Hagar & Ishmael
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Reflections Sunday Message Recap:
“Revive Me”
Pastor Louis H. Straker, Jr.
July 11th, 2021
Psalms 143:1 - 11
Sometimes you got to start living and stop just surviving
You need a revival to come out of survival mode. Not positive thinking, not optimism, but faith in God, and His word.
Survival mode is sometimes a setup for revival mode.
The only way t get out of survival mode is to be revived by the word of God.
We have all been traumatized by something. but there are many examples of those in the Bible who also were traumatized and in survival mode, but by striving and obedience to the word of God were revived.
ICE BREAKER:
Growing up, who was the main decision maker in your family?
Genesis 16:1 - 5
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”
Question #1:
(Gen. 16: 2) What do you find most surprising about Sarai’s words?
Question #2:
What do you think drove Sarai to this course of action?
Definition: contempt - 1. the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile worthless; disdain; scorn. 2. the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.
(contempt of court) - an act of showing disrespect.
Question #3:
(Gen. 16:3 - 6) What problems are evident in Abram’s family? How could this conflict have been resolved?
LESSON:
Like Adam. Abram was the leader of his family. God had communicated His word directly to Abram, and therefore Abram was responsible for properly communicating this word to his family and leading them in obedience to it.
LESSON:
Even after hearing the promise of God again (Gen. 15:13), and believing it - Abram and Sarai found it difficult to know how they would produce a child. After all, both of them were old, pushing the century mark, and the promise was yet unfulfilled.
LESSON:
So like many of us do when we don’t like God’s timing, Sarai produced a scheme to help God out. It was the custom of the day for a servant to act as a surrogate when the wife of the household could not conceive. Sarai, therefore took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and offered her to her husband…as a wife (16:3).
LESSON:
Abram quietly acquiesced to the plan, passively making the same mistake Adam did in allowing the word of his wife to overrule the word and will of God. The sinfulness of Abram’s action is underscored in v. 2b by the words “...And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai” in describing his action. God said a similar thing in His comments to Adam in Gen. 3:17, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife”
LESSON:
Abram’s and Sarai’s scheme may have seemed successful when Hagar became pregnant. But her pregnancy was hardly a panacea that they had hoped. (After all, encouraging your man to sleep with another woman will never lead to a happy family life).
So rather than celebration, Hagar’s pregnancy brought jealousy and strife. Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away (16:6). Just as with Adam and Eve, the consequences of sin were immediately present in interpersonal conflict. Sarai attacked Abram for causing this problem (16:5) “...You are responsible for my suffering...”
Genesis 16:6-16
6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Question #4:
What is your feeling about the situation Hagar finds herself in?
LESSON:
Hagar was now a pregnant single woman alone with no place to lay her head. But God met her in her place of despair, guided her back to Abram and Sarai, and named the child, Ishmael, which means “God hears”. God in near the brokenhearted, and He hears their cries (Psalms 34:18). This gives hope to any single mother who reaches out to God.
LESSON:
Ishmael, would be like a wild ass, which is not a compliment in any culture or era. His descendents would be unruly, bringing conflict in the household of God for generations to come. The Ishmaelites would be a consistent nemesis for the Jews in continual opposition to Israel of their assertion of ownership and dominion of the land of Israel (c.f. Psalms 83:2-6; Judges 8:24).
LESSON:
In spite of the negative promises of Ishmael’s future, Hagar recognized that God had met her in her place of despair. The name El-roi means “The God who sees”. Her story should give us great comfort in knowing that God hears, sees, and cares.
Question #5:
If you could change your name, what new name would you choose and why?
Genesis 17: 1 - 16
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Question #6:
What do you think is the significance of the Lord changing both Abram’s, and Sarai’s name?
LESSON:
Name changes in the Bible are always significant. because names carry meaning and identity. Abram to Abraham (17:5) Abram means “exalted father”, but Abraham means “father of a multitude”. Sarai’s name was also changed, to Sarah. They both mean “princess”, but the change indicates a renewed promise, that she will produce nations, kings of people will come from her (17:16).
LESSON:
The sign of God’s renewed covenant with Abraham was that every male must circumcise the flesh of his foreskin. This painful procedure underscores the commitment God expected from those in covenant with Him.
Circumcision had two unique areas of significance. First, it was a signal that men would carry the covenant, we’ll see the promise pass from Abraham, to his son Isaac, and to his son Jacob, and so on. Second, circumcision was to be a perpetual reminder to the people that God intended to remove impurity from their midst. Removing the male foreskin helped prevent disease, and God used the practice to prefigure how his kingdom would operate: it would purge impurity and pursue holiness.
Genesis 17:17 - 27
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
OBSERVATION:
God by including Sarah in the renewal of the promise affirmed that she was always an integral part of the plan. In marriage the two becoming one means that a promise to Abraham is a promise to his wife as well. Anything done to exclude her would be a violation of the oath, and a lack of faith in God’s word.
Abraham tries to suggest God could use the child of his flesh to fulfill the promise. God says, “NO. Your wife will bear you a son...” In this God affirms marriage between one man, and one woman. Also, God’s will never comes to pass using our fleshly ideas. (In other words, Abraham, Ishmael was your doing, not mine). But, I will cover your mistake, but the consequences of your actions will be felt for generations.
CLOSING:
For believers today, circumcision no longer serves as a sign of God’s kingdom. It has been replaced by baptism, the sign of the new covenant. Baptism serves as a sign that we are operating in accordance with God’s covenant and allowing His kingdom rule to govern our lives.
APPLICATION:
How have you bound yourself to God as his follower?
How will you continue to bind yourself to God and His kingdom in the years to come?