Understanding God: A Balancing Act And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of…
Understanding God: A Balancing Act
And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.” – Genesis 16:8-11
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
From the passage above, we can see how the angel of God asked Hagar to do a very difficult thing – she should return and submit herself to her mistress, Sarah, who had mistreated her so badly that she had to flee for her life. It was this same Sarah that God was now asking her to return and submit to. Who does that?
Meanwhile, as much as the move would have been difficult for Hagar to follow, God sweetened it for her by letting her know what she stood to gain by obeying His instruction. He told her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude… Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.”
This promise of the great things that God would cause to be through her son and descendants was a sweetener or balancer for Hagar that would make the tedium of returning to the place of her torment a manageable prospect. God communicated this to Hagar the same way He usually handed commands to the people in the Bible, with each command promising blessings when obeyed and consequences when ignored.
By sharing with her what she stood to gain by obedience, God did not just ask Hagar to do a difficult thing but also provided an incentive for her to do it. He does not just ask you to give up something without adding something back to you. Similarly, He would not ask you to undertake a tasking expedition without a promise of what is in it for you if you accomplish it. That is his standard mode of operation. He is a God of balance.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a…
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” – Genesis 16:6-9
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
From the scenario that played out in our reference passage above, we see how Hagar painted a picture of her horrible mistress, Sarah, who was mean to her and treated her so badly even in her pregnant state until she had to flee the house in fear for her life. Considering that this was a period when the climate was harsh and there were not many of the comforts of life that we are used to today, Hagar must have cut a very pitiable sight indeed: a pregnant woman, in tears, looking tired, haggard, sitting alone by a spring and telling about her wicked and jealous madam who constantly terrorized her because she, Hagar, was pregnant something that Sarah had not been able to achieve.
Anyone who listened to her tale of woes would have immediately condemned Sarah and her husband for mistreating a helpless pregnant woman the way they did. Abraham and Sarah would undoubtedly have made the news headlines for being an abusive couple who mistreated their poor maid-turned-surrogate.
However, despite her very moving story, the angel of God was not impressed by the sheer pathos of it. Rather, his response to Hagar was short and direct: “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
Who would have guessed that was how God would respond to such a matter? God that some have turned into a swooning, sentimental Being who gushes and croons at human dynamics.
However, the angel’s words offered us an insight into God’s mindset. He goes directly to the point and is not beclouded by sentimental shows and other charades that we put on to gain mileage for ourselves. He told Hagar, “Go back home and submit to your mistress.” Period. End of story.
Why? Because He had all the facts of the matter and knew what led to Hagar having to flee the house in the first place, and He was not going to allow her pathetic sight to taint His own judgment. We can all learn from that before jumping to conclusions and passing judgment over matters and people whose details we know little about.
Women in the Bible: An Innovative Wife Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to…
Women in the Bible: An Innovative Wife – What Sarah’s unconventional solution teaches about initiative, sacrifice, and follow-through
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. – Genesis 16:1-4
Our second learning point from Sarah, Abraham’s wife, shall dwell mostly on her innovative mindset. She was a selfless woman and an innovative wife who sought inventive ways to solve her family’s problems, even when such solutions might not work out in her favor.
Our reference passage today starts with the problem of barrenness in Abraham’s household. After decades of marriage, the union produced no child despite God’s firm promise otherwise. Meanwhile, as the couple continued to age and advance in years, Sarah could no longer bear it, and what she did next taught us three important lessons.
Firstly, Sarah demonstrated an unusual selflessness in the idea she brought forward. Seeing that her own childlessness might harm her husband by depriving him of the privilege of having an heir(ess) to inherit his vast estate, Sarah thought it best that Abraham take up another woman and have a child by her.
This is not an easy proposal for anyone to make, let alone to execute. But Sarah was looking beyond herself and focusing more on her husband’s needs when she broached it. She was also genuine enough to make the move good and was not just saying it to look good. She was sincere and earnest. She brought the maidservant to Abraham to have a child by her.
The second lesson we can learn from Sarah is her innovative mindset and approach to tackling a problem. Seeing that she was past her prime, she felt it best to propose that her husband marry someone younger and have a child through her. By so doing, she initiated the idea of surrogacy to the world, as the child to be born would be in her and her husband’s name, even though born by another. In an era not renowned for its innovations, Sarah proved that genius was not restricted to gender, age or place. She practically bequeathed the idea of surrogacy to us.
Another lesson we can learn from Sarah is the ability to follow through and back her words with action. She did not just say it to look good or sound politically correct; she meant it and went ahead and handed over her maid to her husband to father a child through her. Even though this later backfired on her, it was a move worth it in the daring she demonstrated by pushing it, and the result that it fetched them.
