relationships (Genesis 16:1-16) Be Patient and Trust

(Genesis 16:1-16) Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 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. 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. 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. 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.” 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.

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. 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.” 9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” 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.” 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.
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.”

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?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Taking another wife is NEVER okay.  It has always been God's purpose and plan that a marriage is between one man and one woman.  And treating someone harshly is also never okay.  This will only backfire and create enemies.  In the scenario above, Sarai was the one who suggested her maid.  Also not in good form, Abram went along with the bad suggestion.  And when Hagar copped an attitude toward Sarai, Sarai wanted to blame Abram, thinking she was in the right.  In turn, Abram didn't want the blame or have God decide, so he put the onus back on Sarai, who then only exasperated the mess by being mean.  Meanwhile, except for showing an attitude towards Sarai which didn't help her case, Hagar probably wouldn't have wanted any of this but had no choice in the matter.

God had promised Abram and Sarai that they would have a child.  In their rash and "tiny" decision to have a child through Hagar, not only did they create unnecessary tension within their marriage, but the consequences would be massive.  From Hagar's descendants would come the Israelites' greatest enemy.  Still to this day there is constant friction and war between them and the Muslims.  

When we ask God for something, why do we become impatient and take matters into our own hands?  We often just make a bigger mess of things.  Do we really think God needs our help?  Do we think we know better than God?  So, when we see that God has a plan, we need to patiently trust that God will carry it out in His perfect timing, and in His perfect way.  All we need to do is continue living in God's will, and treating others as we want to be treated.

Notice that the Lord told Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her.  Why?  It was not for Sarai's sake.  Hagar would not have survived off on her own.  And in order to have a civil home environment, it always goes better when we show respect to others, especially to those in authority.  Even though Hagar was a "wife", she still really was Sarai's maid.  And while this gave Hagar a fighting chance to have a peaceful life, Sarai had a chance to live with the consequences of her stupid mistake and learn a few lessons about being patient and trusting God!