Like most women of her time, I’m sure Sarai expected to live and die in her native land, raising a quiverfull of children, but God had other plans.
Sarai married her half-brother Abram, but the children didn’t come. Sarai was barren. Then, one day Terah, her father-in-law, decided to leave the land of Ur and head to the land of Canaan. He took with him Abram, Sarai, and Lot, but instead of going all the way to Canaan, they stopped in Haran and dwelt there.
Sarai left her homeland,settled in at Haran, and waited for the children to come, but she remained barren.
After Terah’s death in Haran, God spoke to Abram, telling him to leave the country and go “to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) God promised Abram that he would make him a great nation. Abram, Sarai and Lot left Haran and followed God towards Canaan.
Again, Sarai had to leave behind family and friends and begin anew in an unfamiliar land. Surely, though, God’s promise of making Abram into a great nation had to encourage her. It was only a matter of time before her infertility would give way to motherhood.
They arrived at the terebinth tree of Moreh in Canaan, and God said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”(v. 7) Abram built an altar to God and worshiped him before moving to the mountain east of Bethel, pitching his tent there, and building another altar.
We can have all the plans in the world, but sometimes God uproots us and places us in unexpected places. We pray and wait for our promises, but God seems not to hear our prayers. Nevertheless, we must follow wherever leads us, trust his wisdom, and praise him wherever we ar
Sarai Leaving Ur in the Bible: Genesis 11:27-32, 12:1-9
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