Women of the Bible - Sarah
A Woman of Obedience
by Kathryn Capoccia
Young Adults Sunday School Class
All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by
permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
© Copyright Kathy Capoccia 2000. This file may be freely copied, printed out,
and distributed as long as copyright and source statements remain intact,
and that it is not sold.
I. Introduction
A. Prayer Requests
B. Review of Last Week's Lesson/Verse
II. Character Profile: Sarah, a Woman of Obedience
A. WHO WAS SHE? (See GEN 11-25:10; ROM 4:19, 9:9; HEB 11:11; 1PE 3:5)
1. WHEN DID SHE LIVE? At the beginning of the time of the Patriarchs
(dated anywhere from the 19th to the 14th century B.C.).
2. WHERE DID SHE LIVE? Ur of the Chaldeans; a wealthy, urban area of
southern Mesopotamia (220 m. SE of Baghdad). Later, Haran, in
Syria, and from the age of 65, in Canaan (GEN 12:4).
3. WHAT WAS HER NAME?
a) Her Name Was Sarai, "princely" (GEN 11-17:14)
b) Her Name Was Sarah, "princess" (GEN 17:15-23:20)
Sarah is a covenant name that was given to her by God (Gen
17:15,16)
GEN 17:15,16 "God also said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your
wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be
Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.
I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;
kings of peoples will come from her.'"
1) How did Sarah fit into the Covenant?
a] as Abraham's wife she was included in his covenant with
God
b] as the one who would bear the child of promise she is
included
2) What is a covenant?
a] the word "covenant" means: a binding agreement or
contract that supersedes any other relationship: a
treaty, alliance of friendship, a pledge or agreement, a
contract.
i] this can be between two people or between God and man
ii] this can be a conditional or unconditional
iii] this involves oaths/promises of commitment and
blessings or curses for keeping or breaking the
covenant; signs; sacrifices- the Hebrew word for
making a covenant is "berith","to cut a covenant",
(making a blood sacrifice as part of the ritual).
b] covenants represent:
i] pledges/promises upon pain of death
ii] commitment unto death
þ identification with the covenant partner: he is
you and you are him- his concerns are yours and
yours his
þ pledge of defense against the other's enemies- his
enemies are yours and yours his
þ pledge of making one's resources available to the
other
3) What are some Covenants that we see in Scripture?
a] the Noahic covenant (GEN 9:13-17)
[an unconditional covenant between God and mankind]
GEN 9:13 "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me and the
earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the
rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my
covenant between me and you and all living creatures of
every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood
to destroy all life."
b] the Abrahamic covenant (GEN 12,15,17)
[an unconditional covenant between God and Abraham and
his descendants]
GEN 17:7-11 "I will establish my covenant as an
everlasting covenant between me and you and your
descendants after you for the generations to come, to be
your God and the God of your descendants after you. The
whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will
give as an everlasting possession to you and your
descendants after you; and I will be their God. This is
my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the
covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be
circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me and you."
it promised two things:
i] seed
þ an heir to inherit Abraham's wealth
þ descendants "as numerous as the stars" (GEN 15:5)
and "as numerous as the grains of sand" (GEN
22:23)
þ a "seed" in whom all the nations would be blessed
(GEN 22:18)
*this would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ
ii] land- Canaan
c] the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech (GEN
21:22-34) [a covenant of fear to guarantee friendship]
GEN 21:23 "Now swear to me here before God that you
will not deal falsely with me or my children or my
descendants. Show to me and the country where you are
living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to
you."
d] the Issacic covenant (GEN 26:24)
[an unconditional covenant]
GEN 26:24 "That night the LORD appeared to him and
said, 'I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be
afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will
increase the number of your descendants for the sake of
my servant Abraham.' Isaac built an altar there and
called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his
tent, and there his servants dug a well."
e] the Jacobic covenant (GEN 28:13-15)
[an unconditional covenant]
GEN 28:13-15 "There above it stood the LORD, and he
said: 'I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and
the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants
the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will
be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out
to the west and to the east, to the north and to the
south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you
and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over
you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this
land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you.'"
f] the covenant between Jacob and Laban (GEN 31:44-54)
[one of fear- agreement to keep peace]
GEN 31:44 Come now, let's make a covenant, you and I,
and let it serve as a witness between us."
