The God Who Sees and Hears

We are continuing from yesterday’s meditation about Sarai’s suggestion to Abraham to use Hagar to birth a baby for them to realize Abram’s vision to be the father of a multitude. The passage we are looking at today begins with Abram sleeping with Hagar:

⁴He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”⁶“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. ⁷The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur (Genesis 21:4-7).

When Hagar, Sarai’s slave girl, becomes pregnant, there were changes in the household and relationships. Things got messy! Hagar became proud and began to look down upon her mistress. We don’t know what is said or the behavior of Hagar, but whatever the attitude of the younger Hagar to the seventy-five-year-old Sarai, it is one of suffering for Sarai who now blames Abram for his lack of leadership in allowing this shortcut to go ahead, and she is right. Abram was the leader of the home, the one who got direction from God and led the family, yet his leadership is reactionary to go with the flow, rather than seeking God for His guidance as to the strife that he had now brought upon his family and his home. When Sarai brought the situation up with Abram, he should have been the one to sort it out, but instead, he throws it all back into Sarai's lap:

“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her (v. 6).

Abram should have dealt kindly with Hagar and counseled Sarai to do the same. After all, they were the ones who came up with the plan in the first place! Unfortunately, Abram does not bear responsibility for Hagar. Notice that in his response to Sarai, he does not even call Hagar by her name, but calls her ‘Sarai's slave' (v. 6). It is as if he is distancing himself from the whole situation, and from Hagar and the child that Abram had brought into the world. It is a complete abdication. There seems to be little care taken for the soul of Hagar. Having been used as a commodity, this young woman was pushed outside of the family. Surely she must be, at this point, a visible reminder of the failure of Abram and Sarai in trying to take a shortcut to God's purposes. How many unwanted feelings did this situation breed for all three involved? I'm sure Hagar was left feeling that this baby she is carrying will be unwanted by the family of Abraham. 

Hagar must have felt very insecure at a time in life that a woman needs even more security with a baby on the way. Can you imagine her grief and state of mind as she ran away from home? Hagar went to a deserted place and sat down by a spring of water all by herself. It is possible she did not feel safe, having been poorly treated by Sarai and not sure of their intentions toward her and the child she was carrying. She is retreating, licking her emotional wounds, so to speak, and seeking solitude when the Angel of the Lord came to her. Thank God that whenever we are in a dry and desert place, there is always a well of salvation, and our God is still watching over us. Keith Thomas

This is a shortened version of the more in-depth study found at this link