Introduction:
A. One day there was a man who was taking it easy, lying on the grass, looking up at the clouds, and having a conversation with God
1. The man said, “God, how long is a million years to you?”
a. God answered, “In my frame of reference, a million years is about a minute.”
2. The man asked, “God, how much is a million dollars to you?”
a. God answered, “To Me, a million dollars is like a penny.
3. Then the man asked, “God, can I please have one of your pennies?”
a. God replied, “Absolutely, just give me a minute.”
B. How many of you like waiting for things?
1. The older folks here may remember the classic 1979 television commercials for Heinz Ketchup that showed people waiting for the thick, rich Heinz Ketchup to pour out of the bottle in slow motion while the Carly Simon song “Anticipation” played in the background.
2. An article in Time.com a few years ago noted that ketchup flows out of a glass bottle at a rate of .028 miles per hour – That is really slow, isn’t it!
a. That's slower than a Galapagos tortoise, which, according to the San Diego Zoo, zips along at a blazing 0.16 miles per hour, or almost six times faster than ketchup.
3. However, Dave Smith, a PhD candidate at MIT, and a team of MIT mechanical engineers and nano-technologists have offered a possible solution to this ketchup flow problem.
a. After months of research, Smith and his team developed something called LiquiGlide.
b. The researchers say that coating the inside of a bottle with LiquiGlide will cause ketchup and other sauces to slide out faster than a Galapagos tortoise.
c. Smith claims that the sauce industry, which rakes in $17 billion a year, would love to get their hands on the invention.
4. Keith Wagstaff, the author of the Time article concluded, “Let's hope some big [ketchup] companies bite. I’m tired of waiting five minutes for ketchup to land on my cheeseburger.” (Keith Wagstaff, “MIT Scientists Figure Out How to Get Ketchup Out of the Bottle,” Time.com, 5-22-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
C. None of us like to wait, do we?
1. We don’t like to wait for ketchup.
2. We don’t like to wait at the checkout line or the red light.
3. And we don’t like to wait on God.
4. And that’s when some people take matters into their own hands and try to hurry God along, but that only makes things worse.
D. At least that’s what happened to Abraham and Sarah.
1. God had promised them many descendants, and that Abraham’s heir would come from his own DNA, his own flesh and blood.
2. And so they waited for their first child…and they waited…and waited…for ten long years, they waited.
3. Then they decided they needed to help God out.
4. Let’s pick up their story in Genesis 16.
I. The Story
A. The Bible says: 1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. (Gen. 16:1-3)
1. Notice how verse 1 states that Sarah, Abraham’s wife had borne him no children.
a. Fairly or unfairly, can you sense who was feeling the greatest pressure…who was feeling like it was their fault that no child had come into their home?
b. Since God’s specific promise was that an heir would come from Abraham’s own body, and nothing had been said about Sarah’s body, Sarah came up with a proposal.
2. Among the Egyptian servants in their household that they had acquired while in Egypt was young woman named Hagar.
a. So, Sarah suggests that Abraham take Hagar as a wife and to have an heir through her.
3. Sarah’s proposal seems shocking and strange to our 21st century sensibilities, and to our Christian sense of morality.
a. Yet, in the Middle Eastern culture of 4000 years ago, this solution to the problem of Sarah’s barrenness was acceptable, strange as it may seem.
b. Legal custom of that culture permitted the husband of a childless woman to take her servant as a second wife and any child born of that second union to be regarded as the first wife’s child.
4. In that cultural context, Sarah’s actions seem praiseworthy.
a. We can only imagine the intense internal struggle that Sarah went through to reach this conclusion.
b. Sarah decided to surrender her own rights to Abraham’s sole and undivided affection.
c. And she surrendered her right to give Abraham his first born from her own body.
B. Today, we have the benefit of knowing how things unfolded, and from our comfortable vantage point, it’s easy to see what Abraham and Sarah should have done.
1. The biggest problem I see throughout this situation is that it appears that no one sought the Lord’s input.
2. Over and over again in Scripture when the persons involved inquired of the Lord and waited for God’s reply, things went much better for them.
3. How much better things would have been if Abraham had gone out under the stars and said, “Lord, Sarah and I are getting older with each passing year, and it is getting harder to wait for the promised child. We have come up with a possible solution, we are wondering what you think about this plan…”
4. Unfortunately, Abraham didn’t inquire of the Lord, and he and Sarah proceeded with their own plan.
C. Let’s see what happened…the Bible says: 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
6 “Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. (Gen. 16:4-6)
1. The fallout from Abraham and Sarah’s decision didn’t take long to kick in.
2. The plan for Hagar to be a surrogate backfired, and rather than bringing joy to the household at last, it caused everyone to start turning against one another.
a. This once harmonious home became a combat zone.
3. When the consequences of sin begin to fall, relationships always suffer and it can get ugly fast!
a. Hagar despised Sarah, Sarah blamed Abraham and Abraham blamed Sarah right back.
