HEARING WITH HAGAR

For our last look at our Egyptian sister, Hagar, we'll fast forward about 17 years to a traumatic scene recorded in Genesis 21. How do I know this happened 17 years later? Well. I don't. At least, not for certain. But here's the basic math most commentators agree on.

Scripture tells us that Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). He was 100 years old when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. [Well, actually, if you want to read the "fine print," Gen.17:24 says he was 99 and Ishmael was 13 when the mark of God's covenant, circumcision, was implemented. In the following verses in Gen. 18, he is visited by three "men" - and the angel of Lord tells him He will return at the same time next year when Sarah will bear a son. Gen. 21:2 tells us Isaac was born at the very time God had promised. Soooo - 99 in chapter 17 plus the 1 year prophesied in chapter 18 = 100 years old.] Is all this "clear as mud?" And, do you even care? LOL Hang in there with me - I just want us to have a fairly accurate picture of the timeline.

Okay - if Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born and 100 when Isaac was born, that makes Ishmael 14 years older than his little brother, right? 100 - 86 = 14. Simple math. This scene in our sister, Hagar's life, takes place as baby Isaac has just been weaned and Abraham hosts a great feast celebrating this important milestone in his young son's life. Biblical commentators believe that children were generally weaned around 3 years old during that time. So here we go with the math again - Ishmael was fourteen when Isaac was born and now it's three years later: 14 + 3 = 17. Got it? Got it!

Okay. Sorry girls, Ishmael looks awfully puny for 17 in this picture, doesn't he? Every picture I found of him and Hagar related to Genesis 21 had him this small. I guess most artists don't do math very well. JUST KIDDING!! You'll just have to use your imagination and picture him probably as tall as his mother by this time.

Did he look like his mother? Did he act like her? Did he have her same verbal inflections? Or did he have features and characteristics that were more like Abraham?

Scripture tells us: ". . .on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking ..." Genesis 21:8-9

Sarah saw red when she saw Ishmael mocking Isaac. Perhaps it reminded her of that season of her life when Hagar had behaved the same way towards her. Mocking. Deriding. Taunting. And now, Ishmael is following in his mother's footsteps.

Can you picture the scene in Abraham's camp? It was a great celebration. Sarah was elated with joy over the attention being given her precious son. Perhaps though, somewhat bittersweet was the joy. Who wants their baby to grow up too quickly ... especially when that baby is our last (or only)? Perhaps her hormones - what little were left at her age - we raging from the cessation of her lactation. Couple that with the fact that across from her sat the woman she most resented ... the one whose daily presence was a constant reminder of a difficult time.

At the center of the celebration picture Isaac. A chubby cheeked precocious toddler whose very name means "laughter." Picture his soft baby curls bouncing, his big brown eyes sparkling as he runs around the adults nibbling food from their finger, relishing their attention and regaling them all with his adorable antics.

Now picture a gangly teen-age brother. No longer cute. No longer the center of attention. No longer revered as Abraham's son. Displaced by this "son of promise." Can you begin to feel the normal emotions of jealousy and resentment Ishmael might have had? What could be more natural than for a teenaged boy to pick on a younger sibling?

Commentators can't really agree on what Ishmael was doing. Perhaps playing. Perhaps mocking. Perhaps sneering. Most agree that something very strong is indicated. Strong enough to make Sarah feel that Ishmael posed a threat to Isaac. A threat she would no longer tolerate.

Sarah demanded that Abraham "get rid of that slave woman and her son" (Gen. 21:10) I think her demeaning and dismissive language (emphasized above) reflects the chasm between the two women that Sarah had no intention of bridging.

The next verse says that the matter "concerned" Abraham. I figure that was probably the understatement of the year, don't you? The Amplified Bible says, "the thing was very grievous (serious, evil) in Abraham's sight." That may be a more apt description. I think Abraham knew if Ishmael left, part of his heart would leave with him.

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. Genesis 21:14

Years before, Hagar had fled to the desert alone seeking refuge from Sarah's cruelty. This time, Ishmael in tow, she was wandering aimlessly. Life as she knew it was over. Sarah had won. Ishmael would not be Abraham's heir after all. Abraham's refusal to oppose Sarah's heartless demands had left Hagar reeling.

With so little food and water on her back, Hagar doubtless knew her Egyptian homeland was beyond her reach. We have to wonder if she called out to El Roi - the God who had seen her before - hoping He might appear and provide assistance.

We have to wonder how many times over the years she had recalled His promise to give her "too many descendants to count." Had His promise become a mantra of sorts to her? If so, it must have seemed awfully hollow as she offered the last drop of water to her precious son.

Hagar and Ishmael had left Abraham's camp, but they did not leave God's watchful eye.

When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there, she began to sob. Gen. 21:15-16

One of the commentaries I read noted that when the Hebrew verb translated "put" in v.15 is used with a human being as its object [as it is here: "put the boy"] the verb almost always refers to lowering a dead body into its grave, or the lowering of a person into what will presumably be his grave. It is obvious that our outcast sister, Hagar, had lost hope. Her water was gone and so, apparently, was her faith. She was so undone she couldn't bear to see Ishmael suffer. She placed him under a bush that was probably a thorny bush with sharp briers. Her last efforts were to protect him as long as possible from predatory animals who might attack before his death and scavengers that might do so after.

...the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink." Genesis 21:17-19

WHAT'S THE MATTER??? Couldn't God see that she and her son were about to perish? OF COURSE! But just like in her first encounter with God, SHE needed to see the problem clearly. SHE needed to confess her failures, her fears, and her faithlessness.

But, even before Hagar could answer, the angel of God offered a word of comfort and expanded the vision of God's promise for her son.

He opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. Had Hagar missed this life-giving source because she was so wrapped up in her troubles? If so, can we condemn her for it? NO! God doesn't! The truth is, we are much like our sister, Hagar:

• When we're in pain, we're often unaware of our surroundings.
• Our gaze is unfocused.
• Our attention is turned inward.
• Sometimes we need help seeing the obvious.

Unlike Abraham's short-term supply, God provided Hagar with not a mere skin of water, but a flowing stream in the desert! We see the pattern repeated all through scripture: Our efforts are temporal. The Lord's provision is ETERNAL.

Don't miss v. 20 - God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. (emphasis added)

God continued to keep His promise to bless the seed of Abraham. God keeps His promises. All of God's promises to you are "YES" in Christ Jesus. God keeps His promises!

The story of our sister, Hagar, is one of a woman cast into the wilderness only to be found by God, HEARD by God, seen by God and loved by God. Hagar heard what God said to her and reaped the benefits of His sovereign care.

Are you listening today to HEAR what God would say to you? Have you heard the promises He has made to you? Sweet sisters, no matter how dry the wilderness you may be wandering in today - no matter how lost and alone you feel - no matter how little hope and faith you have left

GOD HAS NOT CHANGED

He still hears the cries of His people. He still reaches out to heal your hurts. God loves you. Hear what He is saying to you. Heed what He tells you to do.