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But for this week, we'll look at Hagar. It's difficult to separate Hagar from Abraham and Sarah, but I want to leave them out as much as possible. I know that Genesis chapter 16 is before God changed their names, for this post (to make it easy on myself,) I'll be calling them Abraham and Sarah, unless I am directly quoting from a commentary.
Verses: Genesis chapter 16 and chapter 21
Background –
parents, husband, children, siblings
We don't know a lot about Hagar's background. She was an Egyptian, probably acquired during Abraham and Sarah's stay in Egypt. She was Sarah's maid and later became Abraham's second wife. She had one son, Ishmael.
What is she
most known for? Victories?
Defeats? How can I be
like her? How can I
avoid being like her?
Hagar was Sarah and Abraham's "solution." They got impatient waiting for the promised child so Sarah gave Hagar as a substitute. As soon as Hagar saw that she had conceived "her mistress was despised in her eyes." (Genesis 16:4) Hagar went from a maid to a wife to an expectant mother, and quickly forgot her place. In the Genesis Record, Dr. Morris points out that God's plan included only monogamous marriage. There are many instances of polygamous marriages in the Bible but not a single happy polygamous marriage.
Marrying outside God's plan is going to bring heartache. It also brings confusion to children. When one parent is committed to loving God and the other is not, children will choose one way. I realize that children raised by two godly parents may still go astray, but those with a parent who does not follow after the ways of God will have an "easy out" when it comes to following the way of man. To my single friends - don't get impatient with God's timing! Don't go outside His plan to find a mate.
Marrying outside God's plan is going to bring heartache. It also brings confusion to children. When one parent is committed to loving God and the other is not, children will choose one way. I realize that children raised by two godly parents may still go astray, but those with a parent who does not follow after the ways of God will have an "easy out" when it comes to following the way of man. To my single friends - don't get impatient with God's timing! Don't go outside His plan to find a mate.
Two
different times we find Hagar on her own. Once she is fleeing from her
mistress, the second time she is sent away. Both times an angel of the
Lord appears to her, telling her what will become of her child,
Ishmael. God knew where Hagar was, but I'm not sure that Hagar ever
embraced the God of Abraham.
Genesis 17:18 says, "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!" Some commentators said Abraham was praying that God would allow Ishmael to also be his heir. Ishmael was thirteen years old at this time, about a year before Isaac was born. I have to wonder if he was already showing signs of loving the Egyptian ways more than the ways of the God of Abraham. What was his mother teaching him? It appears that her influence was greater than Abraham's.
Genesis 17:18 says, "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!" Some commentators said Abraham was praying that God would allow Ishmael to also be his heir. Ishmael was thirteen years old at this time, about a year before Isaac was born. I have to wonder if he was already showing signs of loving the Egyptian ways more than the ways of the God of Abraham. What was his mother teaching him? It appears that her influence was greater than Abraham's.
Did she
reach a place when she needed to reset?
If so, did she? For good or evil?
When Hagar knew she conceived, she despised Sarah. From Matthew Henry's commentary, "Now she thinks herself a better woman than Sarai, more favored by Heaven, and likely to be better beloved by Abram; and therefore she will not submit as she has done. Mean and servile spirits, when favored and advanced either by God or man, are apt to grow haughty and insolent, and to forget their place and origin."
After Sarah dealt harshly with her, Hagar fled. The angel of the Lord found her, calling her Sarah's maid, not Abraham's wife. The angel told her to submit to Sarah. It might appear that Hagar returned to Sarah with a changed heart. The angel told her to return and submit under her hands. But I wonder, did she really? Hagar was still carrying a child, Sarah was still barren. Hagar knew that she was going to have Abraham's son. For more than thirteen years, Ishmael was Abraham's only son. Did she whisper in his ear, "YOU are the heir?" Was she filled with pride as her son grew strong while Sarah remained barren?
When we fast forward to chapter 21 we see a different situation. Isaac has been born and is now weaned. Sarah is filled with joy and laughter. Many believe Isaac was two or three years old at this time, making Ishmael 16 or 17. The celebration of Isaac's weaning finds Ishmael mocking. A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown says, "Ishmael was aware of the great change in his prospects, and under the impulse of irritated or resentful feelings, in which he was probably joined by his mother, treated the young heir with derision and probably some violence." That's a lot stronger than mocking! These are not the actions of a mother and child who are submissive to their mistress.
Obviously, Sarah had had enough. "Cast out this bondwoman and her son," seems harsh over a laughing teenager, but it was obviously much more than that. I think this behavior may have been going on a long time. Albert Barnes' commentary says, "It seems likely that Hagar and Ishmael had so behaved as to deserve their dismissal from the sacred home." God backs Sarah telling Abraham to hearken to her words. Abraham sent the two of them away. Matthew Henry's commentary put it this way, "If Hagar and Ishmael had conducted themselves well in Abraham's family, they might have continued there; but they threw themselves out by their own pride and insolence, which were thus justly chastised."
I feel that Hagar returned before Ishmael's birth and acted submissive, but I'm not convinced that she ever truly had a submissive heart and spirit. It is easy to submit when things are going our way. Wives, we are submissive when our husband give us the credit card and tell us to have a fun day shopping, but when it's time to reign in our spending is when our test of submission really comes. Saints submit until the pastor says "No" to their favorite past time. I think Hagar failed the submission test.
Tell me what you think about Hagar. Do you think she was treated unfairly or was she sent away with cause?
After Sarah dealt harshly with her, Hagar fled. The angel of the Lord found her, calling her Sarah's maid, not Abraham's wife. The angel told her to submit to Sarah. It might appear that Hagar returned to Sarah with a changed heart. The angel told her to return and submit under her hands. But I wonder, did she really? Hagar was still carrying a child, Sarah was still barren. Hagar knew that she was going to have Abraham's son. For more than thirteen years, Ishmael was Abraham's only son. Did she whisper in his ear, "YOU are the heir?" Was she filled with pride as her son grew strong while Sarah remained barren?
When we fast forward to chapter 21 we see a different situation. Isaac has been born and is now weaned. Sarah is filled with joy and laughter. Many believe Isaac was two or three years old at this time, making Ishmael 16 or 17. The celebration of Isaac's weaning finds Ishmael mocking. A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown says, "Ishmael was aware of the great change in his prospects, and under the impulse of irritated or resentful feelings, in which he was probably joined by his mother, treated the young heir with derision and probably some violence." That's a lot stronger than mocking! These are not the actions of a mother and child who are submissive to their mistress.
Obviously, Sarah had had enough. "Cast out this bondwoman and her son," seems harsh over a laughing teenager, but it was obviously much more than that. I think this behavior may have been going on a long time. Albert Barnes' commentary says, "It seems likely that Hagar and Ishmael had so behaved as to deserve their dismissal from the sacred home." God backs Sarah telling Abraham to hearken to her words. Abraham sent the two of them away. Matthew Henry's commentary put it this way, "If Hagar and Ishmael had conducted themselves well in Abraham's family, they might have continued there; but they threw themselves out by their own pride and insolence, which were thus justly chastised."
I feel that Hagar returned before Ishmael's birth and acted submissive, but I'm not convinced that she ever truly had a submissive heart and spirit. It is easy to submit when things are going our way. Wives, we are submissive when our husband give us the credit card and tell us to have a fun day shopping, but when it's time to reign in our spending is when our test of submission really comes. Saints submit until the pastor says "No" to their favorite past time. I think Hagar failed the submission test.
Tell me what you think about Hagar. Do you think she was treated unfairly or was she sent away with cause?
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