Her story, told honestly
Sarah
Sarah is the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac, the child of promise. Her long story is one of waiting against hope, of laughter both bitter and glad.
“Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”Genesis 18:14
Her story
Her story. God called Abraham and promised to make of him a great nation, but the years passed and Sarah remained barren. In her old age she gave her servant Hagar to Abraham to build a family through her, and when Hagar conceived and grew proud, Sarah dealt harshly with her (Genesis 16). Then the LORD came and promised that Sarah herself would bear a son. She was ninety, and she "laughed within herself" at the thought, saying, "After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" (Genesis 18:12). The LORD asked, "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). And it came to pass. Sarah conceived and bore Isaac, whose name means laughter, and she said, "God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me" (Genesis 21:6). Her joy was not without shadow; she demanded that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out, and God let it grieve Abraham even as He provided for them both. Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years and was buried by Abraham in the cave he bought at Machpelah (Genesis 23).
What her life shows
What her life shows. Sarah's life shows the long, hard school of trusting a promise that seems impossible. She waited decades, and in the waiting she tried to help God by her own scheme, and the scheme brought sorrow to her house. Her story does not hide her impatience, her laughter of unbelief, or her harshness toward Hagar. Yet Scripture also holds her up as a woman of faith: "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised" (Hebrews 11:11). Both were true of her, doubt and faith mingled, as they are in most who follow God. Her life shows that God keeps His word on His own timetable, not ours, and that our failures of patience do not cancel His faithfulness. The laughter of doubt became the laughter of joy, because "is any thing too hard for the LORD?" is a question with only one answer.
Where it points to Christ
Where it points to Christ. Isaac was the child of promise, born not by the strength of the flesh but by the power of God's word, and Paul makes him a picture of all who belong to Christ: "we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise" (Galatians 4:28). The son given to an old, barren couple foreshadows the greater miracle of the Son given to a virgin, both births declaring that salvation is God's work, not man's. Sarah's impossible motherhood is a seedbed for the truth that the gospel comes to those who are as good as dead, and God brings life. Peter also holds up Sarah as an example of holy women who trusted God (1 Peter 3:5-6). The One who said nothing is too hard for the LORD would one day be born into her line, the Seed of Abraham in whom all nations are blessed (Galatians 3:16).
Questions people ask
Why did Sarah laugh at God's promise?
She laughed in disbelief because she was ninety and long past the age of childbearing (Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was born she laughed again, this time with joy (Genesis 21:6), naming the very tension of her story: doubt turned to gladness by God's faithfulness.
Was Sarah wrong to give Hagar to Abraham?
The plan to build a family through Hagar came from human impatience rather than trust in God's promise, and it brought lasting grief. Scripture reports it honestly, including Sarah's later harshness, without excusing it, yet God still cared for Hagar and Ishmael.
How is Sarah remembered in the New Testament?
Hebrews 11:11 praises her faith in judging God faithful to His promise, and 1 Peter 3:5-6 holds her up as an example among holy women. Paul uses her son Isaac as a picture of the children of promise (Galatians 4).