Infertility in Scripture I: Sarah
Sarah
Sarai is introduced in Genesis 11:30, and look at how she's defined:
Her story begins in Genesis 12, when we see her and her husband (at that point, his name was Abram) going down to Egypt because of a famine in their homeland. Abram was afraid Pharaoh would want to kill him in order to take Sarai for his own wife, so they pretended that Sarai was Abram's sister (a half-truth, as they were indeed half siblings). God somehow communicated to Pharaoh the full truth, and he sent them on their way.
Here's something my pastor pointed out to us earlier this year: Although at this point Sarai is in her late 60s or early 70s, she's still so beautiful and "preserved" (for lack of a better term) that Abram rightly fears the Egyptian king's interest in her. Sarai doesn't just look good, she still looks young and desirable. That's a miracle in itself! ;o)
In Genesis 15, God covenants with Abram that He will make a great nation from his seed. In chapter 16, we see that Sarai takes that covenant into her own hands, so to speak, by having her husband sleep with her servant Hagar. (At this point, Abram is 86 yrs old, and Sarai is about 10 yrs younger.) Of course, once Hagar conceived, Sarai was filled with contempt for her and treated her quite badly.
In chapter 17, God comes down again to Abram, making it clear this time that He intends to make a nation with both him and Sarai. He institutes the covenant sign of circumcision and changes their names to Abraham and Sarah. He even tells them when their child, a son, would be born (that same time the following year) and what his name would be. The name for their son was to be Isaac, which means "he laughs" or "laughter."
In chapter 18, when Sarah hears this prophecy, she literally LOL. Here are verses 10-14:
We see here that she has definitely gone through menopause ("The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah."), but the LORD Himself says, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"
Genesis 20 relates that Abraham was up to his old tricks again, telling Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. Because Abimelech had taken another man's wife, God actually inflicted infertility on Abimelech's wife and female servants until Sarah was safely returned to Abraham.
The payoff comes in Genesis 21:
The last mention we have of Sarah comes from the "Hall of Faith" chapter, Hebrews 11:
Sarai is introduced in Genesis 11:30, and look at how she's defined:
Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Her story begins in Genesis 12, when we see her and her husband (at that point, his name was Abram) going down to Egypt because of a famine in their homeland. Abram was afraid Pharaoh would want to kill him in order to take Sarai for his own wife, so they pretended that Sarai was Abram's sister (a half-truth, as they were indeed half siblings). God somehow communicated to Pharaoh the full truth, and he sent them on their way.
Here's something my pastor pointed out to us earlier this year: Although at this point Sarai is in her late 60s or early 70s, she's still so beautiful and "preserved" (for lack of a better term) that Abram rightly fears the Egyptian king's interest in her. Sarai doesn't just look good, she still looks young and desirable. That's a miracle in itself! ;o)
In Genesis 15, God covenants with Abram that He will make a great nation from his seed. In chapter 16, we see that Sarai takes that covenant into her own hands, so to speak, by having her husband sleep with her servant Hagar. (At this point, Abram is 86 yrs old, and Sarai is about 10 yrs younger.) Of course, once Hagar conceived, Sarai was filled with contempt for her and treated her quite badly.
In chapter 17, God comes down again to Abram, making it clear this time that He intends to make a nation with both him and Sarai. He institutes the covenant sign of circumcision and changes their names to Abraham and Sarah. He even tells them when their child, a son, would be born (that same time the following year) and what his name would be. The name for their son was to be Isaac, which means "he laughs" or "laughter."
In chapter 18, when Sarah hears this prophecy, she literally LOL. Here are verses 10-14:
The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
We see here that she has definitely gone through menopause ("The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah."), but the LORD Himself says, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"
Genesis 20 relates that Abraham was up to his old tricks again, telling Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. Because Abimelech had taken another man's wife, God actually inflicted infertility on Abimelech's wife and female servants until Sarah was safely returned to Abraham.
The payoff comes in Genesis 21:
The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
The last mention we have of Sarah comes from the "Hall of Faith" chapter, Hebrews 11:
For he [Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 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.
It is my opinion that Abe perhaps felt a bit guilty for laying with Hagar, and guilty to god who prohibited marriage between siblings...but Abe loved Sarah and his god dearly, regardless. And by sleeping with Hagar, Abe upset his beloved Sarah. So perhaps it is not so strange that ABe made called Sarah his sister, not his wife and sister, to Aiblemech the king who wanted her.
And perhaps Abe loved Sarah so, that if he and she could not concieve together, that it woul only be a king he would feel fit to be with her besides with him. After all, he had lain with her handmaiden...The pain of it...he could make it up to her, to give her a child by a king.
He made no protest to the months she spent with King Aiblemech. When Aiblemech returned Sarah to Abraham, he sent with her riches and livestock, and that very year, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Coincidence?
Twelve years later, there was an altercation between Aiblemech's men and Abraham over the use of a well. Abraham was very angry. The next chapter in the bible claims that god told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac...Is this coincidence as well?
I think perhaps Abraham knew Isaac to be Aiblemech's son, and being siezed with angst and rage towards Aiblemech after the altercation, wanted to kill Isaac who Aiblemech would also know to be his own son and not Abraham's and thus hurt Aiblemech.
However, when Abraham could not go through with killing Isaac(this boy he had raised as his own, whose conception he facilitated for his dear Sarah's sake} he did not know how to answer the child, or how to answer his wife if the child spoke of the incident....So he blamed it on god, saying god had asked him to sacrifice his son as a test.
In the end, we have a story of two people who loved each other despite all odds, and stayed together through extreme trials and a lonely king with many wives, who gave a child to an unorthodox couple in love,whose story would be etched in our hearts forever.
Just my take.
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