GEN 31:50-54 "'If you mistreat my daughters or if you
take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one
is with us, remember that God is a witness between you
and me.' Laban also said to Jacob, 'Here is this heap,
and here is this pillar I have set up between you and
me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a
witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side
to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and
pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and
the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between
us.' So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of
his father Isaac. He offered a sacrifice there in the
hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After
they had eaten, they spent the night there."
g] the Mosaic covenant or the Old Covenant (DEU 5:6-21)
[a conditional covenant between God and Israel]
EXO 34:27,28 "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Write down
these words, for in accordance with these words I have
made a covenant with you and with Israel.' Moses was
there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without
eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the
tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten
Commandments."
EXO 24:7,8 "Then he took the Book of the Covenant and
read it to the people. They responded, 'We will do
everything the LORD has said; we will obey.' Moses then
took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said,
'This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has
made with you in accordance with all these words.'"
i] the Law guaranteed blessings for obedience (and
punishment/termination of covenant if broken)
DEU 5:33 "Walk in all the way that the LORD your God
has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper
and prolong your days in the land that you will
possess."
þ promise of the land
þ prosperity
þ freedom from sickness/infertility
þ peace
ii] circumcision was given as the sign of the covenant
h] the covenant between Jonathan and David (1SA 18:3,4)
[a covenant of friendship]
1SA 18:3 "And Jonathan made a covenant with David
because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the
robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his
tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt."
1SA 20:42 "Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace, for we
have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the
LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me,
and between your descendants and my descendants
forever.' Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the
town."
i] the Davidic covenant (2SA 7:16)
[an unconditional covenant]
2SA 7:16 "Your house and your kingdom will endure
forever before me; your throne will be established
forever."
*This will be fulfilled in Christ
j] the Solomonic covenant (1KI 9:4-8)
[a conditional covenant between Solomon and God]
1KI 9:4-8 "'As for you, if you walk before me in
integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father
did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and
laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel
forever, as I promised David your father when I said,
'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of
Israel.''But if you or your sons turn away from me and
do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you
and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I
will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and
will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.
Israel will then become a byword and an object of
ridicule among all peoples.'"
k] the New Covenant (LUK 22:19,20; MAT 26:26-28; MAR
14:22-24) [an unconditional covenant to all believers]
MAT 26:26-28 "While they were eating, Jesus took bread,
gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took
the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying,
'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins.'"
4. WHAT WAS ABRAHAM TO HER?
a) He Was Her Husband (GEN 12:5)
GEN 12:5 "He took his wife Sarai"
1) he was her senior by 10 years (GEN 17:17)
GEN 17:17 "Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to
himself, 'Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?
Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?'"
2) they married in Ur
b) He Was Her 1/2 Brother (GEN 20:12)
GEN 20:12 "Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of
my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife."
1) they shared a common father, Terah
2) they had different mothers
5. HOW DID SHE LOOK? She Was Very Beautiful.
a) GEN 12:11- "you are a beautiful woman"
b) GEN 12:14- "the Egyptians saw that the woman was very
beautiful"
6. DID SHE HAVE ANY CHILDREN? She Was Childless Until She Was 90
(GEN 11:30; 16:1-8; 21:1,2)
B. WHAT DID SHE DO?
1. POSITIVELY:
a) SHE WAS SUBMISSIVE TOWARDS ABRAHAM
1) She Followed Him
a] when God called Abram to leave Ur Sarai accompanied him
though it meant leaving comforts and friends (ACT
7:2-4).
ACT 7:2-4 "The God of glory appeared to our father
Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he
lived in Haran. 'Leave your country and your people,'
God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.' So he
left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.
After the death of his father, God sent him to this land
where you are now living."
*Ur was a very civilized area with a population of
perhaps a quarter of a million persons, a ziggurat of 70
feet, a great wall surrounding the city, and a bustling
commerce.
b] when God commanded Abram to go to Canaan Sarai went too
even though it meant lowering her standard of living to
nomadic tent dwelling in Canaan (GEN 12:5)
GEN 12:5 "He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all
the possessions they had accumulated and the people they
had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of
Canaan, and they arrived there."
c] when Abram left Canaan to sojourn in Egypt Sarai again
went with him (GEN 12:10,11)
GEN 12:10,11 "Now there was a famine in the land, and
Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while
because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter
Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai..."
d] when Abram left Egypt Sarai accompanied him (GEN 13:1)
GEN 13:1 "So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev,
with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with
him."
e] when Abraham went to Gerar she was with him (GEN 20:1,2)
GEN 20:1,2 "Now Abraham moved on from there into the
region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.
