The only woman in the Bible we are encouraged to look to is Sarah. Isaiah 51:2 tells us to “Look unto Sarah that bare you.” We go to the New Testament and read in 1 Peter 3: 6 that we will be “Sarah’s daughters” when we do what is right and good.
Names are very important in the Bible and each one has a meaning. Sarah was first called Sarai, which means princess because she was born of noble birth. But in Genesis 17:15 God changes her name to Sarah. This is a sacramental name because God Himself names her. It still means princess, but this time not only within her family, but in a greater way, yes, even worldwide. When God renamed her, He said: “She shall become nations; kings of people shall be of her.” Sarah means "lady, princess, noblewoman." It also means “to rule, or chieftainess.” It is the feminine of “Sar” meaning a “captain or commander.”
Sarah ruled as a queen in her home and wherever she traveled. She was queenly in her demeanor, her spirit, her graciousness, her beauty, the ruling of her home, and in every manner of life. Although queenliness revealed her personality, we read many other things about Sarah.
1. She was a submissive wife (1 Peter 3:5, 6).
2. She honored and revered her husband (1 Peter 3:6).
3. She wholly trusted God, no matter what the circumstances (1 Peter 3:5).
4. She was a woman of faith (Hebrews 11:11-13).
5. She was beautiful (Genesis 12:11-14). Not only the Bible, but Hebrew tradition informs that Sarah was exceedingly and bewitchingly beautiful. One writes that she was “One of the four most exquisite women in the world and was regarded as the fairest, even in comparison with all the women in the nearby lands. Of all women, only Eve was comelier.”
It caused her problems. Imagine ravishing kings wherever you go! When Abraham and Sarah went to Egypt, the princes noticed her beauty and she was taken into the Pharaoh’s house. King Abimelech of Gerar was also captivated by her beauty (even when she was 90 years of age) and took her to his house. Praise the Lord, God delivered her in these situations.
6. She was beautiful on the inside “with the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4).
7. After a lifetime of infertility, she embraced motherhood and nursing a baby even as an older woman (Genesis 21:7).
But of all these great attributes, we go back to the meaning of her name--lady, princess, queen. As Sarah’s daughters, shouldn’t we seek to also live and act like queens? We are not only Sarah’s daughters, but royal daughters of the King of kings and Lord and lords!
It’s sad that there are some women who don’t really want to be a lady today. They would rather be like a man--dress like a man and take on the man’s role. They do not rule as queen in their home because they are either not there, or there is nothing much to rule over. What does a mother do when she limits the number of her children and sends the limited number off to school? She has to find a life elsewhere, and usually this is working for someone else, not being a queen and ruling her own domain.
Let’s aim to be Sarah’s daughters.
~ Nancy Campbell
Further to my post above, you will be encouraged by reading this article about Sarah.