HAGAR & ISHMAEL
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) Hagar & Ishmael sent away
i) 8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”
14 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.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 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.
17 God heard the boy crying, and 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. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
19 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.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. (Genesis 21:8-21 NIV)
1. What is the text all about?
a) Who was Hagar?
i) Escape of some kind is usually the most tempting solution to our problems. In fact, it can become a habit. Hagar, was a person who used that approach. When the going got tough, she usually got going - in the other direction.
ii) However, it is worthwhile to note that the biggest challenges Hagar faced were brought on by other people's choices. Sarah chose her to bear Abraham's child, and Hagar probably had little to say in the matter.
iii) It isn't hard to understand how Hagar's pregnancy caused her to look down on Sarah. But that brought on hard feelings, and Sarah consequently punished Hagar. This motivated her escape. When she returned to the family and gave birth to Ishmael, Sarah's continued barrenness must have contributed to bitterness on both sides.
iv) When Isaac was finally born, Sarah looked for any excuse to have Hagar and Ishmael sent away. She found it when she caught Ishmael's teasing Isaac. In the wilderness, out of water and facing death of her son, Hagar once again tried to escape. She walked away so she wouldn't have to watch her son die. Once again, God graciously intervened.
v) Have you noticed how patiently God operates to make our escape attempts fail? Have you begun to learn that escape is only a temporary solution? God's continual desire is for us to face our problems with his help. We experience his help most clearly in and through conflicts and difficulties, not away from them. Are there problems in your life for which you've been using the "Hagar solution'? Choose one of those problems, ask for God's help, and begin to face it today.
vi) Hagar was the mother of Abraham's first child, Ishmael, who became founder of the Arab nations.
b) What happened to Ishmael, and who are his descendants?
i) Ishmael became ruler of a large tribe or nation. The Ishmaelites were nomads living in the wilderness of Sinai and Paran, south of Israel. One of Ishmael's daughters married Esau. Ishmael's nephew (see Genesis 28:9).
@1. 9 so he (Esau) went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. (Genesis 28:9 NIV)
ii) The Bible pictures the Ishmaelites as hostile to Israel and to God.
@1. 5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you—6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites. (Psalms 83:5-6 NIV)
2. Prayer focus
a) Pray that we would not be like Hagar, when faced with problems, inclined to run away instead of facing and overcoming them.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) Hagar & Ishmael sent away
i) 8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”
14 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.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 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.
17 God heard the boy crying, and 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. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
19 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.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. (Genesis 21:8-21 NIV)
1. What is the text all about?
a) Who was Hagar?
i) Escape of some kind is usually the most tempting solution to our problems. In fact, it can become a habit. Hagar, was a person who used that approach. When the going got tough, she usually got going - in the other direction.
ii) However, it is worthwhile to note that the biggest challenges Hagar faced were brought on by other people's choices. Sarah chose her to bear Abraham's child, and Hagar probably had little to say in the matter.
iii) It isn't hard to understand how Hagar's pregnancy caused her to look down on Sarah. But that brought on hard feelings, and Sarah consequently punished Hagar. This motivated her escape. When she returned to the family and gave birth to Ishmael, Sarah's continued barrenness must have contributed to bitterness on both sides.
iv) When Isaac was finally born, Sarah looked for any excuse to have Hagar and Ishmael sent away. She found it when she caught Ishmael's teasing Isaac. In the wilderness, out of water and facing death of her son, Hagar once again tried to escape. She walked away so she wouldn't have to watch her son die. Once again, God graciously intervened.
v) Have you noticed how patiently God operates to make our escape attempts fail? Have you begun to learn that escape is only a temporary solution? God's continual desire is for us to face our problems with his help. We experience his help most clearly in and through conflicts and difficulties, not away from them. Are there problems in your life for which you've been using the "Hagar solution'? Choose one of those problems, ask for God's help, and begin to face it today.
vi) Hagar was the mother of Abraham's first child, Ishmael, who became founder of the Arab nations.
b) What happened to Ishmael, and who are his descendants?
i) Ishmael became ruler of a large tribe or nation. The Ishmaelites were nomads living in the wilderness of Sinai and Paran, south of Israel. One of Ishmael's daughters married Esau. Ishmael's nephew (see Genesis 28:9).
@1. 9 so he (Esau) went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. (Genesis 28:9 NIV)
ii) The Bible pictures the Ishmaelites as hostile to Israel and to God.
@1. 5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you—6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites. (Psalms 83:5-6 NIV)
2. Prayer focus
a) Pray that we would not be like Hagar, when faced with problems, inclined to run away instead of facing and overcoming them.
The End ...
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