For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said
of his wife Sarah..."
2) She Obeyed His Commands
a] when Abram asked her to tell the Egyptians that he was
her brother she obeyed (GEN 12:13)
GEN 12:13 "Say you are my sister, so that I will be
treated well for your sake and my life will be spared
because of you."
i] this deceit put Sarai in a position where,
theoretically, she could have been forced to commit
adultery and sin against God.
ii] this deceit was dangerous because of possible
repercussions when the truth was discovered.
iii] this deceit was unnecessary because God had promised
Abram offspring which had not yet been born , so God
would have protected Abram from death.
*Even though her obedience to Abram put her in
potential danger, and from the standpoint of faith
was needless, she did what was asked of her; [she]
obeyed Abraham and called him her master (1PE 3:6).
The word "master" means authority, lord: Sarai felt
obligated to obey Abram in everything because he was
the ruler of their family.
b] when company came she prepared food as she was commanded
(GEN 18:6)
GEN 18:6 "So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah.
'Quick,' he said, 'get three seahs of fine flour and
knead it and bake some bread.'"
c] when Abraham again asked her to lie about their marriage
to Abimelech, the Philistine, she did (GEN 20:5)
GEN 20:5 "Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and
didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done
this with a clear conscience and clean hands."
3) She Appealed to Abraham To Act With Hagar
a] for a child
GEN 16:2 "so she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me
from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant;
perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed
to what Sarai said."
b] for justice
i] when Hagar despised her (GEN 16:5)
GEN 16:5 "Then Sarai said to Abram, 'You are
responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my
servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is
pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between
you and me.'"
ii] when Ishmael mocked Issac (GEN 21:9,10)
GEN 21:9 "But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the
Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking..."
*Sarah did not take any direct action against Hagar
or Ishmael until she had Abraham's permission to do
so.
b) SHE WAS MOTHER TO ISSAC
1) Issac Had Been Promised
a] before they left Haran, when Abram was 75 yrs. old
GEN 12:2 "I will make you into a great nation and I
will bless you; I will make your name great, and you
will be a blessing.
b] in Canaan
GEN 15:4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This
man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your
own body will be your heir."
c] when Abraham was 99 yrs. old
GEN 17:16 I will bless her and will surely give you a
son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the
mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
d] when Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 89
GEN 18:10 "Then the LORD said, 'I will surely return to
you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will
have a son.'"
2) She Had Been Chosen To Bear Issac
a] because she was Abraham's wife
*God could have used Hagar or Keturah to bear Abraham's
son, Issac, but He chose Sarah, Abraham's wife, because:
i] the son of the wife received full inheritance
rights, though children born to women of less than
full wifely status had some lesser inheritance also.
GEN 25:5 "Abraham left everything he owned to
Isaac."
GEN 25:6 "But while he was still living, he gave
gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them
away from his son Isaac to the land of the east."
ii] Sarah was a free woman and God wanted the picture of
her freedom as a "type" for believers.
GAL 4:26 "But the Jerusalem that is above is free,
and she is our mother."
GAL 4:31; 5:1 "Therefore, brothers, we are not
children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened
again by a yoke of slavery."
b] because she was barren - the child would be the result
of a miracle
GEN 16:2 "... she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me
from having children.'"
i] she was kept from having a child until she was too
old to have a child naturally.
ROM 4:19 "Without weakening in his faith, he
[Abraham] faced the fact that... Sarah's womb was
also dead."
GEN 18:11 "Sarah was past the age of childbearing."
GEN 18:12 "After I am worn out... will I now have
this pleasure?"
ii] Abraham was also unable to have a child naturally by
this time.
ROM 4:19 "Without weakening in his faith, he faced
the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he
was about a hundred years old..."
GEN 18:11 "Abraham and Sarah were already old and
well advanced in years."
GEN 18:12 "So Sarah... thought, 'After I am worn out
and my master is old, will I now have this
pleasure?'"
