Genesis 16 -- Hagar

We had a very interesting Easter weekend.  First, I get a call from my mom (who was coming here to see us) that my niece had strep, but would not be contagious by the time they got here and they were still coming.  Then, after they get here, my mom watched my daughter while my dad and I run to the store for last minute dinner items and my daughter gets sick in her crib.  She had the nasty stomach bug that has been going around.  Well, on Saturday night, my niece gets the bug, and I get it on Sunday and then my husband on Tuesday!  So we have all had it and I'm glad it is gone!  I hope it stays gone!  There is nothing like sickness that can make one remember what a wretched world we live in.

Genesis 16:1 Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 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. 3 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. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. 5 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.”

Now, God had just finished telling Abram that he would bare a son from his own body. I guess Sarai did not believe she would be the mother of that child, since she had not bore one yet, and she was old.  She gave Hagar to Abram to bare a child in her place.  Hagar, apparently, did not want to get pregnant, because when she became pregnant she treated Sarai harshly.  How did Sarai respond?  Not so nicely!

Genesis 16:6 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.

Sarai treated her so badly that Hagar ran away.

Genesis 16:7 The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”
She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.” 10 The Angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”
11 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her:
You have conceived and will have a son.
You will name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.
12 This man will be like a wild donkey.
His hand will be against everyone,
and everyone’s hand will be against him;
he will live at odds with all his brothers.
13 So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the One who sees me?” 14 That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” It is located between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Here the Lord tells Hagar, through an angel to return to Sarai and endure the mistreatment.  I wonder if this is in some way how we should react to the world.  The world mistreats us and we run away, but we need to return to the world to be a light in spite of how we are treated.    The Lord also gives Hagar the same promise he gave Abram, that her offspring will be too many to count.

I just can't think too well this morning.  I cannot even begin to elaborate or go into more detail on this passage.  I am still recovering from the bug, but am almost 100%.  Hopefully tomorrow I can concentrate better!