Sarah – A Beautiful Woman

Intro

This discussion is about at a woman who though noted for her outward beauty was more importantly  singled out as an example of one having an inward beauty of true value before God.  The following are a few brief points to note by way of reminders of what the inward beauty is, where it comes from, how we come by it and one main way in through which we can be robbed of it at times.

Overview On Sarah

Here’s a quick reminder of who Sarah was.

Some of the main passages giving background information on Sarah can be found in Genesis chapter 11 through to chapter 24 and taking the time to read through these for a fuller picture is a wonder-filled read.  The following are just a few details picked out from those chapters – I’m sure you can find more but briefly we learn that:

• Sarah’s was originally named by her parents as Sarai and she was wife to Abram whose name was changed to Abraham (Gen 11:29);
• She was Abraham’s half-sister on his father’s side ( 20:12);
• She was a very beautiful woman in appearance (Gen 12:11,14);
• She also left her family behind when Abraham obeyed the Lord God’s command to leave Haran to travel to Canaan (Gen 12:1-5) and she faithfully followed wherever Abraham led;
• Her husband had heard God speak to him directly and from what was said there must have been some expectations concerning their future (Gen 12:1-3);
• She had a longstanding problem with barrenness ( 11:30);
• Her name was changed along with her husband’s by God. When the Lord God changed Abram’s birth name to Abraham, He also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah which means Princess (Gen. 17:15);
• She became mistress of a respected and wealthy household (see e.g. Gen. 13:2; Gen. 21:22a);
• Even in her senior years God had a plan and purpose for her life (Gen 17:15-19);
• Famous for bearing Abraham a son at the age of 90 – thus personally experiencing God’s faithfulness to His word (Gen 21:1-7);
• She was 127 when she died at Hebron (Gen 23:1-2);
• Interestingly, the Bible is silent on Sarah’s opinion on ‘that episode’ involving her only son, her husband, and a certain Mount Moriah!

Sarah’s Outstanding Features of Beauty

A few thousand years later, there are three main qualities that Sarah is singled out for that we can take note of.  These are her submission, her faith, and her spirit.  Her outward beauty may be long forgotten, yet what is remembered, what is highlighted as precious in God’s sight is the beauty of her inward spirit.  This is what made her beautiful in God’s sight.

Reading:  Peter 3:3-6 & Hebrew 11:11

These passages point out the submission and faith of Sarah. Concerning Sarah’s submissiveness, we see that she was commended for obeying Abraham and even calling him ‘lord’ or ‘master’ ( 1Peter 3:4).  Although it may have been a usual address of one’s husband in that culture in those times it does still give us a glimpse into her thoughts which show this was a real heart attitude also.  We’ve all chuckled at the portrayals of “how not to submit” from the common phrase “well, I may have been submitting on the outside, but I was standing on the inside!”   With Sarah however, that inward submission was real.  At Gen. 18:12 for example, as she speaks inwardly to herself, her thoughts reveal there was a heart of submission and obedience to Abraham.

In 1 Peter 3:2-6 we see how this was possible and through this example of Sarah, the type of beauty, which is of value to God, precious in His sight and beneficial for us.  It is not only beneficial for those who are or will become wives but us as believing godly women – Sarah’s daughters.

What were the characteristics that marked Sarah out as a beautiful woman?

As Peter states:

‘…the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet   spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.’  (1 Peter 3:4)

Let’s take a closer view of these two qualities:

A gentle spirit

The word translated as “gentle” in this passage is also translated as meek, for example in the King James Version.

The English Dictionary definitions of this word do not do justice to what it is seeking to convey in this context.  Definitions such as “quiet”, “gentle”, “obedient”, “humbly patient”, “docile” etc do not quite meet the mark.  It is said that the Greek word used here is far richer than can be adequately translated in English but conveys the idea of “demonstrating power without undue harshness” (Strong’s).  In other words, akin to choosing not to use the power, authority, position, or ability you have and could use in order that you might be gentle with another.  This is seen in the other passages where this word is also used especially, for example, at Matt. 11:29 where the Lord uses it to describe Himself.  In Him we see a picture of gentleness and strength perfectly blended.

A Pastor of a well-known church gave what I believe to be a very good exposition in his message on the Matthew 5:5 concerning meekness.  He says this:

“Meekness is not weakness or cowardice. It is not shyness, or a withdrawn personality as contrasted with that of an extrovert. Meekness cannot be reduced to mere niceness.  Meekness [means to be] – [g]entle, lowly, humble, considerate, courteous. john Wycliffe translated this Beatitude, “Blessed be mild men.” In classical Greek, the word was used to describe tame animals.  It is strength under control.”

It is particularly that last sentence that seems to me to encapsulate the meaning of gentleness described here.

A quiet spirit

 What is a quiet spirit?  What picture is being portrayed by these words?

It may involve volume levels yet that seems to me to be merely incidental and not the main.  It may involve the absence of clamour but there seems yet more beyond this also.  Some definitions given for “quiet spirit” include, “stillness”, “tranquil” and “undisturbed”.  Without doubt, the definition which I believe best captures what is being said here is from Strong’s which states:

                 being ‘steady (settled) due to a divinely-inspired inner calmness’.

