By Patsy Norwood © 2025 All Rights Reserved! Any and all commercial use of this study is strictly prohibited.
Genesis 12: 4-20; 16:1-15; 21:8-21 (NKJV)
Welcome back to our study on Hagar! Last week we looked at the context and background and discovered how Hagar came to be with ‘the father of the faithful’/Abram and his wife Sarai. Then we ended the lesson summing up what we had learned about Hagar.
This week, we not only learn more about Hagar, but we see Abram and Sarai go through a spiritual testing … did they stay true to God’s will and what has Hagar got to do with their spiritual testing? Let’s find out ...
Genesis 16:1-3
Genesis 16:1-3
Verse 1: Now
Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she
had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
Here we see biblical confirmation of the role Hagar played
in Sarai’s life … she was her maidservant.
Hagar’s role as Sarai’s handmaiden would have been of a
personal nature such as being her confidante and close companion, entrusted
with intimate tasks and secrets. The
role of a handmaiden encompassed a range of duties from personal care and
companionship to domestic responsibilities.
It’s entirely possible that Sarai and Hagar enjoyed a close
relationship up to this point in time.
Sarai, was around 76 years old and past the age of bearing
children. She had spent her married life
barren and unable to have children.
In Genesis 15:5, God had promised Abram that his
descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and in Genesis 22:17,
God again promised Abram that He would multiply his descendants as the
stars of the heaven and as the sand which was on the seashore. However, it had not happened and Abram, at
the age of 86, had no children.
In fact, in Genesis 15: 2—3, Abram states, in a visionary
conversation with God, that since he had no children, his faithful servant,
Eliezer of Damascus, would be his heir.
It seems that both Abram and Sarai are struggling with
God’s plan and promise that Abram’s heir would come from his body and not be
one of his faithful servants or maybe their faith had grown weak with their
longing for a child or had their patience simply run out!
Waiting on God’s timing can be hard!
Verse 2: So
Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from
bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I
shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
Sarai! Sarai! Sarai!
What are you doing?
Obviously, Sarai has decided to help God out by suggesting
to Abram that he have a child with Hagar … her long time trusted
handmaiden. If our ‘helping’ God out is
in direct contrast to His Word, as Sarai’s idea was, we can rest assured the
idea didn’t come from God.
Let’s pause and see where we’re at now: Sarai, Abraham’s wife was barren and unable
to have children. This was a problem since God had promised Abram that his
descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand on the
seashore.
Note: this was a
problem for Abram and Sarai, not God!
To ‘help’ God fulfill His promise to Abram, that his
‘descendants would be as numerous as the stars,’ Sarai, in a practice common in
that era, suggested that Abram take her Egyptian slave, Hagar as a wife so that
Hagar could bear him a child, which would then be considered Sarai’s. (Note:
at this time, God had not yet specifically revealed that Sarai would
bear the promised child by Abram.)
(The custom was that a child born to a slave woman by her
master would be considered the child of the master’s wife.)
Sarai has a plan to help God fulfill his promise to Abram …
only it’s not God’s plan!
Did Sarai discuss this with Hagar before going to Abram
with her plan? I don’t think so, Hagar,
as a slave, had no rights and Sarai could do whatever she wanted with her. Hagar had to obey Sarai or run the risk of
being put to death, sold or dismissed.
If dismissed, where would she go and what would she do? Hagar really had no choice.
What might be some thoughts going through Hagar’s mind when
she hears Sarai’s plan and intentions?
Does she feel hopeless? Does she
feel helpless? Does she feel
victimized? Does she feel betrayed? Is she afraid?
Verse 3: Then
Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her
husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land
of Canaan.
After 10 years of living in Canaan, and having no children,
Sarai is ready to take matters into her own hands and gives her husband Abram,
Hagar to be his second wife and bear him children in her stead.
It is estimated that Hagar was likely between the ages of
15 and 20 when she was given to Abram and or possibly to Sarai in Egypt. Now, she is thought to be between the ages of
25 and 30.
Time out! Hagar has
been with Abram and Sarai for 10 years and has undoubtedly learned about their
God. Did this debacle of Abram and
Sarai’s actions diminish God in her eyes?
Did she now put their God in the same ‘group’ as the Egyptian gods she
had grown up worshiping? Do our actions
ever diminish God in other’s eyes? Just
something to think about!
Abram heeded the request of Sarai and went into Hagar and
slept with her.
Do you notice what Abram didn’t do … he didn’t talk to God about it, nor did he refuse to do Sarai’s unwise bidding! (Do we ever jump into a situation without talking to God about it beforehand?)
Could Abram’s acquisition be an indicator that his faith in God’s promise was also weakened by time and impatience? (Has there ever been a time when our faith has grown weak by time and impatience?)
I would love for you to share your thoughts
on the situation these three find themselves in now.
Next week, Sarai gets what she wants … or
does she? I’ll meet you back here on Thursday.
patsy @ From This Heart of Mine
~ a place for women to gather and study God's Word ~
Sources used for this study:
Clipart from Adobe Stock
Various translations of the Holy Bible
Various commentaries
Several trusted and biblically sound online sources
Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter
Archaeological Study Bible
All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen
Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs
Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley
