The Word About Women
The Word About Women
Login

Beautiful but Barren - The Word About Women

Login

Getting Started...

Getting Started...

The Ministry of Motherhood

  • Feb 25, 2021

The Ministry of Motherhood

Women’s Work

  • Feb 23, 2021

Women’s Work

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

  • Feb 18, 2021

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

The Good News Girls

  • Feb 16, 2021

The Good News Girls

Compassion for Women

  • Feb 11, 2021

Compassion for Women

Distracted with Much Serving

  • Feb 9, 2021

Distracted with Much Serving

No Throwing Stones

  • Feb 4, 2021

No Throwing Stones

She Was a Sinner

  • Feb 2, 2021

She Was a Sinner

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

  • Jan 28, 2021

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

The Laws of Love

  • Jan 26, 2021

The Laws of Love

Follow Him

  • Jan 21, 2021

Follow Him

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

  • Jan 19, 2021

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

In His Service

  • Jan 14, 2021

In His Service

Share in Their Joy

  • Jan 12, 2021

Share in Their Joy

Highly Favored One

  • Jan 7, 2021

Highly Favored One

The Value of a Woman

  • Jan 5, 2021

The Value of a Woman

See You in 2021

  • Nov 20, 2020

See You in 2021

In God’s Hands

  • Nov 19, 2020

In God’s Hands

A Disposable Woman?

  • Nov 17, 2020

A Disposable Woman?

A Bearer of Bad News

  • Nov 12, 2020

A Bearer of Bad News

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

  • Nov 10, 2020

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

A Heart for Hospitality

  • Nov 6, 2020

A Heart for Hospitality

The Willing Widow

  • Nov 4, 2020

The Willing Widow

A Wretched Woman

  • Nov 2, 2020

A Wretched Woman

Wicked Women

  • Oct 30, 2020

Wicked Women

Missed Opportunity

  • Oct 28, 2020

Missed Opportunity

How To Spot A Mother

  • Oct 26, 2020

How To Spot A Mother

A Wicked Thing

  • Oct 23, 2020

A Wicked Thing

Grace in the Genealogy

  • Oct 21, 2020

Grace in the Genealogy

Victim or Adulteress?

  • Oct 19, 2020

Victim or Adulteress?

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

  • Oct 16, 2020

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

  • Oct 14, 2020

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

Giving Back To God

  • Oct 12, 2020

Giving Back To God

Crimes Against Women

  • Oct 9, 2020

Crimes Against Women

When Women Are His Weakness

  • Oct 7, 2020

When Women Are His Weakness

Raising A Leader

  • Oct 5, 2020

Raising A Leader

A Redeemer

  • Oct 2, 2020

A Redeemer

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

  • Sep 30, 2020

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

A Woman With a Weapon

  • Sep 28, 2020

A Woman With a Weapon

The Leader of a Nation

  • Sep 25, 2020

The Leader of a Nation

The Faith of an Outsider

  • Sep 23, 2020

The Faith of an Outsider

The Daughters of Zelophehad

  • Sep 21, 2020

The Daughters of Zelophehad

The Prophetess

  • Sep 18, 2020

The Prophetess

A River Rescue

  • Sep 16, 2020

A River Rescue

The Temptress

  • Sep 14, 2020

The Temptress

The Double Standard

  • Sep 11, 2020

The Double Standard

A Daughter Defiled

  • Sep 9, 2020

A Daughter Defiled

Stolen Statues

  • Sep 7, 2020

Stolen Statues

The Unloved Wife

  • Sep 4, 2020

The Unloved Wife

A Meddling Matriarch

  • Sep 2, 2020

A Meddling Matriarch

Beyond Redemption?

  • Aug 31, 2020

Beyond Redemption?

A Salty Warning

  • Aug 28, 2020

A Salty Warning

Oppressed Yet Blessed

  • Aug 26, 2020

Oppressed Yet Blessed

The Mother of a Nation

  • Aug 24, 2020

The Mother of a Nation

The God Who Sees

  • Aug 21, 2020

The God Who Sees

Beautiful but Barren

  • Aug 19, 2020

Beautiful but Barren

Past Messages
BTBAplatform+ShannonLenz
ShannonAug 19, 2020 4:43 pm GMT
Beautiful but Barren

Read Genesis 12:10-13

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

 

For context, read all of Genesis 12 and Genesis 20

 

I love it when my husband calls me beautiful. But I doubt that Sarai did. Why? Because twice, her husband, Abram, told her that she was beautiful and then threw her to the wolves.

 

Sarai was a woman during the age of the Old Testament patriarchs. During that time and in that culture, opportunities for women were limited. How much of a voice a woman had was likely determined by her family, especially by her husband. Women who were not married were vulnerable and often destitute.

 

Sarai was married but she was barren. Infertility was often interpreted by that society as a sign that a woman did not have God’s favor. Therefore, women who struggled with infertility were often humiliated and shamed.

 

Throughout Scripture, it appears that Sarai is submissive to her husband. Whenever her husband or father-in-law said it was time for the family to move, Sarai moved. It is not recorded in Scripture whether or not she ever voiced her opinion about moving, and it is doubtful that she would have had a choice in the matter regardless. Her submissiveness in this case ends up being a great blessing to her because her husband is obeying the Lord and following His commands in regards to His promise to make Abraham a great nation. A promise that would bless her as well.

 

However, even when Abram is not obeying or trusting the Lord, it appears that Sarai is also forced to submit. First, when they came to Egypt due to the famine, Abram was afraid that Pharaoh would kill him to get his hands on Sarai. So Abram convinced Sarai to tell a half lie and say that she is his sister, rather than his wife. In truth, she was his wife and his half-sister. This falsehood saved Abram, but left Sarai susceptible to Pharaoh’s devices and she was quickly added to Pharaoh's harem. It does not appear that Sarai had a choice whether or not she wanted to be a part of his harem. She is simply taken from Abram and given to Pharaoh. The sex trade is an ancient evil. If a powerful man saw a woman’s beauty, he could take her as his own.

 

For Abram, this arrangement worked well. He was alive and he was given gifts of livestock and servants from Pharaoh. He gained great wealth, but it was at the expense of his own wife’s honor.

 

Thankfully, the Lord is sovereign in every situation and this one is no exception. The Lord plagued Pharaoh’s household until he finally realized that he was being punished for taking another man’s wife as his own. He promptly returned Sarai to Abram and sent them on their way. But we do not know the full extent of Sarai’s exploitation during her stay in Pharaoh’s harem.

 

An all too similar situation is recorded in Genesis 20 with Abimelek. Once again, Abraham feared for his life and sacrificed his wife by lying about Sarai’s identity. And once again, the Lord steps into the situation to rescue her.

 

Men may abuse women and our own husbands may let us down. We are all human, living in a fallen world. But God is sovereign in every situation and yours is no exception. The WORD about women is that where men may fail us, God never will.

 

 Pray

Lord, I know that men are not perfect. They may let me down. But You are perfect and mighty to save. Thank You for Your faithfulness and protection. Amen.


We look forward to your comments and questions below!

If you want to share this Bible reading plan with friends and family, here is the link:
https://bttb.org/word-about-women
likeShare
  • Follow & Post
  • Login
S
Sue
a year ago
AMEN !
This is VERY comforting indeed.
❤👍
likeReply
  • 10,747