Walking by Faith

Gen 16:1  Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Gen 16:2  And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Gen 16:3  And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Gen 16:4  And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Gen 16:5  And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Gen 16:6  But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Gen 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

One of the most important things in the days of Abraham was the quest for children, especially a first-born son.

It has been 13 years since God had promised Abraham an heir through Sarai. She knew that children came from God “Behold…the Lord has restrained me” this meant that in her eyes, God was holding back on her so she and Abraham decide to take matters into their own hands and help God out since they know the perfect time and what is best.

Where have we seen this before? In Genesis chapter 3, where mankind decides that God is holding back on them and they do what is right in their own eyes.

How many times have we ended up like this?

God gives us a vision. He gives us a special promise through the Word and we get so very excited. Yet time passes and we become bored or impatient, or we develop the idea that we have either done something wrong or that God is holding back on us.

I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

This custom was allowed socially and it was allowed practically but it has never been allowed spiritually.

We must remember that God’s hesitation does not come from procrastination or condemnation but because of preparation and many times our problems come through wrong interpretation.

Many times we decide we know what is best for us or when promises should happen and we end up messing everything up and the end result is not life but death. Abraham and Sarai have no idea about the can of worms they have just opened.

and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Gen 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

Now Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid is pregnant with Abraham’s child. Sarai is still barren and despised by Hagar and now she is very upset with the situation that they have walked into. Abraham says “Do what you want too with her, she’s your problem!”

Sarai treats Hagar harshly and Hagar ends up running away from them.

Neither of them acted in a very good way, or the way they should have. They were not showing the proper Godly attitude or actions during this ordeal. Now Hagar would have known how they were following the Lord on faith and pure belief. She would have heard the surrounding folks talk of how much respect they had for him. She would have heard them talk of the many wonderful promises that God had given them. She would have heard them talk about how they has been so very blessed.

She would hear many wonderful things but she would see an obvious contradiction in their actions.

What must she have thought of these two people of God?

What would her opinion be about them right now?

What about her opinion of their God?

Especially when they refuse to take any responsibility for their own actions and what they have brought upon their own heads.

Many times WE are the only Bible that others might see. We are God’s ambassadors to the world and many times they get their ideas of Who God is and how His people act through what we say and do.

With this in mind, how do you think we should act at all times?

People will always call you on your actions, and God forbid we should make someone flee from our presence because of our harsh and ungodly action