Genesis 21:17-20

¹⁷ And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. ¹⁸ Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. ²⁰ So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

It wasn’t your typical love story. Married man meets lovely single woman at a work meeting. They chatter about home life, she is lonely, he is misunderstood by his wife, and over time these two become entangled!

Nope, that’s not how it went. He was the boss, the master of the household, and she a mere servant woman. A woman from another country that had no means of support, no escape from the confinement and orders of her master! It was the culture back in Abram’s day. We see it now as cruel and certainly ungodly-but it was a survival plan back then.

Hagar found herself in a very bad position. All she had was the child she carried that was her masters, as a bargaining chip. Even that had not given her the desired result. She was, of course, teasing and harassing her ‘boss’ Sari. She, Hagar, was the one who would give Abram the promised heir. Scripture does not elaborate much on that interaction between the females, but we do know it was enough to anger Sari and send Hagar into the wilderness. Even in that sinful relationship, God chose to spare Hagar and her child. An angel told Hagar to return to Abram and Sari-and she did.

Months pass and Hagar gives birth to Abram’s first son, Ishmael! Joy in the home, a son is born, but not for long! Hagar began mocking and tormenting Sari again! Abram was 86 years old at the time Ishmael was born. This nonsense between the two women was just not something he wanted to deal with. Yet, when Abram was 99 years old, God had another surprise for him. The son of promise, Isaac! In honor of that event, and as a way to discern the two eras, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, and Sari’s name to Sarah. Slight changes, but the significance was monumental in their lives. Now the married couple, had their very own son. This was the son promised to them by God that Sarah did not have the patience, or faith, to wait. for. Now throughout their liveswith Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael would be a loud and clear evidence of their disobedience.

When Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was not much younger. The Egyptian woman just could not resist making fun of Sarah! She harassed her and Isaac to the point where Sarah could not take it any more! She got Abraham involved this time. He was very saddened by the situation, after all Ishmael was his son also. Ishmael was 13 by this time. Abraham got up one morning and after he had been told by God that his son Isaac would be blessed. He gathered some provisions for Hagar and Ishmael, and sadly he sent her away with his firstborn son. Now, ‘away’ was not a destination, it was the wilderness of Beersheba. A place where she had to fend for herself and her teen-aged son.

It did not take long for her food and water to run out, and the wilderness offered none! Hagar loved her son, she could not bear to watch as he died from exposure and dehydration. She made him as comfortable as she could under a tree for shade, then walked away! And she cried.

Stop here for a moment and think. This must have been the most difficult thing she ever had to do! Leave your son and walk away expecting that shortly both of you would die! Now God could have allowed that to happen and Hagar and Ishmael would have been just a short narrative in Abraham’s history. Not so!

God heard her crying. He chose an angel, again, to go to Hagar. Her eyes were opened and she saw a well of water provided for her and her son! They lived! Funny thing, they continued to live in the wilderness but when it was time for Ishmael to marry, she chose a wife for him from Egypt, her homeland.

I just find it fascinating that our God who knows all and can fix all things, chose to allow this illigimate son of a slave woman and patriarch, to live. And, not only live but thrive and become the father of many nations himself. Of course, Isaac, the son of promise became the ancestor of Jesus. Ishmael became the ancestor of Muhammad! Hmmmmm give that some thought today!