As I was thinking about definitions, I recalled a message I heard years ago spoke of this in terms of being  a “quietened spirit”, conveying the idea of a baby resting contentedly upon his/her mother, having been well nursed or fed. Such a beautiful portrayal of a quiet spirit – resting contently upon God in quiet trust.

 

Sarah’s Legacy

What is Sarah’s legacy to us?  What wisdom can be gleaned?  What warnings can be considered?

An Illustration of Sarah’s spirit

Let us take a look back at our “woman of the moment” concerning this.

Let us not forget that Sarah was an ordinary woman just as you and me -that is, she had the same fallen nature as us. We can see through accounts of her in Genesis that:

• Sarah was not perfect;
• She made her mistakes;
• She wasn’t always meek; when she grew desperate for children, she basically instructed Abram to produce “the goods” with Hagar for her (Gen 16:1-2).  It was a decision she regretted the moment Hagar realised she was pregnant (Gen 16:4).
• She could be determined when she wanted or needed to be; see 21:1-8 when she insisted Hagar and Ishmael be kicked out – even though the Lord sanctioned this, we cannot be certain that Sarah knew it was of the Lord at the time of her insistence!
• She wasn’t always a woman of faith, as can be seen from Gen 18:1-15.

Nevertheless, the Scriptures show that even when her husband’s choices put her in danger, it was settled in her heart that her husband was her ‘lord’ or ‘master’ and she chose to submit herself to that.  Twice she is put in the position where she could have disobeyed her husband and would not have incurred, I believe, too much blame for it, despite the cultural status of women in those times.  Firstly Gen. 12:10-20 gives account of their time in Egypt, being driven there by severe famine.  What does her godly husband who received extraordinary promises direct from God Himself do?  He involves her in his deceit to save his skin putting her in danger of being taken as Pharaoh’s wife.  It is true that although Abraham (or rather Abram as he was then and Sarai as she was also then) did not lie technically (see Gen. 20:12), his sneaky way of going about things together with his heart motive, shrouded the truth and thus made it effectively a lie.

Once would have been bad enough but can you imagine how Sarah’s heart must have sunk to be put in the same situation again! (see Gen 20:1-7).  We even see that God Himself stepped in here to warn Abimelech that he was a ‘dead man’ if he touched Sarah, so the danger to herself must have been very real.  She could have refused especially the second time around by which time she was mistress of a wealthy and important household as the wife of Abraham who was highly respected. Yet even from that position she chose to submit and obey.  This, in my view, is an example of meekness.

By way of contrast, let us look recall another woman of great beauty and also mistress of a wealthy and important household but who was of a different spirit.

Reading: Esther Chapter 1.

Sadly, for Queen Vashti where meekness was expected and sought, though it is debatable whether she was in the right or not, she had been found wanting.  When you read the book of Esther, you get the idea the King was not a person to be trifled and considering his royal command I think we can safely assume that Vashti, though Queen, had no legitimate “rights” on which to reasonably base her refusal to obey.  Her ‘strength’ was her own self-will and it was not under control.

It is true that Sarah’s notable submission and beauty of spirit played out very much in the context of her being a wife yet there is something here for any women, whether single or married, concerning God’s work in us. In considering this, the following five points may assist to remind us how we come to possess and have a share of Sarah’s beauty as well as ways in which we can be robbed of it at times.

Faith in God

Sarah also came to be featured in the Hebrews 11 ‘hall of faith’.  Hebrews 11:11 reads:

‘By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.’

She did not believe just because her husband did.  She personally thought and believed that the God who promised was faithful to His word and led by these thoughts in faith received the strength which she needed to do the impossible.  Let’s face it, giving birth at any age it not exactly a walk in the park, but at 90 – it had to be in faith in God who is able!

It seems such an obvious thing, but I am often surprised when I re-evaluate a perplexing matter that I find what I thought was faith was not!  It can happen.  People can have faith in prayers – as long as they have prayers behind them, they feel things will be okay.  This may not necessarily be the same as having faith in God!  People have faith in a church, its support-system, its teaching, and its way of doing things.  This may not necessarily be the same as having faith in God!  People may have faith in other people – perhaps it may not be immediately obvious but effectively, that is what it is.  This most definitely is not the same as having faith in God!  People have faith in their ability to quote Scripture, to pray, to cope quite well with trials, to do the right thing at the right time.  This is not the same as having faith in God.  Does that mean we don’t trust other people? No.  Does that mean we do not rely on other people at times for prayer, counsel, and advice? No.  Does that mean church fellowship is not really that important in our walk with the Lord? No.  Does that mean we don’t use the common sense and intelligence God has given us.?  No.  It means ensure that you know where your trust lies – in God Himself, not His vessels or tools.

Understand Who the God of the Bible is.

Sarah knew enough about God to know – not just quote sing or pray it – but actually know and believe that He is faithful to His word (Hebrews 11:11).

