The Patriarchs' Wives

"Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children." Genesis 18:11

"Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children..." Genesis 25:21

"When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die." Genesis 30:1


A few months ago, I realized that patriarchs had something in common: they all had a barren wife. Let's start with Sarai, later known as Sarah.

The most well know and respected of the patriarchs, Abram was promised descendants that rivaled the number of the stars. But his wife, Sarai, decided to take matters into her own hands. She had her husband sleep with her handmaid, and nine months later, Ishmael was born. Terrible things were going to happen to Sarah's future descendants. In fact Ishmael's distant descendant, Haaman, would go on to try to eradicate the Jews. Sarah's son, Isaac, was born years later, on God's timing.

Next up is Rebekah. She wasn't able to have children. So, what did her husband, Isaac, do? HE PRAYED! And God answered! With twins, even! Isaac and Rebekah, they did it right.

And, of course, there is Rachel. Now, Rachel had a difficult time. Not only was she barren, she had a very fertile sister who was also married to her husband! Every child that her sister had twisted the knife. She went to an old favorite: send the handmaiden to her husband. And the battle with her sister was on. Back and forth they went, having more and more kids. And in the end, when she finally had her own precious son, guess what happened. The children born out of this fearsome rivalry, the other sons of Jacob sold him. SOLD HIM.

Now, God used those kids for good. But so much hurt happened because of the lack of faith and trust. Why do we insist on trying to do things our own way? The Bible is FULL of examples of this, but we still don't listen. So, the next time we are going through something hard, trust God, instead of just digging into the situation yourself. Wait for God's timing. Follow the examples of Isaac and Rebekah. Trust in God's timing, don't try and force it.

Sam