A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

tend to justify Abram’s actions because he yielded only after waiting for the promised seed for
ten years. He might have been able to rationalize his behavior in the light of contemporary
customs of taking a servant girl into a harem, or having a child by a servant girl.
The central character in the biblical record of this lapse of faith is not Abram, but rather
Hagar, a female Egyptian slave in his household. According to Jewish legend, Hagar was a
daughter of Pharaoh given to Sarai during an earlier lapse in the faith of Abram while they were in
Egypt. Though the Scriptures make no reference to her relationship to a Pharaoh, it is clear she was
an Egyptian (Gen. 16:1). In biblical typology, Egypt is often a type of the world. The relationship
between Abram and Hagar can represent the ungodly marriage of a believer to the world. Later, the
son born of that relationship would be used to illustrate the spiritual conflict between the old man
and the new man, the flesh and the spirit. It will be the conflict between Ishmael and Isaac.
HAGAR AND ABRAM (Gen. 16:1-3)
Despite the repeated promise by God that Abram would be the father of a nation, his wife
Sarai was barren. Barrenness in the East is considered among the greatest tragedies which might
befall a family. Children were considered the heritage of the Lord and a sure sign of the blessing
of God (1 Sam. 2:2021). Even in the New Testament, Elizabeth spoke of the Lord taking “away
my reproach among men,” when she realized she was bearing a child (Luke 1:25). A couple was
suspect who had been married for any length of time and did not have children. Usually those
suspicions were directed toward the woman and it was assumed she had some great sin that God
was judging. It is no wonder that after ten years in a new land, and probably many years of
marriage before that, Sarai was concerned about her barrenness and attributed it to an act of God,
“The Lord has restrained me from bearing” (Gen. 16:2).
Sarai proposed a scheme whereby an heir to the promise could be born. According to the
widely practiced custom of the day, a wife could give one of her maids to her husband as a slavewife,
and any child of that union could be a legitimate heir. Later, several of the twelve sons of
Jacob (Israel) were actually sons of slave-wives given to him by his wives. This was probably
Sarai’s intent as she made her offer of Hagar to her husband.
Perhaps Sarai found herself growing discouraged and even depressed. No doubt she
longed for a son, but it was physically impossible. Her culture and upbringing convinced her of
her failure to give her husband an heir.
Significantly, the Hebrew verb ‘ibbaneh is used here translated “I shall obtain children by
her” (Gen. 16:2). A more literal translation of this verb would be, “I shall be built up.” Sarai
viewed the birth of a male heir, by whatever means possible, as the key to raise her spirits.
The Scriptures note significantly, “And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai” (v. 2). By
divine plan, the chain of command in marriage appointed the husband as a ruler over the wife.
While this does not justify wife abuse, physical or otherwise, it does suggest that the leadership
in the decision-making process in the home normally requires the husband to fulfill his
responsibility as a leader. For the second time in Scripture, a great man follows the carnal
suggestion of his wife with disastrous results (cf. 3:6, 12).
Apparently, Hagar was not consulted in this arrangement. Sarai “took” Hagar and gave
her to Abram, probably against the will of Hagar and without her consent. The Hebrew verb
wattikach, here translated “took,” is a verb which was normally reserved to describe the violent
taking of captives in battle, and is in other places translated with such verbs as to seize, to lay
hold of, to take from, to take away, to capture, and to conquer. While the practice here described
was widely practiced, it did not minimize the human tragedy.