Verse 1. "Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no
children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar."
We first saw this "Egyptian maid" in Genesis Chapter 12.
Her name, "Hagar," was not revealed at that time, except that "female servants"
were among the gifts from Pharaoh as a dowry in exchange for
Abram's wife, Sarai. This "Hagar" was one of those female servants.
Reading Chapter 12, we can note that Abram did not appear to pray about it
before they went to Egypt, and these "servants" came as the result of a lie
Abram told in order to protect himself.
These verses will reveal some of the possible ramifications of 1) forgetting to
pray, and 2) living a lie. There are RESULTS that come from our bad
decisions, and this "Hagar" would become a real problem for Abram and Sarai.
When we act in the wrong manner, it's like planting a seed of destruction into the ground.
When something in life grows from what we have done, we should not be surprised
when it happens. When we cause something, it will have an effect.
Verse 2. "So Sarai said to Abram, "Now behold, the Lord
has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I
will obtain children through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai."
A course of events now began that stemmed from Sarai, Abram's
wife, and their inability to bear children. Abram wanted to have a son and
she did, too, so much so that their ability to make good decisions was clouded by
an emotional need. To have a son today can be important, but life is
different now than it was then. To die childless was not only to pass from
this world, but it was also to be faced with the reality that everything you had
accomplished in life would end as well.
It would all pass to someone else. Also, Sarai was faced
with the concern, "What if my husband, Abram, dies? Who will care for me?
What will happen to me? Abram's servant is to receive everything.
Will I have to marry him?" With that panic, with those kind of thoughts in
mind, Sarai desperately told her husband to take her Egyptian serving-maid,
Hagar, as his second wife. And once again we find that Abram did not pray
about her suggestion, but instead "listened to the voice of Sarai."
Verse 3. "After Abram had lived ten years in the land
of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to
her husband Abram as his wife."
It had now been many years since the family had left the land
called Ur of the Chaldeans as we saw at the end of Genesis Chapter 11.
Subsequently they settled in Haran, far to the north and somewhat west of Ur.
After remaining there for some years, we saw in the beginning of Chapter 12 that
they embarked for the land of Canaan to the west. They now "had lived ten
years in the land of Canaan."
What we are seeing in these verses was actually a common
practice for wealthy, childless couples of that time. They had to have a
son in order to pass their considerable estate on to the next generation, and
they didn't have a son. So they improvised. "Sarai took Hagar the
Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as his wife."
Apparently no prayers were lifted up to God in relation to this decision, and
you have to wonder, what would the world be like if everyone prayed before they
acted. Life would be very different.
Verse 4. "He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and
when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight."
Abram didn't seem to hesitate in any way, but simply "went in
to Hagar" in her tent and laid with her, taking her as his second wife.
Not only are Abram's and Sarai's choices interesting in all of this, but God's
choices are interesting as well. As Sarai viewed it in Verse 2, "the Lord
has prevented me from bearing children." She was probably correct - When
David observed, in Psalm 139:14, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made," he was
uttering a truth about us all. The fact that you and I exist is because
God has "made" us.
God allowed Sarai to be the way she was.
When God called Jeremiah to ministry, He said, "Before I
formed you in the womb I knew you..." (Jeremiah 1:5). God
indeed allowed Sarai's
womb to be barren, and He also allowed Hagar to immediately conceive. And
the result of all this is interesting. The Egyptian servant "despised" her
mistress, Sarai. She was contemptuous of the older woman who was not only
Abram's wife, but she was also his half-sister. Hagar was proud of her
accomplishment in becoming pregnant and sneered at anyone who did not do as well.
Verse 5. "And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong
done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had
conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and
me.'"
And of course, as people do, Sarai blamed
her husband, Abram, for the problem. She saw only that she
was injured, concluding her argument with words that were
likely loud enough to be heard outside their tent: "May the
Lord judge between you and me!" It has to be noted that Sarai had a point in placing the blame on Abram. He was the
one who took them to Egypt without first praying and lied,
telling the half-truth that Sarai was his sister, not his
wife (Genesis 12:10 & forward). The Lord does indeed "judge"
us all and often the judgment consists of giving us what we
have wanted.
Father, we confess that all too often we
have not prayed, but have simply acted out of logic and out
of fear. We confess our sin and pray that You will help us
to pray, believing that You care and that YOU will ANSWER
our need. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible
Study - Genesis 16:6-10
Verse 6. "But Abram said to Sarai,
'Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good
in your sight.' So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled
from her presence."
Abram was not only a man who was a model
of faith in the Lord, but he was also flawed like the rest
of us. Here again we see his tendency to act before he
prayed. We see in Verse 2 that he "listened to the voice of Sarai" and in Verse 4 that he "went in to Hagar." In other
words, he had sexual intercourse with Sarai's serving maid,
Hagar, because his wife suggested it. He did this without
any mention of prayer. It seemed like a logical solution to
their problem of not being able to have a child. He liked it
and did it.
