The Lord Has Heard Your Affliction, Genesis 16

Take your time, you’ll get there faster. dougism 101.

I’ve said that so many times, that now my kids and grandkids say it too.

The saying was birthed from learning the hard way. Too many times having to say:

Sorry I’m late. I’d have gotten here sooner—but I decided to take a shortcut.

In the long run, taking shortcuts, usually turns out to be, long runs.

That may be exactly what happened to Abram and Sarai when they decided to take a shortcut.

It’s only been a decade since God promised them, repeatedly, a multitude of descendants.

She’s only 75. Her husband is only 85.

What’s the rush?

As of yet, we haven’t heard a word from Sarai.

But we’re about to get an earful. 

 

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children…

Now Saria… Seventh time Sarai is mentioned in the Bible (Sarai means, my princess).

Abram’s wife… Sarai is always identified as Abram’s wife. She’s been Abram’s wife since way back in Ur of the Chaldeans; before moving to the Promise Land.

Had borne him no children… This is the second time we’re told, she’s barren. (Genesis 11:29-30).

So, who’s Sarai? 

Oh, she’s just Abram’s wife, Abram’s wife, Abram’s wife, over and over, Abram’s wife.

Oh, and by the way, she’s barren. She can’t have kids. She’s no use, she can’t produce.

Just another pretty face.

A really pretty face. But what good did that do?  Caused her more harm than good.

In chapter 12, Abram feared the famine and fled to Egypt. On the way he said, Sarai, my wife, you are real pretty, and I’m real scared they’ll hurt me, because they’ll want you. So, here’s what you do. Tell them you’re my sister. Then, they’ll like me, but they’ll take you, into the demon worshipping harem of Pharaoh; but it’s all good, ‘cuz it’ll save my hide. Thanks Sarai, my princess bride.

Listen Sarai, you are more than a pretty painting just to look at.

You’re much more than a piece of property to produce.

You’re a priceless, precious, person with a Divine Eternal Purpose.

Your husband, or boyfriend, or family, or friends, may not see it. 

But God does.

He knows your identity; even if you don’t.

He never loses sight of you; even when you’re hauled out of the Promise Land, into Egypt.

He knows your exact location, even deep in the midst of Pharaoh’s lair. 

Nothing, not Pharaoh’s army, not the most fortified palace in the world, not even the meanest demons, can stop, the Almighty from reaching in, and pulling you out; and putting you back on track to the Promise Land, where you belong.

 

Unfortunately, when we go places we shouldn’t be; we pick up things we shouldn’t have.

 

¹…And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.

Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with us.

Evidently, when God rescued Abram and Sarai out of Egypt, they took some of Egypt with them.  

Nu. 32:23 says, Surely your sin will find you out..

Perhaps God convicted Abram of the error of his ways, because the next thing we saw, Abram freely gave his nephew, Lot, free choice of all the land. Genesis 13.

 And then, after rescuing Lot and friends from captivity, Abram wouldn’t even accept as much as a shoestring for a reward from the wicked ruler of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 14.

Nevertheless, even if we repent of our sins, and learn our lesson, and receive forgiveness; most of the time, the external consequences remain.

Hello, Hagar.

² So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children…

I want to yell, STOP! right here, before she says another word.

The Lord has restrained me…

Period.

If the Lord shut the door, who are we to try to open it?

If He planted the seed, and provided the plan, who are we to dictate its timing?

If He is restraining, why are we straining, against His will?

 

I wish the next words from Sarai would’ve been something like:

Yes, He has promised.

No, we don’t see it.

Yet.

So, we will wait.

With eyes, and ears, wide open.

Expecting. 

Abe, honey, just think; God made the earth in six days. He's been working on this promise to us for ten long years. So, He must be preparing something reallllly special for me and you, Abee Baby.

 

But, alas, that’s not exactly what Sarai says…

 

 ² …Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.”

Yes, she said that. And yes, it means what you think it means.

Wow! Why now? After ten years, why now?

She must’ve missed our message last Sunday.

God had just taken the promise a step further, and cut a covenant with Abram.

The deal was finally sealed.

The engagement ring was finally on the finger. Or, actually, even deeper than that, the covenant was consummated.

The covenant was cut in blood.

God passed between the pieces, walked the blood path; meaning, if I don’t fulfill the terms of this covenant, let My blood be shed, like the blood of these animals.

And then, He did the unthinkable.

He took the place of Abram. He willingly walked the bloody path instead of Abram. Genesis 15:17-18.

The Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering, instead of me, instead of you.  

God Himself with His own blood, consummated the covenant, sealed the deal for me, for you.

 

So, what was Sarai thinking? Why now?

I can’t pretend to get in a woman’s head and tell you what she was thinking.

However, perhaps we can peer into the spirit realm and see how she was tempted. 

The same serpent that slithered lies to Eve, could see, at least in part, the power of the covenant just consummated.

Whenever God does something, the devil does a counterfeit.

Sssssarai, the snake may have hissed; you’re Abram’s pretty princess, that’s all. Not the mother of his children. If he needed you, why would he be so quick to abandon you to Pharaoh’s lair?

