Genesis 16

Genesis 16:1-16

Genesis 16:1-16 The Third Episode-Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 16:1-16) Sarah had become impatient because of the long delay in the fulfillment of God’ s promise. She conceives of a scheme which she thinks will help God to fulfill His promise. According to the moral standards of the time, Sarah did no wrong in giving her maid to Abraham to wife. That was the custom of the day and was really magnanimous on her part. Of course, it was a violation of God’ s purpose and intention in marriage, which was monogamy-that man should be the husband of one wife (Genesis 2:24). Probably Abraham was more to blame than Sarah for listening to and complying with her suggestions. Visions of God had been granted to Abraham that Sarah had not witnessed. Abraham should consequently have been the more spiritual of the two. Then, again, the promised heir was to be of the seed of Abraham, but the promise had not yet included Sarah, specifically, as the mother of the promised son. Impatient waiting was telling on Sarah, and Abraham apparently caught the spirit of impatience. The result of not waiting for God’ s time was that a child was born of Hagar, the bondmaid of Sarah. She was doubtless a product of Egypt and was gotten when Abraham and Sarah went down there to sojourn. Here is another illustration of more trouble from Egypt. There are some practical lessons we may learn from this interruption-the story of Hagar and Ishmael. We should wait God’ s time. If He tarry, let us wait for Him. We should never listen to unspiritual people, to worldly-wise men, nor even to unspiritual Christians. Sometimes our dearest can advise us wrongly (Deuteronomy 13:6-8). We should never use wrong means for right ends. Our attention is drawn to the awful results of one sin, for the whole of the Muslim problem today, with its opposition to Christianity, is the fruit of this one sin. The flesh and the spirit can never get on well together (Galatians 4:17-23). Results may be gotten without God’ s help or approval, but they always bring trouble. The divine eye is an eternal detective. God knows and sees details. Did not God know that Hagar was “ Sarah’ s maid?” This chapter is not a mere household incident, but a record given to show the processes through which Abraham became father to the heir of the promised seed, even though the promise was long delayed. There is always something miraculous in connection with the birth of the promised seed.