Sarah and Hagar

Genesis 16 and 21:9-21

How many time have we thought we needed to “do something” because it seemed that God was not doing anything?

Imagine yourself in Sarai’s situation, her husband has been promised a great blessing from God, but there you are, no children and you are not getting any younger.  So you do what other wives in your position in that day did, told your husband he could have a child with your handmaid.  This was common practice, and the child would have been raised as Abram’s heir.  But things did not turn out exactly as Sarai thought they would.  Hagar became prideful that she was able to conceive when her mistress could not.  So Sarai takes the issue to her husband, who tells her to “do to her what is good in your sight.” v6.  So Sarai treats her harshly to the point that Hagar runs away.

God then sends an angel to Hagar to bring her comfort and send her back to Sarai and Abram.  At this point, only Abram had been visit by the Lord personally with the promise of descendants.  It is interesting that He showed mercy to Hagar, an Egyptian, and appeared to her, when as yet He had not appeared or spoken to Sarai.  Hagar has learned her lesson and returns and submits herself to Sarai.  We do see in this chapter that she bears a son for Abram, but we are not told any more of Sarai’s treatment of Hagar for 15 years.

In chapter 17 God confirms with Abram and Sarai that she will be the mother of the promise seed, and their names are changed to Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarah.  Though Abraham seeks a blessing for Ishmael (vs.18) God confirms that the covenant will be with Isaac, Sarah’s future son.  When Isaac is born we see further conflict between Sarah and her maid, Hagar.  In Chapter 21 Sarah asks Abraham to send them away (v.10).  We see that Abraham must have felt deeply for Ishmael, because this idea causes him distress (v. 11), but God assures him to listen to his wife and do as she says, but Ishmael will be blessed because he is Abraham’s descendant as well (vs. 12, 13).  When Hagar and Ishmael are driven away, they do face a severe trial, to the point that Hagar thinks they will die, but again God shows His mercy and care for her and her son (v. 19) and they do survive and prosper.

I see many different lessons to be learned from these two women that can be applicable today:

1.  Sarah showed a lack of faith and patience when she stepped in to “solve” her problem.  How often do we do the same thing?  Have we learned to “wait upon the Lord?”  Or do we take matters into our own hands when it appears that He is not acting?  Patience does not come easily for me, I remember as a young Christian in my teens praying for patience.  Now, over 40 years later, I still have moments of weakness and impatience when God calls for me to wait.  Even now, as I have been without work since December, I am learning to seek that peace that passes understanding as I wait for God to show me what He has planned.  But I have been comforted as Hagar was in the wilderness that God is there and He does care and has provided for my family’s needs.

2.  Hagar was a slave in a difficult situation, but she did not show humility and grace.  Instead of being humble before her mistress, she showed pride and had to be sent away.  It may be difficult for us to place ourselves in Hagar’s position today because the idea of letting a husband conceive a child with another woman seems adulterous to us.  But remember God did show mercy on Hagar and her child.  She was told to return to her position as a slave and submit to her mistress so we can but assume that she did this.  Learning that humility before another is another trait we as Christians need to seek.

3.  We do not base our decisions and actions on what is a cultural norm.  Though it was acceptable to have a child and possibly many children in this manner it did not make it right.  Though God did protect Hagar and her child, and even blessed them, this was not His perfect will for Abraham and Sarah.  History shows that Ishmael’s descendents  would become enemies of the covenant people of God, and even today those descendents are at odds with the church of Jesus Christ.

4.  When we seek to solve issues outside of the Word of God, we end up making a mess that can cause future consequences for us and others.  The Bible is the source of God’s will and we need to be seeking to immerse ourselves in His Word to know that will thoroughly.  Do you spend time studying the Word of God, or do you just do a quick read and then go about your day?  We must spend time in the word, studying and meditating upon it to be led in the Truth of God’s will.

May you learn to wait upon the Lord in all that you do, may He give you patience and humility to see His mercy and care for you, and may you spend time meditating upon the word of God that you might know His will for your life as well.

God go with you this week and may His spirit rest upon you in all your endeavors.

This entry was posted on 7. September 2011 at 20:41 and is filed under Sarah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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