“Genesis 16:1-6”

Friday, November 29, 2019

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, 'Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.' And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and me.' But Abram said to Sarai, 'Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.' So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children...” (verse 1) The attention now switches to Sarai as she is about to take matters into her own hands. She had departed Haran with her husband and entered into the land of Canaan at the age of 65, and now it was ten years later (verse 3). The clock was ticking faster, she wasn't getting any younger and she had given up all hope of conceiving a child of her own. Instead of appealing to the Lord for a heart full of understanding to discern His will in this critical matter, she made a unilateral, executive decision to give her servant to Abram “as his wife” (verse 4) and make him a full-blown polygamist.

“Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.” (verse 2) God had pledged to give Abram a son from his own body (Genesis 15:4), but He had not specified that Sarai's womb would be the one to conceive the promised child. At the age of seventy-five, after suffering the shame of childlessness for several decades, she deduced in her dejection that the Lord had intentionally “shut up her womb” (Genesis 20:18). In one regard she thought she was submitting her will to God's will. On the other hand, she limited the Lord's power to the ordinary course of human nature and natural law.

“Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” (verse 2) In the ancient Near East a child born to a slave would have legally been the property of the slave owner, so in a warped fashion, Sarai aimed to “help” God fulfill His promise to Abram by giving him her Egyptian servant, Hagar. We can see how Abram's trip down to Egypt and his lie about the status of his sister/wife led to even further transgression and unnecessary turbulence and heartache. It is highly likely that Sarai acquired Hagar while she was briefly in the harem of Pharaoh because of Abram's cowardice. Pharaoh “treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.” (Genesis 12:16) “And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai” and took Hagar to himself. Something tells me that Sarai didn't have twist his arm!

“He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.” (verse 4) My but did Sarai's misconceived plan to help the Lord achieve His will ever backfire! In her blind compulsion to remedy her childlessness she could not see what should have been obvious: that polygamy breeds rivalry, jealousy, bitterness, antagonism and strife! “Hagar no sooner perceives herself with child, but she looks scornfully upon her mistress; upbraids her, perhaps, with her barrenness, and insults over her.” (Benson's Commentary)We see a similar situation in the book of 1 Samuel 1:1-6: “Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah... He had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

… When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb.”

“And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done me be upon you.'” (verse 5) Sarai now shifts the blame to Abram for her own foolish judgment. Since she had “given” her maid to her husband, in her eyes it was his responsibility to control her and keep her in line. Blaming others for our own foolishness is as old as Adam and Eve. Of course Sarai, Abram and Hagar were all in the wrong for their sinful and selfish behavior and for their inability or unwillingness to practice righteous self-control. The disgruntled woman said to her husband: “May the Lord judge between you and me.” “See it in this case, passionate people often quarrel with others, for things of which they themselves must bear the blame. Sarai had given her maid to Abram, yet she cries out, My wrong be upon thee. That is never said wisely, which pride and anger put into our mouths. Those are not always in the right, who are most loud and forward in appealing to God: such rash and bold imprecations commonly speak guilt and a bad cause.” (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary)

“But Abram said to Sarai, 'Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.'” (verse 6) If this was an attempt by Abram to restore harmony to his household by relinquishing Hagar back to the authority of Sarai so she could treat her in any way she saw fit, it failed miserably. As head of the house, Abram should never have allowed this situation to arise in the first place, and afterward his should have been the voice of authority, wisdom and reason to diffuse the volatility of these two enraged wives of his. Instead, like Pilate, he washed his hands of the whole ordeal and left matters that he should have dealt with in the hands of the enraged and vindictive. It is no surprise that things were not going to end well!

“So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.” (verse 6) “The Hebrew verb used here implies that Sarai subjected Hagar to physical and psychological abuse. It carries with it the nuance of critical judgment of her actions. According to Ramban, 'the matriarch sinned by such maltreatment, and Abraham too by permitting it.'” (Nahum Sarna) Friends, no matter how wrongly we believe we may have been treated, cruelty to another human being is never justified, is never permissible in the sight of God, is never proper behavior of one bearing the name of the King!

Two divine precepts come to mind that would have helped Abram and Sarai considerably and are a must for us if we want to avoid the sinfulness and consequences depicted in this whole sordid and sad account: 1) Wait for the Lord! 2) Do not take vengeance into your own hands! “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14) “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9) “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning colas on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:19-21)

Please read Genesis 16:7-12 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

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