Seeds of Promise Series by Shenica Graham

Sarah (Sarai): A Mother of Nations

Women of The Bible

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Seeds of Promise	Women of the Bible	Sarah (Sarai): A Mother of Nations	Genesis 12:1, 12:10-20	Audio

Memory Verse: But the Lord scourged Pharaoh and his household with serious plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. Genesis 12:17 AMP

Devotional Reading: Genesis 12:1, 12:10-20

¹ Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram ^[^b^]went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive (intense and grievous). ¹¹And when he was about to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, I know that you are beautiful to behold. ¹²So when the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³Say, I beg of you, that you are ^[^c^]my sister, so that it may go well with me for your sake and my life will be spared because of you. ¹⁴And when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh’s house [harem]. ¹⁶And he treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, he-donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-donkeys, and ^[^d^]camels. ¹⁷But the Lord scourged Pharaoh and his household with serious plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her and get away [from here]! ²⁰And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they brought him on his way with his wife and all that he had.

Adam feared for his life because of the exceeding beauty of his wife. He knew that the Eqyptians would find her to be fair and desirable. When Abram and Sarai entered Egypt to avoid the famine where they had come from, Abram told Sarai to say that she was his sister. Had the Egyptians known that Sarai was his wife, Abram believed they would have killed him in order to free her for marriage to the Pharaoh. Sure enough, the Egyptian princes admired Sarai an commended her to the Pharaoh, who took Sarai into his concubines. Since Sarai was yet barren when Abram and all his house left Egypt, she must not have born children of Pharaoh. Had Abram not told Sarai to deny herself as his wife, maybe God would have given them favor and spared his and her life together without their having to lie about their relationship.

Later, God promises Abram that his servant will not be the heir to his inheritance. However, Sarai becomes impatient in her barrenness and gives her Eqyptian handmaid, Hagar to be Adam’s secondary wife. When Adam knew Hagar, she became pregnant. However, instead of rejoicing that her wicked plan had worked, Sarai became jealous of Hagar.

Lessons from Sarai Whose Name Was Changed to Sarah (Princess)

Don’t try to fix God’s plan. God knows what He is doing. You may be acting on partial information, while God knows every angle and nothing is hidden from Him. Have faith enough to wait for the promise when God says, “I will do it…,” it shall come to pass.

Be patient. Often the hurried solution when you have a great expectation is both a waste of time and resources, and something that could be regrettable. Great expectations take time to develop and cultivate. Give them their due diligence before hitting the 8 ball and ending the journey.