Genesis Chapter 16
A promise had been made to Abram and to his wife Sarai that they would be the parents of a great nation, yet Sarai had still not conceived a child. A lot of prayers had most likely been prayed but still no answer. There was pain, anguish, embarrassment, despair, and resentment all rolled up in a great big ball of discouragement because God had not answered their prayers. It had been more than ten years since the promise had been given. Sarai decided to take matters into her own hands and make things happen. Sadly, Abram was also in a place of discouragement because he acted upon his wife’s suggestion, a suggestion that caused them to step outside the will of God for their life and for their marriage.
Let's Reflect
1. Sarai devised a plan. She would become a mother by asking her husband to impregnate her Egyptian servant. This servant would become a surrogate mother. This might seem like a good plan except this was not God’s plan and it required her husband to lie down with another woman. What was the servant’s name?
2. Why do you think they had a servant that was from Egypt? See Genesis 12.
3. Notice that Sarai’s plan originally was not just for Hagar to have one child for them, but she wanted children, plural. Abram rejected this entire plan, correct?
4. We know from previous chapters that Abram was a very rich man. He owned a lot of land and herds of animals and probably had many servants that worked for him. When Hagar conceived, she may have thought of herself as having “arrived.” Whether or not she behaved in this manner or Sarai just imagined it due to her jealousy, there was a definite disdain for each other. What did Sarai say about the way Hagar now looked at her?
5. Abram understood the additional pain he had caused his wife and let her deal with Hagar as she saw fit. Abram was most likely feeling a lot of guilt for causing this problem. There was a broken-ness in their marriage now. What did Hagar do as a result of Sarai dealing with her harshly?
6. Did Hagar have a plan? Did God have a plan?
7. The one who met Hagar in the wilderness was the angel of the LORD. Verse 13 tells us that Hagar understood who the angel of the LORD was. What did she say about Him?
8. The angel of the LORD had even told her that she should name her son Ismael. Her son would become the father of the future Arab nation. God had a plan. Where did God instruct Hagar to go?
An Egyptian woman understood who God was. He was El ROI, the God who sees. She knew that God saw her situation and that He was going to take care of her.
