Sarai: The Long Wait and the Longer Mercy

Sarah hears and laughs. Cropped image. James Tissot (1836-1902) – The Jewish Museum, New York. – Slide 4. Image courtesy of FreeBibleimages.org.

    Sarai’s name first appears in Genesis 11. She was Abram’s wife, and she was barren (Gen 11:30, NKJV). She followed Abram into a land they did not know. She believed God’s promise that a great nation would come from Abram’s line (Gen 12:2). But years passed, and even she was very old (90), she still had no child.

    She waited, then she waited no longer. She may have questioned what the promise meant for her. She eventually said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her” (Gen 16:2). Abram went to Hagar, and she conceived. But instead of resolving the sorrow, it brought tension between her and Hagar. Sarai dealt harshly with her (v. 6). Hagar fled as a result, and she was met by the Angel of the Lord and was told a "word"—something the narrative does not say Sarai received at that time.

    Sarai’s response may seem harsh, and it might really be. Those actions came after years of delay, confusion, and personal loss. She had tried to help the promise along, but the result only added grief. 

    And still, the Lord did not reject her. Years later, the Lord spoke again. He changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah (Gen 17:5,15). He said, “I will bless her and also give you a son by her” (v. 16). Abraham laughed. Later, when Sarah heard the promise herself, she laughed too (Gen 18:12). The Lord asked, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (v. 14).

    She then gave birth at the time God had spoken. And she said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me” (Gen 21:6).

    Sarah’s life may reflect our own in ways we do not always admit. Some of us also try to force outcomes when God seems to delay. Some of us may look back on decisions that came from pressure rather than peace. We may have failed in how we treated others as a result of doubt and unbelief. But the Lord still showed mercy. 

    He gave her a new name, gave her a child in old age. He fulfilled His promise. The laughter at the beginning came from doubt. The laughter at the end came from joy.

    For women who have waited long or lived with regret, Sarah’s story reminds us that the Lord does not only work through ideal responses. He may still carry out His purposes in us, even when we have made decisions we wish we could undo.