God is for you, Abram, Sarai, and Hagar

Every sin begins with the lie that God doesn’t love you… He’s holding out on you… He’s against you…

The real struggle against sin comes with the struggle to believe that God is for you. Let’s see how that goes in Genesis 16.

Sarai and Abram are getting old. They’ve been in Canaan for ten years, but she still has no son. God had promised, but he had not yet come. And remember, a son for Abram and Sarai also means a Savior. One of Abram’s offspring would bring blessing to all nations.

Sarai concludes: the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. See, she thinks: God doesn’t love me… He’s against me. So Sarai comes up with her own plan. If Abram can’t have a son with her, then maybe he can with Hagar.

This is a perfect example of human reason. We think we can judge God’s timing. We think we can solve the problem and find the answer ourselves. But we always end up making things worse. God did give us reason to solve some problems, but not when He has already promised the solution.

We might have a little pity for Abram and Sarai by noticing that they acted from good intentions. Wanting to have a son isn’t a sin. And in this case, their intention is even better: they wanted a son because they wanted the Savior to come. But good intentions are not enough. The old saying is very true: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. When it comes to the question of what is good and right, our intentions are not enough. Right intentions do not cancel out wrong actions. You do need to have the right intentions in your works, but you also need to listen to God and have Him tell you what works He wants you to do.

Abram and Sarai could’ve used the wisdom of Psalm 27: Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! This means have faith and let God keep His promises in His own way. Believe that God is for you and not against you. If the Bible tells us anything, it tells us that when God makes a promise He is sure to keep it. All the stories of the Bible are examples that He never fails to keep a promise. But He does it in His own way and at His own time. Trust that His way and His time are best.

So back to their plan: Abram will try to get a son with Hagar the slave woman. It’s interesting that she’s Egyptian. They probably got her when they were in Egypt (Genesis 12). So, Hagar should actually be a reminder of the last time Abram tried to solve his problem his own way—his wife was taken into Pharaoh’s harem! It was foolish and sinful. And things aren’t going to go well this time either.

Sometimes, people have a problem with the sinfulness of the saints in the Bible; in this case, Abram has a wife in Sarai and a concubine in Hagar. First, we must realize the saints of the Bible were sinners in need of a Savior. They are like us: stupid, forgetful, greedy. And are we really any better? They are meant to hold up a mirror to our eyes. What if someone wrote your life story? I bet you would often look pretty foolish too. The saints of the Bible show that we are in need of a Savior. Second, just because the Old Testament saints had more than one wife or concubines, doesn’t mean that the Bible endorses it. The Bible’s definition, God’s definition, of marriage still stands: one man and one woman in a lifelong union. But when people sin, God can still work with it. God can still make good use of the mess we make. God still blesses the children that come from sinful unions. God is merciful to sinners.

But even if God is willing and gracious to work through the sinful lives of people like Abram, Sarai, and Hagar, we also see how He does not remove or stop all the consequences of sin. Left unchecked, sin always begets more sin. Sarai suggested it (sin). Abram did it (sin). Hagar became proud because she thought she had Abram’s favor and God’s favor because she conceived while Sarai was barren (sin). So now the consequences of their sin come back to Sarai and Abram. This tempts Sarai to turn against Abram and blame him (sin). And Abram pushes off the responsibility (sin) and lets his wife deal with the mess by treating Hagar badly (sin). Sarai should’ve repented. Abram should’ve taken the blame to God and begged His mercy. But this is how it goes when we try to solve our problems our way. We always make it worse.

As sins multiply, we see how our sinful actions can hurt others. The situation at home tempted Hagar to sin by being prideful. And then, because of her sin and Sarai’s and Abram’s poor decisions, Hagar runs away. But she had been in the wrong too. And so the Angel of the Lord tells her to return. Yet, this is another example of God’s mercy. Hagar is led to repent and she goes home with promises from God. See, God is for you even when He’s punishing you, even when it seems like the world is against you. God is not against you. He loves you.

So Hagar goes back with blessings from the Lord, even if they are only earthly blessings for her son and his descendants. But every encounter with the Son of God comes with the opportunity of salvation. The name of her son gives a nod in that direction. Ishmael means “God hears”—a reminder that God hears prayer. And Hagar comes to believe in this God of Abram, even though she was an Egyptian. She calls Him a “God of seeing” because He is the God who sees her. He saw her sin but He also saw her need for His grace and help. And so, she named the spring of water where she met this God. She named it after the God who met her there: Beer-lahai-roi means “the well of the Living One who sees me.” In a way, we can see in Hagar a preview of the Woman at the Well (John 4). She is a woman who was truly seen by the Lord’s Messenger Jesus. And she is given to drink living water—the water that becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

So, Genesis 16, we see God’s comfort for sinners, even when they refuse to wait for God and try to do things their own way. God is for you and not against you. He doesn’t just turn His back on sinners. God is for you, even when He’s punishing you and letting the consequences pinch you and discipline you. He still loves you. His blood covers your sin and shame. He keeps His promises, even when you get in the way. And He is patient with you. So wait for Him and believe that He is for you.

And then also know for certain that your God does see you. He sees your sin but He also sees your suffering and He hears your prayers. He is not ignoring you and He is not slow. He will keep His promises in His own way, the best way. And while we wait to see Him, while we wait to receive what He has promised, while we wait to live with Him… He still refreshes us here in the wilderness of this world. Here we are, gathered once more at our Beer-lahai-roi—The Well of the Living One who sees me. In His Word, in His Baptism, and in His Supper, He gives us to drink from the well of eternal life.