If God wanted you as part of His plan, He’d have included you when He told Abram, “One who comes from your own body shall be your heir.” Genesis 15:4.

If God wanted you to have kids, you’d already have them.

It’s too late.

You’re too old.

However, dear Ssssarai, there’s a way for you, to be more than just a pretty face, but also oh sssso wise.

Consider Hagar, she’s young, pleasant to the eyes; good and healthy enough to carry a child…

God consummated the covenant. 

The serpent conjured up a consummation of his own.

And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

Or, the voice of the snake. 

This is quite astonishing considering, Abram’s first ever recorded words in the Bible were bold enough to actually question God’s plan. A plan that God had been repeating for a decade. Genesis 15:2-3.

Now here, we hear, Sarai’s first ever recorded words in the Bible, and they are, at best, a detour from God’s plan.

 So, Abram, being the bold man of faith that he is, says something like:

Now wait a minute Sarai, my princess. We need to talk… you know I would never … I don’t think God… um, but, then, you know since it’s for the fam—the kids, I guess, maybe, well, yeah—okay.

3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife…

In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, there were two trees, one was forbidden.

The wife, took the forbidden, gave to her husband, and he partook.

 

Here, there are two women, one is forbidden.

The wife, takes the forbidden, gives to her husband, and he partakes.

 

The serpent smiles.

 

Adam heeding instead of leading, plunged the rest of his descendants (all humanity) into a war with sin that rages to this day.

Abram heeding instead of leading, plunged his descendants (the middle east) into a family feud, a war, that rages to this day.

 

after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.

Interesting how God glances at the clock, now and then, and tells us what time it is.

I wonder why? He never does anything by accident. He articulated the original Text with perfect precision and timing.

The last time God told us the time was back when Abram first got to the Promise Land. Genesis 12:4.

The Lord welcomed him at Shechem; and Abram built an altar to the Lord.

Then he went to Bethel, built an altar and called on the name of the Lord.

All was going so well.

At that rate, they’d be rocking a cradle in nine months or so.

But then, Abram turned to Pharaoh instead of God for provision and protection from the famine.

Everything went sideways.

God intervened, pulled them out, and brought them back.

But then, all wasn’t going so well.

They had a family feud which split the family in two. Lot went one way; Abe went the other.

Then, Abe had to rescue Lot, who’d been taken as a prisoner of war.  

Now, just like that a decade has gone by.

When we go our own way, and depart from God’s Promise Land for our lives; we delay His Divine Eternal Purpose and plan for our lives.

So, a decade slips by and we haven’t even started what should only take about nine months.

4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.

Hello Sarai, this is Hagar.

 I’m sorry, I have to call in sick again. This morning sickness, really has me down. 

Abey’s baby sure is active. I can tell he’s gonna be big and strong just like his daddy. 

Wonder if he’ll have your eyes. Oh wait, my bad—ha—maybe he’ll have mine.

Oh my, there he goes again, I better go lay down. 

Could you bring me some pickles, sweety? 

Bye.

The battle is on.

Polygamy is never a good idea; always leads to problems.

Two wives are too many. The world did it, and does it, some religions think it’s cool; and the way things are going, it may become legal in America before you know it.

But it’s not God’s way; not God’s will.

Marriage and the family structure by God’s Divine Design, is one man, one woman, for life.

Okay, since we’re here, we need to debunk a couple sayings.

God helps those who help themselves.

Sarai had to shake things up, make things happen. Get some results. Now, see it worked, there’s a kid on the way. Just like the Good Book says: God helps those who help themselves.

No, it doesn’t. That’s not a Bible verse.

My dad said it was. Many dads said it is. It isn’t. Never was. Unless Benjamin Franklin is a book in the Bible.

The other phrase in need of debunking is:

The end justifies the means.

No, it doesn’t.  

God NEVER tempts or tells anyone to sin to His end. Ever.

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”

It was her idea for crying out loud. Now she blames Abe.  It was a bad idea. She was wrong. However, she’s right in more ways than one.

Men, your actions influence your family—a lot.

One chapter earlier, Abraham planted the seed for Sarai to do what she just did—make an Alternate Plan.

Abram had said to God, I’m childless, so, my servant, Eliezer of Damascus is my heir.

It wasn’t true. It wasn’t God’s plan. It was Abram making an alternate plan as if he could read the future.

When it comes to God’s Word, compromise leads to corruption; it’s a pervasive, contagious, poison.

Abram’s idea of making an alternate plan, poisoned Saria; and she thought up an alternative plan of her own—we still feel the repercussions of it today.

6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.”

Do you remember how aggressive Abram was in his first recorded words to God? “What will You give me... How shall I know” Genesis 15:2,8.

Remember how bold and courageous he was rescuing Lot and crew. Genesis 14.

Now notice, when it comes to his wife, his home life, he’s passive, apathetic.

Okay, whatever. It’s up to you, whatever you do is fine by me. Now get out of the way, you’re blocking the TV.

That’s the same apathetic attitude that got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden.

And Hagar, in Abram’s bed.

