Endeavoring Women of the Bible: Hagar
HAGAR
Location: Canaan, Egypt
Time: 1986 BC to 1859 BC
Context: God is establishing fulfilling his promises through Abram/Abraham
Passage: Genesis
Okay, last week I did a super long blog about Sarah. Frankly, didn’t know how long her story was. Like holy smokes. Long. But intertwined in that was Hagar’s story. And I’m gonna be honest, I kinda didn’t want to like Hagar. My heart felt sorry for Sarah as I was focusing on her. Like, the fact that she couldn’t bear children… and like who is this lady that is sleeping with her husband in Sarah’s place?! So I was like okay. I think I need to do a whole post on her and get into her mindset. And so writing this post, I want to try to see the story of Abram/Abraham from her perspective.
And after looking back, I think I have to let it sit in the reality that this story in Genesis is such a real story. That in the real world “right” isn’t always clear cut. That both sides of relationships have value and it isn’t always easy. But it is story that shows that God is faithful to us all and cares for us all. He meets each of us where we are. We can’t compare to each other. We need to trust God in exactly where we are. When you start thinking of others- that’s where trouble comes in.
So stepping away from it I had to like really shift and say okay. Start from scratch, I’m Hagar.
If I’m Hagar, I don’t know much going on but my master ( I know, difficult to understand but it was in the context of this time) says I need to lay with her husband because she is barren and God need’s to have an heir through Abraham.
Again, as I talked about in my last post, I have to keep in mind that that this was a common practice at this time. It wasn’t necessarily a weird thing. So we have to view it in that context.
Now in this mess, all three of them took the wrong action. As I discussed, Sarah and Abraham doubted God but unfortunately Hagar also was involved in this act. There is a lot of gray area here as we don’t know what that process looked like. Did Hagar agree? Did she think it was a good idea? Did she know it was sinning and not trusting God’s timing? We don’t know. But what we know is what was next.
It says in chapter 16:
“ When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress” (Genesis 16:4)
I think this verse shows that, although Hagar may have not seemed to do anything wrong, she did harvest bitterness as well. Her situation was unfortunate, don’t get me wrong, but she also began letting hatred build, which is never a good start.
From there we reach chapter 16 where it says:
“Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” “Your servant is in your hands,” Abraham said. “Do with her whatever you think best. Then Sarai mistreated Hagar. So she fled from her.”
(Genesis 16:5-7)
So both Hagar and Sarah are operating out of unhealthy mindsets at this time. What a real story. There is tension and anger on both sides. Sound familiar in any disagreements you have? The reality is there is pain on both sides.
So what does Hagar do in this pain? She decides to flee. This seems like a good idea, but unfortunately fleeing from our problems rarely solves them. God calls us to something more.
So what does God do? Let’s read on:
“The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”
The angel added, “ I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”(Genesis 16:7-10)
I love this part. In her isolation and in her darkness in fleeing… God finds her and calls to her. In Eve’s story, God asks her “Where are you”, which he already knows. But he also asks Hagar in this story “Where are you going?”. Ever felt this yourself? Found yourself running from problems or far from God? He may be asking you today:
“Where are you going” (Genesis 16:7)
And I think following all of this, verses 13-14 are so beautiful:”
“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have seen the One who sees me.”
(Genesis 16:13-14)
The God who sees me. How cool. This is a huge theme through Hagar’s story. That when she is isolated, running away, has no friends… God sees her.
And so Hagar bears Abraham the child Ischmael. And we don’t really hear from her for awhile until Isaac (Sarah’s son) is born. Ischmael mocks Isaac and Sarah gets upset. God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah and send Hagar and Ischmael away. But God also says to Abraham in verse 13:
“I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring”.
So the situation is unfortunate. God Tells Abraham to listen to his wife, Sarah, and send Hagar and Ischmael away. But look at these next few verses:
So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the 'wilderness of Beersheba.
When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
(Genesis 21:14-19)
As I was looking for commentary on Hagar’s story I stumbled upon this article on Bible Gateway. It was so good. In summary, it gives us some history on Hagar. They think she may have been an Egyptian daughter that lefter her idolatrous ways to follow Abraham and Sarah and this one true God. And it’s worth a read if you’re interested in Hagar. But I love, love, loved the summary and so I wanted to include it. “ Dr. James Crichton in his article on Hagar in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia—
“The life and experience of Hagar teach, among other truths, the temptations incident to a new position; the foolishness of hasty action in times of trial and difficulty; the care exercised over the lonely by the all-seeing God; the Divine purpose in the life of everyone, however obscure and friendless; how God works out His gracious purposes by seemingly harsh methods; and the strength, comfort and encouragement that ever accompany the hardest experiences of His children.”
I think we can be encouraged by Hagar’s story and know that God is a God that sees us. In our loneliness, and in the difficulties we face on earth because of the nature of our fallen-ness, he is a God who still sees us. In the rough stories, in the seemingly small stories, God still sees us.
Like Hagar, you may have stumbled some places. You may have screwed up, dropped the ball, fled from something, or just frankly failed. Because we live in a fallen and sin filled world, there are tangible consequences and we have to live with those. You may have been dealt a tough deck, and you feel like Hagar. You’re in a situation that s-t-i-n-k-s and you feel like you’re alone. But know that nothing seems too big or too small for God. He sees us and cares deeply for us. He provides us strength to overcome difficulties (like going back and seeking reconciliation with Sarah) and he provides comfort in the lonely deserts in our lives.
So looking at her story I think there are a few big lessons we can learn.
Bitterness
I think Hagar’s story shows that bitterness in the heart has consequences. We don’t know exactly how it played out but Sarah mistreats Hagar after Hagar havests bitterness towards Sarah. I think this shows that when we hold hatred in our heart it ends up pouring out and affecting our situation. Is there bitterness or anger you have?
Fleeing from problems/ Reconciliation
When Hagar faces difficulty what does she do? She runs. But where does this get her? Running from problems rarely solves them and God meets Hager in this place of fear and fleeing and tells her to go back to her master. Wow, rough. Like… that’s a hard thing to do! But God empowers us and wants us to seek reconciliation. And he will empower us to do so. Are you facing something you are running from? Is there fear controlling your life? God is asking “Where are you going”.
God sees us
I love this passage for the reminder that God sees everyone. As Crichton says, God provides such care over the lonely and there is “Divine purpose in the life of everyone, however obscure and friendless”. Hagar’s situation may have seemed so lost and difficult. Like where is she to go? But God speaks value and sees every life. Wherever you are at. Walk forward this week knowing that God is a God who sees you. And he cares for you.
God, we thank you that you are a God who sees us. Lord, we apologize and repent for what we have done. The times we doubt you and let other things come first. The pain just can feel so deep at times and this world can feel like a lonely desert. We can feel isolated and like the people closes to us even aren’t there. But God we praise you because you see us. You offer comfort to us and shelter when we feel like there is none. Thank you for having a bigger plan and for caring for us.
SOURCES:
Life Application Study Bible - NIV. Zondervan, 1997.
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/hagar
