Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Genesis 16 – Hagar and Ishmael. According to Bible scholars, the events of Genesis 16 took place approximately between 2081 B.C. to 2080 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Genesis 16 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Genesis 16 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Genesis 15, we read about God’s covenant with Abram. Well, in this Bible study on Genesis 16, we will read about Ishmael’s birth through Hagar.
Without any further delay, let us study together Genesis Chapter 16, shall we?
Sarai Convinced Abram To Make a Child With Hagar
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 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. 3 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. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
In Verses 1-4 of Genesis 16, it is recorded that Sarai was barren and she had an Egyptian maidservant called Hagar. When she knew that God promised Abram a child she assumed that it surely must be through another woman because she was barren and well beyond the child-bearing age. Hence, she convinced Abram to have a child through Hagar and she gave Hagar to Abram as his wife. Therefore, Abram went to Hagar and she conceived. Once she conceived, she despised Sarai. These events took place after Abram had dwelt ten years in Canaan on his return from Egypt.
Observation
When Sarai knew that God promised Abram an heir she made her own assumptions based on her external circumstances. She was barren throughout her married life to Abram and she was beyond the child-bearing age and quite old. She didn’t rely on God for step-by-step instructions nor inquire of the Lord before she sent Abram to Hagar. It was her human-instinct in action here. It was a decision made in haste. She didn’t think that God is supernatural and His ways and thinking are far superior to human ways and thinking. He deals with the impossible and He had another plan for Sarai. He looked past Sarai’s barreness and He had a purpose for her too.
Sarai Dealt Harshly With Hagar
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
In Verses 5-6 of Genesis 16, Sarai was angry with Abram and called on the Lord to judge between her and him because Hagar upon conceiving a child with Abram, despised Sarai. Abram refused to involve in the situation and told Sarai to deal with Hagar as she saw best because Hagar after all ‘belonged’ to Sarai as she was her maidservant. Hence, Sarai, in revenge, dealt harshly with Hagar and she fled from Sarai’s presence because Sarai’s harshness was too hard for her to endure.
The Angel Of The Lord Speaks To Hagar
7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 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.”
In Verse 7 of Genesis 16, it is recorded that Hagar fled to the wilderness and the Angel of the Lord found her by a water spring on the way to Shur and inquired Hagar about her whereabouts to which Hagar replied that she was fleeing from Sarai.
The Angel Of The Lord Speaks About The Birth Of Ishmael
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 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.
12 He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
In Verses 9-12 of Genesis 16, the Angel of the Lord told Hagar to return to Sarai and submit herself under Sarai’s authority. The Angel of the Lord said that He will multiply her descendants and they shall be innumerable. He, further, said that she shall bear a son and his name shall be Ishmael meaning ‘God will hear‘ because the Lord had heard Hagar’s affliction. The Lord God dealt mercifully with Hagar.
The Angel of the Lord said that Ishmael shall be a wild man and he shall be every man’s enemy and shall dwell among his brethren.
The God Who Sees
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
In Verses 13-15 of Genesis 16, Hagar called on the name of the Lord who spoke to her and said that He is the God who sees and that she has seen him. The well, where the Angel of the Lord met Hagar, was called Beer Lahai Roi situated between Kadesh and Bered on the way to Egypt. Apparently, Hagar was fleeing to her homeland to escape Sarai’s harshness. The word of the Angel of The Lord came to pass and Hagar bore a son and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram became a father to Ishmael when he was 86 years old.
Note
The “Angel of the Lord” is the visible Lord God of the Old Testament, just as Jesus Christ is the visible God of the New Testament according to the Amplified Version, Classic Edition (AMPC) of the bible. It is proven by the fact that Hagar called the Angel of the Lord who spoke to her as the ‘God who sees’ . An angel is just an angel and we cannot call an angel as God. Hence, Hagar calling the Angel of the Lord as the ‘God who sees’ and saying that she had seen God, proves that the Angel of the Lord was indeed the visible Lord God as mentioned in the AMPC version.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Genesis 16. Things take a turn in this chapter because of Sarai’s false assumption on what the Lord had said regarding Abram’s biological heir. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!