AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP;

Sarah Heb 11:1-10, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Hebrews 11:4-7 presents the antediluvian (pre-flood) heroes. Hebrews 11:8-22 presents the patriarchs from Abraham to Joseph. They are all presented as pilgrimsojourners who all died in faith, not having received the promises according to Hebrews 11:13. The emphasis is upon their endurance and confident expectation that God will deliver on His promises to them in spite of the circumstances or consequences of being obedient to God. In this article we will note the 1 st of 2 women mentioned in Hebrews 11, namely Sarah who was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. Sarah was a person who had endurance. She persevered in the midst of adversity. Sarah was able to persevere and endure in life because of her confidence in the Lord. She trusted that He (the Lord) would be faithful and give her a child. Even when she was in menopause, she was confident that the Lord would give her a child. Now that is faith! What is perseverance? Perseverance is a steady persistence in a course of action to attain an objective in life. Sarah possessed steady persistence in her relationship 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1

with the Lord and thus attained to spiritual maturity and executed the Lord s plan for her life. What is endurance? Endurance is the fact or power of bearing an adversity or hardship in life. Sarah was able to bear many adversities and hardships in her life because of the power of the Word of God. Heb 4:12, For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 11:11, By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Hebrews 11:11 states that Sarah s faith was the means by which she received the power and ability to conceive in her old age. Matthew 17:20, And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. Luke 17:6, And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you. Her faith in the promise of the Lord to give her a child enabled the Lord to exercise His power that would give her the ability to conceive in her old age. God cannot work powerfully in our lives as he did with Sarah unless we trust Him. Our faith in the Word of God enables the omnipotence of God to be unleashed in our lives. Faith or trusting in the promises of the Lord enables the Lord to do the impossible in our lives. Biblical faith is trusting in the promises of God regardless of the circumstances or consequences and resting in them. True Biblical faith is confident obedience to God s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. This principle of faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown but we obey God s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best. Sarah is first mentioned in the pages of Scripture in the book of Genesis, chapter 11, verse 29. Gen 11:26-32, Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2

the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. Sarai was barren; she had no child. So according to this passage Sarah married Abram who later became Abraham, the father of multitude she became the mother of a multitude. Sarah s name originally was Sarai. Sarai is Saray (yr^c*), contentious. She was renamed Sarah in the covenant ceremony found in Genesis 17:15. Gen 17:15-16, Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. Both names Sarai and Sarah are feminine forms of the noun sar (rc^), prince. So Sarah means princess. Her original name Sarai means contentious or we would say here in the 21 st century that her signified someone who was bitchy! So she went from a bitch to a princess because of the Lord. Sarai married Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans before they migrated to Canaan according to Genesis 11:29. At this point in the narrative she is identified only as the daughter-in-law of Terah, Abram s father according to Genesis 11:31. Later, however, Abraham claimed her as his half-sister, having the same father but a different mother according to Genesis 20:12. Sarah was a beautiful woman. She was also married to a wimp, namely Abraham. On 2 occasions Abraham placed Sarah in an adulterous or potentially adulterous situation to save his own life. Gen 12:1-20, Now the LORD said to Abram, Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventyfive years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, To your descendants I will give this land. So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3

east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife ; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you. It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go. Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. This lack of character on the part of Abraham is demonstrated again in Genesis 20 as we will note later in our study. Sarah was not without her own faults herself. There was could be very manipulative and jealous. The root of the problem was her inability early in life to deal with her barrenness. This was a deep personal problem for her. In the ancient Near East it was essential that women produce male offspring in order to perpetuate the family name and childlessness was the greatest misfortune that could befall a woman and her family in Sarah and Abraham s day. The Lord made the following promise to Abraham: Gen 12:1-3, Now the LORD said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. The covenant that God made with Abraham was unconditional. The Abrahamic Covenant was an unconditional covenant meaning that the agreement was based upon the Lord s faithfulness and not Abraham s. The Lord was responsible to fulfill the agreement and Abraham s part was to take God at His Word and accept it by means of faith. 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4

The Abrahamic covenant is related to the race of the nation of Israel. It was exclusively to the Jews. Abraham being the 1 st Jew in history. He became the 1 st of the new racial species as a result of his faith in the Lord. The church is the new spiritual species, which every believer in the church age becomes as a result of expressing faith alone in Christ alone for salvation. Sarah was aware of this promise. At that particular time in her life, she did not know the Lord and His power well enough to see that this would take place. She didn t understand at that time the faithfulness of the Lord. Deuteronomy 7:9, Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Her inability to deal with the problem of being unable to have children has resulted in the present day Arab and Israeli conflict that is raging and has been raging for centuries that s right. You see Sarah came up with the bright idea of having her husband Abraham go into her maid Hagar and have sex with in order to deal with the problem of not being able to have children. This turn out to be a disaster which still has ramifications even today. This is revealed in Genesis 16. Gen 16:1-16, Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me. But Abram said to Sarai, Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight. So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence. Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai. Then the angel of the LORD said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority. Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count. The angel of the LORD said to her further, Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5

