The beginning of Sarah's life story is summed up in these words: "She was barren, she had no children." Just in case you didn't get it the first time the writer of Genesis states it 2 times - she was very barren. Her life in Genesis begins with shame and disappointment. When we read the bible all too often we miss what it must be like in the shoes of the secondary character. To best understand Sarah's life, put yourself in her shoes and look at life through her eyes.
You grew up with a half brother named Abraham who married you when you got older. Your brother who is now your husband was called by God to move around a lot and without any destination. Your husband tells you that you are going to go to a land that God promised to give to his descendents. Perhaps a glimmer of hope arises. Has God heard your prayers? Will you have children? But as you get to the promised land you and your husband discover that the land is filled with people and it is going through a drought, in other words, it doesn't look like any promised land. The promises of God seem to be less than what you hoped for.
You and Abraham wander Southward until you reach Egypt where your husband reminds you of an agreement he wants you to keep. You are not to tell anybody you are his wife, instead you are to tell everybody you are his sister. He does this because he is afraid he will be killed by the people he is visiting. He is afraid that these people will take you away from him by force and kill him, so you are to let them take you without force. You could very well become some stranger's wife so that your husband will be safe. You wonder does he want to get rid of you because you are barren? Does he want somebody else who can give children?
Because you are beautiful people in the highest position are attracted to you, and sure enough you are taken away to become the wife of Pharoah. In return, Abraham is given a lot of possessions and valuables. He becomes rich.
Eventually, Pharoah and his princes realize that a lot of bad things happening to them are because you are the wife of Abraham. Pharoah is not the immoral man your husband feared; it turns out he has morals and is angered by what your husband did.
After you leave Egypt with your husband you have more servants and things you have ever dreamed of. You are now the wife of a wealthy man.
You may have known all along that your husband was a warrior, but it isn't until his nephew was taken prisoner to become a slave that your husband leaves with the servants to battle with armies far more powerful than he. He comes back a conquerer and a hero.
Abraham your husband, not you, receives promises about having children and through them would become a nation. After hearing about this over and over you decide to let your husband sleep with your maid so that he can have the child that God has promised him aand that he so desires to have.
Your maid becomes pregnant and has a child that your husband loves dearly. And in return for your generosity, your maid scorns you and looks down on you, so you resort to violence by beating her. She runs away with her son only to return humbled from her experience in the desert.
Finally one day strangers come to your tent and tell your husband that you will have a child. You overhear and laugh because you are too old and have given up your dream a long time ago.
You and your husband travel South for another journey and as usual you are told to tell the local king that you are his sister. The king likes you and you are taken to the king's house but before anything sexual happens the king discovers you belong to Abraham and just like the Pharoah he is appalled with your husband's behavior and again your husband becomes richer because of his trickery.
You do become pregnant by your husband and you give birth to a child that you call "Laughter," because you laughed when the strangers told your husband you would have a child.
A new sense of empowerment comes over you and your low self-esteem seems to disappear, until you see the servant's teenage son mocking and making fun of your own child. For the first time in your marriage you put your foot down and insist that the other child and his mother must go - you will not let her and her son get in the way of you, your husband, and your child.
For years the very presensce of your servant and her child has taunted you and you hated it. For years her child was was your husband's pride and joy, and you sense his preference for the servant's child (which he proclaims before God but not you) but now you are taking control of the situation and removing the servant and her son from the family. Abraham concedes to your demands because God tells him to.
Some time later, Abraham takes your child for several days on a camping trip. When they come home Isaac tells you that God told dad to sacrifice him, but as dad had the knife raised to slaughter him, an angel told him not to.
As Isaac's mother, how do you feel about this?
That is Sarah's life as we know it.
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