Palestinians dwell with the sons of Israel in the Chosen Land — the land that was given to their joint father, from the River of Egypt to the Great River Euphrates. 

        Hagar named the place, Beerlahairoi, and took comfort saying, “I have seen the One who always sees (watches over) me.” 

        And with this promise in her heart she knew she could face anything — even Sarai’s wrath. She filled her bottle, and when morning came, she turned her steps northward to home.

        “And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram” (Genesis 16:15-16). 

        Abram was seventy-five years old and Sarai was sixty-five when they first arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:4). He had been ten years in the land when he took Hagar as his second wife (Genesis 16:3). He was eighty-six when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). 

GOD CHANGES THEIR NAMES, MAKES THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION, AND PROMISES HIM THAT SARAH WOULD BEAR HIM A SON
 

        Thirteen years later, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, and Sarah was eighty-nine, the Lord appeared to him, and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” 

        When Abram heard the voice of God he fell on his face. The Lord continued talking with him, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy 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. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.  

        And God said unto Abraham, “Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.  This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. 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” (Genesis 17:1-17). 

        When Abraham heard these powerful words he fell on his face before the mighty presence of God. Three special commands and revelations were given to Abraham that day.  

        1. The Covenant of Circumcision of all the males of Abraham’s descendants. 

        2. He would become the father of many nations. 

        3. The names of both Abram and Sarai were changed.

        Sarai (8297) WBC which meant “princess of her own people” would be Sarah (8283) UBC which meant “princess for all mankind.” 

        Abram (87) JBP} which meant “high father” would be Abraham (85) JUBP} which meant “father of a multitude.”

        4. Sarah would bear him a son in the following year (whose name would be Isaac), and she too would become a mother of nations. 

        The promises were so overwhelming that Abraham fell upon his face the second time, laughing at the very thought of Sarai, his eighty-nine year old Sarai, having a baby. He asked God, “Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” 

        That was when God gave him the name of Sarah’s son, “Isaac,” which means “laughter.” He would bring great joy and happiness into their lives after all their years of trials and testings, hoping and waiting, and finally giving up hope and resorting to their own way of fulfilling God’s promises.

“O THAT ISHMAEL MIGHT LIVE BEFORE THEE!” 

        Then Abraham remembered Ishmael. He loved Ishmael, his thirteen-year-old son, and he didn’t want God to cast him off. The child certainly wasn’t to blame for Abraham’s and Sarah’s sin of unbelief. 

        “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” Abraham beseeched the Lord (Genesis 17:18). 

        The Lord answered him, “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.  

        And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.  

        But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year” (Genesis 17:19-21).

        And with these words, God “left off talking with Abraham and went up from Abraham.” 

        That same day Abraham circumcised every male in his household, including his purchased slaves, his son Ishmael, and himself. 

THE POWER OF THE HEBREW LETTER “HE”

        It was only after two things had been accomplished in Abraham’s life that Isaac could be born. Both of these were vitally  important: 

        1. The Covenant of Circumcision had to be made. 

        Circumcision was symbolic of a work of sanctification i.e. “cutting off the flesh.” God could not give the son of promise to unholy, unsanctified parents, for both Abraham and Sarah had sinned in the matter of lying about their relationship and the giving of Hagar to Abraham as a wife.   

        2. Both Abram’s and Sarai’s names had to be changed to AbraHam and SaraH so the letter HE could be added to them.  

        The mystery of the change on their names is found in one of the little “hidden treasures” in the Hebrew alphabet. It is the letter HE. The Jewish scribes consider it a very holy letter.  

        When you breathe out the letter “HE” you can hear its sound coming out of your mouth. They say “the entire world was created by HaShem, with just a little HE, i.e. (the breath (RUWACH) of God, and that it was put into Abraham’s and Sarah’s names, so that they could have children. This letter is found two times in the Hebrew name for God: YeHoVaH. When God changed their names the only difference was the addition of the letter “HE.”       

        When God put His breath into Sarai and Abram, the HE changed Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah. It was only after God added this letter that Abraham and Sarah were able to have a child. From this we understand that when the breath of God entered into their lives it empowered them to reproduce life. And when we receive the “breath of life,” i.e. the Holy Spirit, we receive the resurrection life. That is why, after His resurrection, Jesus “breathed” on the disciples, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22).  

