Jesus also revealed Himself through Hagar, one of Sarah’s maids. Abram and Sarai (who god later named Abraham and Sarah) were waiting for God to fulfill His promise of a child. They decided to try to do it their way in their timing instead of God’s so Abraham had a child through one of his servants.Why do we always think we have a better way than God? God’s ways are ALWAYS better than our ways. It never works out when we try to do things on our own. . This case was no different. And Hagar was caught in the middle of it. But Jesus came to Hagar and gave her comfort.
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country,
From your family and from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you and make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
On several occasions, God had promised Abram that He would have a child and would have many descendants. He had faith, but there must have still been some doubt so he and his wife decided to help God out and find a way themselves to have a child to be an heir.
Genesis 16:1-12
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
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.”
So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
“Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
This is a story not only about Abraham and Sarah and their faith and trust in the Lord, but also about Hagar and Ismael, and about Jesus, who loves all of us, from the lowly bond servants to the richest of kings, the righteous and the unrighteous (after all, we are all sinners and fall short of God’s glory. That’s why He came to this earth to die for our sins). He comes to all of us in need. If we seek Him, we will find Him. God always knows what is best, and He always has a plan…in His time, not ours. How often do we try to do things on our own and fail miserably? From the very beginning, trouble started. This act brought tension between Sarah and Hagar as well as some tension between Abram and Sarai. This tension continues today in a much larger scale with implications throughout the world and into the future. The son of Hagar, Ishmael, became the patriarch of Islam and his descendants became the Arabs, including Mohammad. There has been wars and attacks and civil unrest and accusations between Muslims and Israel and the threat has spread throughout the world. But, God knows what is best for our lives and for future generations. Let us always trust Him and allow Him to work through us. May His will be done.
Isaiah 55:8-9
For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
But, God did not give up on Abraham and kept His promise. Sarah later had a child, Isaac, who begot Jacob, who had twelve sons that became the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus, Himself became flesh, and born into the lineage of King David and Judah and Abraham, fulfilling the covenant. Through Jesus Christ, all our sins are forgiven if we trust in Him. But before that, He came to Hagar and several others throughout the Old Testament as He does today, to give comfort and strength, courage and encouragement, to lead and protect.
Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
And He continues today to be with us and get us through whatever we may be dealing with, whether hardship or persecution or doubt or pain. He gives us peace and joy. Those who believe in Him receive the Holy Spirit, who gives us these gifts and much more.
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
John 14:25-27
“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
My Daily Scriptures 