| Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name [was] Hagar. Hagar means "flight" | ||||||||||
| And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. It is not recorded that Sarai beseeched the LORD for children. She recognized that he "restrained" her from conceiving. Her first error was not imploring the LORD for a child, yet, blaming Him. Then, out of human ingenuity, which seemed right, she designated Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid, to be her surrogate. Doesn't Hagar have any human rights to choose her destiny? Is that fair? It's heartening to see how even though Hagar is without a defender, not even Abram, God hears her anguished cries, and regards her status. | ||||||||||
| And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Hagar must have felt so small and powerless. | ||||||||||
| And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised (qalal) in her eyes.
I never blamed Hagar for her attitude. After being treated like a slave, she finally had some prestige. What young woman wouldn't feel a new sense of identity with such a child, growing inside of her? She was not willing to be treated like a servant, as a legitimate wife of Abram. Once he entered her, as a husband, the rules of employment changed! | ||||||||||
| And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong [be] upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. Sarai recognized the great error, but, instead of imploring the LORD, she puts the burden on Abram to CHOOSE. Talk about a no-win situation. Abram also does not seek counsel from the LORD. In fact, the only one who DOES importune the LORD was the young woman, pregnant with child. | ||||||||||
| But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid [is] in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. Abram is unwilling to intercede. This gives us a unique view of the patriarch. Far from being kingly, he is a little hen -pecked, and a little cowardly, when dealing with this situation between his women. It's endearing that he yields his own opinions, to his wives, but, on the other hand, this situation needed a firm hand, and he wasn't available emotionally. It seems like much anguish is brought to the surface, in Sarai, who probably felt accursed from her barren status. She is cruel to the young woman, and not only is she unwilling to entreat her like an equal, treats her worse than a mere servant.  | ||||||||||
| And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain by the water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Fountains in the wilderness are lifesaving. As poor Hagar fled, she finds this fountain, as the LORD finds her, in her deep distress. | ||||||||||
| And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
Ghebereth denotes royalty, the opposite of poor little Hagar's humble status. How small and helpless she must have felt.  | ||||||||||
| And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
In other words, the LORD tells her that he will be with her, and if she humbles herself, by submitting to Sarai, even though unjust, it will be the LORD who will reward her. Without the protection of Abram, Hagar would have a difficult time on her own, as a runaway Egyptian female servant, in the land of Canaan, far away from her people. By submitting to Sarai, she will be saved, as well as her son.  | ||||||||||
| And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. This is the same promise that the LORD gave to Abram and Sarai. In fact, when we regard the world's population in 2007, indeed, the ancestors of Hagar include all Arabic peoples, in the billions. | ||||||||||
| And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
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| And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. 
After his beginnings, as the son of his mother, from a lower station in life, treated badly by the princess from a foreign tribe, it is no fluke that Ishmael's destiny will be to not consent to be bridled. I used to struggle with Genesis 16, and still do in some ways. It's a hard lesson to regard the patriarch and matriarch of the Jews, to have behaved less than righteously towards Hagar, who bear Abram his first son. I didn't understand why the LORD would instill this "wild" instinct, because, it is hard to see sinfulness in these treasured saints, and understand how our rebelliousness and cruelty to others causes their behavior towards us. | ||||||||||
| And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
I love Hagar. She is seldom called a saint, by our tradition, yet, she is full of perfection and grace. She recognizes God, but, more importantly, she recognizes God seeing her. It's a beautiful story of a woman full of faith. There's abundant grace in this story, from the symbolism of the well in the wilderness, to her eyes wide open, seeing God, seeing her. | ||||||||||
| Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, [it is] between Kadesh and Bered.
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| And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. | ||||||||||
| And Abram [was] fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. | ||||||||||
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