It has been a long time since I posted anything. Ironically, that is because I have been writing. I am halfway through a book of meditations on Abraham. Most of that work is too lengthy for a blog, but this week I finished a very short chapter. In the book, this meditation serves as a sort of song of resolution following the sad story of Hagar and Ishmael.
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.” - Genesis 17:18-21
Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” Genesis 18:12
In its full realization, the covenant You established with Abraham will reverse the curse of the garden. Its blessing will heal the rift between man and woman. It will free people from sin, and end slavery in all its forms. Such a glorious gift You would not permit to unfold from an act of sexual coercion.
The covenant was a gift of Your free will. Its reception had to be free as well. Abraham accepted Your call willingly, as did Mary. It was right that Sarah should also respond in freedom.
The covenant You made with Abraham was a gift of love, conceived in the council of the Godhead. You insisted that the promised child be conceived in the union of marital love.
The covenant was a gift of joy. You foresaw the delight Abraham’s children would bring the Godhead, and You rejoiced! It was fitting that Sarah should feel pleasure in her part of Your plan.
The covenant was the promise of a family vast enough to fill Your Father’s heart. You insisted that the family’s first son be raised in the fidelity of marriage.
The covenant was a divine intervention in the affairs of men. Your word came unsought, unexpected. Its fulfillment would also be miraculous. You wanted no help from scheming mortals
It was imperative that Abraham’s promised son be born of Sarah, not Hagar, because Sarah was a wife, and Hagar a slave. This, I think, is the most astounding mystery of all. Through the covenant You established with Abraham, You set into motion a plan to form a Bride for Your Son. A Bride who would have authority and honor. A Helpmate who would partner with Jesus in His ministry. A Beloved Wife cleansed by His blood. A Bride who would respond to her Bridegroom with desire, not slavish fear. Sarah, not Hagar, is the type of this Bride.
Father, I believe we fail to understand the importance of Sarah in Your plan when we make the mistake of thinking it is all about us men and our salvation. It is not. The covenant was made for the sake of Your Son even more than it was made for ours. And the covenant which finds fulfillment in a Holy Wedding Feast could not rest on an act of sexual exploitation.