Jul 19
7
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 16
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 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. 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. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 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!’ 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. The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 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.’ The angel of the LORD said to her, ‘Return to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel of the LORD also said to her, ‘I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.’ 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. 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.’ 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.’ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.” (Genesis 16, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Hebrews 12:1–11
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:1–11, ESV)
Introduction
Perhaps your are beginning to recognize a pattern to the story of Genesis. The pattern is one wherein the Lord states or reiterates his promises to his people, his people struggle to trust in God’s word and to obey his commandments, particularly when the fulfillment of his promises are delayed, and yet the Lord remains faithful to his promises — indeed it is true, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13, ESV).
This pattern — the pattern of God’s promise, mans struggle to persever in faith, and God’s faithfulness to preserve his people and his work — is clearly present in the Genesis narrative.
In Genesis 12 God made promises to Abram. He responded in faith — by no means should we loose sight of this — but he also struggled to walk faithfully. When their was a famine in the land he went down into Egypt and, being afraid of what might happen to him, he took matters into his own hands, and lied concerning his relationship to his wife Sarai, saying only that she was his sister. Though Abram was in this moment found faithless, God remained faithful — for he cannot deny himself.
We noticed a similar pattern in the life of Abram’s nephew, Lot. When things got difficult he was so quick to move far away from Abram and the land that had been promised to him. He seemed to be somewhat enamored with the pleasures and prosperity of that land, and so off he went. It seems that Lot lost sight of the promises and purpose of God as he went the way of the world. The results were disastrous, and yet God was faithful to preserve him.
Now it Sarai’s turn. It should noted that in Genesis 15 God reiterated his great promises to Abram. More than that, God made a covenant with Abram! And what is the next story that is told to us? It is the story of Sarai’s lack of faith. Again, the results are disastrous. But again, the Lord is merciful and kind. He is faithful to preserve his people and to bring about his purposes.
This pattern is one that we should get used to, for it will be repeated over and over again throughout the scriptures. And it also a pattern that we see in the lives of God’s people to this very day. God promises; we are tempted to disbelieve and to go our own way; but God is faithful — he keeps his promises and preserved his people. Indeed, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13, ESV).
There are three things that need to be noted about this text. Firstly, we must recognize that though Abram and Sarai had faith, they sometimes struggled in their faith. Secondly, we must observe the tendency that Abram and Sarai had to take matters into their own hands when their faith was weak — the results were disastrous. And thirdly, we must again take note of the tenderness of our God. Indeed, he is so very merciful and kind. He is patient with his people, and faithful to preserve them.
Abram And Sarai Sometimes Struggled to Believe
First of all, notice that though Abram and Sarai had true faith, they sometimes struggled to believe.
The scriptures are very honest concerning the weaknesses of our heroes, aren’t they? Is it right for us to highly esteem Abram and Sarai? Is it right for us to consider them to be hero’s of the faith? Yes, it is right! The writer to the Hebrews spoke so very highly of them when he wrote, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore” (Hebrews 11:8–12, ESV). Abram and Sarai are here put forth as paradigms of faith; models to be imitated. But they were far from perfect. Though their faith was true and big, it was not without flaw. Abram and Sarai struggled from time to time.
Look with me at the first half of verses 1. There we read, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children” (Genesis 16:1a, ESV). This is a problem. This is a big problem, especially when we consider all that had been promised to Abram previously. The promises concerning descendents and a nation possessing the land of Canaan all hinged upon Abram having a son. And remember that the Lord had clarified his promises to Abram. His heir would be a natural heir, and not a legal one. Abram would have a son from his own loins.
It is not difficult to sympathize with Sarai at this point. Surely she believed in the promises of God. And surly she longed to see the fulfillment of those promises. I do not believe that it was merely her desire for a child that drove her to do what she did here, but mainly her desire to see the promises made to her husband fulfilled. What wife desiring to have a child of her own what suggest what Sarai suggested? Would it not be far better to adopt a child? Would that not be the same as far as Sarai was concerned? In both instances she would have a son that came not from her womb. Why then she suggest what she suggested — that Abram take her servant into his embrase? It could only be that she longed to see the fulfillment of the promises of the Lord. The Lord said that Abram would have a son, and Sarai began to assume that she was the problem. With the passing of time she began to doubt whether the Lord was able to bring life from a womb that was dead. Here it is Sarai, and not Abram or Lot, who struggled in the faith.
