What if Sarah Had Known…

There is an awesome story in the Bible found in Genesis 22:1-14. It tells of when God tempted/tested/proved Abraham to see if he would sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. We have probably read or heard the details of this story and how it prefigures the crucifixion and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so I wont repeat those details.

I personally have wondered if Sarah knew that this was Abraham’s mission. Therefore the heading “What if Sarah had known…” is pure conjecture on my part that she did not know. The Bible does not record Sarah’s involvement one way or the other. My thoughts go to a mother who has lost or is dealing with a terminally ill child. I do understand that it is not the same thing as knowing that your husband is going to kill your child and you are seemingly helpless to stop him.

I can only think of Mary, the mother of Jesus. When Jesus was born, she encountered Simeon in the temple who told Mary that a sword would pierce through her soul. All that she could do was ponder what she was told. She experienced many things because she was the mother of Jesus, fleeing to Egypt while other mother’s children were killed; the missing Jesus when he stayed in the temple to talk with the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions; the actual torture and death of her own Son on the cross, etc. How can one heart endure such pain?

Was Sarah told about this incident in her lifetime and if so what did she say to Abraham? What if she had known? Would she have experienced any inkling of what Mary was to experience later? There is only so much consolation when a mother is hurting and she hears of another mother’s agony. Ultimately it is not the mother that God focuses on but rather His Son. Because of His Son Jesus, we, along with Sarah and Mary can endure. Jesus alone can handle the cares we cast upon Him. Perhaps this is why we really don’t know if Sarah knew. Even Mary had to come to accept that the Son she bore in the flesh was the One who would ultimately bear the pain in her own soul. God grant that no mother should ever have to experience what Sarah (if she had known) or Mary the mother of Jesus experienced. What if Sarah had known?