16
1. Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had born him no children. And
she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 11:30; 15:2; 21:2
2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has
restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram
heeded the voice of Sarai. 3:17; 30:3
This is the second time we see mention the fact that Sarai
has not had any children. The first mention of this is back
in Gen 11:30 when God first appeared to Abram and called
him out of the land of the Chaldeans. The promise that God
gives to Abram about his descendants on those occasions
never mentions that his descendants would come from his
wife Sarai (Compare Gen 12:7, 13:14-16, 15:1-5). Not once is Abram’s wife Sarai, nor her seed, or out of her bowels mentioned in this promise. As was the custom of those days if a woman was barren, and if she had sisters, it was the duty of the sister to give the husband a child.
(a male child preferably), since Sarai has no relatives with her then the next in line could be that of a bondwoman (who in those days were treated as family and not as a slave as we define slavery today). Hence we are introduced to Hagar. Sarai was well in her seventies at this time and
beyond her time of conceiving children. This is not Scriptural, but in my opinion, human nature being what it is, led Sarai to come to the conclusion that it would not be through her womb in which the promise would be fulfilled. And we see that Abram listened to Sarai and was convinced by her that his descendants would not be through her. This
takes me back to the Garden where Adam heeded the voice of Eve and Eve convinced him to eat of the forbidden fruit. We know what the outcome of that was, and mankind is still paying the penalty for that decision. The same could be said of Abram and Sarai for this decision to have Hagar
conceive through Abram. Think about it; If Abram had not heeded the voice of Sarai and let nature (or God that is), work it out for them, we would not have all the strife going on in the mid-east as we do today and for that matter throughout history. We must remember that it is through
Hagar that the Arab people came to fruition along with Mohammedanism and Islam. It is my belief that it is divine providence that is being played out here. For those who do not understand what I mean hear let me give the definition according to the Webster dictionary:
Providence 1. The act of providing or preparing for future use or application.
2. In theology, the care and superintendence which God exercises over his creatures. He that acknowledges a creation and denies a providence, involves himself in a palpable contradiction; for the same power which caused a thing to exist is necessary to continue its existence. Some persons admit a general providence, but deny a particular providence, not
considering that a general providence consists of particulars. A belief in divine providence, is a source of great consolation to good men. By divine providence is often understood God himself.
3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived, her mistress
became despised in her eyes.
Abram could not lie with Hagar to conceive a child unless they were married, according to the customs of the time. So in essence Hagar became a second wife to Abram. In my opinion The marriage between Abram and Hagar was Sarai’s and Abram’s way of rationalizing the legitimacy of Abram sleeping with another woman. Now when Hagar
became pregnant she became hostile towards Sarai (Abrams legitimate wife in Gods eyes), and the one whom Abram loved. We see the same story played out in the book of Samuel between Hannah and Peninnah the two wives of Elkanah ( 1 Sam 1:1-7). I would like to point out here that in both instances (and also in other same circumstances in the bible), that it is the
Woman whom Both Abram and Elkanah loved the dearest that God recognizes as the legitimate lineage leading to the birth of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. For God knows the hearts of men and respects the love aspect of it (if you Will). For God Is Love.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave
my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had
conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge
between you and me.” 31:53
The first thing that comes to mind for me is Genesis
chapter two (Gen 2:23-24). It does not say that man shall cleave to his wives (plural), but to his wife (singular), There will never be peace in the
house when there are two women vying for the affections of one man. God never intended that the bond between man and woman to be anything but one man and one woman, PERIOD! The relationship between Sarai and Hagar, and also between Hannah and Peninnah are two good examples of what can happen in this kind of relationship. Notice the oxymoron being played here by Sarai: she acknowledges that she was in the wrong for allowing this marriage between Abram and Hagar, yet in the same sentence she says to Abram, “The Lord judge between you and me” and attempts to put the blame on Abram for this mess. I can’t help but think of Adam’s response to God when He asked him if he had eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:12). If only Sarai and Abram would have just gone to God for his guidance before it came to this then this strife could have been avoided. But like I said previously I believe that
this was Gods will all along.
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your
hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt
harshly with her, she fled from her presence. 1 Pet. 3:7
In my opinion, because Abram loved Sarai deeply, in
order for her to feel assured that she was Abram’s one and
only true love, that Abram reminds Sarai That Hagar
belongs to her, and for her to do as she pleases with Hagar
even though she is carrying Abrams child. I can just
imagine that leading up to this Hagar was probably
planting a seed in Sarai’s mind that Abram loved her more
than Sarai because she was carrying Abram’s offspring. So
Abram had to do something of significance in order to
prove his love for her. Apparently in Sarai’s Jealous rage
(as we say today), she was very cruel to Hagar, so much so
that Hagar was put in her place to where there was no
doubt who Abram loved the most and that she could not go
to him for help. Hagar felt that her only recourse was to
leave from their 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.