Be present. Men, pay attention, to your wife, your family. It’s one bill you can pay that’ll reap extraordinary, and eternal dividends.

 

⁶…And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

Sarah’s not passive.

She’s present.

Hagar fled.

 

⁷ Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.

Found who?

Hagar.

Wait. What? Why?

Isn’t this story about Abey Baby and my little Princess Sarai?

Why’d the camera crew follow Hagar out into the night?

Abram and Sarah are superheroes in the faith hall of fame, ancestors to Christ. Good guys.

Hagar is an Egyptian; she’ll be ancestor to a nation that for the most part hates Christ and Israel. Bad guys.

God knows all that, but, right now, she’s a woman that needs a friend. She’s scared, alone and rejected, and the Lord has a soft spot for outcasts.

God is not apathetic. Or prejudice.

So, the Angel of the Lord, finds her by a well, on her way back to Egypt.

NOTE: this is the first mention of, the Angel of the Lord.

It is a phrase used in the Old Testament forty-eight times, and The Angel of God, eleven times. This refers to a Christophany; an appearance of Christ, before His incarnation—before being born in the flesh as a baby.

The Angel of the Lord, who found Hagar sitting by a well, also found the woman at the well, in Samaria, some 4,000 years later, when He walked this earth as a man named Jesus. John 4.

Both women, were despised and rejected. A feeling He too would know all too well.

Both needed comfort, compassion and direction; which He gave to them both.

He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. He still seeks the lost, is near the broken hearted, and comforts the hurting. Ps. 34:18, Isaiah 61:1.

He’s only a prayer away.
 

8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Hagar.

Abram and Sarai, never called her by name, they called her the maid.

The Lord calls her by name.

Asks her a question. Not only sees her, but interacts with her. Wants to hear from her, not just dictate to her.

Where have you come from?

There’s lots of different answers, but one we all have in common; sin. We’ve all sinned, we’ve all fallen short. Romans 3:23.

The real question is where are you going?

There’s lots of answers, but one we all have in common. Heaven or hell. We’re all headed to one or the other.

The choice is yours.

The Way, is His.

 

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”

Hagar means, flight or forsaken. She is fleeing. She’s been forsaken.

He will never leave you. Never forsake you. You are never forgotten. Deuteronomy 31:6.

Sometimes leaving is necessary. Certain situations and environments call for immediate evacuation.

Many times, bailing out, isn't the answer. Sticking and fixing is.

As is this situation.

The Angel of the Lord says, return, submit.

The Lord’s advice to us who are prone to wander. Return, repent, submit, under the mighty hand of God, and He will lift you up. 1 Peter 5:6.

 

10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”

Hagar listened, returned and submitted. And it happened, just as the Angel of the Lord said.

Hagar and Sarah populate the middle east today.

There are about 15 million Jews descended from Abraham through Isaac, then Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. 

There'd be much more, if not for, the demonic genocide against them from the start. Today's demonic mantra is: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." It has nothing to do with Palestinians or freedom. It has everything to do with demonic hatred of the Jews.

There are about 436 million Arabs from Abraham through Ishmael and his twelve sons.

11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:

Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.

Kind of sounds like the angelic announcement to Mary. Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:21.

You are with child. Life begins in the womb.

Ishmael, means, God hears.

No matter who you are, where you are, what you’re going through; the Lord has heard your affliction.

 

12 He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

Original text says a wild donkey of a man.

We see this play out today in the middle east conflict. The terrorists, Hamas fit this description well.

Dwelling in the presence of his brethren, yet always at odds, always at war.

The Bible declared this thousands of years ago, and it is so.

Only CHRISTianity has the Book that declares the end from the beginning. The Bible, is the only Book that’s 25% prophecy and 100% accurate.

No wonder it’s the best seller of all time.

It’s a wonder the whole world hasn’t flocked to its pages seeing more and more of it is jumping from chapter and verse to front page news.

 It's so awesome to be able to know a God that knows and holds the future. Nothing left to guess work. 

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

Beer Lahai Roi; means: Well of the living One that sees me.

This is the first mention of, well, in the Bible; and verse seven was the first mention of, spring and, the Angel of the Lord.  

The law of first mention sets the precedent.

We’re in a chapter of heavy hitters with faith giants, Abraham and Sarah.

But where does the precedent setting law of first mention land?

Next to the outcast, an outsider, the woman at the well.

The Angel of the Lord, sets the precedent, He came to seek and to save, that which is lost. Luke 19:10.

 

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

Ishmael means: God hears.

Too bad, they didn’t hear. They didn’t listen. They thought the goal was to have a child.

They missed the mark, went their own way; so do you think they'll be in for another delay? 

It wasn’t about having a child of Abram’s—it was about being a child, of God. John 1:12; Galatians 3:29.

Still is.

 

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Well whaddya know about that? God looks at the clock, again.

Why?

Oh my, look at the clock, we’ll see why in the next verse… next time.

 

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your exceedingly great and precious promises still as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

Thank You for seeing us. Hearing us. And for knowing exactly where we are.

Help us see You. Hear You. Be with You. Always.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

 

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