Hagar

 “You belong to Abraham now.” Hagar heard those words as she stood in the hall of Pharaoh's palace in Egypt. She and some other Egyptian people were ‘gifts’ to Abraham, along with sheep, cattle and donkeys. The people would be his servants, so they would do his chores but would not be paid for their work. 

Hagar cried as she left her country. She wanted to stay, but as a servant she had no choice where she went. Abraham gave her to his wife, Sarah, to serve as her personal maid. 

When she arrived in Canaan, Hagar watched Abraham worship an unseen God. She found this very strange because statues of gods stood everywhere in her country. How could Abraham worship a god he could not see?

Abraham even said he could hear God speak!

Abraham’s wife, Sarah, cried sometimes, just as Hagar did. 

And Hagar knew why. Sarah could not have children. One day Sarah surprised Hagar by ordering her to go to Abraham and be like a wife to him. “But if you and my husband have a baby together, the child will be mine.”

Hagar obeyed Sarah and soon learned she was going to have a baby. Then she refused to behave like a servant anymore. After all, she was going to have the master’s child.

Sarah became furious. “We will see which of us Abraham loves more!” After Sarah talked to her husband, she began to beat Hagar. Any time Hagar didn’t do her work quickly enough, Sarah beat her again. Finally, Hagar, could not take it anymore and ran away.

The Lord found her drinking water from a desert spring along the road back to Egypt. “Hagar, where you going?”

Hagar had never heard God speak before. His voice was filled with great power but was also tender and kind. “I am running away from my mistress.” 

“Return to Sarah and do what she says. I will give you more people in your family someday than you can count. You will soon give birth to a son. Name him Ishmael (ISH-may-el), for I have heard how sad you are.” (The name means “God hears.”)

Hagar learned that Ishmael would be wild like a donkey and would quarrel with his family. But her son would never be a servant! 

Hagar went back, content with the way her son’s life was going to be. She never expected that God was going to perform a miracle and make it possible for Sarah to have a baby too. Abraham was 100, and Sarah was 90 years old! Sarah laughed, and they named the baby Isaac—which means “laughter.” 

Abraham threw a party when Isaac was ready for solid food. Ishmael watched the two old people with the toddler. 
He laughed at Isaac and said, “I am Abraham’s first son.”

Ishmael’s mother, Hagar, agreed with him. “You will always be Abraham’s first son. Everything that is his will someday belong to you, not Isaac. The master’s son will serve you!” Ishmael laughed again. 

But the next morning Abraham gave Hagar and Ishmael some food and water. “Go away,” he said with tears in his eyes. “And never come back.” Abraham knew that God would take care of his son Ishmael, but he also knew that God had special plans for his son Isaac.

Now all her hopes were gone, and Hagar cried harder than she had ever cried before. She and her son wandered in the wilderness until all the food and water were gone. Ishmael was so thirsty he cried until he fell asleep and couldn’t wake up. 

Hagar left her son under a bush and sat on a rock, sobbing out a prayer to God. “I don’t want to watch the boy die!” 

God spoke. “Hagar, do not be afraid. I have heard Ishmael’s cries. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make sure that he and his children and their families grow into a great nation.” 

When Hagar opened her eyes, she saw a well! She quickly removed the cover, filled her jar with water, and went to her son to give him a drink. 

God kept His promise. Ishmael grew up and became very good with a bow and arrows. He married an Egyptian girl and had 12 sons. Their families grew into 12 large tribes scattered throughout the land. And all of them were enemies of Abraham’s son Isaac.

 

 

Hagar was a servant who carried Abraham's baby inside her for nine months, knowing that Sarah would take the child when he was born. How do you think Hagar felt about that?

What were some of the bad things that happened to her?

What bad things happened to her son, Ishmael?

How did God take her bad situation and turn it into something good?

You may think you are in a situation that is not fair. It is up to you to trust God during this time and obey anyway. Can you think of a time when you were in a bad spot and God turned the situation into something good? What was it? How did you feel after it was over?