21:17, 18; 22:11, 15; Judges 6:11
Abram’s encampment at this time was just north of
Jerusalem, and Shur is in where we call today the Sinai
peninsula. With this in mind we can conclude that Hagar
was headed back to Egypt. This is also the first time that an
Angel is revealed to us by God.
8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
The question posed to Hagar is rhetorical in nature as far as
asking her where she came from; I say this because in the
beginning of the question the Angel identifies her as Sarai’s
maid. Now Hagar, having been living with Abram and Sarai
for years now is familiar with the God of Abram and
therefore probably realizes that the person who has
appeared to her is some kind messenger of God because of
the fact that He knows who she is: The Angel calls her by
name, and mentions Sarai in the same sentence. I also
believe that another reason Hagar accepts this person as a
messenger of God is because when you are in the presence
of the Lord, or the Holy Spirit, or God Himself there is a
sense of peace and tranquility deep in your soul that can
only be felt when your in the presence of the Lord, and you
just know that you know. It’s hard to explain what i’m
trying to say here so please excuse me for my lack of a good
vocabulary.
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your
mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
The Lord commands Hagar to return to Sarai, and then
in a kind of prophetic nature He tells her to submit to
Sarai. I say prophetic in the sense that when we go back to
the time of Noah in chapter nine this is where the curse of
the sons of Ham begins (Compare Gen 9:22-25). The sons of of Ham include both Mizraim (which settled in Egypt), and Canaan(which is the land where Ishmael and his descendants settle), Remember, Hagar is an Egyptian.
10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply
your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be
counted for multitude.”
This blessing being given to Hagar here is also a partial fulfillment of the blessing given to Abram. Like I had said previously, when God told Abram that his descendants would number as much as the stars above and the sands of the earth that God never mentioned Sarai in these blessings, in my opinion this is just another reason why God excluded Sarai in this blessing. Again divine providence, God already foreknew that Hagar would be a part of this blessing to Abram. Again I would like to remind the reader here that, in my opinion, Hagar is familiar with the God of Abram and it’s probably a very good guess that Hagar knows of the promise given to Abram. So with the Angel of the Lord telling Hagar the fate of her own
descendants she has probably come to the realization that she and the child she is carrying is part of the blessings of Abram.
11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
“Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name
Ishmael
Because the Lord has heard
your affliction.
Ishmael.(h3485) ישׁמעאל yishmâ‛ê’l
BDB Definition: Ishmael = “God will hear”
1) son of Abraham and Sarah’s handmaid Hagar and the progenitor of the Arabian peoples
This is the first time in the bible where God names a child
before it is born. To me this is more proof to my theory
that the circumstances that lead to the birth of Ishmael is
through divine providence. God had this planned out all
along. This also further proof that Life begins at conception
in Gods eyes and therefore is precious to him. I make this
statement aimed at all those who would kill a child in the
womb and claim that it is not yet a breathing living being.
God knew every living being before they were even born (Isa 44:24, Jer 1:4-5).
12 He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against
every man, 21:20, 21
And every man’s hand against
him. 25:17, 18
And he shall dwell in the
presence of all his brethren.”
Verse eleven and twelve are prophetic also and part of the
curse of Canaan from the time of Noah. If one was to read
the history of the people who have lived in the territories
(mainly the Arab people), of the descendants of Ishmael
you can see the similarities of this prophecy being fulfilled.
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her,
You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here
seen Him who sees me?”
14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi, observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 24:62; 25:11
Beer Lahai Roi,”(H883): בּאר לחי ראי: be’êr lȧchay rô’ı̂y
BDB Definition: Beer-lahai-roi = “well of the Living One seeing me”
1) a well west of Kadesh, south of Israel
One of the conclusions we must come to in verses seven
through fourteen is that the Angel of the Lord who
appeared to Hagar is none other than Jesus Christ. This
understanding of who the Angel of the Lord is, is summed
up in a couple of bible commentaries. The first commentary
comes from the Mathews Henry’s concise commentary:
The declaration of the Angel, “I will,” shows this Angel was the eternal Word and Son of God.
The second commentary I would like to quote from is the
Adam Clarke’s commentary:
I will multiply thy seed exceedingly – Who says this? The person who is called the Angel of the Lord; and he certainly speaks with all the authority which is proper to God.
The last comment I want to make here is in regards to verse
fourteen. The reader is told to observe the location in which
the Angel of the Lord appeared to God. This just happens to be the place where Abram’s son Isaac settles (Compare Gen 24:62, 25:11).
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 21:2; Gal. 4:22-31
We see here that Hagar obeyed the voice of the Angel of the Lord and went back to Sarai and Abram, and submitted herself to Sarai. We are told here that it is Abram who named his son and not Hagar or Sarai. This would lead the reader to assume that Hagar must have told Sarai and
Abram about her encounter with the Angel at the well called Beer Lahai Roi, and what was instructed of her and what to name the child. If Abram was visited by this Angel of the Lord then would not God have revealed this to the reader?
16 Abram was eighty six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
This would mean that Ishmael was born in the year 2104 AC. (after creation) according to my charts and my studies on the subject of the genealogy of Jesus.