        When the breath of God enters into a person, that person is completely changed! God breaths, by the Holy Spirit, into our hearts, and creates within us a new creature for the Glory  of the Lord! “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

THE LORD VISITS SARAH PERSONALLY

        It was not long after that when, one day, as Abraham sat in his tent door in the heat of the day, (the Jewish scholars say he was still suffering discomfort from his recent circumcision), while the rest of the camp was taking their afternoon nap, that he opened his eyes, which were heavy with sleep, and saw three men standing close beside him. He immediately knew they were heavenly visitors. He ran to greet them, and bowing himself to the ground he extended eastern hospitality to them. He begged them, “My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant.”  

        They answered him, “So do, as thou hast said” (Genesis 18:3-5). 

        After getting them seated Abraham hurriedly entered the tent and woke up Sarah, “Quickly prepare three loaves of bread for our guests.”  

        Leaving her wondering what was going on, he ran into the herd and chose a fatted calf which he gave to one of his young servants with the command to hurriedly butcher it, and prepare it for his newly-arrived guests. He, himself, set the table — butter, milk, the prepared veal and the freshly baked bread, and waited upon his guests as they ate.

        When they finished their delicious “earth meal” they turned to Abraham and asked, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” 

        He answered, “She is in the tent.” 

        The Lord then repeated the promise He had given Abraham when he had spoken to him previously, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10). 

         Sarah heard what He said because she was standing in the tent door, which was behind Him, listening to everything that was happening. When she heard these words, she thought about her great age, and knowing that she had passed the days of child-bearing, she began to laugh silently, saying to herself, “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Genesis 18:12). 

        The Lord, knowing her thoughts, gently rebuked her by saying to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? And why did she say to herself, shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything 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 she had laughed, saying, “I laughed not,” for she was afraid. 

        But the Lord answered her, “Nay, but thou didst laugh.” 

        Saying that, they stood up to leave. 

        Inside the tent Sarah was still in shock. She wondered if what she had just seen and heard had all been a dream. The day was very hot, and after a lunch of bread and cheese and fresh fruit, that Abraham had ordered delivered from the fruitful Jordan valley, she had retired for her afternoon nap. “Abraham, why don’t you lie down and rest too,” she had coaxed him, as she had every day of their married life.  

        Sometimes he obeyed her, but usually, like today, he would just sit in the shade of the old oak tree — that tree was so large its branches also shaded part of the tent that he now lived in with Sarah. 

        It was hard for Abraham to remember to call her by her new name, Sarah. Most of the time he still called her by the old one, Sarai. And although he had told her that she must now call him Abraham, he noticed that she almost never remembered. 

        He had told her the message the Lord had given him, that she would bear him a son, and they would call him Isaac (Laughter, Joy) because, after all these years, God was finally going to answer their prayers. 

        But Sarah didn’t really believe him. She knew that Abraham had been circumcised, along with the entire household of males, and she saw how weak the whole ordeal had made him. He was only then beginning to heal up. Ishmael was still complaining of discomfort, and Hagar had shared her misgivings about it all with Sarah. 

        The two women had laid down their old conflict, and were getting along quite well — after all, old Abraham couldn’t be a husband to either of them now; he was all “withered” — especially now, with this circumcision. 

        Thirteen years had gone by since that night when she had brought Hagar into Abraham’s tent. It was only a memory now. When Hagar had returned from her flight into the desert she had told Sarah all about her meeting with the angel, and that the angel had commanded her to return to her mistress, Sarah, and submit to her. So she had come back in a different spirit than when she had left, and Sarah, herself, had repented of her hardness, so the two women got along quite well together. 

        Now this! What had really happened? she wondered. She had been thinking about what it would be like if it were true that in her old age she would have a son. She said to herself, “But if it is true, why doesn’t God tell me, Himself? After all, He had told Hagar, when she was in the desert, that she would have a son. He talked to her! Why doesn’t God talk to me?” These had been her last thoughts as she had fallen asleep.

        Sarah went over it all again in her mind, as she thinks back at what has just hap-pened. She remembered how, suddenly, she had heard Abraham talking. Who is he talking to? She listens for a while, still drifting in and out of sleep, when he shakes her wide awake and says, “Get up quickly, and make three loaves of bread, and use the finest flour.” 

        She immediately gets up, peeks out the flap of the tent, and begins to prepare the bread. What she had seen was three men dressed in an unusual fashion, and with the kindest, most beautiful faces she had ever seen in her life. Who were they, and where did they come from? Abraham seemed to be acquainted with one of  them. Where had he met them? 

        The bread was ready when Abraham set the table for them, and fetched her loaves, still hot from the fire, laid them before his guests, and stood to serve them with extreme politeness. 

        She was watching, and listening from the darkness of the tent, when she heard the chief of these men ask, “Where is your wife, Sarah?” 

        Ah, He called her by her new name! Almost no one else did that. Who was He?