Of her birth and parentage we have no certain account in Scripture. In Gen. xx, 12, Abraham speaks of her as “his sister, the daughter of the same father, but not the daughter of the same mother.” The Hebrew tradition is that Sarai is the same as Iscah, the daughter of Haran. This tradition is not improbable in itself, and certainly supplies the account of the descent of the mother of the chosen race. The change of her name from Sarai to Sarah was made on the establishment of the covenant of circumcision between Abraham and God, and signifies “princess,” for she was to be the royal ancestress of “all families of the earth.” The beautiful fidelity of this noble woman is shown in her willingness to accompany her husband in all the wanderings of his life. Her home in Mesopotamia was gladly and willingly exchanged for a tent, and that tent was often taken down and set up during the nomadic life which formed the basis of the patriarchal age. God intended to set forth in Abraham not only the thought that here man has no continuing city, but also the life of faith. And this faith of Abraham is distinguished from the faith of the pious ancestors in this, that he obtained and held the promises of salvation, not only for himself, but for his family; and from the Mosaic system, by the fact that it expressly held the promised blessing in the seed of Abraham, as a blessing for all people. But this faith had not only to be developed, but also tested. It is beautiful to read that Abraham believed God, but his faith when he went down into Egypt was far from that when he went “into the land of Moriah” to offer up Isaac. Nothing is plainer in the Bible than that a man’s faith is not a matter of indifference. He can not be disobedient to God’s calls, and yet go to heaven when he dies. This is not an arbitrary decision. There is and must be an adequate ground for it. The rejection of God’s dealings with us is as clear a proof of moral depravity, as inability to see the light of the sun at noon is a proof of blindness. Now let us look at a few of these testings or trials of faith that came into the life of this woman in White Raiment, this princess in Israel. She was asked to give up her native land. How dear the fatherland is to the heart, only those who have passed through the experience can realize. This was not all. She was asked to give up her kindred. To move away from all the associations of childhood and youth, requires a brave heart. But she was also asked to give up her home, and what is dearer to a woman’s heart than her home? We have no doubt Sarah’s home by the beautiful streams that flow down from the high table-lands of Armenia into the rich valleys of Mesopotamia, was a lovely one, and to exchange it for tent-life was a brave sacrifice. Her love to God must have been deep and constant.