APPLICATION: Friends, this application has been made before, but it is good to make it again. We too can be tempted to doubt God with the passing of time. Sometimes the Lord moves more slowly than we would like or expect. Sometimes his ways are not our ways. And with the passing of time comes the temptation to doubt.
Now, our situations do not mirror Abram’s and Sarai’s exactly. They had received very specific promises from the Lord pertaining to the details of their personal lives — Abram would have a son. He would become a great nation. His decedents would inherit a particular land. Indeed, it is true — God has given us many promises to cling to, but they are not nearly as specific as this. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, to finish the work that he has begun in us, to bring us safely home, etc. But never has he promised that we will be married, have children, be prosperous, healthy and wealthy. Abram received promises like this, but those were for him and not us. Those promises made to Abram effect us. We benefit from the fulfillment of them in Christ Jesus. But the specific promises were for him, and not us. This is why I say, our situations do not mirror Abram’s and Sarai’s exactly.
Nevertheless, here I am acknowledging that all of God’s people have hopes and desires of their own. They bring their desires to God in prayer, and it is right that they do. And when God delays in his response, the people of God can be tempted to doubt, just as Abram and Sarai were tempted to doubt as it pertained to the fulfillment of the specific promises that were made to them.
Perhaps you desire children. You’ve prayed for it, but the Lord has not answered in the way that you wish. Perhaps you desire to marry, but the Lord has not provided an opportunity. Perhaps your health is poor, or you finances strained. You’ve asked the Lord to act, but he seems distant and silent. These unanswered prayers, these unmet desires, can be used by the evil one to sow seeds of doubt. And if we are not careful to tend to the garden of our life, we can be overrun by the weeds of discontentment and unbelief.
Let me say three things that I hope will help the people of God to walk faithfully while experiencing delayed gratification in this world.
One, it is important to have a clear understanding of what the Lord has promised you, and what he has not. I feel for those Christians who have believed the lie that God has promised things that he has not promised in his word. Some have been encouraged to read all of the promises found in Holy Scripture and to claim their as their own, ignoring the fact that some of those promises were made to others, and not to them. Others have been taught that God’s supreme desire to make them happy, healthy, wealth and prospers. These saints are bound to be disappointed when they find the Christian life involves sorrow, sickness, suffering and even death. It is not that God has failed them. It is that they harbored expectations that are not reasonable or grounded in truth. The saints feel as if God has failed them, but it is because they have first believed a lie. Believers would do well to put John 16:33 to memory, wherein Christ says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).
Two, understand that God’s timing might be different than yours. Sarai stumbled in this regard. She knew the promises of God, but from her perspective, the Lord was moving too slowly. 10 years had passed since she and her husband had entered the land, and still no child! Perhaps you also are struggling with the timing of the Lord. You have prayed for relief, and it has yet to come. You’ve prayer for the salvation of a loved one, and so far, nothing. You have asked the Lord to move in some particular way, and from your perspective it seems as if your request has fallen upon deaf ears. Friends, the Lord is not deaf or distant. He is the God who hears and sees. He is always near. This is why Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1, ESV). But sometimes his timing is different from what we think it should be. Brothers and sisters, God’s timing is also ways best. He is never early or late in the accomplishment of his decrees. Everything that happens in the world, including the little details of our lives, happened according to the eternal decree of God, for his glory and the good of his people. It is mysterious, I know!
Three, it is also important to understand that the will of the Lord might be different than yours. It is good and right that we bring our desires to the Lord in prayer, but we should always remember that his will might be different than ours. When we pray, we should pray like Christ when he said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42, ESV). His was an honest prayer — he brought his sincere desire before the Lord. He prayed in faith — surely he knew that God was able. But his was also a humble and submissive prayer — ”Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done”. Whenever we bring our desires to the Lord in prayer we should come with this same attitude of humble submission to his will in all things. His will might be different than yours, and the servant of God will be please to see the Lord’s will accomplished above all.
May the Lord help us to walk faithfully in this world while experiencing delayed gratification.
