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. 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.
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.
8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.
17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
Go with me this morning to the hot desert. As far as the eye can see to the north, south, east or west all that is visible is sand, sand, and then more sand!
The sun is beaming it’s brilliant rays earthward and the reflection of the brightness has elevated the surface temperature to a degree far to hot for the sole of a human foot. Now almost as if arrows of fire are coming from the sky, your eyes squinted as they must still frantically search to and fro…somewhere you think, surely somewhere there must be some relief.
Occasionally the wind will blow just enough to cause a swirling effect on the sea of those endless grains of sand, and the more you look the larger the vastness of the area appears.
You again stop and listen, almost being consumed by the vastness of a deep and profound silence.
Your alone, civilization seems so abandoned, there’s no one, no wildlife, no life period, just you and sand, hot sand…and an occasional burnt bush dwarfed and scraggly from the abuse of the heat and wind.
THEN, suddenly almost out of nowhere the silence is broken. At first it is almost hard to recognize, almost as if a moan, you pause…was it just your imagination, and then you hear it again followed by the sound of a person crying, well more like weeping.
The more you listen the more you recognize that weep; it’s the one that comes from a heart that is broken. Now realizing that you are no longer alone in the middle of this desert you find yourself racing to locate where the sound is coming from and who might be in the middle of the desert with you.
Almost running now you pass one shabby old bush and then, nearly tripping over the lifeless figure there much to your surprise you find a young man maybe 15, 16 years old, curled in the fetal position, attempting to hide his rather piteous body beneath the few thin lines of shade that the nearby bush provides.
A quick glance reveals a crisis…his lips are cracked and broken, as blood oozes from raw sores that are starting to develop, his tongue is swollen and his eyes are bloodshot and starting to almost it seems sink into his forehead.
You listen closely as you see his lips move to form a sound, with all his physical he gasps no louder than a forced whisper; “Water, I need water”
And just as you prepare yourself to attend to his need, you hear the weeping again and you turn…
There just a bow-shot away you see her; disheveled, matted hair, very distraught and she obviously is exhausted from both the heat of the day and the emotional pain that is causing her to weep.
Why is she crying so much, what has happened, and why has she turned her back to this young boy who obviously is nearing death at rapid speed?
Oh the scene is so taxing, you want to help and in your feeble attempt you look down and spot the water bottle, but you find it empty and now it is slowly filling with the hot blowing sand.
AS you ponder on the situation you begin to realize that she is not waiting for help, no this lady is waiting for death. She has lost her way. Hour after hour she has wandered in this vast desert to no avail.
Her water supply is gone, her strength has been all but spent, and her hope has already died; now there she sits on the hot desert floor, just crying, waiting and slowly…dying!
Then, right at the moment when it seemed like it was almost over, His voice breaks through the silence, and God spoke to this woman.
Lost, hopeless, and dying but yet He spoke to her: "What is the matter, Hagar?”
To that point she thought she was all alone, but now He has found her and he asks “"What is the matter, Hagar?”
Let me ask you this morning, What do you suppose was meant by this question?
On the surface it seems somewhat a rather strange question for God to be asking. I mean isn’t it rather obvious what her problem is. As you listen and watch you almost expect her to be filled with rage. But somehow that isn’t the case at all: in fact you are more amazed by the minute as this encounter unfolds. For what one might have taken as an insult, this lady hears as an answer to her weeping and she gives the appearance as id somehow she has detected hope in His voice…
Lets look together at what this question really did for Hagar…
First I would suggest to you that;
1. This question caused Hagar to realize God had not lost track of her!
HE knew right where she was. Oh she had lost herself; She had wandered here and there until she had no earthly idea as to where she was. By now the east looked just like the west, her sense of direction was gone, but ALL THE WHILE GOD KNEW OF HER WHEREABOUTS!
She was in a lost condition, but He had found her! Yes she had traveled far, but not so far as to be beyond his watchful eye!
She no more knew her way back to Abraham’s tent than you know your way to a foreign country, but God had His eye on her all the while!
Did she deserve it, probably not…
Could she make it on her own, not on her life…?
BUT HIS GRACE!
Yes she had wandered, but not farther than His grace could go, and my dear friend the good news this morning is ….NEITHER HAVE YOU!
You may have strayed, you may have wandered, but you haven’t dodged him!
The Psalmist David said; “7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
Hagar had lost herself: but God had not lost Hagar!
You may feel so far away from anyone this morning: but Good NEWS, Good News…through HIS GRACE HE HAS NOT LOST TRACK OF YOU!
Secondly I see that not only did God know where Hagar was, but He also…
2. God Knew Hagar’s sorrows:
HE knew her wrong doings, HE knew she was suffering, he even knew why she was suffering!
Oh dear friend might I suggest that God was actually saying “Hagar: there is something wrong with you!
You have more heartache than you know how to handle!
You have a heavier burden than you know how to carry!
You have a wound that is bigger than you can mend!
Hagar: you have an illness for which YOU have no cure!
Hagar: there is something wrong!
Oh Hagar: You know it, and I know it!”
