If one were to describe this period of time, in which we are living, we can depict it as a time when people are constantly running away. We hear of families who are in distress, because the husband or wife chose to walk away from home leaving their spouse and children in a state of abandonment. Children are running away from home, in rebellion to their parents and authority. For anyone who is in such a state of confusion and turmoil, the Lord promises that He is able to bring peace and calm to those complex situations.
The Bible has examples of those who ran away, and most of the time the ones who ran, fled from relationships. This is Satan’s cunning scheme to bring rift in all relationships, be it husband and wife, parents and children, employer and employee. When this division happens and people are unable to handle the complexities of relationships, they chose to run away from them. It is a cowardly decision when one decides to sever relationships, to depart from them, instead of setting things right.
Many husbands and wives when faced with even the slightest conflict chose the path of divorce as an easy way out. Our marriages were established in the presence of God, where the husband and wife promised each other that nothing, but death would separate them, and yet so many land up in court before mortal men to nullify the covenant they made before God. God is one who desires to strengthen relationships, and is not one who will on any account break relationships. God is a God of peace and reconciliation, and that is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God”. (KJV)
The reason Hagar fled from her mistress
We read in Genesis 16:8 He said, "Hagar, Sarai's slave, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She answered, "I'm running away from my owner Sarai." (GW)
Hagar was a slave of Sarai, and the above mentioned verse is part of the narrative of the time when Hagar ran away from her mistress Sarai and her home.
We read in Genesis 16:1, Sarai, Abram's wife, was not able to have children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. (GW)
Abram’s wife Sarai was unable to conceive and have a child and this was a huge problem that challenged Abram and Sarai. The verse mentions about Hagar the Egyptian slave because she was the solution that Sarai chose to use to solve her problem of being childless.
It is a fact that in every relationship we are bound to have problems because we are human beings with emotions, and not machines. Often when husbands and wives have issues among themselves, they seek counsel from their friends, who mislead them to think of other options. We must be cautious to not even mention divorce as an option for the conflict we face in our marriage, for the enemy is out to destroy our families.
There are many couples who want to separate for the only reason that they are unable to have children. A great example in the Bible is Zachariah and Elizabeth, who were aged, childless and yet kept persevering in their faith with prayer, believing that the Lord could give them a child. They kept on doing what God had called them to do, and at the appropriate time God blessed them with their son, John the Baptist. Like them when challenged with impossible situations, we too must persevere in prayer believing that the Lord can intervene to make all things possible.
Whenever we encounter some problems, we will frequently find a quick fix or short cut solution that also comes along with it, though it may not be the right solution. For instance, when there is conflict between husband and wife, a husband seeks solution in alcohol or either of them go searching for an extra marital relationship, as an escape to their problems. Marriage is sacred in God’s sight and may we never try to break the covenant that was established in the presence of God. The reason for marriage being sacred is that God Himself instituted marriage. There will be challenges and hardships in our marriage, but we will decide never to take a short cut to find solutions that God doesn’t approve of, but instead be very grateful to the Lord for our spouse and family.The one who gave you the spouse is God Himself, and it is only when we constantly remind ourselves of this fact, will our relationship become more beautiful.
Sarai chose a short cut
We read in Genesis 16:2, So Sarai said to Abram, "The LORD has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her." And Abram agreed with Sarai's proposal. (NLT)
Sarai knew that God had closed her womb, and prevented her from having a child. But, Sarai decided to open a way for herself to have a child, when God had shut her womb. Sarai thought that if she gave her slave Hagar to her husband Abram, and had a child through her, that perhaps she may find a quick solution to her being childless.
When God closes a door, no man can open it. That is why we read in Revelation 3:7, What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: (NLT) Satan will always show short cuts that will seem like a solution for our problems. We must learn to wait for the Lord, and His time. But, if instead we choose any quick fix solution that is contrary to God’s will, we will end up in big trouble. The Lord is faithful and will not delay the good that He has purposed for us. If God closes a door we must never try to open it, and if we do so we become thieves. It is only when God opens the door in His time will we receive the true blessings of God.
We read in Deuteronomy 28:23, The sky above will look like bronze, and the ground below will be as hard as iron (GNB)
The above mentioned verse describes a situation wherein when one does not obey the word of God, then they will get locked in with a sky like bronze above, and the ground below as hard as iron.
Hagar disrespects Sarai
We read in Genesis 16:4, He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to be disrespectful to Sarai, her owner. (GW)
When Sarai gave Hagar to be in the status of wife to Abram, she must have been astonished and in a way overjoyed, that she was being elevated to this place. When Hagar got pregnant by Abram, and realized that she was pregnant, she began to be disrespectful to her mistress Sarai. Sarai miscalculated that her maid having a child would build her family, but instead it became a bone of contention, which turned to bitterness. Hagar became proud of her position, and got to the place where she began to treat her mistress with contempt.