Abram And Sarai Had A Tendency To Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
The second thing for us to notice about this passage is that Abram and Sarai had a tendency to take matters into their own hands when their faith was weak. Abram took matters into his own hands when he and Sarai went down into Egypt. He was afraid. And instead of living in simple obedience to God, he acted according to his own wisdom when he asked Sarai to lie, saying only that she was his sisters. Sarai complied with Abram’s request and the results were disastrous. In verses 1b – 6 of this passage we see that Sarai did something similar — instead of living in simple obedience to God, she acted according to her own wisdom when she urged Abram to take Hagar as his wife. Abram complied and the results were disastrous.
Sarai, being frustrated and discouraged by the delay of the fulfillment of the promises of God, concocted a plan. She desired to see the Lord’s promises fulfilled. And when the fulfillment did not come as soon as she thought, she began to reason within herself, saying, perhaps my barrenness is the problem? Perhaps I am hindering the fulfillment of these promises concerning a son for Abram. All of the nations around us have the practice of husbands taking more than one wife. Perhaps that is the solution for us. Hagar, who is young and fertle, can bear the child, and we will raise him as our own. After all, the Lord said that a son would come from his loins, but not my womb.
The plan was not an unreasonable one, especially if we consider the customs of the nations that surrounded Abram and Sarai. Her plan would have seemed perfectly reasonable to them! But there was one problem. In the beginning God established that marriage is a union of one man and one woman for life. In Genesis 2:24 we read, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, ESV). Certainly, Abram and Sarai were aware of this design, and Sarai’s plan was a clear violation of it.
APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters, never should we be opposed to winsomeness, ingenuity, creativity and prudence in the Christian life. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with being diligent, responsible and wise while waiting upon the fulfillment of God’s promises or the answers to your prayers. The scriptures everywhere teach that God is both sovereign and yet we are responsible. It is right for us to take action when waiting upon the Lord. For example, if you are praying for the salvation of a loved one, it is right for you to do good to that person and to share the gospel with them winsomly. Salvation is of the Lord, but this is your responsibility. Sarai was wrong to do what she did, not because she was proactive, but because she violated God design for marriage when concocted her plan. Sarai was indeed free to act, but only within the bounds of God’s revealed will. The same could be said of Abram when he went down to Egypt with Sarai. He was not necessarily wrong to go. And it was right for him to be concerned for the protection of his wife and for his own preservation. He erred when he encouraged his wife to tell a lie! That was out of bounds for him, for it was a violation of the law of God. I have noticed that the people of God are tempted in similar ways to this present day. When longing to see the answers to their prayers they are often tempted to go ever so slightly outside of the boundaries that God has established to bring about the desired results.
A young woman wants to wed. And after years of searching she has not found a suitable partner. She knows what the scriptures say. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14, ESV). Indeed she is free to marry, “whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39, ESV). And then along comes prince charming. He is kind to her. He mature and responsible (he is even more mature and responsible than the single Christian men that she knows). And so she begins to rationalize, saying to herself, it’s been so long. God has ignored my prayers. And my happiness is important, isn’t it? Who know, perhaps he will come to faith after we wed. How bad can it be given what nice guy he is, etc. Her proactivity is not the problem. The problem is her willingness to transgress the boundries that God has established in his word.
I could put one hypothetical situation before you after another to demonstrate that the people of God are tempted in the same way that Abram and Sarai were to the present day.
The scriptures clearly call husband and wives to take certain roles in the marriage relationship. The husband is to lead with a self-sacrificing love. The wife is to respond in loving submission. And yet so many today reson the scriptures away, saying, that is outdated, or, this might be true for some, but not for us. Is their room for creativity, wisdom and diversity within our marriage relationships. Indeed! But within the bounds that God has established.
The scriptures are also clear that the people of God are to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy. On that day, which is the first day now that Christ is risen, we are to cease from work and recreation to assemble together as the people of God for worship. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts to “not [forsake] the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25, NKJV). And yet so many in our day cast aside the forth commandment along with the New Testament example as the rationalize their behavior. I’m tired, they say. I’m busy. I need the money and therefore must work. This is a day for family, etc. Now, the fact that you are tired, busy, in need of money and desirous of family time must be addressed. These are important concerns! But the solution must be found with then bounds of God’s law.
I might also make a similar point as it pertains to giving cheerfully unto the Lord.
