King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 10 notes
1Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2And 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.
Well the lord had spoken to Abram and said his seed, so well Sarah's logic kind of holds true.
Interestingly though this was a wrong move, God did not interfere.
He could have, to save Abraham all that headache subsequently.
3And 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.
In choosing a surrogate for her husband, she obviously chose the loyal and humble one.
However as life sometimes turns out to be, she failed her and turned proud.
Wisdom for us.
4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
☺ 😇... Women women, human beings... We are just interesting.
Didn't Hagar despise Sarah because she felt used? That she had to go through the pains 🥖 of pregnancy 🤰 only for Sarah to lay claim over the child 🧒. She suddenly became aware that her son was heir to one of the greatest if not the greatest man 👨 in the land.
She would be a fool to just let her baby be given to this old 🧓 barren woman. Well just thinking aloud for Hagar.
What caused such a reaction we are not told. We can only conjecture.
Maybe she realized her mistress was using her, causing her to go through the pain of child birth, breastfeeding 🤱 her own child only for the madam to lay claim to her child as her own.
She had agreed to this earlier but she did not really understand the sacrifice she had to make having never taken seed before.
Now she has a change of mind and will not let this old 🧓 lady steal her son from her.
And now who knows she might become the next madam.
Genesis 16:4 NKJV
So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
5And 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.
Very typical blame game... She was to blame, not Abram.
Genesis 16:5 NKJV
Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”
6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
Maybe it was also her revenge on Sarah by fleeing, she had a child and not by any mean man but by the great Abraham himself.
However, at this stage Sarah didn’t care, she had seen her mistake and wanted to get rid of Hagar.
7And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Denoting the angel 😇 was searching.
They could have simply said an angel visited her, but they go to lengths to describe where and how.
8And 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.
Why would the angel address her in this manner - Hagar, Sarah’s maid?
Was it in a sense divine judgement as if to say, we recognize Sarah’s rights over you because you are her maid and ought to submit yourself to her.
She opened this door for you, so don’t shut it.
This makes me wonder, was it pride or what - that would make a pregnant woman leave her cover to the unknown deserts when all she needed to have done was submit albeit painfully.
At least for the safety of her child.
But who knows such things - when we feel ill treated and unloved, we throw all caution to the wind.
9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11And 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.
The lord the righteous judge not only sided with Sarah because indeed Hagar was in the wrong for spiting her madam.
But also blessed Hagar because she was afflicted for obeying and choosing to help her madam.
Her intentions in agreeing to Sarah’s proposition initially was not to be spiteful, but as the situation may have it, that is how things turned out.
12And 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.
13And 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?
14Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Ishmael, the lord will hear. It seemed Abraham had concluded that this was the answer that God had in mind to his prayer.
Though he helped God and under such circumstances one can argue that it wasn’t exactly a miracle.
But righteous Abraham still recognized the hand of God in the matter.
After all GOD had shown him enough for him to believe in his radical power to answer prayers.
Not forgetting Hagar’s divine encounter with the angel of the lord.
So God himself recognized the child and blessed him and spoke of his future.
However God wasn’t buying Abraham’s generous offer of Ishmael as a promised heir.
16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.