“Mother of Nations”
By: Rev. Dan Minor
“God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her...”
Genesis 17:15-16
In the Bible, we read a lot about Abraham, “The father of many nations.” Let us consider Sarah’s story. She was not your typical mother. For one thing, she became a mother when she was 90 years old! For another, her downfall (not believing God) led to a miracle birth that was so good to be true; all she and her husband could do was laugh! (Genesis 17:17-19).
Back Story (Genesis- 16, 17, 21)
God had promised her a son, but Sarah was tired of waiting. 14 years is a long time to wait. So Sarah took matters into her own hands. Her solution was a common one in that time and culture. She and Abraham used Sarah’s maid, Hagar, as a surrogate mother so they could have a son. That did not turn out well! When Hagar conceived she became arrogant toward Sarah. Sarah became very jealous and mistreated Hagar to the point Hagar (with her unborn child) fled from her. An angel of the Lord convinced her to return to Sarah promising to increase her descendants telling her to name the child Ishmael.
Eventually, God fulfilled His promise when Sarah gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 17:15-27). The name Isaac means “child of promise.” Being the only son of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac became the second of three Hebrew patriarchs of the Jewish race.
To this day, the Arab world looks to Ishmael as their ancestor while the Jews look to Isaac as theirs. Thus, the conflict between the half-brothers and their mothers continues today.
Sarah is mentioned in Isaiah 51:2 as the mother of the chosen race. Her name stands beside Abraham in Faith’s Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11:11). So we might say the story of Sarah had a happy ending.
Take-aways:
· We are never too old to receive God’s blessings.
· When we get tired of waiting, remember God has a plan.
· Even when our faith waivers, we can get back on track with God.
· Sometimes God intervenes when we least expect it.
· Things turn out better when we let God be God.
With that I would like to wish every woman who has had a positive effect on a child a Happy Mother’s Day!
Prayer
May God bless all mothers, past and present, for the glory of God. In Jesus’ strong name. Amen.