Day 90: Genesis 16- Attempts to Control Lead To Compromise

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Meditation
The COVID19 social distancing is feeding addictive behavior as people make compromising choices seeking relief. The short-term perception of control leads to long-term casualties in marriage, family, and society in general. God’s covenant faithfulness compels us to trust Him in crisis, resisting compromising our faith. 

Sarai is first described as, “barren, with no child,” (11:30) a difficult place to be when God has promised a child. Abram and Sarai allowed the circumstances to lead to compromise, grabbing Hagar for hope. In the process they let go of God’s promise. In God’s faithfulness He never let go of them.

In Sarai’s pressure to perform she conformed to the pattern of her culture by allowing her servant to sleep with Abram. Rather than catalyzing the culmination of covenant promise, Sarai’s compromise led to competition, contempt, and complacency in Abram’s leadership.  

God’s best for God’s people is for us to follow His design for life, especially in difficulties. Compromising our faith in efforts to control in crisis will never deliver the promise for which we long.  Abram and Sarai had a choice- Trust God OR succumb to the cultural norm. They compromised their faith but God did not compromise His faithfulness.

Christians are controlled by the Spirit of God and not our flesh. We have power to resist compromise, looking  to Jesus for hope rather than the Hagars of our lives.  Put your faith in God, trusting His design and His promise. He will be faithful! 

Richly Dwelling
-Are you coping with feeling out of control through participation in unhealthy behavior? 

-How is it working for you? Are the Hagars delivering the hope you are looking for?

-God is faithful and you can (re)turn to Him. Only in God’s covenant faithfulness can we find the hope we are long for. Take a moment to confess and repent, turning from your Hagar’s, and ask Jesus to make His Hope real by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Key Verse
2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.