3) She Loved Issac
a] she found joy in him
GEN 21:6,7 "Sarah said, 'God has brought me laughter,
and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.
And she added, 'Who would have said to Abraham that
Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son
in his old age.'"
b] she took care of him
i] she nursed him (GEN 21:7).
ii] she and Abraham gave Issac a feast upon his weaning
(GEN 21:8)
iii] she protected him from persecution
GEN 21:9,10 "But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar
the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and
she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and
her son."
GAL 4:29 "At that time the son born in the ordinary
way persecuted the son born by the power of the
Spirit."
iv] she protected his inheritance
GEN 21:10 "and she said to Abraham, 'Get rid of that
slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son
will never share in the inheritance with my son
Isaac.'"
GEN 25:5 "Abraham left everything he owned to
Isaac."
c] she was mourned by Issac for 3 yrs.
GEN 23:1,2 "Sarah lived to be a hundred and
twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that
is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to
mourn for Sarah and to weep over her."
GEN 24:67 "Isaac brought her into the tent of his
mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his
wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after
his mother's death."
GEN 25:20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married
Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram
and sister of Laban the Aramean.
i] Sarah died at 127 yrs. when Issac was 37 yrs. old
ii] Issac grieved her death until he married at 40 yrs.
old.
2. NEGATIVELY
a) SHE HAD A WEAK FAITH
1) she did not believe God would give her her own child
a] since she had waited 10 yrs. from the promise of GEN
15:4 and she was still childless, she reasoned that He
would not ever give her a child from her own body.
GEN 16:1 "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no
children."
b] she thought God would only give her a child through
someone else.
GEN 16:2 "so she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me
from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant;
perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed
to what Sarai said."
*This indicates that Sarah did have a faith in God,
albeit a weak one, because she believed that God would
keep His Word to Abraham and give him a child of his
flesh.
2) she did not believe God could give her her own child
a] Abraham doubted that God could make a child from them
GEN 17:17 "Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said
to himself, 'Will a son be born to a man a hundred years
old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?'"
b] Sarah doubted that God could make a child from her
GEN 18:12,13 "So Sarah laughed to herself as she
thought, 'After I am worn out and my master is old, will
I now have this pleasure?' Then the LORD said to
Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really
have a child, now that I am old?'"
*She had a low view of God and His power but her faith
grew, just as ours does, when God fulfilled His promise.
GEN 21:1,2 "Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he
had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had
promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to
Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had
promised him."
GEN 21:7 "And she added, 'Who would have said to
Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have
borne him a son in his old age.'"
b) SHE COULD BE SELFISH
1) she urged Abraham to take Hagar because she was thinking of
her desire to have a child, as well as a was to fulfill the
prophecy.
GEN 16:2 "so she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me from
having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I
can build a family through her.'"
2) she was unwilling to share any of Abraham's wealth with
Ishmael.
GEN 21:10 "and she said to Abraham, 'Get rid of that slave
woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never
share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.'"
c) SHE COULD BE CRUEL
1) she would not forgive Hagar and mistreated her.
GEN 16:5 "Then Sarai said to Abram, 'You are responsible
for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your
arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises
me. May the LORD judge between you and me.'"
GEN 16:6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do
with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated
Hagar; so she fled from her.
2) she urged Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael with
nothing.
GEN 21:10 "and she said to Abraham, 'Get rid of that slave
woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never
share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.'"
C. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM HER?
1. We do not have to "feel" like obeying to obey: it is a matter of
the will.
2. Obedience is pleasing to God.
1SA 15:22 "But Samuel replied: 'Does the LORD delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the
LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better
than the fat of rams.'"
JOH 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."
3. Our weak faith cannot thwart God's will for our lives:
a) He will still conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus.
PHI 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good
work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of
Christ Jesus."
b) He will still accomplish "good works" through us.
EPH 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us
to do."
4. God will be gracious with us when our faith is weak as He was
with Sarah.
GEN 21:1 "Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said,
and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised."
5. God can do anything so we are secure in Him.
GEN 18:14 "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"
III. WHAT FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT DO WE SEE IN HER?
IV. Memory Verse: 1SA 15:22 "But Samuel replied: 'Does the LORD delight
in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of
the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than
the fat of rams.'"
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Kathy Capoccia's Sunday School Lessons for Young Adults" by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986