Sarah: A Case Study of a Woman’s Faith, Hope in God, and Obedience to Her Husband

As a follow-up to my study on a Theology of Woman, I wrote this lesson to give a little background to Sarah, whom Peter uses as a specific example for women to follow. Hopefully this short biography of an imperfect woman who placed her faith and hope in God and learned to obey her husband will encourage us to do the same.

Abram & Sarai’s background in Ur: Genesis 11:28-32

Sarai and Abram were half-siblings, sharing the same father, Terah (cf. Genesis 20:12). Abram was 10 years older than Sarai (cf. Genesis 17:17). They grew up in Ur of the Chaldeans, a powerful and wealthy pagan city; it was a theocracy based upon worship of the Babylonian moon god. Their father, Terah, led their family in moving from Ur to Haran, at which point Terah died.

The only description we have of Sarai’s first 65 years is that she “was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). This was obviously the greatest point of tension for Sarai personally and within their marriage.

God’s first promise to Abram & their move from Haran: Genesis 12:1–8

At age 75, Abram received a call from God to leave his family and country and go to a land God would show him. He promised to make of Abram a great nation. Abram obeyed God in faith (cf. Hebrews 11:8). Sarai (age 65) obeyed her husband in following him, living the life of a nomad (after having lived in a wealthy, urban area), and moving somewhere but not knowing where.

God’s promise to make of Abram a great nation (Genesis 12:2) and to give his offspring land (Genesis 12:7) must have placed a great burden on Sarai.

“Sarah obviously had a key role to play in this plan. Abraham could never become the patriarch of a great nation if she did not first become mother to his offspring. She was surely aware of the Lord’s promises to Abraham. She certainly would have longed to see those promise fulfilled. As long as she remained childless, however, the sense that everything somehow hinged on her must have pressed on her like a great burden on her shoulders.”¹

Abram & Sarai’s deception in Egypt: Genesis 12:9–20

Abram led his family to Egypt due to a famine in Canaan. Sarai was such a beautiful woman (even at age 65!) that Abram selfishly, cowardly, and faithlessly told Sarai ahead of time to claim that she was only his sister. Sarai obeyed her husband and followed this plan. Sure enough, Pharaoh’s princes noticed her beauty, pointed her out to Pharaoh, and brought her into his house. Pharaoh gave Abram much livestock, likely planning to marry Sarai. However, plagues in his household resulted in Pharaoh’s finding out that Sarai was Abram’s wife. Sarai was then returned to Abram, untouched and unpunished.

God’s promise to Abram reiterated: Genesis 13:14–18

God expanded His promise to Abraham, showing how much land his offspring would have and how extensive his offspring would be.

God repeats His promise when Abram questions Him: Genesis 15:1–21

Abram voiced his concern to God about being childless. He was afraid that his heir would not be his own flesh and blood, but rather a servant in his household (Eliezer).

God reassured Abram that his very own son would be his heir. God then reiterated His promise, making a one-sided, unconditional covenant with Abram.

Sarai tells Abram to take Hagar to bear a son: Genesis 16:1–16

Likely aware of God’s promise to Abram that he would have a son, Sarai was acutely cognizant that she had borne him no children. She was now 75 years old. Rather than waiting on God, she came up with her own solution.

“But as she considered her circumstances, Sarah concluded that a kind of surrogate parenting was the only possible solution to her predicament. If God’s promise to Abraham were ever going to be fulfilled, Abraham had to father children by some means. Sarah thus took it upon herself to try to engineer a fulfillment of the divine promise to Abraham. She unwittingly stepped into the role of God.”²

At Sarai’s urging, Abram took his wife’s maidservant, Hagar, as his concubine. Hagar conceived and began to treat Sarai with disrespect and contempt. Sarai, provoked by Hagar’s disrespect, became angry and blamed Abram. Abram simply told Sarai to deal with Hagar as she wished. Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and Hagar fled. The Lord, however, told Hagar to return to her mistress and submit to her. Hagar bore a son, Ishmael, to Abram when he was 86.

God promises Abraham & Sarah a son: Genesis 17:1–21

God here changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah. Once more, God reiterated His promises to Abram, but this time he specifically included Sarah. He stated,

“I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (Genesis 17:16).

Abraham asked that God not overlook Ishmael, yet God immediately emphasized that Abraham’s heir would be Sarah’s son.

God promises Abraham & Sarah a son in Sarah’s hearing: Genesis 18:1–15

God again came to repeat His promise, but He specifically did so in Sarah’s hearing.

Sarah was obedient to Abraham’s commands to help prepare an elaborate meal on short notice for three unexpected guests.

Sarah laughed when she heard that she, at 90, and Abraham, at 100, would have a son. The Lord asked why she laughed, asking if anything was too hard for the Lord. Sarah denied laughing.

Abraham & Sarah’s deception of Abimelech, King of Gerar: Genesis 20:1–18

Having not learned from their experience in Egypt, Abraham and Sarah deceived another king, claiming that Sarah was only Abraham’s sister. Once again, Sarah was not violated in any way as God protected them.

Sarah has a son and tells Abraham to cast out Hagar & Ishmael: Genesis 21:1–14

Just as the Lord had promised, Sarah had a son. Sarah saw humor in God’s dealings with her. Just as she and Abraham had laughed when they heard God’s promise, she realized that others will also laugh at the thought of such an old woman nursing a child. She named her son Isaac, which means “laughter.”

One person’s “laughter,” however, did not amuse Sarah. She saw Ishmael mocking Isaac and demanded that Abraham cast Hagar and Ishmael out. While Abraham did not want to cast out Ishmael, because he likely loved his firstborn son, God told Abraham not to be displeased but rather to follow through on Sarah’s request. God emphasized that it was through Sarah’s son, Isaac, that God’s promises would be fulfilled.

Sarah’s death & burial: Genesis 23:1–2

Sarah died at age 127, when Isaac was 37 years old. She is the only woman in Scripture whose age and place of burial are mentioned.

NT references to Sarah

Hebrews 11:1–2: “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

“Sarah’s faith had. . . been well tested. She. . . demonstrated her absolute trust in God’s promises. And the stamp of God’s approval on her is contained in those New Testament passages that recognize her for her steadfast faithfulness.”³

1 Peter 3:5-6: “For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”

“In the very same way the New Testament portrays Abraham as the spiritual father of all who believe (Rom. 4:9-11; Gal. 3:7), Sarah is pictured as the spiritual matriarch and the ancient epitome of all faithful women (1 Peter 3:6). Far from isolating those memorable instances where Sarah behaved badly, it commemorates her as the very epitome of a woman adorned with ‘the incorruptible beauty of a gently and quiet spirit’ 1 Peter 3:4 NKJV).”⁴

Lessons to take home

• Despite her many failures, Sarah was praised as a holy woman with a gentle and quiet spirit who obeyed her husband and who had faith to consider God faithful to his promises. She obeyed Abraham even though he was not always exemplary himself. Her motivation was her hope in God, and we can be motivated by the same hope.
• We also can follow in her example and have faith that God will still remain faithful to His promises, for nothing is too hard for the Lord.

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Holly Huffstutler serves with her husband David, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockford, IL. She blogs with him here where this post first appeared. Holly is a homemaker, raising and schooling her four children.

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1. John MacArthur, Twelve Extraordinary Women, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 32. [↩]
2. Ibid., 38. [↩]
3. Ibid., 50. [↩]
4. Ibid., 50. [↩]