And now here in Verse 6, we find Abram
once again submitting to the wishes of his wife and in
response to her complaint he said, "your maid is in your
power; do to her what is good in your sight." Abram was the
absolute ruler of a group, an encampment that numbered in
the hundreds of people, and yet his wife obviously ruled
him. Here again, he apparently did not pray. He obeyed his
wife, Sarai, who then "treated
(Hagar) harshly" and the
young girl "fled from (Sarai's)
presence."
Verse 7. "Now the angel of the Lord found her by a
spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur."
As you read this verse and the ones that follow, note that
Hagar, the young girl who had run away from the encampment because she was being
badly treated by Abram's wife, Sarai, was to become the mother of Ishmael.
Her son would be the progenitor of the Arab people and nations, out of which
would come Islam, the Muslim religion. God knows all things thousands of
years before they occur, and this young lady is about to be rescued by the
Lord. The sons of Abram would be rivals, but she needed God and He responded to
her need.
She seems to have had a simple faith in the Lord, who sent
"the angel of the Lord" to help her. As people, we tend to judge others
from an incomplete perspective and reject them if they are not precisely what we
want or expect. This was an Egyptian girl who was forced to become the second, junior
wife of a man who seems to have come from the area of what was to be part of the Persian
Empire. God helps His little ones and we are urged by God to help those who are in need (James
1:27). Just as He tells us to do for others, He
Himself does.
Verse 8. "He said, 'Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have
you come from and where are you going?' And she said, 'I am fleeing from the
presence of my mistress Sarai.'"
Some have insisted that the "angel of the Lord" in these
verses is actually Jesus, the Son of God, visiting earth in what is called a "Theophany"
- an appearing to a person or persons before His subsequent birth into humanity. And it may
be so - this "angel"
may indeed have been the Lord. We really do not know for sure, but it is very true
that, at the least, this angelic being was sent BY the Lord, with the message OF
God, to "Hagar, Sarai's maid."
And note the interesting way our Lord communicates with us.
From Adam to now, the Lord or His messenger has tended to ask questions to which
He already knows the answer. When the Lord God spoke to Adam in the Garden
of Eden, He called out, "Where are you?" even though
He knew precisely where the man was (Genesis 3:9). Hagar was asked, "Where
have you come from and where are you going?" The angel, this
messenger from God, already knew the answers to both of those questions: She was running
away from Sarai and she did not know where she was going. Our Lord has
questions for every one of us, and it is interesting that He already knows
everything about you and me.
Verse 9. "Then the angel of the Lord said to her,
'Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.'"
At such a moment, most of us would tend to resist the command
of this "angel." It was more than a suggestion, however, it was a
command that came to her right from the throne of God. This Egyptian
servant-woman, Hagar, who had actually become the second wife of Abram (later to
be known as Abraham), was to become the mother of Ishmael, the progenitor of the
bulk of the Muslim nations that surround Israel today. She and they were to perform an
important role in the history of mankind.
In order for historical events through the centuries to
proceed in a manner that would conform to the intentions of God, Hagar must "Return to
(her) mistress (Sarai)
and submit (herself)" to the authority of a woman who had
mistreated her. Hagar was essentially an Egyptian slave in Abram's
household and most in the modern world would probably encourage her to keep on
running. But God's "thoughts" and His "ways" are infinitely "higher" than ours
(Isaiah 55:9).
She was to go back to her "mistress."
Verse 10. "Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to
her, 'I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many
to count.'"
The "her" of this verse was "Hagar," the servant-girl of Sarai,
wife of Abram. She had become pregnant and essentially was the
concubine, the second wife of Abram, who was the father of her child.
Hagar had run away because she was being badly treated and had subsequently been
confronted by the "angel of the Lord" mentioned in this verse. She had
been afraid for herself and for her child. The "angel" was now
counseling and reassuring
this frightened and angry young girl. She and her son would live.
How many Arabs are there in the world today? Most of
them look back to Ishmael, the son of Abram and Hagar, as their
direct ancestor. They also descended from Shem, son of Noah, as did the
Jews, and they came from Adam and Eve like everybody else. The Arab
nations and other mostly Muslim groups surround Israel today, and for the most
part, they don't like the Jews. Israel, descended through Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, is presented in the Bible as God's chosen nation. Considering all that, why were Hagar's
descendants allowed to become "too many to count?"
Because He loves the Arabs just like everybody else. The Lord died for
all, not just for a few.
Lord, we know You love every one of us, no matter what
labels we may wear. Thank You that You look out for servant girls and
everybody else in this troubled world. Help us to pray before we act and
to look to You in our need. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Verse 11. "The angel of the Lord said to her further,
'Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his
name Ishmael, because the Lord has given heed to your affliction.'"
It's interesting that the Lord can look right inside of us and
see - everything. This verse, of course, was thousands of years before sonograms
or anything like x-rays, but the Lord could see right into Hagar's body and
mind, just like He can see into you and me. Not only did He know she was pregnant,
but He also knew her child would be a boy. He knew the child would be born
alive and as we will see in the next verse, God knew everything about her
child's life
and his descendents before he was born.
The child's name was to be "Ishmael," which means, "God hears."