He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers. Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You are a God who sees ; for she said, Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him? Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him. According to a widespread ancient Near Eastern custom, any children born to Hagar and Abraham could be counted as Sarah s offspring (cf. Gen. 30:1-13). But this is a pagan custom and was not according to the Word of God. Ishmael is the father of the Arab peoples but Ishmael was not to be son of the promise made to Abraham by the Lord. The promise of an heir for Abraham would be fulfilled with his wife Sarah according to the Lord. Sarah s jealousy and bitterness tore apart the home of Abraham. Proverbs 6:34, For jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance. Proverbs 27:4, Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood, but who can stand before jealousy? Hebrews 12:15, See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled. Sarah demanded Abraham make decision and he deferred to Sarah. This resulted in Hagar leaving the home of Abraham with her child but returning after directed by the Lord to do so. So Sarah s plan to build a family for Abraham through her maid Hagar totally failed. She had not operated in faith, but Sarah persevered she endured. The Lord s plan was to give Abraham a child through Sarah. In Genesis 17:16 the Lord specifically names Sarah as the mother of the promised son. Gen 17:1-23, Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly. Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6

their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. God said further to Abraham, Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant. Then God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before You! But God said, No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year. When He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. The Lord would have to perform a miracle because Sarah was 99. She was in menopause and had no ability whatsoever to conceive. Abraham was too old as well. Even Viagra couldn t help him. Gen 18:1-15, Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7

you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant. And they said, So do, as you have said. So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes. Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. Then they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, There, in the tent. He said, I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old? Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah denied it however, saying, I did not laugh ; for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh. Here we have Sarah actually doubting the Lord s ability to perform this miracle of giving her a child in her old age. She would learn the following principle, which expressed by the angel Gabriel to Mary concerning the virgin birth of Christ. Luke 1:37, For nothing will be impossible with God. Now, Hebrews 11:11 states emphatically that Sarah overcame her doubt and trusted that the Lord would deliver on His promise to give her a child. Heb 11:11-12, By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE. Right after this promise made by the Lord to both Abraham and Sarah, we see their lack of faith demonstrated in Genesis 20. Gen 20:1-18, Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married. Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? Did he not himself say to me, She is my sister? And she herself said, He is my 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8

brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this. Then God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said to Abraham, What have you encountered, that you have done this thing? Abraham said, Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, He is my brother. Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please. To Sarah he said, Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared. Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. So here is Sarah married to a man if you want to call him that namely Abraham who does not have the guts to protect his own wife. His son Isaac had the same weakness with his wife Rebecca according to Genesis 26:1-11. Sarah preserved though she didn t divorce the man although she had grounds for divorce desertion, but she hung in there. In fact, there is a New Testament passage, which reveals the greatness of Sarah. 1 Peter 3:1-6, In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external -- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9

themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. She respected authority for she was authority oriented. She gave her husband respect not because Abraham deserved it but rather she did it for the Lord. She understood the principle the divine order. She was subordinate to Abraham as commanded of the wife in Scripture. Ephesians 5:22, Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Colossians 3:18, Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Sarah was the greatest woman in the Old Testament! Here she was married to a wimp a real jerk and yet she submitted to his authority as unto to the Lord. She was a great woman in the eyes of the Lord. In today s society she would be ridiculed for sticking with Abraham the father of our faith. Finally, we see in Genesis 21 the Lord delivering on His promise to Abraham. Gen 21:1-8, Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age. The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. The story of Sarah is remarkable story of the marvelous power of a God-given faith to exercise itself in the presence of the most discouraging circumstances, persevere in the face of the most formidable obstacles and trust God to that, which according to human reasoning seemed utterly impossible. We have seen a frail, aged woman, who at first was hindered by unbelief but who in the end relied upon the veracity and faithfulness of God and rested upon His promises. We have seen how God can lift up the frail and weakness sinners who are just like us and make them great through faith in the promises of God. Although both Abraham and Sarah had many faults and committed grievous sins just like you and I, they persevered and endured they didn t quit. When they failed, they picked up the pieces and went forward in their relationship with the Lord. Perseverance is steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state. Perseverance suggests activity maintained in spite of difficulties, steadfast and long 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10

continued application. It is remaining faithful and obedient to the Word of God despite the obstacles in life such as the old sin nature, self, the cosmic system of Satan. Perseverance is being steadfast and faithful in applying the Word of God despite the many obstacles and cares of life in the cosmic system of Satan. Heb 10:23, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Heb 10:35-36, Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 11:13-14 notes the perseverance of faith. Heb 11:13-16, All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Will you persevere? 2003 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11