The world needs more doers than talkers, more proactive people than reactive ones, and more innovative thinkers-cum-performers than manufacturers of excuses. Sarah, through her actions, proved to us that she was all of these and more. Many of us can learn a lot from her.
Employees in the Bible: Hagar and the Cost of Losing Emotional Intelligence – A leadership and workplace lesson from Genesis 16 on status, favour, and self-control
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. – Genesis 16:1-4
We are opening our staffers or employees in the Bible subseries in this digest by considering the example of Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah, the wife of Abraham. From the passage above, we can see that Hagar lacked emotional intelligence, judging by her reaction to her mistress, Sarah, after she became pregnant as a surrogate for the couple.
From the scriptural excerpt above, we can see how Hagar came to have her status upgraded from a servant in Abraham’s household to an important member of the household through surrogacy. Before the idea of her being a surrogate mother for her master and mistress was mooted, Hagar was a maidservant whose only pleasure was to do the bidding of her lords. By the norms of that time, she arguably had no right, and her owners probably had the power of life and death over her.
Therefore, it was surprising that after Abraham and Sarah made her a surrogate for their child, and she became pregnant, a feat her mistress, Sarah, could not achieve, Hagar started despising her mistress and became ungovernable. Her reason? She was now pregnant; therefore, she was a better woman than her madam. She started behaving rudely and showed no regard for her benefactress.
This attitude betrayed a lack of emotional intelligence on the part of Hagar and also depicted her as a not so smart person, because someone wiser and smarter would have continued to honor and respect her bosses, and would not allow success to get into her head as to start to see herself as better and superior to her mistress by whose favor she had her profile elevated in the first place, and whose idea it was that Hagar be their surrogate.
How often do we see this same scenario played out in people we know or hear about? Someone who, before an encounter with a benefactor, had nothing or little to their name. However, by virtue of their encounter or association with a benefactor, which resulted in attaining a higher status than they used to have, they then start to despise or disrespect the person whose influence or contribution was key to their becoming.
That is not a very smart thing to do. We can all learn from the example of Hagar.
Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said…
Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent – Understanding surrogate parenting through Hagar’s role in the Abrahamic narrative
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. – Genesis 16:1-4
As we continue to explore personalities and characters in the Bible, our searchlight today will focus on the first surrogate parent in the Bible: Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines surrogate as “a substitute, especially a person deputizing for another in a specific role or office.” No doubt, the term and practice of surrogate parenting are commonplace today. However, it is interesting to note that this practice did not just start in our modern milieu. Rather, it was as ancient as the society itself, dating back to the BC era, as we can see in the scenario that played out in the bible passage above.
Sarah, the wife of Abraham, had become impatient at her inability to conceive and bear a child for her husband. So, she proposed that her husband sleep with her maidservant so that they could have a child through the process that would bear their name. Being a slave, Hagar, the lady involved, had no say in the matter as her master and mistress had the power of life and death over her. So, even if she did not mind, she could not decline their proposition.
However, by carrying a pregnancy for the couple, she therefore enters the book of record as the first person to be a surrogate parent.
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
Understanding God: He is A Creator
He is a Creator. This is not to be interpreted loosely, particularly in the light of our contemporary use of the word. God is the ultimate Creator, as He created all things, even the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28).
Understanding God: God of the Beginning
There is no better way to begin this journey of exploring the people and entities in the Bible than to start with God. He is not just the beginning but is the origin of all things.
Women in the Bible: A Paragon of Beauty
What made Sarah’s beauty so compelling that kings and nations took notice? Explore the deeper layers of grace, favour, and mystery surrounding one of Scripture’s most unforgettable women — and discover why her story still provokes wonder today.
Men in the Bible: A Man of Ambition and Adventure
Terah may not have reached Canaan, but his courage to start a life-changing journey laid the foundation for Abraham’s destiny. Discover how ambition and bold steps mark a life of significance.
Men in the Bible: An Impetuous and Impudent Man
A revealing glimpse into a man whose choices exposed deeper issues of character, showing how hastiness and entitlement can quietly shape a destiny, and why his story still speaks to us today.
Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight
Sometimes what looks like a smart choice can hide the seed of a mistake. This reflection from Scripture invites us to think again about how foresight — or the lack of it — shapes a man’s story.
Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
Before laws, temples, or traditions, one man honoured God with his substance. Abraham’s tithe was not commanded, demanded, or enforced. It flowed from reverence.
Fathers in the Bible: A Destiny-Shaping Father
What makes a man a truly aware father? Discover how one man’s prophetic foresight shaped his son’s destiny and changed generations forever.
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