HAGAR’S HURT
AN INNOCENT VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES: In the Bible and certainly, throughout history there are many that have been subjected to abuse that they were not able to withstand; In the Bible
- Bathsheba … because “He” was the King
- Tamar … because “He” was too strong
- Hagar … because “He” was the weakened Master
i. HAGAR’S name means “a stranger; one that fears”
ii. Ishmael’s name means “God that hears”
iii. Matthew 18;10 the implication by Jesus is that the cry and torment of the child victims, is beheld by Angels near the Throne of God … In other words, a child who has no voice on earth, has a voice before the Throne.
iv. The prophecy of the child is conditional on Hagar’s obedience to
return to the home she’d just fled from … why? Because the care in the home is better than the waste howling wilderness, exposed and vulnerable, tension is preferred to the terror of the unknown (The usurping of the role of Hagar over Sarai creates havoc … “bear the heir” and you ascend the Cultural Throne)
v. The description of the child and his descendants is prophesied having significance prophetically to the Child of Promise and his “heirs” (a warning, be careful who you abuse) … anger, tumult, warring, all that was part of his formative years has an impact on the formation of the attitudes and nature of a child. A hostile environment, volatile and violent, will also have repercussions that are lasting and can emerge and then erupt later in life, Genesis 16;12
What is the Divine Assurance that the Gospel gives us all, irrespective of our background, 2 Corinthians 5;17 “If any … be in Christ, he/she is a new Creature … old things are passed away, and behold the new has come” …“He has delivered us, from the power of darkness, conveyed us into the Kingdom of His dear Son …” Colossians 1;13, A Divine transition.
There is Healing for any and all that are subject to abuse … Abraham certainly did elevate Hagar to the honour of being his wife and his son, Ishmael being an heir, not as the principal heir, the son of promise, but a son of Abraham and blessed of God.