In every relationship there is a period called honey moon phase where everything seems so perfect and flawless. It could happen in a marriage, a new job, church or any relationship that is just budding. However, with time it becomes mundane, and when challenges come, it happens often that the same relationship becomes unbearable, and if one is not cautious the relationship will be severed.
We must never be like Hagar who taunted and disrespected her mistress, who gave her the position of being wife to Abram. We should never disregard those who lifted us up, and gave us the opportunity for us to be in a place of esteem, forgetting all the good we received from them. If we become proud we are liable to become tools in the hands of the enemy, and the word of God is clear that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. To be resisted by God means that God Himself has turned against us, and that’s the most dangerous place one can be in. It is only a humble person who will appreciate all the God has given to them, and value every relationship that God has granted to them, be it spouse, children or parents.
Sarai blamed Abram
We read in Genesis 16:5 So Sarai complained to Abram, "I'm being treated unfairly! And it's your fault! I know that I gave my slave to you, but now that she's pregnant, she's being disrespectful to me. May the LORD decide who is right-you or me." (GW)
Sarai initiated the whole plan, but when it turned against her, she began to throw the blame on Abram. Abram was silent and took all the reprimand. Sarai was so upset that she called on the Lord to judge, and decide as to who was on the right.
In our relationship as husband and wife, it is advisable that when either one gets upset and rants that the other should remain silent, in order to prevent the problem from escalating. Like Sarai we often we find ourselves making the wrong decisions, blaming others, and then calling on God to make the judgement call. It is true that we live in a period of grace, but we should be cautious to not do so, for if the Lord were to truly stand as judge for all the unwise decisions we make, we will be reduced to nothing.
Abram hands over Hagar to Sarai
In Genesis 16:6, Abram answered, "Very well, she is your slave and under your control; do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai treated Hagar so cruelly that she ran away. (GNB)
Abram who was very wise, and discerning about the complexity of the situation, gave Hagar back to Sarai, and asked her to deal with her slave as she wished. Hagar’s pride brought her way back down to the same position of being a slave to her mistress Sarai. Sarai treated Hagar so cruelly that Hagar chose to run away from her home and her mistress.
Many people have because of pride lost their position, and opportunities that God had in store for them. It is only when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, will He lift us up in due time. There is an important principle that spouses can apply to their marriage. In a conflict instead of each one stubbornly wanting to have their own way, for it advisable that one give in so as to maintain the peace in the relationship. For those who are encountering those arduous situations, the solution is not to run away from it, but to humble ourselves and running to God.
Some people live life just as if they were playing a game of chess. They are always calculating the other person’s move before making their own. Instead of doing so, we must humble ourselves before the Lord, so that He can take over, and bring peace to all our difficulties. If we have thoughts to run away or divide, we must remind ourselves that these are the enemies ploys, and do not come from the Lord. Some people think of either running away from relationships or there are those who are choosing to end their lives thinking that this is the solution. Instead we must believe that with God on our side we can overcome any and every hardship, no matter how huge it seems.
God confronts Hagar
We read in Genesis 16:8 and said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away from my mistress." (GNB)
God did not address Hagar, as the wife of Abram, but as the slave of Sarai. Hagar’s pride had made her lose her position not only with men, but also with God. God knew where Hagar came from, and where she was going, but He still questioned her as to her whereabouts. Hagar was running from Abram and Sarai, the ones who had received the covenant to Egypt the land of slavery. She was running away from the presence of God, into the presence of the world. Though Hagar came back to Abram and Sarai, later Abram himself sent Hagar away.
There is no place we can run to that is as safe as the presence of God. If we begin to run away from relationships we will always end up running, and ultimately like Hagar we will be sent back to the same place where we started out from.
God sent Hagar back to Sarai
We read in Genesis 16:9 He said, "Go back to her and be her slave." (GNB)
God’s command to Hagar was to go back, and remain in submission to her mistress Sarai.
For those who run away from authority, the word of God comes clearly that we must learn to be submissive. It is a fact that if we do not submit to authority that God has placed over us, no one will be submissive to ours. God’s hand will rest on us only when we are willing to submit under the hand of authority that God has placed over us.
God’s promise to Hagar
We read in Genesis 16:10 Then he said, "I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them. (GNB)
We see a beautiful process in the way God dealt with Hagar. He asked her a question, He gave her a command, and when she obeyed, He also gave her a promise. God promised her many descendants, so numerous, that no one will be able to count.
When we submit to the word of God, and obey His command the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. All relationships will pose problems, and will have conflict. There will be twists and turns, but we must submit to God, and the authority that He has placed over us. Only then we will receive the true blessings of God. Running away is never a solution, but instead may we run to God who can intervene to transform every situation, and relationship no matter how complex it may seem.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
