A Woman Special to God

A Woman Special to God—Hagar

I have taught the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar more times that I can count. Yet all of those times my focus was on Abraham and Sarah. Hagar received the status of a villain and certainly not that of a heroine. In a recent study of the book of Isaiah, in a commentary, I found a list of people in the Old Testament who experienced epiphanies. This was in connection with Isaiah 6 where Isaiah had his encounter with God. But something in the list surprised me. I came across the fact that Hagar experienced two epiphanies with God, something that very few people in the Bible can claim. So what does that say to us about Hagar? My contention is simple: Hagar was special to God. Her story is related in Genesis 16 and 21:9-21.

When we use the term special we usually mean special treatment. My dog is special to me, so he gets special privileges. He gets to sit in my chair either with me or when I am gone. I make sure that he is fed twice a day and take him on regular walks. My wife would tell you that Alexander is spoiled. He isn't spoiled, just special. Special people enjoy privileges, the good life, needs and wants being met, and are comfortable. So if Hagar was special to God, then why did she have such a rough time?

Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews gives us a list of people who were special to God. Just a few of them are:

• Abel, who died at the hands of his brother Cain because Abel was special to God.
  
• Noah, suffered humiliation and ridicule for 100 years while he built the ark because God told him he was special.
  
• Abraham, who left the security of Ur to go to a place he didn't know, led by a God he couldn't see on the promise that "someday" he would be special.
  
• Sarah, given by her husband to kings to be in their harems, but never complained because she was special.
  
• Paul was told he was a special messenger for God who would learn what it means to suffer because he was special.
  
• Jesus was by far the most special person to God, and his special privilege was dying an excruciating death on the cross.
  

The list goes on. The point that Hebrews 11 makes is this: being special to God may cost you a great deal in this life.

Hagar's Story

We do not officially know how Hagar came into the picture, but since she was an Egyptian we can assume she was part of the deal Pharaoh made with Abraham in Egypt. Famine was in the land of Canaan when Abram (later changed to Abraham) arrived for the first time. As it would be in the days of Joseph, Egypt had grain for sale. Abram was afraid that the Egyptians would see his beautiful wife and kill Abram for her. So he told the story that Sarai was his sister. Actually it was a half-truth as she was his half-sister. They had the same father and different mothers. Sarai was taken into Pharaoh's harem. What is noteworthy is the fact that she was 65 years of age at the time.

Pharaoh's household came under a curse. Somehow Pharaoh discovered that Sarai was already married to Abram. God's protection of Abraham is apparent because Pharaoh could have easily put him to death and then taken Sarah. Instead Pharaoh chose to give Sarah back to her husband and also richly reward him. He gave him gifts which included male and female servants. It is quite likely that Hagar was one of them.

Regardless of where Abram and Sarai acquired Hagar the fact remains that she was a slave. As a person she had no rights and could never be free unless her master chose to free her. She could be called upon to do anything the master desired. The evidence of Hagar's lack of freedom is seen when Sarai decides that Abram can have a child by her. A woman of the same rank as Sarai could not be expected to do such a thing, but a slave was a slave and could be used as her owners saw fit.

Hagar accepted the role of surrogate mother for Sarai. The concept, still very much alive today, was that Hagar would have a child but the child would belong to Sarai. Such a practice was legal in Abraham's society. Once Hagar knew she was pregnant things became very tense between Hagar and Sarai. Sarai could not abuse the slave now at the risk of harming the unborn child. Hagar may have flaunted her expanding waistline. "You can't do this." Finally the antagonism between the two women became so intense Hagar chose to flee.

This was not a very rational decision on Hagar's part. It was an act of desperation. It would be better to be dead than to live in such circumstances. Hagar really had nowhere to go. No cities were nearby and it was a long ways between waterholes. In fact, Hagar had no idea where the waterholes or wells even were.

But God met her in the wilderness, the first of two meetings they would have. He told Hagar to go back to Sarai and Abram and submit herself to her mistress.

God's presence at this point said to Hagar, "You are special to me. And I have an assignment for you." The assignment was to bear the child of Abraham who would become famous in the world. Hagar heard the words, but did not have any idea of the significance of them. God promised Hagar the following: (Genesis 16:10-12)

10     Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

     11     The angel of the Lord said to her further,

"Behold, you are with child,

And you will bear a son;

And you shall call his name Ishmael,

Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction.

     12     "He will be a wild donkey of a man,

His hand will be against everyone,

And everyone's hand will be against him;

And he will live to the east of all his brothers."

Hagar then names the place Beer lahai roi, "the well of the God who sees." Afterwards she returned to the camp and there submitted to Sarai. 

Abraham is 86 years old when Ishmael is born. He loved Ishmael very much and wanted him to be the heir of promise. 

When Abraham reached 100 and Sarah 90, God chose to allow them to have a child. The child was named Isaac ("Laughter") because both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they heard they would have a child in their old age. When it came time to wean Isaac, Ishmael mocked him. This offended Sarah and she demanded that Hagar and her son be driven away.

Here we see the value of the individual. Abraham is told by God to listen to his wife. He gives Hagar a bag of water and some bread and sends them out into the wilderness. Did Abraham believe God would take care of Hagar? We don't know. But when Hagar was at the point of death along with Ishmael, now an 18 year old boy, God appeared to her again. He showed her water and she survived. 

God appeared to Hagar because she was special to him. God chose to care for her and to honor her in ways she would never understand. 

Lesson: God can use anyone he chooses. In Hagar's case he used a slave. Later God would use a slave named Joseph to save a nation.