1. Introduction

There is an epic war as five kings rebel against four ruling kings. The four kings win, and they continue conquering and taking captives. This results in the capture of Abram’s nephew Lot. Abram leads a rescue mission, defeats the enemy, and encounters Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The chapter highlights Abram’s faith, leadership, and stance on material wealth

2. The Lord’s Covenant with Abram (15)

This chapter begins with three very important words: “After these things…” In the last chapter, these things point us back to Abram’s defeat of the kings who had come and conquered and taken captive the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, where his nephew Lot and his family happened to be living at that time. God gave Abram the victory. 

God meets with Abram after this great victory, but Abram is still concerned that he has no offspring and will have to leave his estate to a servant in his household.  God says that this man will not be your heir, but a son who is your flesh and blood will be your heir. God promises his descendants will be numerous. The covenant was made with them, and they passed between the parts of the sacrifice. This was normal practice. See also Jeremiah 34:18-19. We do it with a handshake or sign a contract.

Abram believes in God and this is counted toward him as righteousness. How different our lives would be if we responded in this way. Too often this does not take place. We have many promises in the Bible, but do we believe them?

The iniquity of the Amorites is still not complete so the promise will have to wait. The Amorites are being given time to repent. God knows that they are not going to repent. Why not just end it now? No one can stand before the judgment throne of God and say they did not have a chance. God’s knowledge of the outcome does not determine the outcome. God id not limited in his view of time. He does not force things to happen. Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

Abram does not pass through this sacrifice trail. It is God alone. Only He can keep it, and He burns up the sacrifices as He promises to make of Abram a great nation and drive out those nations who are wicked.

There is no such thing as replacement theology. God has not replaced Israel with the Church. God made a covenant with Israel, and it does not depend on them. They could not keep it so it is solely based on the promises of God. He is the one who signed it off.

3. Hagar and Ishmael (16)

Many years before this, God promised Abram that he would have many descendants (Genesis 12:2). To this point, he had no children through his wife Sarai. Hagar was almost certainly part of what Abram received during his time in Egypt (Genesis 12:16). It had been 10 years since the promise.

4. Sarai gives her servant girl Hagar to Abram

Sarai encouraged Abram to take part in what was, in that day, essentially a surrogate mother arrangement. According to custom, the child would be considered to be the child of Abram and Sarai, not Abram and Hagar.

Sarai could justify this in a way to fulfil God’s promise. God promised that you would be the father of many nations, and He didn’t specifically mention me. Maybe you’re the father of many nations, but I’m not the mother. This was against God’s will for many reasons.

1. It was a sin of unbelief in God and His promise: Sarai believed in God’s sovereignty over the womb, then acted against it.
2. It was a sin against God’s plan for marriage: that one man and one woman come together in a one-flesh relationship.
3. It was a sin against Abram and Sarai’s marriage: this surrogacy wasn’t done in a doctor’s office, but in a bedroom.

Abram was responsible for his sin of heeding the unwise, unbelief-based advice of his wife. They each acted according to unbelief. Abram did not actually marry Hagar, but he acted towards her as a man should only act towards his wife.

Abram succeeded in making Hagar pregnant. This proved beyond all doubt the failure to provide a son to Abram was the fault of Sarai, not her husband. In a culture that so highly valued childbearing, mothering the child of a wealthy and influential man like Abram gave a servant girl like Hagar greater status, and made her appear to be more blessed than Sarai.

Hagar immediately began to think of herself as better and greater than Sarai. Hagar’s contempt for Sarai started the problem. She couldn’t resist displaying an inappropriate haughtiness, thinking her pregnancy somehow showed her to be better than Sara. A bad situation became worse. Sarai blamed the whole situation on Abram, and for good cause. He should have acted as the spiritual leader and told his wife that God was able to perform what He promised, and they didn’t need to try to perform God’s promise by disobeying Him and relying on man’s strength and wisdom.

5. Hagar flees from Abram and Sarai

Sarai’s cruelty collided with Hagar’s pride, and all Hagar could think to do was to run. Even with nowhere to go, she fled from her presence — probably headed back to Egypt, her original home.

Hagar is met by the Angel of the Lord. This is the first appearance of the Angel of the LORD in the Bible. He didn’t first appear to Noah or Enoch or Abram. The Angel of the LORD first appeared to a single mother-to-be who had a pride problem and was mistreated by the woman who put her into the whole mess.

• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Abraham (Genesis 22).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Moses (Exodus 3).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Balaam (Numbers 22).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Israel collectively (Judges 2).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Gideon (Judges 6).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Samson’s parents (Judges 13).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to David (2 Samuel 24).
• The Angel of the LORD would later appear to Elijah (1 Kings 19).

The Angel of the LORD asked an important and insightful question. In Hagar’s pride and misery, she acted without thinking, “Where have I come from?” “Where am I going?” Remembering those two questions would save us from a lot of trouble!

The Angel of the Lord told her to repent. If she changed her direction, there was an inherent promise — obey Me and I will protect you. Jesus didn’t exactly tell Hagar to go back to an abusive household; He made an implied promise of protection.

6. The Promise to Hagar

Hagar knew that if God could be with her in the wilderness, He would be with her in having to submit to Sarai also. It’s as if Hagar said to God, “You have looked upon me, and now I can look upon You.” That face-to-face relationship with God transforms.

We need to look at our own attitude if we are being mistreated. Hagar thought her circumstances needed transformation; in fact, she needed transformation. The flesh wants to run away. God sees everything.

She submits and is taken back. By staying she would bear a son Ishmael (God hears). He would be a wild donkey of a man who will be hostile against his family. This has played out in the Middle East over the centuries. The Arabs kill each other even more than they kill Jews and Christians. For their own sake, even more than ours, we pray: God, bring salvation to the Arab people. Ishmael represents self-effort. Sarai had a plan that sought to fulfil God’s will without Him. We need to trust God, or we end up with our own Ishmaels.

The Apostle Paul used the example of this incident and Isaac. See Galatians 4:22-23. The Law and Grace are opposites. If you keep the law for salvation, it is self-effort of the flesh to be saved. Ishmael is human effort to make it happen. Grace is the fulfilment of faith and promise. Ishmael was the first-born of Abram but was the son of promise. Isaac will receive the inheritance and the legitimate offspring of Abram and Sarai.

Categories: Genesis

Tags: abraham, bible, Genesis, god, hagar