What about Hagar?

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

Genesis 16:1-4

In Genesis Chapter 16, we learn that Abraham, at Sarah’s prompting, takes Sarah’s slave Hagar as his concubine in hopes that she will bear him a son. One lesson we learn from the history of Abraham and Sarah is that when we fail to trust God, when we take matters into our own hands rather than waiting on His timing, things tend to go awry. That’s how it was with Abraham and Sarah. But as I heard this lesson one morning and studied it further after church, I couldn’t help but wonder “what about Hagar?”

Nowhere in scripture are we given any reason to believe that she was ever consulted about this plan. She was Sarah’s slave. She had no rights at all, even over her own body. Did she give her consent and participate willingly? Women in those days generally didn’t have any expectation that they’d get to choose their own husband. Husbands were chosen for women by their fathers or, in the case of a slave, by their masters. But was her scorn toward Sarah due in part, perhaps, to her own resentment of having been pressed into marriage and sexual union with an elderly man? Certainly, her prospects for any other marriage were ended when Abraham slept with her. And even though she did succeed in giving Abraham the son he so desperately wanted, she was driven out, sent into the wilderness to die with her child. She had no recourse at all when this happened. Abraham’s largest sin was not trusting God, but he and Sarah also seem to have sinned against Hagar, who was something of an innocent bystander in the situation.

So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”
 
Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac. But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”
 
Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she wept loudly.
 
God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Genesis 21:10-21

So often when we sin against God, we sin against other people in the process. The consequences of our sin are nearly always borne not just by ourselves but by those around us. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, their sin changed Hagar’s and Ishmael’s lives forever. Even though God kept His covenant with Abraham, the consequences of the sins against Hagar were not wiped away. Yes, God was faithful to Hagar as well. He kept His promise to make Ishmael the father of a great nation. Is it a surprise that even today, thousands of years later, the people who call themselves the descendants of Ishmael are still embattled with the people who call themselves the descendants of Isaac?

I think this is one reason we must do all we can to avoid sin. Through Christ, all of our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven. And God is faithful to separate us from our sin “as far as the east is from the west”. But that doesn’t mean our sins are without consequence. Yes, sometimes, God blesses us with restoration. Sometimes, He chooses to replace what we’ve lost. Sometimes, He blesses those we’ve harmed and makes up for our sin. But God does not promise that He will wipe away the consequences of our sin. We can have forgiveness and still have to live with the wreckage we’ve created – the broken relationships, the scars, the lost opportunities, the losses of every kind, and the pain. We may still have to live in plain view of the harm we’ve caused others through our sinful actions.

Abraham and Sarah appear to have been forgiven for their impatience. They were blessed with Isaac, the son of the covenant. They received many more blessings throughout their lives. But Israel still lives with the consequences of their sin even today as they endure conflict with their neighbors. But God uses even sin as part of His eternal plan. He could have prevented Hagar from conceiving a child. He didn’t. He could have changed the circumstances in an infinite number of ways. He didn’t. Why? I don’t know. (If I could figure out the mind of God, He wouldn’t be God, right?) But what I do know is this; although I am commanded to refrain from sin and I try my best to obey that command, I will fail sometimes. When I fail, it is inevitable that others will be hurt sometimes. When that happens, I must repent, confess my sin to God, ask forgiveness, seek cleansing and empowerment to avoid the sin in the future, make reparations when that’s possible and then let it go. I must trust that God will use my failures for His glory. I may not see that happen. I probably won’t. But I cannot despair that I have not yet reached the holy sinless perfection that is my goal. God knows I am inadequate. He chose me anyway. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!