4. When Hagar realized she was pregnant, it wasn’t just her belly that got puffed up, her head did as well.
a. Hagar began to despise her mistress – the Hebrew word translated “despise” or “contempt” means “small, insignificant, trifling, dishonorable.”
b. We are not told about Hagar’s specific actions or words, but she must have been doing more than just having internal contempt for Sarah.
c. She likely began to taunt her about her barrenness and how Abraham’s joy and attention was now Hagar’s because she was giving him a child.
5. As soon as Sarah experienced this mistreatment, she then took it out on Abraham.
a. She turned to Abraham and said that this was all his fault and she appealed to the Lord for judgment.
6. How would you like to have been Abraham at this point? You talk about being between a rock and a hard place!
a. Abraham decided to throw the situation back in Sarah’s lap.
b. He said, “Look, she is your servant (yet now his wife), so deal with her as you seem fits.”
c. This was his subtle way of saying, “You came up with the idea in the first place, so you are going to have to fix what you started.”
7. The Bible says that Sarah then mistreated Hagar so much that Hagar ran away.
a. Apparently no one noticed that Hagar went missing, or if they noticed, they didn’t care.
b. How sad that it appears they were not concerned for this young, pregnant woman and the dangers that she faced being alone in the wilderness with its predators and harsh conditions.
c. In many ways, Hagar was the innocent victim of Abraham and Sarah’s lack of faith.
d. Hagar hadn’t asked for any of this – she’s simply been doing her servant work around the house one minute and the next thing she knew she was wearing a wedding veil and marching off to the wedding tent with the 85 year-old groom.
D. While Abraham and Sarah didn’t seem to care about Hagar, that was not the case with God.
1. In the last section of this chapter, we see how the Lord expresses His grace toward Hagar and the son she is carrying.
E. The Bible says: 7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
“You are now with child and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me (El Roi),” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. (Gen. 16:7-16)
1. The first thing that stands out to me in this text is the “angel of the Lord” who appeared.
a. Who is this angel of the Lord?
b. This is the first time in Scripture where we find this phrase used.
c. The Hebrew word for “angel” literally means “messenger.”
d. As we compare this appearance with other appearances in Scripture of the angel of the Lord, it becomes clear that this is probably an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ, God the Son.
e. This angel of the Lord was no created angel like Gabriel, because this angel said things about himself that only God would say, like promising Hagar: “I will so increase your descendants.”
2. God’s messenger instructs Hagar to return to her mistress and submit to her and then shares a picture of the future for Hagar and her son, whom she is to name Ishmael (which means “God hears”), because the Lord has heard her cry of distress.
3. Hagar then gave God the name “The God who sees me,” which is one of the wonderful names of God in the Bible that we studied during our sermon series on the names of God.
a. Hagar probably told many people about her experience, because the desert spring where she had this encounter with God became widely known as Beer Lahai Roi, “The Well of Him Who Lives and Sees Me.”
4. So, Hagar returned to the tents of Abraham and Sarah and there Ishmael was born.
a. Sadly, Hagar’s son, Ishmael will be unruly and troublesome, someone who is almost impossible to get along with.
b. I like what Randy Harris said, “When God heard Sarah’s idea, I’m guessing he shook his head and said, ‘Well, there goes peace in the Middle East for the next 5000 years!’ ”
c. Ishmael is the father of all the Arab people and you know how much conflict there has been throughout history between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael.
5. Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born and we will read nothing more about Abraham’s story for the next 13 years.
a. When the next chapter opens, Abraham is 99 years old.
b. Abraham and Sarah have many more years to wait for God to fulfill His promise.
II. Application
A. So what lessons can we learn about our relationship with God from this story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar?
B. One lesson we learn from this episode in Abraham’s journey is God doesn’t expect us to do it all on our own.
1. One of the fundamental problems with Abraham and Sarah’s plan was that it grew from a mindset that said: “God has told me what He wants and the rest depends on me. God has shown me the goal and it’s up to me to figure out how to reach that goal. God isn’t getting the job done, so he needs me to do it.”
2. God had a plan for fulfilling His promise, and His plan was for a child to be born from Abraham through Sarah, not Hagar.
3. Unfortunately, many Christians operate by the same mindset of Abraham and Sarah: “It may be God’s plan, but it all depends on me.”
a. And so when our lives are not as fruitful as we think they should be or we are not accomplishing as much as we think we should, then we try to ramp up our effort – more committee meetings, bigger fundraising drives, more outreach programs – let’s get going people – it all depends on us!
b. Do you see how wrong that is?
4. Sadly, this even creeps into our notion of whether we are saved or not – as if it depends on us.
a. Have we done enough to be saved? No we have not.
b. We never could be good enough or do enough, but thankfully, it doesn’t depend on us.
c. Jesus’ righteousness has been secured for us - He has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
d. By faith, we need to rest in God’s grace and God’s provision, because that’s the only way we will get to heaven.
