November 25, 2007 PM

 "Sarah: Mother of the Covenant"

Genesis 17: 1- 8; 15- 22; Genesis 21: 1- 7

In the late 1970's a thirty-three year old man by the name of Alan Bakke applied for admission to the University of California Medical School.  He was twice denied.  The school had an affirmative action program which stipulated that 16 of the 100 openings each year were to be reserved for minorities.  Because competition at that time for these openings was not as competitive, minority students who had lower grades and lower scores on the entrance exam than Bakke were admitted.  So, he sued, claiming reverse discrimination.  In 1978 his case came before the Supreme Court.  Bakke won.  The court declared the medical school's admission policy was discriminatory and unconstitutional.  The next year Alan Bakke was admitted.

This case sparked a great deal of controversy in this country.  People on both sides argued whether or not affirmative action programs were fair.  While many whites applauded the Bakke decision, many people of color thought that it was unfair.

I did not bring up this decision to discuss a political issue or to even tell you where I stood.  But rather, I bring this up to say that for the most part, we as Americans, value equality and equal opportunity under the law.  No matter which side people were on in this case, they agreed on those two things.

That is precisely why so many of us are bothered by the Biblical teaching that God chose some before the foundation of the world, but not others.  And we are also troubled by verses like Romans 9:15- 16

For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

It's not fair, we complain.  How can a just God do something like this?

The same question comes to mind when we read our scripture for this evening.  God the great Creator chose to have a special relationship of blessing with one particular human family.  Out of all the families on the face of the earth, he chose to bless them and make them a blessing. God chooses only Abraham and none of his other relatives.  Although nations descended from his nephew Lot, the children of promise came from Abraham.  God chooses Isaac not Ishmael.  Certainly God blessed Ishmael, but gives the covenant promise only to Isaac.  Finally, God chooses Sarah and will not accept her maidservant as the mother of his covenant child.

As we especially consider the last of these choices, we are struck by a several realities.  The first is the fact that she is a woman.  That may not seem all that significant today.  But it was very significant in Abraham's time.  Back then women had a much lower status in society than men.  Just as slaves were subordinate to free persons and the young to the old, women were subordinate to men.  Their lives centered on marriage, children, and the home.  In many countries in that part of the world they were not allowed to own property.  If a man divorced his wife, which was relatively easy to do, she was literally thrown on the street with nothing.   And when a man died, his son, not his wife inherited his possessions.

But God did not treat women in this way.  God chose Sarah just as he chose Abraham and Isaac.  Just like them he gave her a name.  Do you know what her name means?  Sarah means princess.  God bestowed royalty upon Sarah.  He said that kings would come from her.  Her line would be a royal line.

In giving her a name God also made her a covenant partner.  Note that God gave Sarah similar promises to the ones that he gave to Abraham

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."

God's choices never are subject to society's norms.  God chooses those whom he will: men or women.  As we look at the history of redemption, we cannot help but see the important role that women played.

Beloved in the Lord, as sinful human beings we get all concerned about status-- about being on top.  But the way we rank people makes little difference to God.  He chooses those whom he will for his purposes at his time.

This is true for nations.  In Deuteronomy 7: 6- 8 God explain why he chose Israel to be his people,

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

We must all remember what Jesus said about the kingdom of God.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

And that same Jesus called fisherman, tax collectors, and even prostitutes to be his followers, just as he calls you and me.

A second reality that strikes us is that God chose a woman who was barren.  She had never had any children and was now past the age of childbearing. That is why she had encouraged Abraham to have a child through her servant Hagar.

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; ²so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."  (Genesis 16: 1- 2)

But, when the Lord chooses someone, he makes the impossible possible.  He didn't let her barrenness or her age stop him.  Just as he sovereignly chose her, he the great Creator gave her the ability to do what he chose her to do.

We all know the rest of the story don't we?  Isaac was born.

George Matheson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1842. Before he reached his second birthday it was discovered that he had slow developing degenerative eye disease.  And before he had finished his studies at Glasgow University he was completely blind.  Nonetheless, he graduated with honors in philosophy, studied for the ministry, and in a few years' time became the pastor of a large church in Edinburgh.   Even though he had to work extra hard to prepare his sermons, he still faithfully carried out pastoral visitation, wrote numerous articles and twelve books.

Trusting in God, he received abilities that no one would have expected.  And through it all his faith grew stronger.  After twenty years of blindness he wrote: 

"O Love that will not let me go, 

I rest my weary soul in Thee!

 I give Thee back the life I owe,

 That in Thine ocean depths its flow 

May richer, fuller be. "

  People of God, what is preventing you from fully pursuing the Lord's call in your life?  When God calls us he also gives us the ability to follow his call. Hebrews 13:20 the writer give this blessing,

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Another reality was that Sarah lacked a strong faith.  True, she, like her husband, believed God's promises.  But, just like her husband her faith was weak.  Genesis 18:  12 tells us that when God again repeated his promise to Abraham,

 Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

And when God confronted her with her lack of faith, she even denied that she had laughed.

Yet, in spite of her weak faith God turned her laugh of disbelief into the laughter of joy.  Listen to her words,

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."  And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

Make no mistake, we must respond to God's election and his promises in faith.  Paul in Romans 4 make this very clear

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.

Yes, we need faith.  But, God can bless faith that is as small as mustard seed.  He blessed the faith of Abraham and Sarah who laughed in disbelief.  He blessed the faith of the disciples, who cried, "Lord, do you not care that we perish.  He blessed the little faith of Peter and raised him up drowning.  God's grace is not limited by the size of our faith.  Indeed, his grace is the source of our faith.

His grace is also not limited by the weakness of our character.  Like many of the chosen women-- like Eve whom we studied this morning, Sarah had a long way to go in living the life that God demands of his people.  Her cruelty to Hagar and Ishmael in chapter 21 is almost unconscionable.  She was so jealous for Isaac that she told Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert to die. Nonetheless, God still blessed, because he had chosen to bless.  In spite of Sarah's sinful selfish behavior, he blessed Hagar and Ishmael; he blessed Isaac, and even blessed Sarah herself. In spite of her sins, her lack of faith, her barrenness, her status, he chose that she would be a mother of our Savior.  Jesus would be a descendant of Sarah.  Through her his promise would come true:  all nations would be blessed. 

We began by reflecting on the fairness of God's sovereign choices.  Certainly there is a lot that we do not understand about all this.  Yet, we know as a matter of faith that God is always fair and just.  And we know that God's election does not negate our responsibility.  It does, however, negate our pride.  And it gives us comfort that could only be ours by his grace.

Lillie Baltrip was a good bus driver.  In fact, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Houston school district nominated her for a safe-driving award.  Her colleagues even trusted her to drive a busload of them to an awards ceremony for safe drivers.  Sadly, on the way to the ceremony, Lillie turned a corner too sharply and flipped the bus over, sending herself and sixteen others to the hospital for minor emergency treatment.

   Did Lillie, accident free for years, get her award anyway?  No.  Award committees rarely operate on the principle of grace.  How blessed we are that even when we don't maintain a spotless life-record, our final reward depends on God's grace, not on our performance! 

Beloved in the Lord , as we approach the Christmas season, let us remember that for us a Christians this season is not so much about giving as receiving.

For wages of sin is death, but free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN!