The nation of Israel was
famous for its beautiful women. Sarah,
Abraham’s wife was the mother of the world’s most beautiful women. The beauty of holiness that covered Sarah and
her daughters was a supernatural beauty, which exceeded that of their pagan
counterparts. The book of Ezekiel
describes the fame of the Israeli women, “And thy renown went forth among the heathen
for thy beauty, for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon
thee, saith the Lord God.” Eze 16:14
How may we depict this rare
beauty? Was it the image of the fashion
model we see in every magazine and TV commercial? Was it the beauty of the Hollywood movie
star? Far be it, the Apostle Peter writing
to the early church describes the Holy women of old: Your beauty should not come from
outward adornment, such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewelry and fine
clothes. Instead, it should be that of
your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of
great worth in God’s sight. For this is
the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make
themselves beautiful. They were
submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him
her master. You are her daughters if you
do what is right and do not give way to fear.
1 Peter 3:3-6 NIV
Sarah’s story begins in the
book of Genesis as she takes her journey to the land of Canaan with her husband
Abraham. Here in the Book of Genesis we
read of Sarah’s supernatural beauty and how she captivated Pharaoh and his
officials.
There was a famine in the
land, and Abram (for so he was still called) 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, “I know what
a beautiful woman you are, When the Egyptians see you, they will say, this is
his wife, Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister so that I will be
treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw
that she was a beautiful woman. And when
Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken
into his palace. He treated Abram well
for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys,
menservants and maidservants and camels.
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household
because of Abram’s wife Sarai. Gen 12: 10-17 NIV
It may be inconceivable for
the modern Western mind to envision and comprehend how a woman wearing no make-up
which was customary at that time, dressed in modest apparel and adorned simply with
a meek and quiet spirit could so mesmerize Pharaoh’s high ranking officials. But, Sarai (as she was then called) radiated
beauty in her simplicity the news of which reached unto the Pharaoh himself.
Quite apart from her
exceptional beauty, the holy oracles draw attention to Sarah’s spirit of
obedience. She submits to her husband’s
rule over her with respect and holy reverence.
This woman knew her God. She did
not wrestle with the order He set for women which we witness so prevalent
today. It is with unfeigned love and
confidence in God she is able to call Abraham her master and submit to his
authority joyfully and wholehearted, a declaration of her legitimate expectations
that her husband too would walk in holy reverence and submission to his head, Almighty
God like her in all things.
God vindicated Sarah’s
obedience to her husband giving her supernatural protection when she was taken
into Pharaoh’s palace. God chose Sarah
to be a holy vessel through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed,
a holy incubator to bring forth a promised seed. In defence of Sarah, God plagued Pharaoh’s
entire household with diseases. God
guards and protects his daughters when they walk in obedience.
It is not once but twice God
arose to defend Sarah his daughter. Abraham
again moved, this time into the region of Negev and lived between Kadesh and
Shur, For a while he stayed in Gerar; and there Abraham said of his wife, Sarah. “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah
and took her. But God came to Abimelech
in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the
woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
Now Abimelech had not gone
near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy and innocent nation? 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 so I have kept you from
sinning against me. That is why I did
not let you touch her. Now return the
man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will
live. But if you do not return her, you
may be sure that you and all yours will die.
Early the next morning
Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had
happened, they were very much afraid.
Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to
us? How have I wronged you that you have
brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be
done. And Abimelech asked Abraham, “What
was your reason for doing this?” Abraham
replied, “I said to myself. ‘There is
surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my
wife. Besides, she really is my sister,
the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father’s
household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me. Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my
brother.”
Then Abimelech brought sheep
and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned
Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech
said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.
To Sarah he said, “I am
giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you
before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.
Then Abraham prayed to God,
and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have
children again, for the Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household
because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Gen 20: 1-18 NIV
In later years, God withdrew
his covering of protection over the daughters of Sarah. The nation of Israel
was rebellious and the young women became slave girls in the land of Egypt. The Holy Scripture says when God withdrew his
protection their breast were squeezed and the Egyptians lay with them and
bruised the teets of their virginity.
Ezekiel 23: 3, 8 and 19.
Not only did Sarah walk in
divine protection but a supernatural beauty
of holiness covered Sarah. I say
that because this was a ninety-year-old woman already in menopause who even
laughed at the prospect of conceiving a child and was no longer sexually
active. Yet, mysteriously she is able to
gain the attention of the most influential men in the city.
Now Abraham and Sarah were
old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner
of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within
herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old
also? Gen 18:11-12
This is the same old woman
that captured the admiration of Abimelech, king of Gerar. The same woman whose husband asked her to say
she was his sister for fear of his life.
Although Sarah initially laughed at the prospect of having a child at
her age and tried to do God a favour by presenting Abraham with Hagar her maid
as a substitute. These experiences with
God caused her faith to grow. She
witnessed in a very personal way the supernatural hand of God. Hebrews
11:11 says, Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and
was delivered of a child when she was pas age, because she judged him faithful
who had promised.