The Lord does indeed hear the "affliction" and the need of every one who has
ever lived. He knows your need and He loves you. He allowed Ishmael
to be alive and to prosper, even though his descendents would be in conflict
with God's chosen people. He had a PURPOSE for Ishmael (or more
accurately, purposes) and there is a purpose for you.
Verse 12. "He will be a wild donkey of a man, his
hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; and he
will live to the east of all his brothers."
Ishmael was to be someone considered to be a man's man;
a person strong physically and strong in spirit. He would win the respect
of other men. They would allow him to be first in battle and they would
attempt to be like him. But others did not get too close to him, for he
would be like a "wild donkey" in his nature.
He was to essentially be "against everyone;"
even those who tried to be his friends.
He was to become one of the famous outlaws of history, like
the Ronin of Japan and Jesse James of the American West. He went "to the
east of all his brothers" because he brought trouble to those he lived near.
This included his half-brother who was not yet born - Isaac - who would be essentially a
complete opposite in personality to Ishmael.
Verse 13. "Then she called the name of the Lord who
spoke to her, 'You are a God who sees;' for she said, 'Have I even remained
alive here after seeing Him?'"
Hagar was attempting to define the nature of the being who had
spoken to her, referring to him as "Yahweh," which also has been
translated as "Jehovah" or "Lord."
She additionally called Him, "El Roi," which can mean, the "God who sees," as it is in
this verse. More accurately the words are, "the God of my vision."
An absolutely literal translation is, "the God of seeing."
It is not clear precisely who the being of her vision was.
Moses, the writer of Genesis, called him the "angel of the Lord" in Verses 9-11,
but Hagar seemed to have felt that this being was the Lord Himself. Certainly he was at the very
least a messenger sent by the Lord with words that came from God. He was
very impressive to this girl, to the extent that she was amazed to have
"remained alive" after having seen him.
Verse 14. "Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;
behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered."
This "well" was the "spring of water" mentioned in Verse 7
that had sustained Hagar and kept her alive. She gave a name to it: "Beer-lahai-roi,"
the "well of Him, the Living One that lives and sees me." It is important
to realize that, as to every one of us, that God does indeed LIVE and He sees us
all. She (Hagar) no doubt told EVERYONE what had happened when she
returned to the encampment of Abram and Sarai, and they were so impressed with
what had happened that the name of the well was kept because it was so
appropriate.
The well was between "Kadesh" which translates as "Holy," and
"Bered," which means, "Hail." Abram was to have a second son, this time by
his wife, Sarai, who would be named Isaac. This younger son would later
dwell near the oasis containing this well. It would be there that Rebekah,
Isaac's bride was brought to him, and it was near there that Isaac and Rebekah's two sons, Esau and
Jacob, would be born (Genesis 24:61-67).
Verse 15. "So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called
the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael."
"Hagar," the Egyptian maid servant of Sarai, Abram's wife, had
become the concubine, essentially the second wife of Abram. We have seen
in this chapter that she became pregnant at the instigation of Sarai, her
mistress, who had been impatient and no longer wished to wait for a child to
be born to her. As we have seen, an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar,
who despaired of life at the moment and told her that she would live and bear a
son.
The angel told her that her son was to be named "Ishmael," which means
"God hears." It is not reported in Scripture that Abram and Sarai prayed
about their decision to have a child through Hagar, and it is interesting that
God protected both the mother, Hagar, and the child, "Ishmael."
Months passed and the child, Abram's son, had been born. Abram conformed to God's revealed will and "called the name of his son,
whom Hagar bore, Ishmael."
Verse 16. "Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar
bore Ishmael to him."
Abram was now "eighty-six years old."
In Genesis 11:26, it says about Abram's father, "Terah,"
that he "lived 70-years and begot Abram, Nahor and Haran."
In Genesis 11:32 we find that "the days of Terah were 205
years and Terah died in Haran." In the first verses of Genesis 12,
we see the Lord's command to Abram to leave the city of Haran. In Genesis
12:4, we are told that "Abram was 75-years old when he
departed from Haran." In Acts 7:4, we find that Abram left Haran "when
his father was dead." The "math" of these verses won't work unless
we examine a few ground rules about Scripture and how it reveals the genealogy
of families and nations.
For one thing, you could conclude that "Abram,
Nahor and Haran" were triplets, born at the same time, because of the way
Genesis 11:26 lists them. Also, it could be assumed that the birth order
of the three was the same as listed. Neither assumption is necessarily
true. People lived twice as long as they do now, and there could have been
decades between their ages. Other children, not listed because they are
not pertinent to the narrative in Genesis, were likely born between them.
Also, the order of children in a family is sometimes not by age. "Abram"
was listed first because his was the significant name in relation to Israel and
to the church. Indeed he was the most important in the genealogy, but he
may have been much younger than the others. The math works because of God.
He was there - we weren't. Therefore, "Abram was
eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him."
Father, thank You that You loved Hagar and cared for her.
Thank You for showing Your love and protection in relation to Ishmael.
Your eternal plan was centered in the child who would later be born, Isaac, but
Your love of Hagar and Ishmael reveals that You love us all. Thank You for
Scripture, which reveals history and Your love. In Jesus Name. Amen.
