Sarai Had No Child
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
8/12 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 2; Romans 2; Jeremiah 40; Psalms 15-16
Genesis 11:29-30
And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
BARREN
Haran had died, but he was old enough not only to have a son, Lot (Gen 11:27), but he also had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah. So, Haran’s brother Nahor, married his niece, Milcah, Haran’s daughter. Abram married his half-sister, Sarai (Gen 20:12). Sarai’s father was Terah, the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. So, Terah had a least two wives, possibly more. Some commentators, quoting Targum Jonathan or the French rabbi, Shlomo Yitzhaki (1040-1105 AD), aka Rashi or Jarchi, they suggest that Sarai was Iscah, the daughter of Haran; but when Abram married her, he changed her name. This conjecture is possible, but not probable. There’s no evidence in Scripture as such, and if this was a common practice for that day, why wasn’t Milcah’s name changed when she married Nahor?
The prohibition for marrying close relatives would not be codified until the Law of God was given to Moses; being forbidden of sisters (Lev 18:9; 20:17; Deut 27:22) or nieces (Lev 18:12-14). At this point, only the Noahic Covenant is applicable (Gen 9:1-17).
Finally, and most importantly, Sarai is mentioned as being barren. While the lineage of Messiah has already been traced to this point, and the promise of Messiah would come from a virgin birth (Gen 3:15), the sovereign providence of God is highlighted already in the barren womb of Sarai. Therefore, God was withholding the fruit of Sarai’s womb until the perfect time.
The covenant promises are based upon “seed” (KJV) or “offspring” (ESV), which is a crucial component of the gospel because the covenants find their fulfillment in, by, and through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us through the apostle,
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16, KJV
Hallelujah! What a Savior!