These are but a few examples of how Christians might reason the clear teaching of scripture away. They say to themselves, yes, I know what God has said. But certainly my situation is different. And in order to bring about this desired result, I am sure that the Lord would approve of me stepping out of bounds just this one. After all, the ends justify the means, don’t they?
This was the error that Sarai made. She assumed that the Lord needed her help, all the while ignoring his design for the marriage bond. Verse 1: “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 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. 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. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.” (Genesis 16:1–4, ESV)
Notice a few things about these four verses.
One, Abram was complicit in Sarai’s sin. Sarai concocted the plan, but Abram participated.
Two, notice that the language used in this passage echos of the language used to describe the original sin of Adam and Eve. Just as Eve, thinking that she knew better than God, brought the fruit to Adam and urged him to eat, so too Sarai, thinking that she knew better than God, brought Hagar to Abram and urged him to lay with her. And in verse 2 we are told that “Abram listened to the voice of Sarai”. This is also what led to Adam’s sin. Remember Genesis 3:17: “And to Adam [The LORD] said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life…” (Genesis 3:17, ESV).
The two situations — Adam’s eating of the forbidden fruit and Abram’s taking Hagar as wife — mirror one another. God had just entered into covenant with both men. The functioned as federal heads, or representatives for others — Adam for humanity, Abram for the Hebrews. And not long after the covenant’s were transacted, they both fell.
Three, notice that the result of Sarai and Abram’s sin was disastrous. When Hagar “saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.” This means that she look upon Sarai with a haughty, prideful look. Perhaps Hagar assumed that she would be Abram’s favorite now. Sarai, being enraged at the arrogance of her servant, and being driven by a jealous spirit spoke to Abram, sating, “‘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!’ 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” (Genesis 16:5–6, ESV).
What a terribly sad story. What a mess we make of things when we choose to go our own way and to sin against the Lord. Oh that we would learn from Adam and Abram, Eve and Sarai, and choose the much better way, which is to live a life of simple faith and obedience.
Our God Is Tender And Kind
The third and last point of this sermon today has to do with the kindness of our God. Can’t you see that is so very merciful and kind? He is patient with his people, and faithful to preserve them. He is the “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18, ESV). Indeed, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3, ESV)
This is so clearly demonstrated in verses 7-16. After Sarai was harsh with Hagar, Hagar fled from her. “The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 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.’ The angel of the LORD said to her, ‘Return to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel of the LORD also said to her, ‘I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude’” (Genesis 16:7–10, ESV).
This is a very interesting and revealing text. The phrase, “The angel of the LORD found her…” gives the impression that he was seeking Hagar. Of course we know that the Lord does not need to search for anyone, for he knows and sees all things, past, present and future. But isn’t it wonderful to think that he Lord does “search” for people. He “pursues” them.
And consider who it is that he pursued. She was not someone powerful person or of noble pedigree. The Lord pursued Hagar, the servant of Sarai. And we should remember her ethnicity. She was an Egyptian! This must be considered in light of what has been said before and what will come later. Abram, according to promise of God, would be a blessing to the nations. Here we see that God was concerned with others besides the Hebrew people in the days of Abram — he pursued Hagar the Egyptian. We should also remember the promise made to Abram, that many nations would emerge from. Here we learn that nations would emerge, not only from amongst the Hebrew people through the son of promise, but also through the son that would be born to Hagar.
Verse 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. 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.’ 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.’ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram” (Genesis 16:11–16, ESV). Truly, the Lord is merciful and kind. He sees the affliction of this people. He pursues us even in our sin, and he calls us to repentance, even when it is hard.
APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters, it is good for us to think often of the kindness of our God. He has been so very tender with us. Do you see it? Do you recognize his kindness? Have you thought of the way in which he called you to repentance? Have you considered the patience that he has shown you? Have you contemplated the many wonderful gifts that he has showered upon you, all by his mercy and grace?
Conclusion
The Lord was kind to Sarai and Abram despite their sin. He would fulfill the promises that he made to them, for they were unconditional.
The Lord was kind too Hagar. Yes, he urged her to return to Sarai, for this was right. But he pursued her, comforted her in her affliction, and richly provided for all her needs.
And the Lord has been very good to you and me. Let us not forget it. Let us often consider the kindness of God and give him thanks for his tender mercies.
