Read with Me
Genesis 16:1-6 (HCSB)
Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “Since the LORD has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years. He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between me and you.”
Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.
Listen with Me
When God made Abram the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:4-5), He promised him that those descendants would come through a son from his own body. But He did not specifically say that Sarai would be the mother of that son. Normally, that would have been understood based on God’s model for marriage of one man, one woman, one flesh for life (Genesis 2:21-24).
But in the aftermath of the flood and the subsequent scattering from Babel, many people had come up with their own rules for marriage and families. In the culture in which Abram and Sarai had grown up, a common practice for a couple in which the woman was barren was for her to give one of her servant girls to her husband, not as a full wife, but as a concubine. Any children produced by that union would be counted as children of the barren woman.
So, in light of God’s promise to Abram, and in view of Sarai’s continued barrenness, Sarai persuaded Abram that the easiest way to fulfill God’s promise was for him to take her Egyptian servant, Hagar, as a concubine. Any children Hagar produced would be direct offspring of Abraham, and they would be legally counted as belonging to Sarai. It seemed like the perfect solution.
But it wasn’t. As soon as Hagar became pregnant, she considered herself above Sarai. The two women, coming from two very different cultures brought to the situation two very different expectations. Hagar had come from a culture, where the value of wives was based on the number of children they produced. In light of her own pregnancy and Sarai’s barrenness, Hagar figured that she would quickly be promoted to the status of first wife, leaving Sarai in second place.
However, Sarai was in the position of authority in the relationship, and she brought the problem to Abram, insisting that he put her servant girl in her place. But Abram was unwilling to be put in the middle. The servant was Sarai’s, as was this plan. So, he gave her the authority to deal with it as she saw fit.
Hagar lost the ensuing power struggle with Sarai, with Sarai eventually resorting to physical discipline. With that, Hagar, pregnant and disillusioned, ran away, intending to go back to Egypt.
Pray with Me
Father, it is easy to forget that even after ten years, Abram knew very little of You and of all that You are capable of doing. He received Your promise willingly, but he had no clue that You could miraculously enable Sarai to conceive when the time was right. In his impatience, he was open to a man-made solution to the dilemma. Man-made solutions to Your promises frequently come with a whole suite of unintended consequences, as Abram found out here. In fact, some of those consequences are still reverberating throughout the world today! Lord, help me to wait for Your fulfillment of Your promises, never running ahead of You, and never trying to accomplish in my own strength things that only You can do. Amen.
Exciting news! The next two volumes in the When We Listen devotional series have been released! Luke and John are now available on Amazon. You can click on the links below for more information or to order them. If you are in the Portland Metro area in Oregon, I will be doing a release party and book signing on Tuesday, October 8, from 6-8 p.m. The release party will be at the Woodburn Area Chamber of Commerce Office, 1755 Mount Hood Ave, Unit 120, Woodburn, Oregon, 97071. It would be great to meet those of you who live nearby!
Luke
John