Hagar looks at Sarai with contempt
Gen. 16:1-16
Since Sarai could not conceive, she gave her slave girl Hagar to Abram. But when Hagar conceived, “she looked with contempt on her mistress” (Gen. 16:4). This has very deep roots. When humankind was created, we were created to be in fellowship with God. But that relationship was broken with the fall of man. We became cursed. Though cursed, God, in his mercies, promised of the coming of an offspring who will strike the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Biblical scholars call this protevangelium, the first gospel.
It can be seen that Satan tried to sabotage this promise throughout history, and throughout the narratives of the Bible. When Abram was called by the Lord, his wife could not conceive. When the slave girl conceived, the slave girl looked at her mistress with contempt. This is very understandable when we look at the situation from the window of our present discussion. Now, the heir apparent has become a replicant.
Let us take a moment to understand how the devil wreaked havoc in the lives of Abram and Sarai.
But the Lord was never a silent spectator. He said to Abram, “No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son… I will establish my covenant for his offspring after him (Gen. 17:19). He also said, “It is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you” (Gen. 21:12).
Indeed, the real heir was born; and it was through him that Abraham’s offspring came to be named. It was through this line that our Lord Jesus Christ also descended, establishing an eternal covenant with all of the believers.
- This reveals the unending love of God for sinners like us.
- The people God chose have never been free from troubles. But God has always helped them go through them, with His love, protection and guidance.
- Our own anxieties and impatience do not necessarily bring about quicker solution to our problems. God acts and delivers when the time is right.
- What man expects and God promised are worlds apart.
