Thursday, December 1, 2016

WOMEN OF CHRISTMAS - SARAH - CHANGE OF NAMES AND ROFL

SARAH – CHANGE OF NAMES AND ROFL

Genesis 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Sarai’s name meant argumentative or quarrelsome, not exactly what I would want to be called. God changed her name to Sarah which means princess. Sar means “chieftain,’ so Sarah could be translated “chieftainess.” When God gives a new name it is meant to reflect a new identity in Him.

Genesis 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

God renamed Sarah appropriately since she would be the mother of a son, and her lineage would be that of kings. God promised to give Abraham a son specifically through Sarah. We plan to make a chart of all the times God specified Sarah as the mother of the promised son.  Abraham was the father, the patriarch of God’s chosen people, and Sarah was equally the mother, the matriarch, of the nation of Israel.

Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Abraham was the first to laugh at the Lord’s proposal. In fact, he “fell upon his face,” ROFL (Rolling On the Floor Laughing). His true feelings were in his heart as he questioned how a hundred year old man and a ninety year old woman could possibly have a child. However, God loves to use the people who seem unusable in order to bring glory to His name. What man says is all finished up, God can still use. God loves to display His splendor and power through weak vessels in order to draw people to Him.

1 Corinthians 1:27 (KJV) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

That could almost be my life scripture! For sure. Society sees Susan’s body trapped by cerebral palsy, limited use of one arm, unable to do many daily living tasks by herself. Yet, the Lord God in His wisdom and power has chosen her to be a megaphone for His message!

Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Abraham was missing the point, so he tried to convince God that Ishmael could be his heir. Both Abraham and Sarah tried to help God out. It was Sarah who suggested that Abraham have a child with Hagar, and out of respect for his wife, he took her advice to have Ishmael. But God wanted Sarah to be the mother of His people. God had his own, perfect plan; and He, the Potter, did not need any help from the clay!

Isaiah 29:16 (NIV) You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”?

Genesis 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

God did not get angry with Abraham for laughing (and by the way, Abraham laughed first, not Sarah). Instead, God instructed Abraham to name this future son Isaac which means “he will laugh.” I believe this demonstrates that God has a sense of humor. The barren woman, the childless couple, would certainly laugh with joy to have a son born to them in their old age.

Abraham was chosen to be the father of God’s chosen people, but Sarah was equally chosen to be the mother of the nation. Since Jesus was born as a Jew, Sarah was another great-great-etc. grandmother of Jesus.

Genesis 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Ishmael did indeed father twelve sons, and some of the Arab nations (not all) are descended from him. But his is a story for another time.

Genesis 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

God went on to tell Abraham that Sarah would have this baby in the next year. I find it amazing and miraculous not only that God opened Sarah’s womb to conceive but that He strengthened her to carry a baby at 90+ years old and enabled her to live to raise him! Sarah’s son would be the one to receive the promise, and later Mary’s Son would be the complete fulfillment of God’s promise.

How does this apply to me?


Barrenness was considered a curse at the time of Sarah, but God’s plan was for Sarah to experience the miraculous – a baby conceived after menopause. The man born blind in John 9 was given that problem, so that God could show Himself mighty. After experiencing the miracle of receiving his sight, the man glorified God. What may seem like a problem today may be changed to a blessing tomorrow. Therefore, we can obey the command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and give thanks in EVERYTHING. Also, we can never say, “Oh, God could not use me! I’m too ______________.” God can and will use you to His glory if you surrender your limitations to Him!

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