Knowing who God is one of the surest ways experiencing His quietening in our spirit, no matter what the circumstances.  It is good that we have faith in God – if it truly is the God of the bible and not the “god” we are controlling in our minds.  Psalm 100:3 for example says:

‘Know that the LORD, He is God;
                It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.
                We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

As we come across Scriptures concerning Lord Yeshua and our Heavenly Father, how often when we deliberate over the text, we sense the light of it entering in that bit deeper.  Consider, for example, that Yeshua is:

• the One who has come from eternity (Micah 5:2) – Yeshua, the Son – and is able to tell us what has been, what is and what is to come;
• the Son given for us and whose name is also Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6);
• the Son of God  –  that is, the One who proceeds from the Father (John 8:42);
• the One spoken of by the Prophets (e.g. Isaiah 9, 53) and the Writings e.g. Psalm 22 (John 5:39);
• the very One who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25);
• the One who has gone to prepare a place for us and will return to take us to be with Him (John 14:2);

On and on the Scriptures reveal Him and by His Spirit He is made known to us. Those of us who are already believers – we know this, right?  Yet something which once weighed heavily in my thoughts for a while was this: for those of us who are believers in Yeshua, everything that we believe concerning our lives – who we are, what we do, how we live, our understanding of difficult issues such a suffering, seemingly unanswered prayer, even things that we are afraid of – everything depends on our theology (our understanding of who God is).  We need to ensure that it truly is based on the God who has revealed Himself in the bible.

Get to know God’s Word and His promises in it.

Sarah heard God’s word (Gen 18:1-15) and came to receive it and believe it (Gen 21:1-7 & Hebrews. 11:11)

Every born again believer in Yeshua the Messiah is a child of God through His Spirit and as such there are incredible promises that we need to take hold of more seriously than perhaps we have before and resist the devil, who is after all called ‘the thief’, that he may not rob us of what that given for us. 2 Peter 1:3-4, for example, states:

‘..His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having excepted the corruption that is in the world through lust.’

Isn’t this such a wonderful promise!  Where we are seeing things in us, in our nature which are contrary to God’s will for us – wrong attitudes, over-sensitivity, over-emotionalism, personality disorders – right here we are given an amazing answer.  We can see from this that there are promises that we can stand on and bring to our Father in believing prayer for them to be worked out in us – that we may become partakers of ‘the divine nature’!

As we seek these promises out, through faith in Lord Yeshua God’s transforming work in us will prosper in the ways in which He chooses to order our lives to the glory of heavenly Father. How wonderful it is to be enabled to ‘feed’ on the Scriptures which reveal such precious gems given to us in Yeshua.

Put no confidence in the flesh.

 At Gen. 16:1-6 and Gen 21:9-11 we see how Sarah’s attempt in the flesh to do God’s will her way, instead of God’s way, led to problems and heartache.

Whatever our ‘natural’ personality types, it is God by His Spirit who works in us to transform us as He wills. (Philippians 2:12).  Some people appear to have naturally gentle and quiet personalities – yet this is not what is being talked about here. Our ‘natural bent’, what we naturally are, in our personality may count for little.  A person may be really lovely person with a great personality but if they are not saved, weighed on God’s scales they are found wanting!  The work of the flesh – that which is the work of our own hands, imaginations or natural strengths and our own attempts to emulate what we believe a ‘gentle and quiet spirit’ should be (or even what we believe a Christian should be) – will fail.  Worse still, it may end in disaster and loss!  Peter writes that ‘the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit [is] very precious in the sight of God.’  It is a thing that is pleasing to Him.  Bearing in mind that those in the flesh cannot please Him (Romans 8:8) but, as Romans 8:9 goes on to say, we who are born-again are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, better to leave it all to God.  The work is His – our part is to obey, to do His will, according to His word, which is His way for us.

Don’t be afraid

One of the main enemies of faith is fear.   It is also among one of the ways in which we can be robbed of the quietness of spirit.  We are encouraged as ‘Sarah’s daughters’  not only to do good but also to be ‘not afraid with any terror’ (1 Peter 3:6).  I read that as an encouragement to us not to be fearful but rather to be “faith-full” – full of faith.  Don’t be afraid of the seeming impossibilities; of what people might say concerning things God is speaking into your heart which accord to His word of truth but does not seem to make sense to those around who do not have the Spirit of God, or even to other Christians at times.  Do not be afraid to do good.  Do not be terrified to serve your Lord.  It is His work in you and He will provide the grace.  Even when we, in sincerity and trust towards God, get it wrong, He is faithful, and we have great promises such as Romans 8:28 that:

‘…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.’

Don’t be afraid of fear – it is a fact of life!  That does not mean you need to be bound by it.  It will come – but through Yeshua the Messiah fear can be overcome as we bring them to Him.  We all have fears.  Not all of us choose to remain in it!

Today, if you will, ask Him who is author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews  12:2) and the One who apportions your measure out for you (Romans 12:3) for that increase.  It will be for us power equal to all we face and will face in the coming days and times.  It will be through this that we will be enabled to experience His work in us which can also bring His gentleness and quietness to our spirits – giving us His beauty for our ashes.

God bless you.