Nearer to God
Sarai had never had a baby, never become pregnant. She was 75 when she said to her husband, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” (Gen 16:1, 2) Abram agreed to her suggestion.
Genesis 16:1-3
1. Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2. 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.
3. 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.
It is not required of intercessors that they fall far short of the Lord’s perfect will and plan for their lives, but it helps. People who have fallen steeply, sinning greatly against God despite the merciful restorations experienced from previous falls, will likely become more compassionate toward the backslidden and rebellious ones who need their prayers.
That is probably the only positive comment to be made with regard to Sarai and Abram’s treatment of Hagar, the Egyptian. Yet, we may look into the story more deeply for other insights on becoming an intercessor.
The one who would be the Lord’s close companion must learn to discern the voice of Satan. Undoubtedly he put the idea about Hagar into Sarai’s mind. Like Eve, she succumbed to the temptation and then influenced her husband to stop waiting on the Lord. Like Adam, Abraham was more guilty than she as he was the assigned leader, the head of the home.
Neither of them had any confidence in God’s kind intention toward their union. They did not view their marriage as having any eternal import nor even much temporal significance. The long years of barrenness seemed to have negated its value and purpose. The promises were forgotten.
Nevertheless, the Lord can turn dry ground into streams of living water. Yes, just as he rejoices over the one lost sheep who is found, he also glories in bringing his precious servants into periods of intense distress that he might show them his power to deliver and to triumph against all odds. Thus is their faith made sure, that they might walk with him.
Abram failed many tests of faith: first by giving Sarai over to Pharaoh, then by becoming as a Pharaoh to Hagar, and again by giving Sarai to another king, Abimilech. (Gen 20) Time and again he shrank back, until at last on Mt. Moriah he was tried and found to be faithful. (Gen 22) We, too, must continue to press into the Lord for grace and help until we come forth as gold, tested and shining.
4. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5. 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.
6. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
When Hagar knew she was pregnant she began to despise Sarai. Her expression of this hatred caused Sarai to complain to Abram who put the problem back into her hands: “Do with her whatever you think best.” Sarai then mistreated Hagar so badly that she ran away. But the Lord will not allow us to so easily discard our sin. No, Sarai and Abram would be required to live with Hagar and the child as one family, at least for a term. And it was not a bad thing for Hagar. She needed help.
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The LORD entreated her to return:
7. And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8. 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.
9. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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?
14. Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15. And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
The angel instructed Hagar to return to Sarai and to submit to her. God did not intend to destroy Sarai’s morale by this turn of events, but to teach her how to be an overcomer despite her sin, even in the face of her sin. She was to learn grace— as well as the consequences of faithlessness.
Neither did he intend to harm Hagar’s spirit. The angel who was an epiphany of the Lord promised Hagar, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count” (vs 10) and prophesied to her.
Prophecy accomplishes many marvelous purposes. That is why Paul in I Corinthians 14 encourages true believers to earnestly desire to prophesy. Great is the ministry of prophetic words. In them we see God as the Alpha and Omega who knows the end from the beginning. In Hagar’s life they settled her heart and gave her all she needed to live and to obey God.
Her response to the Prophet was, “You are the God who sees me… I have now seen the One who sees me.” (vs 13) Was this special word to her not a greater treasure than a life among her own people in Egypt? In this revelation was the comfort and assurance desired by all peoples, and the startling realization that there is a God who knows us personally: an omniscient King of the universe who stoops to our need and loves us.
Not all would be well; Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man. His hand would be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. Nevertheless, all things work together for good for those who love God, and Hagar did. She obeyed and returned home, and bore the son whom Abram named Ishmael, in obedience to the prophetic words of God. Ishmael means “God hears.”
And so the family continued on together, and Sarai and Abram were built up in character for the sins committed, because the Lord caused them to confront the results. He would not allow them to hide from them. Hagar was better off because she obeyed God. She could not have walked all the way back to Egypt. And, from our perspective, if God had not watched over her and entreated her to return to her mistress, what might we today conclude about the Lord’s view of unwanted pregnancy and babies of ungodly origin?
Nevertheless, from the turn of events brought about by Sarai’s and Abram’s sinful error in judgment, a long time of divisiveness was born between the descendants of Ishmael and those of Isaac, the Jews. Even though in both lines there are many relatives and blood lines now included that do not directly descend from either man, generally speaking we still have the Arabs and Jews and the conflict between them. Think twice before you give up on any of God’s promises!
Many Bible scholars say that the first mention of a word in the Bible is significant because its context illuminates successive occurrences. The first mention of the word “angel” is in Genesis 16, “And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness…” (Gen 16:7) The Hebrew root word for angel, “malak,” most commonly means “messenger,” and is also used for the spies or “messengers” hid by Rahab (Joshua 6:25) and for the men sent by David to fetch Bathsheba (II Samuel 11:4) (among many other uses), so being an angel is not synonymous with being–– an angel, as we would think of one. The same word describes evil spirits, so it is not the word “angel” but the phrase “angel of the LORD” that has a significance to ponder here.
This angel of the LORD must have been an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ for he spoke for God, prophesying in the first person. Significantly, Hagar—a mere handmaid and an Egyptian— was the first woman to behold this wonderful being. His description as an angel tells us that he appeared as a man to her, for angels are beheld as men with superior powers by those who encounter them in the Bible.
The LORD’s one appearance to Abram in Genesis 12 was to confirm that he had arrived in the Promised Land: “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.” (Gen 12:7) Did the LORD then appear as an angel? We do not know, however, we may garner that only Abram at this time in the world could have discerned a visitation of the LORD.
Hagar marveled, “Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” (Gen 16:13) To her, God promised, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” (Gen 16:10) Though it is far more common in the Bible to associate the word “seed” with the descendants of men, here, a woman is in view, and she is promised the same honor as Abraham would enjoy: the multiplication of her progeny.
Finally, Hagar was the first in the Bible to hear the voice of the “angel of God” (Gen 21:17) when she was cast out by Sarah and was in the wilderness of Beersheba, after Ishmael grew up and mocked Isaac.
“Angel of the LORD” and “angel of God” are interchangeable phrases in Scripture. However, the word “LORD” is the “I am that I am,” covenant-keeping God. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6); whereas the word “God” is a plural noun and is the first name for God found in the Bible.
It is well to mark that the Lord, our covenant God, our heavenly Father, our Redeemer and Savior, stooped to the need of Hagar, a lowly handmaid, on two occasions in her life when she was suffering terribly. He prophesied to her and regarded her seed as precious. He provided for her needs. Let us take confidence in his gracious intentions toward us.