When Friction Pays OFF
Introduction
II. The Test of the Covenant (16)
God had made the covenant, and God would fulfill it. All Abraham and Sarah had to do was wait by faith (Heb. 6:12). Alas, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! In the previous chapter, Abraham listened to God and exercised faith, but here he listened to his wife and revealed his unbelief. He ceased to walk in the Spirit and began to walk in the flesh. We have seen that “faith is living without scheming,” but at this point both of them tried to help God accomplish His plan. This explains why God had to wait until they were old before He gave them the child. They had to be dead in themselves before He could work (Heb. 11:11–12).
In v. 2 Sarah blames God for her barren condition and hints that He is not good to them (see 3:1–6). She turns to the world for help—to Hagar, the Egyptian—but the whole scheme fails. The works of the flesh now appear (Gal. 5:16–26).
God did not recognize the marriage. He called Hagar “Sarah’s maid” (v. 8). This is the first mention of the Angel of the Lord in the OT, and is none other than Christ. God cared for Hagar, instructed her to submit to Sarah, and promised that her son, Ishmael, would be a great man, but a wild man. “Ishmael” means “God will hear” (see v. 11).
When Isaac, Sarah’s son, entered the family, there was no room for Ishmael and he was cast out (21:9ff). Eventually, Ishmael fathered twelve sons (25:13–15), and their descendants have been enemies of the Jews for centuries. Galatians 4:21–31 teaches that Sarah pictures the New Covenant and Hagar the Old Covenant. Hagar was a slave, and the Old Covenant enslaved people (Acts 15:10); Sarah was a free woman and Christ makes us free (Gal. 5:1ff). Ishmael was born of the flesh and could not be controlled. Likewise, the Law appeals to the flesh but cannot change it or control it. Isaac was born of the Spirit, a child of promise (Gal 4:23) who enjoyed liberty.
Do not miss the practical lessons here: whenever we run ahead of God, there is trouble. The flesh loves to help God, but true faith is shown in patience (Isa. 28:16). We cannot mix faith and flesh, law and grace, promise and self-effort.