Thirdly I think:
3. God wanted her to confess to Him her story;
He was eager to hear from her! He wanted her to tell Him everything! All the hurting of her heart! All the torments that she had endured, all the pain she was going through…
All the broken promises, all the future plans that seemed marred and ruined…all the unfulfilled dreams…
He wanted to hear it all!
Oh dear friend: HE IS THE SAME TODAY!
HE wants to hear you answer the question: “What is wrong______?”
What secret wound have you never shared with anyone, and this morning it is eating you alive?
What heartbreaking burden are you continuing to carry?
What addiction are you losing the battle to?
Oh this morning why not tell it to Jesus?
He is eternally interested in your story, in your confession!
He patiently waits to hear what aileth thee?
When no-one else can understand what you are facing…HE CAN!
When no –one else has the patience to listen to your story…He will!
Oh this morning that someone would decide:
“I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;
I cannot bear these burdens alone
I must tell Jesus; and he will help me
Jesus can help me, Jesus Alone!”
Finally this question implies that if Hagar would only tell her story;
4. God was willing to help Hagar;
He wasn’t asking her to bear her soul for nothing, He was willing to help!
HE doesn’t ask us to share just to satisfy his curiosity, rather his question simply means that if you will only come and tell Him; He will help you!
There is no need that He cannot meet!
There is no bondage, no addiction from which he cannot set you free!
There is no sin but what he can forgive!
No knot he cannot untangle; no tear he cannot dry!
No sorrow he cannot comfort; no scar he cannot heal!
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH MY GOD!
It’s called GRACE!
Dear friend this morning; no matter how dark your future may look; let me remind you “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin!
And praise God that includes yours!
Oh we must hasten on this morning;
How did Hagar respond? Her answer is not printed in scripture. One has suggested that the reason is her answer would not merit print; but may I suggest her response could have sounded like this…
A few years ago, I became a servant to Abraham and Sarah. Almost immediately upon my arrival, I knew this was a peculiar family. They didn’t worship Like I was used to doing. The gods of Egypt that I worshipped they denied. In fact they claimed that the only God was the Lord God Jehovah. It took a while but finally I too came around to their way of thinking.
Later one day I learned of their great dream that they shared as husband and wife. One day Sarah shared with me that they had been promised a son, and not just any son but their son was to be an inheritor of all the promises that God had made to my master Abraham.
In fact Sarah even went as far as to say that through this boy, all the nations of the earth were to be blessed.
Well time went by, and to be honest I at times almost forgot that conversation. But little by little I noticed in them both, Sarah especially…I noticed their faith started to diminish.
And I remember that evening so well, suppertime seemed almost rushed, I felt an unusual need to leave the two of them alone, and I could not believe my ears when Abraham, my master told me the next morning what Sarah had suggested.
WAS I TO BLAME? WASN”T HE THE MASTER AND I THE SLAVE?
So when my son was born, I held him and felt as proud as any mother would. I dreamed of the day when he would inherit the promises of Abraham. His future seemed so certain, NOTHING I thought could destroy this dream!
But years later I noticed that Sarah seemed to be gaining some weight. I first ignored the obvious, told myself it couldn’t be; and then that night I heard the sound coming from their tent that any mom quickly recognizes… A baby was here!
I instantly I knew that my hopes were ruined! No way could two boys be heirs to their dad. I knew this day would come! Sure enough just a few days ago Sarah, the one I worked for… Sarah the one who had dreamed up this God awful arrangement… She ordered me and Ishmael to leave at once!
And now God here I sit; Hot sand and no water! Just me and my boy here we are to die having been robbed! Robbed of our hopes, our dreams, our literal lives!
Wow what a story she has, but I hasten to add…What a story you might have!
Oh the road of anger and bitter rebellion… its there, it was in her story, and perhaps it is in yours as well. But dear friend that road will not lead you out of the desert!
It will only lead you deeper into its horror and captivity!
Lets wrap this up this morning by considering what God said next to Hagar…
It’s in the last part of verse 17 & verse 18 “Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
You not doomed he says, your not forgotten, Oh Hagar I have heard your sons cry for help too!
I know his cries for water have broken your heart, but remember my heart is even more tender than yours!
Hagar you grieve has been great; but my grief is even greater; but fear not Hagar for I am here to meet your needs…
And notice verse 19 “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
Why hadn’t she seen the water? It was already there!
While she was drawing her breath in agony, while his lips were parched and cracking; all the while; RIGHT BESIDE HER was the remedy but she could not see it!
Oh my lost friend God has already made the provision for your needs this morning as well!
His grace is greater than all your sin!
Maybe Hagar couldn’t see the fountain for some of the same reasons you haven’t seen the fountain!
Maybe her eyes were blinded by her feelings of hopelessness and despair, maybe she was too busy deciding that she was doomed, to busy thinking that her failures were beyond repair…
Oh, but when she saw what was there for her; She didn’t wait for a second invitation…no rater she ran and filled her water bottle to the brim, and here and the boy drank and drank and drank!
God had provided! And she took advantage of His provision!
What about you this morning dear friend? Are you ready to have your eyes open and discover what his grace has already provided for you?
Are you thirsty enough to come to this fountain? THERE IS A VAST SUPPLY!
He longs to meet your need this morning; He longs for you to dedicate your all to Him!