C. A second lesson we learn from this episode in Abraham’s journey is not to take pride in ourselves.
1. Let’s focus on Hagar for a minute – her arrogance was shameful.
2. She acted the way we often act when we forget that everything comes from the Lord.
3. Hagar had no more control over becoming pregnant than did Sarah, so why take pride in being pregnant as if she had done it and then look down on someone who had not gotten pregnant?
4. The same is true of all the gifts and abilities that we have – if God had not given them to us, then we would not have the ability or opportunity to use them or development them – that’s true with your fast feet, or your beautiful face or voice, or your organizational skills, or language skills, or knack for fixing things, or the ease with which you make friends – they all come from the Lord!
5. Because we didn’t do anything to earn them then we don’t have the right to look down on or make fun of others who don’t have the skills we have.
6. Let’s be sure to be humble about all we are and have and give glory and thanks to God for what He has given.
D. A third lesson we learn from this episode in Abraham’s journey is ask God for direction.
1. We must not proceed in any decision or direction until we have adequately laid it before God and awaited God’s input.
2. The old saying, “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” is not a good approach to following after God.
3. Hudson Taylor once said, “God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.”
4. We will be most effective when we do what God wants, in the way God wants, and with the resources that God supplies.
a. See how we can get off track if we aren’t in line with God’s will in each of those aspects?
E. A fourth lesson we learn from this episode in Abraham’s journey is that God sees and is with us always.
1. God saw Abraham and Sarah, and God saw Hagar and Ishmael within her.
2. God sees you and me, too! He sees us at our best and He sees us at our worst.
a. God sees what we are facing and what we need.
b. And God sees how hard we are trying to be faithful and to please Him.
3. God sees how overwhelmed you are caring for your children, your spouse, or your aging parents.
a. God sees the challenges you are facing at work or school or in your marriage.
b. God sees how hard it is to live on your income.
c. God sees when loneliness eats away at you.
4. God sees. God cares. And God is with us and will help us.
5. When God sees us in the hard place, His Will is usually not for us to run and hide from the difficulty.
a. His Will is usually for us to stay and allow Him to mold us through the hard times.
b. He told Hagar to go back and to submit to her mistress.
6. God enabled Hagar to do the hard thing, and He will do the same for us.
7. God sees and is with us always.
F. Finally, a fifth lesson we learn from this episode in Abraham’s journey is to wait upon the Lord.
1. Scripture encourages us to wait upon the Lord.
a. Psalm 33:20 says: We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
b. Psalm 27:14 says: Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
c. Isaiah 40:31 says: But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
2. But waiting is hard to do.
a. We like things to be fast.
b. We like fast food, and the fast lane.
c. We want instant download or overnight delivery.
3. Why do we like things fast? Because life is short, and we don’t want to waste time waiting.
a. But it is usually in waiting that God does His best work in us.
b. Richard Hendrix said: “Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter.”
c. Swindoll wrote: In the crucible of frustrated longings, the Holy Spirit confronts our darkest lusts, our most selfish cravings, bringing them out of the shadows and then releasing us from slavery to hidden idols.
4. When we are forced to wait, the Lord helps us acquire an appreciation for the blessing to come.
a. Meanwhile, while we wait, God builds our maturity so that when the fulfillment comes, we are prepared to enjoy His blessing to the fullest.
5. In his book, Sabbatical Journeys, Henri Nouwen writes about some friends of his who were trapeze artists - They were called “the Flying Roudellas.”
a. They told Nouwen there's a special relationship between flyer and catcher on the trapeze.
b. The flyer is the one that lets go, and the catcher is the one that catches.
c. As the flyer swings high above the crowd on the trapeze, the moment comes when he or she must let go.
d. He arcs out into the air - his job is to remain as still as possible and wait for the strong hands of the catcher to pluck him from the air.
e. One of the Flying Roudellas told Nouwen, “The flyer must never try to catch the catcher.”
f. The flyer must wait in absolute trust. The catcher will catch him, but he must wait. (John Ortberg, “Waiting on God,” Preaching Today #199)
6. So it is in our relationship with God - we must never try to catch the Catcher.
a. We must just wait in absolute trust - God will catch us if we wait.
b. But if we try to help Him out, we could end up falling flat on our faces.
c. So we must wait on Him who hears and sees us.
d. It’s the only way to fly! It’s the only way to experience all that God has for us.
Resources:
Abraham – One Nomad’s Amazing Journey of Faith, by Charles Swindoll, Tyndale, 2014.
Friend of God – The Legacy of Abraham, Man of Faith, by Ray Stedman, Discovery House, 2010.
Waiting on God, Sermon by C. Philip Green, SermonCentral.com
There Are No Shortcuts, Sermon by Daniel Habben, Sermon Central.com
