Hagar

Women of the Bible

Hagar

Scripture References:

Genesis 16; 21:1-21; 25:12; Galatians 4:24-25

Her Role:

Read Genesis 16:1

Hagar was an Egyptian.

Her name means “flight”.

Hagar was a servant that most likely joined Abraham and Sarah when they were in Egypt.

Her Situation:

Read Genesis 16:2-3

Sarah asked Hagar to bear a child for Abraham. This was a custom socially accepted at that time, but not acceptable to God.

Genesis 2:24 NASB

For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

This was God’s design, remember he saw Adam and Eve as “Adam”…one person.

Genesis 15:4 NASB

Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”

God’s promise was that Abraham and SARAH would have the child because they were one flesh and it was to come forth from his body. God didn’t recognize Abraham’s union with Hagar.

1 Corinthians 6:15-20 NKJV

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

The focus of this situation isn’t on the immorality of it, though it was sin and wrong in God’s eyes. The motive was to have an heir, not commit immorality for pleasure. The angle for the problem and the offense is unbelief. Abraham and Sarah were not believing God.

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

It is very important to God that we believe Him. When we don’t believe God, it will affect those around us. Believing God and trusting in Him is part of our testimony to the world. It was part of Abraham and Sarah’s testimony to the Egyptian Hagar. Hagar grew up with the worship of idols and false gods and it was Abraham and Sarah’s responsibility to display faith in their God before her. They blew it big time. It hurt Hagar greatly. A lot of times when God’s people don’t trust him, they use other people to accomplish what’s in their heart and mind. It may not be their intention to hurt them, but that is the result.

“But Sarah ran ahead of God in giving a Gentile idolater from a pagan country to Abraham to bear the promised seed. Poor Hagar –she became the helpless victim of Sarah’s scheming! The whole affair was a sin before God – a sin all three were guilty of.” –Herbert Lockyer

Her Response:

Read Genesis 16:4-5

Sarah realizes that what she did was wrong when she was wronged through it. How often this is what happens with us! We sometimes only come to realize we were wrong when what we did ends up hurting us!

Hagar went from having a humble servant position to being a mother of Abraham’s child. Now her ties and relations with the couple were completely different. She now was a wife of Abraham and scorned to serve as a maidservant as she once was. Was she upset she was put in this situation? Or was she elated she was elevated to this position? Either way she now disrespected Sarah, and Sarah was not okay with it. She obviously wasn’t expecting Hagar to respond this way or she would not have done it. But when sin comes in the picture, it causes us to act foolishly and loose our virtue and character. Sarah, however, was reaping what she had sown.

Her Flight:

Read Genesis 16:6-16

Hagar fled into the wilderness toward Egypt. We all go through painful life situations in which there is suffering. God will bless us if we choose to suffer for righteousness. We need to resist the temptation to go to the things of the world to pacify us. They will never heal or help, just make the suffering ultimately worse.

Read Matthew 5:38-48

Life is not easy but heaven is real.

A lot of our suffering will do with relationship problems. God gives us much instruction in His Word for ALL TYPES of relationships. Seek out the scriptures for your relational struggles!

You will suffer things in life, but let it be for doing what is right…not reaping for bad choices. We also all go through being wronged and ill-treated and we need to trust God and in His Sovereignty and allow the suffering to purify and sanctify us.

Read 1 Peter 4:12-19.

The angel of the Lord met Hagar in her pain. Most scholars believe this was Jesus Himself. This is the character of God. God wants to MEET us in our times of pain.

In verse 12 we see God being very gracious to Hagar. When you are hurt it is not the character of God to hurt you more. He will deal with you tenderly.

Read Psalm 86:15-17.

Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Misery to Ministry “Misery is a means to ministry.”

God gave Hagar a promise in her suffering. When you go through suffering, seek the Lord to receive the promises from His Word that He desires to give you. Journal them down and meditate on them. Allow the season to mature you in His Word and bring you into deeper intimacy in your relationship with Jesus.

Her Child:

Genesis 21:9-21

Ishmael means “God will hear”

We don’t ever need to doubt in times of brokenness and difficulty that God doesn’t hear us.

Psalm 51:17 NKJV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 4:1 NKJV

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

It is because God is merciful, that He hears us when we are in a mess.

Now Hagar and her son were sent away and became outcasts in society. You can relate with Hagar if you feel you don’t fit in socially in some way or another. God would have you to allow this “desert area” in your life to be a place that He fills and satisfies. If you will let Him, God will allow you to see streams in your desert situations if you will let Him. God will also use it to open doors of service for the kingdom. You can however, choose to live every day with a victim mentality and miss out on obtaining victory and a testimony. A lot of times our testimonies are only in the past when they should be in the present.

Ishmael grew and became an archer in the wilderness.

Ishmael became the founder of the Arab nations.

Life Lesson:

In your pain and suffering resist the temptation to “run away” and instead “run to Jesus” and persevere through the trial and He will bring you into deeper intimacy with Himself by giving you precious promises. 

(Magnify Him Women's Bible Study at Calvary Grace Fellowship)