In Genesis 16, Abram once again shows that though he is the father of faith, he still makes mistakes and has doubts.
We are introduced, for the first time to a person who has no stature in the world’s terms. She is a woman. She is a handmaid (servant). And yet she is the clear object of God’s love and provision. This woman was an Egyptian and is likely that she came into Abram’s home when he ‘went down to Egypt’. We are told that Abram acquired servants there (Genesis 12:16).
Even though Abram did not wait on God to provide during the famine and went to Egypt, God was with Abram and protected Sarai and him. Because Pharaoh thought Sarai was Abram’s sister, he took her into his house for preparation to become a wife. Pharaoh therefore gave Abram gifts which included servants. This led to far-reaching consequences, one of which was Hagar! Did you notice that God is strangely absent from the first six verses? Just like He was absent from the verses that describe the Egypt encounter. God was not consulted nor did Abram and Sarai seek His will. No one had called to remembrance His promise to provide a son. Just as they did not ask God to provide in the middle of a famine. Abram and Sarai defined for themselves what seemed right in their own eyes. Sound familiar…the Garden of Eden?
Abram and Sarai try to help the Lord fulfill His promise of a son (vs. 1-4), rather than resting in the sovereignty of Him who promised to provide. It had been 10 years since the promise. In verse two, Sarai said, “The Lord has restrained me from having children.” She was blaming God. Who is behind this mindset? Satan. At every turn, Satan tried to destroy the path that led to the birth of the Messiah. The custom of the day was not in harmony with the law of God. There was never to be another party to the marriage, God said the man and woman would become ‘one flesh’. Sarai, by following a custom of their day, wanted to produce an ‘heir’ through Hagar which would mean that the ‘heir‘ would belong to Sarai since Hagar was her servant. A lesson to learn, we should not try to solve the problems of life by using human solutions but instead wait for the divine solutions. Satan, as the god of this world, is a liar and deceiver and promotes human viewpoint as the solution to our problems in life.
Just as Adam harkened the voice of Eve, Abram gave way to Sarai’s of bearing them a son through Hagar. After Hagar conceived, she despised Sarai. Possibly she considered herself to be in a privileged position (carrying Abram’s child) and resented submitting to Sarai. The strife begins.
Abram and Sarai trusted in their own works, rather than the provision of promise from God. This is a repeated theme throughout the Bible, but God is good. Even in our failures, He is with us. The only time He is no longer with us is when we complete abandon Him. Unfortunately, the decision of Abram and Sarai had not only lasting consequences for their immediate family, but the world at large as we will see as we continue in the story.
Wounded by Hagar’s attitude, Sarai complains to Abram. Her speech suggests she held him responsible for what had happened. She blames Abram. In reality, Abram should have stepped up as a spiritual leader and said ‘no’ to this idea. This sounds familiar…Adam…Garden of Eden. No less, Sarai had a part in all this as well. Sarai then boldly states “the Lord judge between me and thee”. Sarai invokes the Lord’s name in her plea to Abram. She calls on God to be the ultimate judge in this matter.
Abram tells Sarai basically that Hagar is her maid, deal with Hagar as you see fit. Sarai was harsh towards Hagar, and Hagar fled. The situation is going from bad to worse.
The first recorded appearance of “the angel of the LORD” was to Hagar, Abraham’s mistress, and the mother of his son Ishmael. This Being engaged Hagar into a conversation, and was instructed to return to Sarai. Hagar was told that He Himself would multiply the descendants of her child exceedingly, that she would have a son and to call his name Ishmael; for the LORD has heard her affliction. He goes on to tell her that her son will be a ‘wild man’, he will revel against every man, every man will revel against him, and he would dwell in the presence of his brethren. It is interesting that ‘the angel of the LORD’ first appeared to a single mother-to-be who had a pride problem and was mistreated by the woman who suggested she be a surrogate mother.
After the appearance of the ‘angel of the LORD’ Hagar gave Him a name, “You are the God who sees me” for she said; “I have now seen the One who sees me” (v. 13, Beerlahairoi). This was none other than the Son of God. See: https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_26.cfm
Hagar gave birth to a son, and Abram called him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.
Facts:
- Ishamael was not accepted by God as the ‘heir’ for he was not the promised ‘seed’. Genesis 17:15-21; Galatians 4:22-23m 30; Romans 14:23 (last part).
- Hagar was promised that Ishmael would have many descendants, he had 12 princes (Genesis 17:20).
- Ishmael was the ‘son of bondage’, spiritually representing people who are under the control of another power. Genesis 16:4-6; Galatians 4:22-23; John 8:31-36; Romans 9:6-8.
- The ‘bondwoman’ which is Hagar and the ‘freewoman’ which is Sarai is used an allegory by Paul (Galatians 2:21, 3:11-12).
- Isaac is called the ‘son of promise’. Genesis 15:2-3, 17:15-16, 18:9-14, compare to Galatians 4:22-23, 27-28.
Commentary – By: Kathlyn Mayer, Tory, NY
It’s easy for us, the readers, to inwardly chastise Sarai and Abram for being impatient. After all, we know that in five chapters Isaac will be born and then the couple gets their long-awaited happy ending. However, when it comes to our own lives, we often struggle with the same basic challenge of the Christian walk—waiting.
Waiting to see God’s promises come to fruition can feel like one of the hardest periods in our life. From our viewpoint the wait appears long, and we justify fulfilling the promise in our own way. We think maybe God wants us to do something to make things happen. When we don’t trust God’s timing, we hurt ourselves and we inevitably also affect the lives of those around us. Yet we serve a God who doesn’t abandon us to our hasty choices.
God didn’t sugarcoat to Hagar what Ishmael’s future relationships were going to become as a result of his parents’ decisions and his own. At the same time God chose to bless the child, as Abram’s son, with many descendants. God hears our cries of misery, whether they are of our own or others’ making. He doesn’t turn a deaf ear.
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2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” AND 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”