SISTER SARAH'S SUGGESTION

Genesis 12:1-3 tells us that God had promised to make Sarah's husband into a great nation. That would involve an heir - in fact, MANY heirs. Yet, in spite of God's promise, Sarah remained barren.
When Abraham began to fear and doubt regarding God's promise, "...the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. ......Look up at the sky and count the stars - if indeed you can count them. ...So shall your offspring be." Genesis 15:1, 5

The scripture says "Abram believed the LORD ..." Gen. 15:6 Can you see the enormity of that truth? Here was a man who was filled with fear - filled with doubt - and he was able to lay aside his limitations and be filled with faith. He simply believed in God's spoken word. Without evidence. Without proof. Without knowing the details of how. Without knowing when or where.

Does that mean Abram was a perfect man? NO! But God counted his faith as righteousness. Was Abram a REAL man? YES! Was he God's man? Absolutely! Did our sister, Sarah, share her husband's over-the-top faith? Maybe not. At least not at this point in time.

When they had lived in Canaan (the land God had promised to give them) for 10 years there was still no heir in sight to begin the fulfillment of God's covenant promise. Sister Sarah, being the intuitive woman she was, saw the problem, sought her own solution, and came to her husband with a suggestion.

Genesis 16:2 tells us that "she said to Abram, The LORD has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her."

It sounds like Sarah was blaming God for her infertility, doesn't it? Yet most commentators agree that Sarah was simply acknowledging the widely held belief of her day. 4,000 years ago in the culture in which sister Sarah lived, barrenness was the ultimate disgrace. It was understood as a sign of divine disfavor. A barren woman was ridiculed by others and believed to be shunned by God. It was even considered legitimate grounds for a man to divorce his wife. Barrenness had made life difficult for our sister Sarah.

That Sarah would seek to solve the problem herself is so typical of us women! By nature, we are nurturers. We are fixers. We want to straighten things out for everyone. It's just part of our original "wiring." After all, we were created as "helpers," weren't we? Genesis 2 says that when no suitable helper was found for Adam, God made a woman and brought her to the man.

The fact that women were created to "help" is part of why we women are so often willing to listen to other people's problems. Most men aren't the least interested in hearing someone else's troubles ... but many women thrive on it. It's simply the way we are "wired."

The "help" nature came out in Sarah and she decided to "help" God solve this little problem. So she "took" and she "gave" her Egyptian maid to her husband. Now, let's be clear - what Sarah suggested was perfectly in line with the accepted cultural practices of her time. It was perfectly reasonable from a human standpoint.

But was it GOD's plan? NO! God never adjusts His commands to fit the customs of nations, no matter how deeply ingrained they are. Is abortion any less murder because it's legal in our culture? Is it okay for us to amass all the material trappings of the American dream and fail to meet the needs of the poor and hungry around us? Is it harmless for believers to spend their money on movies that purport immorality and assault our ears with profanity in the name of accepted cultural entertainment? I'm not trying to get on any soapboxes here but I just can't help but wonder - are we, like our sister, Sarah, and accepting cultural solutions and standards rather than strictly adhering to God's commands?

Did Sarah pray and seek God's counsel before she made her suggestion and gave her servant to her husband? Scripture does not record that she did. Before we come down too hard on sister Sarah, I think we have to ask ourselves:

• Are there times I have "plotted" instead of praying?
• Have there been times in my life when I should have trusted God instead of taking charge and crafting my own foolish plans?
• Have there been times I should have waited instead of acting?

When Sarah's plan didn't go quite the way she had envisioned, what did she do? This part of the story just cracks me up. Listen to Gen. 16:5 "Then Sarai said to Abram, You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering." Oh. My. Goodness.

• Who among us has not, at some time or other, manipulated someone into doing what we wanted and then blamed them when the plan went wrong?
• Have there been times when I have not accepted responsibility for my own actions?
• Have there been times when I have run ahead of God?

We don't like to look at sister Sarah in the light of Genesis 16:6 but it clearly states that "Sarai mistreated Hagar.." The Hebrew words translated "mistreated" indicate that it probably entailed physical violence. Not a pretty picture, huh? Perhaps we've never physically mistreated anyone else so we're reading this a feeling a little smug. We might do well to ask ourselves:

• When have we expressed jealousy or vengeance in a less than kind manner?
• Haven't most of us used our words in a cruel manner and inflicted pain on someone else?

I don't know about you, but I'm finding I have more in common with my sister Sarah than I thought I did. There have been many times that I, like she, have looked at my own limitations instead of God's guarantees. The good news is - God wasn't through with Sister Sarah from Ur - and He isn't through with you and me!