Very often, we hear the faith of men in the Holy Bible; such as Abraham, Moses, David,….,St. Paul, etc. However, we should not ignore the faith of certain women who trusted God in the Bible. The Bible states that both some women and men trusted God (Heb11:35). When God called Abraham and Sarai to leave their home and their family to embark on a journey to a land, which they did not know, God freely offered Abraham two-fold promises: The promise of an heir who would found a blessed nation and a promise of the land of Canaan. But, God could only bring those promises if both Abraham and Sarai had their trust in God. And so, for this promises to be fulfilled, Sarai had a necessary and an important role.
Sarai, whose name was changed by God to Sarah, was one of the women who trusted God although she could not understand some of His plans (Genesis 17:15). And Sarah was the only woman in the Bible whose name was changed by God. She was first called Sarai, meaning “my princess” or “my lady” and then Sarah, a similar Hebrew name meaning “lady,” “princess,” or “noblewoman.”
Why did God want to change her name? The answer is revealed in the book of Genesis, “And I will bless her…. and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” (Gen 17:15-16). In other sense, Sarah was blessed by God to become a royal princess and a mother of a blessed and multitude of nations to come. It is true that the royal lineages came from her since there were many kings in the history of Israel; E.g., King Saul, King David from whose line the Savior was born. God showed her honor as well as a special destiny when He gave her a new name.
Though God promised a multitude of descendants, Sarah knew that she was too old to have a baby. She even laughed when God promised a child (Gen 18:1-15). At the same time, she experienced a biological barrenness (Gen 11:30). Biological barrenness was something common in the life of the mothers of Israel (biblical matriarchs). It is not clear how long Abraham and Sarah had been married. But, it is clear that Sarah had been unable to have children for many years. Though she did not believe about the promise of God then, but she soon felt ashamed of her disbelief. And God reminded her that nothing is impossible for Him to do (Gen 18:10-15). And with the grace of God she overcame her biological barrenness (Gen 21:5-7).
In the Holy Bible Sarah is known for her genuine and deep faith in the true God. It was not a faith in the moon-god that was widely worshipped in Ur in her time. Even her father was an idolater at least for a time. Hence, we are not sure how she gained that faith in one true God. But, her love and commitment to Abraham in their marriage, who is the father of faith, could have an inspiration for the growth of her faith. It shows that their union was marked by their love for one true God. Sarah is the first of the four biblical matriarchs (the others being Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel).
We can see the truth of the faith of Sarah the way the book of Genesis described her death (Gen 23). Even the writer of the letters of the New Testament gave her a great honor in his letters (Rom 4:10; 9:9, Gal 4:21-31, Heb 11:11; 1Pet 3:6). She believed how God was using her to carry out His promises to Abraham. Because she and Abraham trusted God, Sarah had a baby in her advanced age.
— Fr. Niranjan Rodrigo, Ph.D.
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