I didn’t have a problem coming up with names for my kids. In fact, I had more names than I could have children. My daughters would probably have preferred that I give them different names, but what’s done is done. There are a few names I did not consider; they should have been grateful. Names like Jezebel- yes, my brother named a cow that, and she was a nasty cow; Fancy, Arcadia (I really wanted to use that one, but my husband said she would be made fun of); and Hagar.
Yet, we find Hagar in the Bible in a very prominent place. The name Hagar means flight or forsaken. Some scholars think it’s more appropriately termed a stranger, an immigrant, or a sojourner. It’s of Hebrew origin, and we find her in Genesis tangled up with Abraham. Tangled may be the best way to describe Hagar’s life. No choosing her fate, no avoiding the demands of others, a servant caught in the middle of a depressed wife and a trying-to-connect-the-dots husband. Hagar represents the dichotomy we find ourselves in when we have one leg over the fence between human effort and the struggle to control life’s outcomes. Usually, the fence we are straddling has barbed wire over the top. We feel stuck!
Hagar was used as a solution when God didn’t move fast enough for Sarah and Abraham. I have found myself coming up with answers to questions I asked God, and the answer wasn’t coming fast enough for my liking. There are times when I may have manipulated outcomes for my advantage when the writing on the paper wasn’t what my heart wanted to read.
Hagar was a handmaid; someone who served in Sarah’s household, of lower status, and expected to serve. It would be similar to a cleaning lady, a cook, or a caretaker in our culture; not having the honor and privileges of being family but being an integral part of the life of the family. Yet, in our culture, cleaning and caretakers could call in sick! Hagar would have no option to say she wasn’t coming to work or had a headache. There was an expectation, and she was a handmaid. Yes, ma’am, no ma’am, and how quickly do you need that done, ma’am?
When Sarah and Abraham came up with this idea of having a baby, it wasn’t outlandish. In that culture, those were often the expectations. When Hagar got pregnant, which was the whole idea, Sarah had a hissy fit. Abraham didn’t stand up and squelch the problem; he let Sarah act out of her frustration. That rarely ends well. Hagar ends up fleeing, which is exactly what I would have done. God had her on his GPS, and the angel found her by the water in the wilderness. God usually finds us, even when we aren’t sure what we are looking for. Did Hagar know who Abraham’s God was? Genesis 16 tells us, “Angel of the Lord found Hagar.” The angel of the Lord also gave her one more thing: hope. He tells her, “The Lord has heard of your misery.” In turn, Hagar gave the Lord who spoke to her a name: “You are the God who saw me.” Interestingly enough, she knew something of a God, but to know that the God from somewhere out there sees her- that changed her heart. She returned to Sarah and did what most of us would be kicking and screaming about: submit. That makes me squirm. Submit to someone mean. Submit, give up my opinion, my thoughts, and my freedom for someone who wasn’t kind, understanding, or patient. Obviously, I am putting actions into Sarah’s life, but if it were me in Sarah’s shoes, treating someone harshly might be how I would act in those circumstances. God gave Hagar hope.
Fast forward a few chapters, and we find Sarah, giddy with excitement. She has a baby. The hope in her heart has been fulfilled. The hope in Hagar’s life was becoming a nightmare. “Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had born to Abraham was mocking.” WE don’t know what that means, but we know what the term “mama bear” is all about. You mess with my kid; you mess with the mama. But in the bigger picture, there was a feast celebrating Isaac’s weaning, the chosen child. Hagar’s son was to be the answer, now thrown to the background, and the baby is the most important. Unfortunately, sometimes our attitudes come out in our children. I would imagine Ishmael felt a bit of the discomfort with being tossed aside, his mother’s feelings of inferiority, and Isaac being the “golden boy”. What he was doing to mock Isaac- whether it was playing and having fun with the younger half-brother or being a teenage, offense-driven male- Sarah didn’t like it. Rather than have some intervention, talking things through, she goes right to Abraham and says, “Get rid of them.” She had gotten what she wanted, her son, and now, all the other options she had worked hard to manipulate, she wanted them out of her life: Hagar and Ishmael being the main problems to her. But it was more than that; Sarah was jealous that Hagar and Ishmael might share some inheritance. Our greed and jealousy cause us to say and do things that hurt others. In the end, Abraham sent them away… again. Poor Hagar, déjà vu!
Caught between a rock and a hard place, she did what all of us would do. Sob! God hears our tears. God hears our heart-wrenching sobs. We find ourselves in places that other people are to blame for. We see others, as Hagar would have seen, people not living as the reflection of a loving God. Hagar felt the injustice. Hagar was treated unfairly, but the one we call the father of our faith. Abraham is mentioned in Hebrews, and yet we see a fallen man acting in ways that didn’t reflect the God of Abraham. Hagar didn’t ignore the angel; Hagar didn’t hold God responsible for Abraham and Sarah’s behavior. That’s a lesson I need to learn. God will take care of me when I cry out and sob in my wilderness. Hagar didn’t blame God for the wrongs done to her; she recognized the God who saw her. Then Genesis says to me, the most important thing… “God was with the boy as he grew up.” I take that literally, meaning God was with Hagar as the boy grew up. That’s the hope we all have! Regardless, God is with us. Regardless of what others do. Regardless of what others have done. Regardless, God is with us as we grow up! That’s Hope!!!!