Read: Genesis 16 NLT – The Birth of Ishmael – Now Sarai, – Bible Gateway
“So Sarai said to Abram, “The LORD has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife.” Genesis 16:2-3 NLT
Abram had received a promise from God sealed with a covenant that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. The Lord said a son would be born to him and his wife Sarai in their old age. God also promised Abram that the land where he stood would be his descendants possession. Abram was called to leave his home country for this purpose. The Lord had watch over, protected and led Abram and Sarai since they first journeyed out from Ur and He was not about to leave them on their own now. Abram’s and Sarai’s timetable was causing them to become impatient, but God works on His schedule. Running ahead of God and taking matters into our own hands is never a good idea and Abram and Sarai will soon find that out.
Ten years after God’s call to Abram, Sarai still had not borne a child. We are not sure who was more impatient, Abram or Saria, but perhaps it was Sarai. The Bible says Sarai suggested to her husband to take her servant, Hagar, as a wife or concubine and she could have a child through her. Hagar, an Egyptian, was one of the servants Pharoah gave to Abram when he was told to leave Egypt. Hagar had become Sarai’s personal servant. Another custom in those ancient days, as we saw last week where Abram asked God if his servant Eliezer could be his heir, was a custom that a female servant in the home could a bear child for a couple. Even though this was the custom of the day, it was not God’s design and certainly not for Abram and Sarai.
Abram should have recalled that God said no to his request for his servant to be his heir. There was nothing wrong with Abram asking about Eliezer, but this action he was about to take with Sarai’s servant was definitely wrong. We do not read where Abram and Sarai asked God about this. The Lord would have said no to this request as well. Sometimes in our own lives we do not ask God because we know the answer is no. So, we just move ahead and Abram did just that. Scripture says, “So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.” (Gen.16:3-4 nlt)
Immediately after Hagar became pregnant things started to fall apart. No doubt Abram sinned by taking Hagar as a wife and having relations with her. He also sinned by running ahead of God and not having faith in the covenant promise God gave him. This great man of faith had failed, and it will now have mass consequences for thousands of years. The first harsh reality was the broken relationship between Sarai and Hagar. Hagar began to despise her mistress. Sentiments of contempt by looking down on Sarai for not being able to become pregnant had become visible, causing problems in the home. Sarai turns to Abram and blames him for the crisis. “Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she is pregnant she treats me with contempt. The LORD will show who’s wrong—you or me!’” (Gen.16:5 nlt)
Although Sarai is not innocent in all this, she does have a point. Abram being the spiritual head of the family and God’s servant should have refused his wife’s solution to her barrenness. Abram knew of God’s faithfulness and His ability to do what He had promised but gave into his wife’s wishes from his own impatience. Sarai wanted her husband to fix the problem. But Abram added to the problem by granting Sarai the freedom to oversee it herself by saying, ‘“Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.’ Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.” (Gen.16:6 nlt)
It is thought that Hagar was reduced back to her servant status or lower. Her harsh treatment she received could have been extremely hard, heavy burdened continual tasks. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary notes, “Passionate jealousy and bitterness set the two women against each other. And Abram was not much help to either of them. Conditions grew worse by the moment.” We will see how worse they get when we continue next week…….
Word for the Soul 