EXPLORING GENESIS.
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THE BIBLE: EXPLORING GENESIS ICON. |
CHAPTER 16
According to the customs of the time Sarah gives her
Egyptian servant Hagar to her husband to be his mistress. Hagar bears a child
for Abraham who gives him the name Ishmael. However, Ishmael is not the son of
the promise, it is not from him that will come the numerous posterity.
Ishmael is the ancestor the Arabs of the desert.
After Sarah realised that Hagar conceived, she gave
Hagar such a hard time that she run away to the desert. The verses 3-6 are
particularly interesting in considering human behaviour and underlying motives.
Imagine
the scene- here is Sarah unable to conceive which in those days was considered
a great cross- remember too Elizabeth was barren. So she gives her
husband to Hagar the servant to conceive a child- something that both Abraham
and Sarah wanted. Hagar does conceive but instead of being ‘grateful’,
she treats her so badly that she runs away. Note too that Hagar lost respect
for Sarah. She sees her opportunity to be more involved with Abraham. Good
material for another episode of ‘Days of our lives’ or the Young and the
Restless perhaps!
Perhaps
one might also be tempted to consider a modern equivalent here-a parallel with
surrogacy motherhood perhaps. I wonder what Sarah might have done with IVF and
genetic engineering!
Anyway,
the few next verses are significant not only for Hagar, but for us as well- a
real lesson to be learned here.
‘The
angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the road
to Shur. He said, `Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from, and
where are you going?' `I am running away from my mistress Sarai,' she replied.
The
angel of the Lord said to her, `Go back to your mistress and submit to her.'
The angel of the Lord further said to her, `I shall make
your descendants too numerous to be counted.' Then the angel of the Lord
said to her: Now, you have conceived and will bear a son, and you shall name
him Ishmael, for Yahweh has heard your cries of distress.. ‘ (Gen 16-7-11).
God
expects us to do our duty and not run away, but He is always there to hear our
cries of distress and help and bless us on our journey. God is always
with us but especially when life is tough. If we choose the route of escapism,
let us run to the arms of God with our distress.
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