Abraham, Sarah, & Hagar

Summer Blockbusters
August 7, 2022

Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. —Romans 4:1

Abram: exalted father, renamed by God Abraham, father of many

Sarai / Sarah: princess, Sarah was also beautiful

Hagar: flight, an Egyptian slave

It’s Complicated, But God Sees You!

This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. —Genesis 11:27-30

“Look, you are a very beautiful woman…” —Genesis 12:11

Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her.”—Genesis 20:12

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.—Genesis 12:1-4

I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! —Genesis 13:15-16

Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” —Genesis 15:5

Observation #1: Don’t jump to conclusions before talking to God!

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.
So Sarai said to Abram, “The LORD has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. —Genesis 16:1-2

Observation #2: We make our choices and then our choices make us.

So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt.
The LORD will show who’s wrong—you or me!” Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” —Genesis 16:4-9

Observation #3: Hold on to the promise even when it looks like all is lost.

The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the LORD has heard your cry of distress. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.” Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”).
It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born. —Genesis 16:9-16