February 22, 2015 – Sunday

Start Time: 9:00 AM

End Time:  11:00 AM

Title: Hagar and Ishmael

Scripture: Genesis 16:1 - 15

God’s Message / God’s Promise / God’s Commands:

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1)     When we obey the calling of the Lord in our lives, we become a blessing – verses 1 to 2

Hagar was…

a)     Slave

b)    Egyptian

c)     Gift to Sarah

Hagar’s purpose was to serve Sarah, the moment she was given as a gift by the pharaoh to Sarah.  This is her calling – to serve her master.

I believe Hagar was a blessing to Sarah; thru the years they may have become close and friends.  Sarah has a lot of maidservants but when she thought of one that can be the instrument to make her a mother, she thought of no one but only Hagar!  That’s how comfortable and trusting Sarah was to Hagar.  I believe Hagar made Sarah’s life easier and Sarah saw that she was a good servant and a true blessing so she gave Hagar the privilege to help her fulfill the duty that she was supposed to do for Abraham – becoming a mother or giving a son to her husband.

2)     When we disobey the calling of the Lord in our lives, we become a burden or a curse (verses 4 – 5)

When Hagar became pregnant she started despising Sarah.  She became proud and so deflecting from her purpose or calling in life, made her a burden to Sarah.  Instead of serving Sarah, she became proud and possibly disrespected her, which made her a burden to Sarah.  Sarah had to go to Abram about the situation and because of Hagar’s treatment to Sarah, Sarah mistreated her also.  So if we try to analyze it, it seems like Hagar was the person who actually put herself in a situation for Sarah to mistreat her, right?  So make sure we pursue our purpose in life and not deflect away from it.

3)     God’s calling in our lives requires sacrifice from us (verse 9 and verse 12)

Hagar left Sarah and I believe was on her way back to Egypt when she decided to stop for water.  Yet the angel of the Lord found her and spoke to her.  God’s instruction to Hagar was to go back to Sarah and to submit.  Now wait a minute, Sarah was mistreating her and she is pregnant, yet God told Hagar to come back to Sarah.  Sounds like Hagar sacrificed a lot in returning to Sarah.  Who knows if Sarah cooled down when she returned… some may say that Sarah was more harsh than before because Hagar left them.  Not only that!  God also said in verse 12 that Ishmael will become a wanderer and will not be at peace with his brothers.  Now tell me is that not another sacrifice that Hagar had to face when she follows God’s instruction to come back?  I truly wondered when I read this and asked myself, why Hagar decided to return when she knew what she is getting herself back into.  She will be suffering Sarah’s mistreatment plus when her son is born, he will be fighting with his brothers all the time and he will become a wanderer.  Reading the verses in this chapter made me realize that it seems like this deal between Hagar and the Lord is not so beneficial for Hagar at all so I wondered and asked God about it…then I realized that it was the best deal Hagar received! 

First of all, she is an Egyptian woman.  God is not her God – she is not an Israelite.  If this is a movie, she has no major role or part – she’s more like an extra in the story of Abraham and Sarah.  Yet here she is speaking to God Himself.  I believe Hagar saw the faithfulness of God to Abraham and Sarah all the time she was in their service.  And for God to look for her and find her when she left, means a lot.  But more importantly, I believe the reason that Hagar took the deal (the best deal of her life) with God was because of the Name she called God.  She gave God a Name, and the Name was that He is the God who sees me!  She knew that even with all the sacrifices she made, God sees it all – whether she is oppressed or mistreated, God sees it all!  Not only that, One truth I believe that Hagar was holding onto even if she knew that her son will become a wanderer and will be fighting with his brothers all the time, what made her commit and obeyed is the assurance that God sees them and hears their cries!  God Himself named Ishmael and Ishmael means God has heard his cries!  So I believe for Hagar at this point, it doesn't matter if he is an enemy to everyone or that he will always be in a fight with his brothers or that she will have to suffer against the hands of her master, Sarah…she is comforted that God sees her and hears their cries!  And she saw the compassion of the Lord for the oppressed or those who are mistreated and she knows that despite of the sacrifices, God will not leave her nor abandoned her nor forsake her for He sees her and her son and He hears their cries!  Hallelujah!

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