Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Hagar's Legacy

Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.  The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”  “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.  The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”  Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”  And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.  You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.  This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey!  He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him.  Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”  Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her.  She said, “You are the God who sees me.”  She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”  So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”).  It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.  
Genesis 16:7-14(NLT)
It’s foreign to our 21st century Western culture, but being barren drove Sarai to have her husband Abraham take another wife, Hagar, Sarai’s slave/servant , and perhaps gain an heir to the family. 

Once pregnant, the slave girl became a thorn in Sarai’s pride.  She flaunted the treasure in her womb and it was just too much for Sarai, so she proceeded to work on driving a wedge between Hagar, Abraham and herself.  It worked, and Hagar was sent packing into the desert.  The Angel of the Lord found Hagar and in the ensuing conversation told Hagar her son, would be a wild man, untamed, and always ready to fight! 

The legacy of the union between Sarai’s servant girl, Hagar, and Sarai’s husband, Abraham is not much different than the rest of humanity:  anger, defiance, rebellion and violence against one another.  It’s hard to lay all the blame on Hagar’s back; after all, she was just continuing a family tradition that got started by humanity’s parents at that special tree in Eden. 

Hagar didn’t help with the problem much; neither did Sarai and Abraham.  Hagar shares one trait in common with her ancestor Adam, that peculiar bent towards denial.  If you noticed, the Angel of the Lord asked her from where she came, and to where she was headed.  Although she gives a factual answer (running away), it belies the greater truth of her beginnings.  Hagar had a pivotal role in this drama.  She had gotten a bad deal, something she hadn’t asked for; she had also acted with disdain and anger. 

It’s a subtle point, but the angel told her to name her child Ishmael, meaning God hears.  She did that, but notice she referred to the Lord as the one who sees me.  This seemingly diminutive perspective shift on Hagar’s part is like a 1° change in course as a ship starts out from San Francisco on a voyage to Tokyo.  If you’re off target just a smidge North it won’t make much of a difference passing the Golden Gate Bridge, but by the time you’ve gone 5,600 miles to Japan you won’t be in Tokyo, you’ll be 100 miles North in Iwaki. 

The point here is that humans have had a hard time staying on course in our relationships, both with God and each other.  It has to do with the beast within.  The legacy of Hagar’s wild, fighting, untamable son, Ishmael is constant strife, distrust, anger and war.

That’s quite a legacy!

For You Today

Hagar ran away from her problems to no particular place.  Hagar’s descendants wander still, and carry on the family tradition of Ishmael as they cannot abide peacefully with anyone.  By comparison, another Son came as the Prince of Peace.  Jesus ran TO our problems, and He has a place prepared for us that He’s been working on for quite some time…in perfect peace.  Which legacy will you prolong this day?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com

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