Sarah (Princess) is the only Hebrew woman recorded by name in Hebrews chapter 11. As the mother of the free, she is ‘the mother of us all’, Gal. 4. 26. She lived across from us on the other slope of history, circa BC 2000. After leaving Ur and Haran, she dwelt in tents at various times in Shechem, Bethel, Hebron, Beersheba, Egypt, and Gerar, spanning the length of the Fertile Crescent. She suffered famine, and the more dangerous threat of sudden riches that led to the rift with Lot’s family, Gen. 13. 12. She stood by as Abraham rode off to battle with 318 men against four armies. She was subjected to the harems of Pharaoh and Abimelech. And we can only imagine her week-long vigil until she discovered what happened with Isaac at Moriah, Gen. 22.
Unfortunately Sarah is often remembered for two unsavoury events in her life: her laugh of incredulity, and her untimely jealousy leading to Hagar’s eviction. The New Testament treats her much more favourably.
In Romans chapter 9, Sarah is a key figure in God’s election, v. 9. This choice was not to salvation, but to a role in the divine plan. By a supernatural act, He brought from Sarah, after a 35-year wait, this crucial link in the Messianic chain.
In Galatians chapter 4, the Holy Spirit paints Sarah as an allegorical figure. We see that behind the wrongful jealousy of Sarah is the righteous jealousy of God. Sarah’s words are taken as Scripture, Gen. 21. 10; Gal. 4. 30, and Paul uses the birth of Abraham’s two sons to show the chasm between the Old and New Covenants. Sarah is not merely a picture of the New Covenant, but of the freedom intrinsic in it.
She is an illustration of faith in a particular aspect, Heb. 11. 11. She is not as Abraham, ‘strong in faith’, but ‘received strength’ in the midst of her unbelief. With circumstances seemingly against her, by a conscious act she judged God trustworthy who had promised.
In 1 Peter, Sarah is presented as a godly example, 3. 6. Yet the word ‘lord’ is all that is salvageable from the incident in Genesis. The rest is just a laugh of incredulity. This not only displays Sarah’s subjection; it also shows God’s matchless grace.
