Through Sarah's Eyes

Day seventy-four

Today I am particularly grateful for the little things in life that provide validity to the gospel teachings.  The principles of hard work, preparing oneself, and expressing faith through prayer were spotlighted with my sons finals this week.  It is all paying off with grades they can be proud of.  It is a great teaching moment (which I am always looking for) to see the fruits of their labors. My prayer this morning was filled with gratitude for the blessings of having the gospel in my life and the opportunities I have to share it and teach it to my family.

On to scripture study.  Genesis 20 is a short chapter about another encounter where Abraham has to claim that Sarah is his sister so that he will not be killed because of her beauty. It didn't seem like much of a study topic until I came upon some statements that made me look at this encounter through Sarah's eyes.

I would like to share part of a quote from Bruce R. McConkie:  "The Lord never sends apostles and prophets and righteous men to minister to his people without placing women of like spiritual stature at their sides...Abraham is tested as few men have been...and Sarah struggles with like problems when the Lord directs that she withhold from the Egyptians her status as Abraham's wife...And so it goes, in all dispensations and at all times when there are holy men there are also holy women.  Neither stands alone before the Lord.  The exaltation of the one is dependent upon that of the other." (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 3, page 302)

What can we learn from Sarah's actions in this encounter about the characteristics of a holy woman?

First I would like to clarify a misconception about Abraham's character.  Many Christians are critical of Abraham's actions of lying to save himself, but we are fortunate to have the Book of Abraham that gives us more details of the motives behind this action:  

 "And it came to pass when I was come near to enter into Egypt, the Lord said unto me: Behold, Sarai, thy wife, is a very fair woman to look upon;"

 "Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see her, they will say—She is his wife; and they will kill you, but they will save her alive; therefore see that ye do on this wise:"

 "Let her say unto the Egyptians, she is thy sister, and thy soul shall live." (Abraham 2:22-24)

Abraham is told by the Lord to say these things.  Since God is perfect and does not do anything that is not right (Deut 34:4; 1 Sam 15:29; Alma 7:20; D&C 3:2), Abraham's act was not wrong.  It should also be noted that there are ancient texts which include customs of that time period that show that Abraham's statement was true, it all depended on how the listener interpreted it.

So back to Sarah, Abraham tells Sarah, "Therefore say unto them, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee." (Abraham 2:25)

The choice is now put in Sarah's hands, would she risk her own rights as wife in order to preserve the life of her husband as the Lord had asked?

As we know Sarah does follow through in Egypt, and she is asked to do the same with Abimelech in ch 20. What does this say about Sarah as a person? 

She loves and trusts her husband

She believes that the Lord speaks to him

She loves, believes in, and trusts in the Lord

She is willing to make sacrifices 

She is obedient

She has patience

I can't imagine what it must have been like to be separated from your husband, to have to deal with the advances from another man, and the whole time not knowing when the situation would come to an end.  What kept her going?  Was it all about love and protecting Abraham?  Was it her faith in the Lord?

This was a time of testing for Sarah. It wasn't all about Abraham, this was an opportunity for Sarah to grow in her faith also.  She was being prepared for things that lay ahead.  I am impressed by her faithfulness to her husband and the Lord throughout such trials. Sarah has become an example of inner strength for me, she handled her trials gracefully.  I would love to be able to say the same about myself.

This story made me think about what I am willing to sacrifice for my husband and the Lord.  Am I trusting enough? Could I discern the benefits of such decisions?   Where would I turn for solace in such a situation?

There is a lot we can learn from Sarah, she is one of the most talked about women in the scriptures. She is more than just Abraham's wife, she is an example of the qualities and characteristics of a holy woman. Looking through Sarah's eyes has inspired me, I would like my actions to be such that I too could be known as a holy woman.