Genesis 16: The Birth of Ishmael

Sarah, Abram's wife, had no children. So Sarah took her servant, an Egyptian woman named Hagar, and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. "The Lord has kept me from having any children," Sarah said to Abram. "Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her." And Abram agreed. So Sarah took Hagar and gave her to Abram as a wife. (Ten years after Abram arrived in Canaan.)
So Abram slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarah with contempt (disgust, scorn). Then Sarah said to Abram, "It's all your fault! Now this servant of mine is pregnant, and she dispises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of sleeping with you. The Lord will make you pay for doing this to me!"

Let's recap...

Sarah gave Hagar to Abram as a substitute wife, a common practice of that time. A married woman who could not have children was shamed by her peers and was often required to give a female servant woman to her husband in order to produce heirs. The children born to the servant woman were considered children of the wife. Abram was acting in line with the custom of the day, but his action showed a lack of faith that God would fulfill his promise.
Sarah took matters into her own hands by giving Hagar to Abram. Like Abram she had trouble believing God's promise that was apparently directed specifically toward Abram and Sarah. Out of this lack of faith came a series of problems. This invariably happens when we take over for God, trying to make this promise come true through efforts that are not in line with his specific directions. In this case, time was the greatest test of Abram and Sarah's willingness to let God work in their lives. Sometimes we too must simply wait.  When we ask God for something and have to wait, it is a temptation to take matters into our own hands and interfere with God's plans.
Although Sarah arranged for Hagar to have a child by Abram, she later blamed Abram for the results. It is often easier to strike out in frustration and accuse someone else than to admit an error and ask forgiveness. (Adam and Eve did the same thing in chapter 3:12-13)

Let's continue...

So Sarah blames Abram for the results and Abram replied, "Since she is your servant, you may deal with her as you see fit." So Sarah treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a desert spring along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarah's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I am running away from my mistress," she replied.
Then the angel of the Lord said, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority. I will give you more descendants than you can count." The angel also said, "You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard about your misery. This son of yours will be a wild one, free and untamed as a wild donkey! He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live at odds with the rest of his brothers."
Thereafter, Hagar referred to the Lord, who had spoken to her, as "the God who sees me," for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me!" Later that well was named Beer-Iahairoi, and it can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old at that time.

Let's recap this chapter...

Hagar was running away from her mistress and her problem. The angel of the Lord gave her this advice: (1) to return and face Sarah, the cause of her problem, and (2) to submit to her. Hagar needed to work on her attitude toward Sarah, no matter how justified it may have been. Running away from our problems rarely solves them. It is wise to return to our problems, face them squarely, accept God's promise of help, correct our attitudes, and act as we should.

We have watched three people make serious mistakes: (1) Sarah, who took matters into her own hands and gave her servant to Abram; (2) Abram, who went along with the plan but, when circumstances began to go wrong, refused to help solve the problem; and (3) Hagar, who ran away from the problem.

In spite a messy situation, God demonstrated his ability to work in all things for good (Romans 8:28). Sarah and Abram still received the son they so desperately wanted, and God solved Hagar's problem despite Abram's refusal to get involved. No problem is too complicated for God if you are willing to let him help you.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Genesis 13-14: Abram and Lot

Genesis 17: Abram is Named Abraham (NLT)

Genesis 10: The Descendants of Japheth, Ham, and Shem