Lesson 13: Genesis 16

“Now Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11.30). Abram and Sarai were 75 and 65 years old, respectively, when the statement regarding Sarai’s barrenness was made (see Genesis 12.4; 17.17). When we come to chapter 16, ten years had passed since they journeyed to Canaan (Genesis 16.3), and they still had no children. We know the situation weighed heavily on Abram’s mind (Genesis 15.3) and this chapter shows that Sarai was also burdened by their lack of children. However, the differences between chapter 15 and chapter 16 are great, for whereas Abram’s faith shone brightly before (Genesis 15.6), this chapter shows the futility of Abram and Sarai trying to obtain God’s blessings by their own means. And their mistake should serve as a warning for us all.

Notes From The Text

• Vs. 1, while it is not specifically stated in the text, we assume they obtained Hagar during their Egyptian sojourn (see Genesis 12.16).
• Vs. 2, while both Abraham and Sarah are examples of faith (see Hebrews 11.8-12), but every part of this verse reveals to be a moment where their faith had waned:
  • Rather than call on the Lord (more on this later), Sarai blamed the Lord for her barrenness.
  • Sarai proposed that Abram, her husband, take Hagar as a concubine or lesser wife (a practice common in ancient cultures) in order to “obtain children”. The literal reading is “built up”, so Sarai was proposing that having children via Hagar would be the way to “build up” their family, something the Lord had promised to do (Genesis 12.2; 13.16; 15.5).
  • Whereas before Abram believed God (Genesis 15.6), on this occasion he “listened to the voice of Sarai”. Some point out that up until now the Lord had not specified that Abram’s offspring would come from Sarai. However, Abram was presented with the choice of abiding by God’s original design for marriage (Genesis 2.24) or adopt the customs of man. The former would be the response of faith in God, the latter would be the result of trusting in men.
• Vs. 3, “A marriage contract from the town of Nuzi a few centuries after the patriarchal period illustrates the practice: ‘If Gilimninu bears children, Shennima shall not take another wife. But if Gilimninu fails to bear children, Gilimninu shall get for Shennima a woman from the Lullu country (a slave girl) as concubine. In that case, Gilimninu herself shall have authority over the offspring.’” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• Vss. 4-6, these verses show the rotten fruit produced by Abram and Sarai’s taking matters into their own hands:
  • Hagar was filled with pride and thus had contempt for Sarai (vs. 4).
  • Sarai first turned on her husband, blaming Abram for the situation (vs. 5), and then turned on Hagar with abuse (vs. 6).
  • Abram was indifferent (vs. 6).
• Vs. 7, this is the first mention of “the angel of the Lord” in Scripture (see Genesis 18.1ff; Exodus 3.2,4; Judges 6.12,14). Note that Hagar refers to the angel as the Lord in vs. 13.
• Vs. 9, the Lord would promise blessings in the following verses, but Hagar would also have to act in faith by not only returning to Sarai, but submitting to her. Note: the Lord was already showing that Hagar and her children would not have equal standing with Sarai and her future offspring.
• Vss. 10-12, as wonderful as this promised blessing was, it paled in comparison to what had been promised to Abram (Genesis 12.1-3). Not only would Abram’s offspring become a great nation, through them all people would be blessed. Ishmael would become a great nation, but his future held conflict, not blessing. Ishmael was NOT the son of promise.
• Vs. 11, Ishmael means “God hears”.
• Vs. 13, “You are a God of seeing” literally ‘el roi.
• Vs. 14, Beer-lahai-roi means “well of the living one who sees me”

Takeaways:

1. The latter part of the chapter serves as a strong counter to the opening. The Lord is presented as one who both hears and sees the plight of man. We are not told what petition, if any, Hagar had made toward Him, but He both heard her and saw her need. By contrast, Sarai complained that the Lord had withheld children from her. Rather than call on the Lord, she and Abram took matters into their own hands. As another point of contrast, note Isaac’s response when Rebekah was barren: “And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (Genesis 25:21, ESV). The lesson for us is to continue asking, seeking and knocking (Matthew 7.7) because our Lord both hears and sees us.
2. The apostle Paul made a contrast between Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4.21-31. Interestingly, he equated national Israel with Hagar and those of faith with Sarah. Why? “But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.” (Galatians 4:23, ESV). Ishmael, the son of Hagar, was the product of man’s plan, whereas Isaac was the result of God’s promise. Similarly, Israel was trying to achieve righteousness through the Law, when righteousness could only be found through faith (see Galatians 3.11-12). Just as Abram and Sarai’s plan to build their family through Hagar was doomed to fail, so too will any efforts to receive God’s blessings on our own terms end in disaster. The road of faith is the only one which ends with God’s promises (Galatians 3.13-14).