Do you love a good roller coaster? You know the ones with super speed, dips and unexpected drops and turns and takes you upside down and around. That is what Hagar’s story did for me. Her story was full of unexpected turns, insane compassion and parallels to the gospel.
I have only read Genesis 16 a handful of times. The first (few) times I read the story of Hagar I skimmed through it with nothing catching my attention. I was paying attention to the “good guys”, Sarah and Abraham, and running past this Egyptian slave. It was just another story of a woman being mistreated in the old testament; of culture almost being too much to comprehend.
I think I often skim through these passages because my heart doesn’t want to grasp the concept of concubines or women as slaves/ property. I read of two hurting women lashing out at each other. Hagar represents everything Sarah lacks. Sarah is devastated by comparison and feelings of inability. Hagar is used and unseen but finally has a purpose. She is full of hatred and contempt towards Sarah. Sarah is full of jealousy and hatred to the point of abuse of a woman with child.
As I studied and paid attention to this story more I was brought to my knees by the compassion and steadfastness of God. You can see God’s kindness even in the face of faithlessness and wickedness not just in humanity but of his covenant people.
Let's recap Hagar’s story with roller coaster speed. I implore you to stop and read all of Genesis 16 (it’s only 16 verses). Here are some background and highlights I don’t want you to miss.
God told Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation…look at the stars, that is how many descendants you will have.” (12:2, 15:3) Abraham and Sarah are well along in age and think “wow this is so great!” then years go by. Faith and patience wear thin so they take things into
their own hands. Sarah says, “Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” Abraham listens to Sarah and Hagar becomes pregnant. Sarah gets jealous, mean and abusive. Hagar runs away with no destination in mind. Beside a stream, the angel of the LORD approaches and says “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from? Where are you going? Hagar replies she is running away and the angel responds with “return and submit” Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.” He then continues to tell her she is pregnant and will give birth to a son. To name him Ishmael, he will be wild and be in constant conflict and hostility with his relatives and everyone. Hagar then calls the angel El Roi, You are the God who sees me. She returns back and gives birth to a son and Abraham names him Ishmael.
This passage has become my favorite in Genesis. You can see God's immeasurable compassion keep unfolding in front of us. Here is Hagar, abused, unseen, and is a victim of God’s chosen people. I can’t help but wonder if she knew; did she know God’s plan for Abraham? Had she overheard them talking around their household of the generations and nations to come? After she found out she was pregnant did she feel like a pawn on this God of Abraham and Sarah’s chessboard? She has had enough and runs away. The angel of the LORD meets her there next to the well. He calls out to her. He was sent there for her. What compassion to be met in your valley by this messenger from the LORD who calls out to you by name.
The angel of the LORD asks her “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where do you come from? Where are you going?” (16:8) This question reminds me of Eden when the Lord calls out “Where are you?”. The Lord asks us questions for our conversation, not his knowledge. Then the unexpected response from the angel is “return and submit”. That may seem harsh but I love that the Lord meets us in our circumstances. We cannot change our circumstances but God sees us in them, blesses us in them and is good over them.
Hagar was never meant to be a part of God’s plan in this way. Abraham and Sarah, in their humanness, tried to take the plan into their own hands. Not only Hagar but now through Ishmael, generations and generations will be affected by this act of unfaithfulness. But God met Hagar right where she was. He goes towards her and blesses her. He basically gives her the same blessing he gave to Adam and Eve in the garden, to Noah and to Abraham: I am going to multiply your offspring more than you can count. I keep asking myself here, why? Why did God meet this ungodly woman with so much compassion and blessings?
God is the God who sees us. He meets us in our valleys and in our hurts. He is a God that keeps his promises. He has so much compassion for the vulnerable. Hagar was raised in a culture that had many gods, none of which was the one and true God. Yet, when God spoke to her she acknowledged Him as “the Living One who sees me.”(16:15) She then has a personal relationship with God. This reality moved her to obey Him and go back to her hard situation. The experience of really being seen by God touched Hagar’s heart so powerfully that she received God’s value and purpose in her life and for her unborn child.
Life is hard and sometimes God tells us the hard situations are where we will be living for a while, but to do so honoring him. God won’t always change our circumstances or those of our loved ones. But, as we see in Hagar’s life, it’s through the hard situations we meet a personal God. Even when humanness “disrupts” God’s plan, He remains redemption minded. We can walk in the reality that God is steadfast and He knows us, sees us, and deeply cares for us.
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