Hebrews 11:11–12 (KJV 1900)
11 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. 12 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)
At first glance, this tiny piece of faith scripture appears to be a literal representation of the conception of a child by an old woman, encouraging the belief in the impossible things that the Lord can do. It does encourage faith in miracles! But, hidden within the depth of meanings and words and the mysteries and hidden things in God is a map of faithful living that supports the mature Christian’s works for Him. Let’s start our journey with the faith of Sarah, by meeting her before her preparation to do a great work for the Kingdom of God.
Sarai was her name before she became mother of generations of God’s people.
Genesis 11:29–31 (KJV 1900)
29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. (Genesis 11:29-31)
Abram married Sarai. Sarai was barren and could not become pregnant. Sometime after the marriage, Terah, Abram, Lot, and Sarai went to dwell in Haran. It is not known the precise location of Haran today. Note also how Scripture says that Terah took his family to go to this place, sometimes after the Tower of Babel was built in Ur. Since Terah led the group, this most surely happened prior to Abram getting the call from the LORD God to leave the familiar and go to the land of promise (Hebrews 11:8-11).
Tradition tells us a little bit more about Sarai through interpretation by Jewish scholars and Rabbis. While it cannot be confirmed completely by the Word of God, this extra information adds a little flavor, and is worthy of our consideration. Milcah was born to Haran, who also had another daughter Iscah, and a son Lot. (Genesis 11:27-29)
Iscah is identified as another name for Sarai by many Jewish scholars, thus they believe that Milcah and Sarai were sisters. (The lack of confirmation of this fact within the Word of God makes the sister relationship of Milcah and Sarai doubtful; thus Iscah should NOT be considered the same person as Sarai regardless of traditional belief).
We do know, however, that Sarai was a daughter of Terah, Abram’s father, but not his mother, making her a half-sister to Abram (Genesis 20:12). Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran, the youngest son of Terah, was the father of Lot.
Now focus upon this family tree a little longer. Haran was the brother to Nahor, and the father to Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. Nahor married his niece Milcah, the daughter of his brother. Milcah and Nahor had eight children. Tradition of the Rabbi’s interpretation of Gen 22:20 speaks of the providence of the LORD God granting Milcah children because of the merits of her sister (Targum Jonathan to Gen 22:20). It is said in the Midrash that Milcah was the forbearer of all the prophets in the world. (Yalkut Shimoni Balak 22:20)
So the family left for Haran as confusion of tongues initiated at the Tower of Babel in Ur, forced the scattering of people. Sadly for Sarai, Milcah was very fertile, and had many children, while she remained barren. It must surely have weighed heavily on Sarai’s heart, as she watched and heard accounts of Milcah’s offspring, all the while knowing that God had not allowed her the same blessing.
Together the family came to Haran and dwelt there. It is the place where Terah died. It is in this period, that the LORD God told Abram to leave his kindred, and his father’s house, and go to a place where he will be made a great nation with God’s blessing. (Gen 11:1-2)
Genesis 12:1-2
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, 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:” (Genesis 12:1-2)
Genesis 12:4-5
“So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 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 12:4-5)
Abram was an old man when he left Haran in compliance with the instructions of the LORD God. Abram was seventy-five years old. He gathered up his family, and substance for the trip, and servants from Haran, and they began their journey into the unknown.
Genesis 12:6-9
“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.” (Genesis 12:6-9)
What must it have been like traveling towards the unknown for Sarai? The life of familiar comfort was coming to an end, as she moved with her husband to the places God willed. The travelers passed through Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh, within the land of Canaan. Then the LORD God appeared to Abram, he gave the land to Abram; Abram built an altar to the LORD in honor of the gift, and then went to a mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched a tent. Then they left.
The family had been moving for a very long as they traveled by foot in a caravan toward Canaan. When finally that found the place the LORD God had given them, Abram picked them up and moved them further south, still journeying. But this time, he journeyed not at the direction of the LORD God, but through his own needs to supply food to his people. There was a terrible famine in the land, and no food to harvest. Egypt had food, and it was Egypt where Abram took his people, so they could eat food and sustain their lives.
Genesis 12:6-9
“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous in the land.” (Genesis 12:6-10)
Abram and Sarai and Lot, with their servants and supplies, came to Egypt to sojourn in that place. Sojourn means that Abram had full intentions of “turning aside from the road” and going to a strange place that was hostile to him and his family. What road was Abram turning from? The road that the LORD God had first placed him upon was ultimately the road that Abram left as he chose to go toward Egypt. He turned aside of the spiritual land given to Him by God, and went to the world filled with natural life food that his soul apparently craved.
And it came to pass in the accounts of Abram taking his family down into Egypt, that we are able to meet a bit of Sarai and begin to understand the full impact of her faith in a later time of lost hope. The Word of God tells of the misadventure of Abram and Sarai in vivid portrayals that give us a fuller sense of the woman who would one day become the mother of the chosen, called, and faithful people of God.
Updated Mar 22, 2024 3:45:56pm
