In a previous article, I covered Abram being called to be the patriarch of the elect people of Yahweh God. However even with the Lord’s assurances the two are unable to conceive as Sarai was barren, a condition society taught her was an act of God against her. As they become very old, even by modern standards, they decide to take matters into their own hands to create an heir.
Sarai presents Hagar to Abram. 18th Century French School. Public Domain.
In the Ancient Near East, it was customary for women of means who were barren to offer their husband a surrogate from the household servants. that the wife would offer a female slave as a surrogate to ensure an heir. Sarai states that God is keeping her from having a child (in this case she’s right but not for the reason she thinks) and offers Abram her Egyptian slave Hagar. Hagar becomes successfully pregnant and is either married to Abraham or otherwise given a place of status so that the baby will have inheritance rights.
At this point Hagar starts getting a bit arrogant. She has gone from being a slave to having status in the household. At the same time she sees her master, Sarai, unable to have a child and apparently losing status in the same household. The Bible states that Hagar began to look upon Sarai with contempt and that Sarai blames the conflict between them on her husband. Abram throws it back at her telling her that Hagar is her servant and for Sarai to do as she wishes.
Watercolor by James Tissot, circa 1900.
We are then told that Sarai “dealt harshly” with Hagar to the point that she fled. When one does a word study of the word translated to harshly, this is the result:
“To humiliate; to oppress; to be wretched, emaciated; to cringe; to be crouched, hunched up, wretched, suffering; to bend, submit; to do violence to”
Interestingly, its the same word used by God in Genesis 15 to describe to Abram how his descendants will be treated while they are slaves in Egypt. You can imagine how Hagar felt as she fled. She shouldn’t have become conceded with Sarai, but at the same time she is the one with the least power by far in this story. She was a slave so she didn’t have a choice when she was offered to Abram as a surrogate. One can assume that as a servant she was favored by Sarai (would Sarai really give her husband a servant she didn’t like from the start?) and was then treated well by Abram for a time. Then, once she is pregnant both turn on her. She was now a pariah who was homeless and with child.
Hagar and the Angel of the Lord by Cecco Bravo. 1650, Public Domain.
It is at this point that Yahweh steps in to fix the mess that has been created, though not without lasting consequences. The Angel of the Lord finds Hagar in the wilderness. He tells her that she should return to Sarai and that her son would also become a nation:
“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.” (Genesis 16:11-12)
Hagar returns to Sarai and gives birth to a son that Abram names Ishmael.
Then, the story moves forwards 13 years as the Bible states Abram goes from 86 years old when Ishmael is born to 99 years old when God starts to move forward with His plan in His time. Yahweh God tells Abram that his name is to become Abraham (Hebrew meaning: father of a multitude) and that his wife’s name will become Sarah (Hebrew meaning: mother of nations). They will give birth to a son and through that son the covenant promises will begin to be fulfilled. At this point Abraham once again shows doubt by laughing, asking how a 99 year old woman is going to give birth to a son.
Sarah holds laughter in her arms. Public Domain.
However, the age has been an important part of God’s plan all along. Yahweh God decided that the birth would be an unquestionable miracle. This miracle would mark them as His people and can be seen as an archetype of the future (even more so) miraculous birth of Jesus who would be the perfect priest king to the nations that Israel failed to be.
There was no natural way a 99 year old woman that was barren her whole life would naturally be able to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy son. The oldest birth (that we know of) was to a mother of 70 and that involved in vitro fertilization. Sarah does not have access to modern medical care living in the Ancient Near East and she is well above the average lifespan of the time of 35-37 years for women. In Hebrew, Isaac means “He will laugh”.
The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac, by Rembrandt in 1635. Public Domain.
So, by not having complete faith in God or their relationship with Him, and getting impatient; they cause a lot of bad things to happen. There is obviously considerable stress to their marriage and Hagar is badly treated once she becomes pregnant. From there, the mistakes made by Abraham and Sarah compound to have consequences for them in the short term and for Israel for thousands of years afterwards. Those consequences will be covered in a future article.
For now, take heart in the fact that some of the biggest figures in the Bible made some pretty big mistakes. Abraham and Sarah made several mistakes based out of human desires. Moses was refused entry into the Promised Land because he let his anger over the complaining of the Israelites get the best of him (Numbers 20:10). King David had a man killed because he lusted for the man’s wife (2 Samuel: 11). They were humans and God picked them even knowing their imperfections and didn’t give up on them when they made some pretty serious mistakes. Yahweh isn’t looking for perfection, He is looking for our faith, trust, and loyalty.