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†. Gen 17:15 . . And God said to Abraham: As for your wife Sarai, you
shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.
Sarah's original name was Saray (saw-rah'-ee) which means: dominative.
Webster's defines "dominative" as: to exert the supreme determining or
guiding influence on-- in other words: bossy. Dominative isn't a desirable
female personality. Being assertive and confrontational is nothing to be
proud of.
Sarah (saw-raw') means: a female noble; such as a Lady, a Princess, or a
Queen. It's much preferable for a woman to be known as a lady or a
princess than as a dominatrix.
Changing Sarai's name didn't actually change her personality; but it
certainly reflected her new God-given purpose. It was like a promotion to
knighthood. The child she would produce for Abraham became a very
important, world-renowned human being out of whom came kings and
statesmen; and ultimately the savior of the world.
If I were required to pick just one woman in the Bible to venerate, it
wouldn't be Christ's mom; no, it would be Isaac's mom. Sarah is the
supreme matriarch over every one of the Messianic mothers who came after
her.
†. Gen 17:16 . . I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I
will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples
shall issue from her.
Sarah now had a calling from God just like her slavette Hagar; who herself
was given a calling from God on the road to Shur. Sarah's calling was not
much of a calling. She wasn't called to go off to some foreign country as a
missionary, nor to open and operate hostels and orphanages in
impoverished lands, nor head up a local chapter of the March Of Dimes, nor
muster an army like a Joan of Arc. All in the world Sarah had to do for God
was just be Isaac's mom.
I once heard a story about a lady who summarily announced to her pastor
that God called her to preach. The pastor thought for a second and then
inquired: Do you have any children? She answered: Yes. So he said: My;
isn't that wonderful? God called you to preach and already gave you a
congregation.
Motherhood isn't a marginal calling. It is a serious calling that carries
tremendous responsibility, because the hands that rock the cradles quite
literally do rule the world. A mother can either ruin a child's potential or
enhance it; she can raise a decent human being, or raise a sociopathic
monster.
The media typically focuses on physical child abuse while usually overlooking
the kind caused by mental cruelty. There are children out there whose self
esteem and sense of worth are in the toilet just by being in the home of a
thoughtless mother.
One child can enrich the lives of millions of people, and it's the moms who
bring them into the world, pick their boogers, change their dydees, teach
them how to brush their teeth and say their prayers, stay up late with their
fevers, get them in for their shots, pack them off to school, take them to the
park, drive them to ToysRus a thousand times, and cry at their weddings.
The dads have it easy. It's the moms who really pay the price for a child's
future. But a mom can just as easily destroy her child's future by abuse and
neglect. There are moms who have about as much love for their children as
a dirty sock or a broken dish; and regard them just as expendable.
But Sarah won't be like that. When she gets done with Isaac, he will be a
well adjusted grown-up having a genuine bond of love and trust with his
mom and zero gender issues with women. Isaac will see in Sarah the very
kind of girl he would like to marry; and when that one does come along, he
won't let her get away.
†. Gen 17:17 . . Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as
he said to himself: Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old,
or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?
NOTE: I suspect that Sarah was not yet adult enough to be a mother back
when she initiated the tryst with Hagar and Abraham. I suspect it because of
the immature way she reacted to Hagar's gloating in Gen 16:4-6.
God had previously promised Abraham an heir but this is the first time He
actually specified who the biological mother would be. Was Abraham
skeptical? Not this time. No; he just thought it was hilarious for two old sag
bottomed, bloated cod-fish gasbags like he and Sarah to have children. In
other words: You've gotta be kidding!
"Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good
as dead-- since he was about a hundred years old --and that Sarah's womb
was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise
of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully
persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." (Rom 4:19-21)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 17:15 . . And God said to Abraham: As for your wife Sarai, you
shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.
Sarah's original name was Saray (saw-rah'-ee) which means: dominative.
Webster's defines "dominative" as: to exert the supreme determining or
guiding influence on-- in other words: bossy. Dominative isn't a desirable
female personality. Being assertive and confrontational is nothing to be
proud of.
Sarah (saw-raw') means: a female noble; such as a Lady, a Princess, or a
Queen. It's much preferable for a woman to be known as a lady or a
princess than as a dominatrix.
Changing Sarai's name didn't actually change her personality; but it
certainly reflected her new God-given purpose. It was like a promotion to
knighthood. The child she would produce for Abraham became a very
important, world-renowned human being out of whom came kings and
statesmen; and ultimately the savior of the world.
If I were required to pick just one woman in the Bible to venerate, it
wouldn't be Christ's mom; no, it would be Isaac's mom. Sarah is the
supreme matriarch over every one of the Messianic mothers who came after
her.
†. Gen 17:16 . . I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I
will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples
shall issue from her.
Sarah now had a calling from God just like her slavette Hagar; who herself
was given a calling from God on the road to Shur. Sarah's calling was not
much of a calling. She wasn't called to go off to some foreign country as a
missionary, nor to open and operate hostels and orphanages in
impoverished lands, nor head up a local chapter of the March Of Dimes, nor
muster an army like a Joan of Arc. All in the world Sarah had to do for God
was just be Isaac's mom.
I once heard a story about a lady who summarily announced to her pastor
that God called her to preach. The pastor thought for a second and then
inquired: Do you have any children? She answered: Yes. So he said: My;
isn't that wonderful? God called you to preach and already gave you a
congregation.
Motherhood isn't a marginal calling. It is a serious calling that carries
tremendous responsibility, because the hands that rock the cradles quite
literally do rule the world. A mother can either ruin a child's potential or
enhance it; she can raise a decent human being, or raise a sociopathic
monster.
The media typically focuses on physical child abuse while usually overlooking
the kind caused by mental cruelty. There are children out there whose self
esteem and sense of worth are in the toilet just by being in the home of a
thoughtless mother.
One child can enrich the lives of millions of people, and it's the moms who
bring them into the world, pick their boogers, change their dydees, teach
them how to brush their teeth and say their prayers, stay up late with their
fevers, get them in for their shots, pack them off to school, take them to the
park, drive them to ToysRus a thousand times, and cry at their weddings.
The dads have it easy. It's the moms who really pay the price for a child's
future. But a mom can just as easily destroy her child's future by abuse and
neglect. There are moms who have about as much love for their children as
a dirty sock or a broken dish; and regard them just as expendable.
But Sarah won't be like that. When she gets done with Isaac, he will be a
well adjusted grown-up having a genuine bond of love and trust with his
mom and zero gender issues with women. Isaac will see in Sarah the very
kind of girl he would like to marry; and when that one does come along, he
won't let her get away.
†. Gen 17:17 . . Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as
he said to himself: Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old,
or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?
NOTE: I suspect that Sarah was not yet adult enough to be a mother back
when she initiated the tryst with Hagar and Abraham. I suspect it because of
the immature way she reacted to Hagar's gloating in Gen 16:4-6.
God had previously promised Abraham an heir but this is the first time He
actually specified who the biological mother would be. Was Abraham
skeptical? Not this time. No; he just thought it was hilarious for two old sag
bottomed, bloated cod-fish gasbags like he and Sarah to have children. In
other words: You've gotta be kidding!
"Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good
as dead-- since he was about a hundred years old --and that Sarah's womb
was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise
of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully
persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." (Rom 4:19-21)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=