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Sermon
of 03-24-01
"Ever Felt Alone?"
by Dr. D.A. Farmer, pastor
Scripture - Genesis 16:1-16
Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name [was] Hagar.:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. :3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. :4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. :5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong [be] upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. :6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid [is] in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. :7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. :8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. :9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. :10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. :11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. :12 And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. :13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? :14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, [it is] between Kadesh and Bered. :15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. :16 And Abram [was] fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
Have you ever felt alone? Like no one cared? Like the world has turned against you? Felt like you had been dealt a raw deal? Ever experience the feeling like throwing in the towel and running away? In our story in Genesis 16, that is the way Hagar feels.
She had been born a slave. That alone is reason enough to make you feel like you have been gotten a bad start in life. She was a nobody. An insignificant person. Unimportant. She too probably knew what it felt like to throw in the towel and run away. To run as far as your feet would let you!
The name Hagar means "Flight or Run Away". And she, as the stories shows, lived up to her name. Names meant a lot in Bible days. For example, take the name Jacob. It means
"he takes by the heel," or "he supplants." If you know the story, that is exactly what he does when he and his twin brother, Esau, were born. Or how about later when his name was changed to "Israel", which means
"God contends" or "God rules".
Both times Jacob lived up to his name, his character. Take my name, "David". Oh how I love its meaning.
"The Beloved". I guess that means everyone loves me. It also can mean
"Commander". I think I like that meaning better! I just pray that I can live up to both meanings.
Our story goes that Hagar was an Egyptian maidservant of Abraham. She probably was purchased during one of his Egyptian journeys. Because Sarah could bare him no children, she insisted that Abraham take Hagar as his secondary wife. For some reason, the Bible doesn't report that Abraham agued.
Now we do not know the exact age of Hagar at this time, but she was probably pretty, young and single. Never being married before, she, like most young girls do, dreamed of the day she would tie the knot. She probably fantasized what he would look like. He would tall, dark, rich and very handsome. But what did she get? An 85-year-old man. He may have been bald, false teeth, or no teeth at all. May have had to use a cane. No, he was no prince charming. But he was rich.
In those days, the same as today, the richer a person was meant you were somebody. Finally she had arrived in life. She was somebody that others would look up! She finally had some say so in life.
Although we don't know what she said to Sarah, she must have said something that made Sarah very, very upset. Apparently Hagar had become flattered with the honor of her new position as Abraham's wife. She was to be the mother of the great nation. So over the course of time, Hagar became proud and boastful. She started treating her mistress with disrespect. Jealousies disturbed the peace of this once happy home.
Forced to listen to the nagging complaints of both Sarah and Hagar, Abraham is unsuccessful in restoring peace and harmony. Now women, please forgive me for what I'm about to say. Sometimes the truth hurts. But there is nothing that wears a man down, like a nagging wife. And bless his soul; Abraham has two women nagging at him.
Abraham finally gives in and verse 6 says that he tells Sarah to do with Hagar as she pleases. The Bible says that Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar. Then Hagar remembers what her name means and she flees. {See PP pg. 145}
Verse 7 tells us that an angel of the Lord found Hagar by a well. In verses 8 through 10 we find this angel telling Hagar to return to Abraham and Sarah, promising that her child would become the ancestor of a great nation. This experience led her to call the well
"the God Who sees." She obeys the angel and returned to Abraham's household. Later she gave birth to a son whom Abraham named Ishmael.
Friends, I ask you again, have you ever felt like running away? Just throwing in the towel and calling it quits? If there is one thing I have learned in Psychology, it is all of us have hurt sometime in our life.
Right now, in the sound of my voice, there is someone contemplating suicide. How do I know this? Because the odds report it. Every living person sometime or another has been pounded with the thought of taking his or her own life. Or at least wishing that God would just let them die.
And don't tell me that thought has never crossed your mind. If it hasn't, then you're one in six billion that has lived the perfect life. Now please don't misconstrue what I'm saying. I'm not saying you have ever acted on the thought. Or that the thought went very far in your mind. That may have been all it ever was, a thought. But when serious trouble comes our way, so often also comes the thought of just ending it all.
By now you are probably are thinking; Well great preacher, since you now have me even more depressed than I was before I came to church, how do we combat these thoughts and feelings?
Good question. I'm glad you asked. Because now comes the good part of our story and sermon.
Look at verse 8 again. By now Hagar is in the desert. She feels abandoned like no one cares. She's pregnant and alone. The angel addresses her as
"Hagar, Sarai's maid." This was to remind her of her position and duty. He told her to return to her mistress and submit herself under Sarah's rule.
Friends what I want you to see is that even with the reproof of what she had done, the angels words were mingled with comfort. Look at verse 11 again. It says,
"Because the Lord has heard your
affliction." Then verse 10 adds; "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." This was a perpetual reminder of God's mercy. And as a everlasting reminder of God's love and mercy, Hagar was told to call her child Ishmael, which means
"God shall hear."
And that same promise is given to us. God will hear our prayers when we are hurting. When we feel lonely, forsaken, abandoned, and neglected. Never will we be with out Him, if we stay close to Him today.
To close this morning's topic, please allow me to read to you a quote from my favorite author.
"The Lord hates sin; but He loves and forgives the repentant, believing sinner, and takes him under His guardianship and control. Satan is on the track of every soul; but with every temptation that is permitted to come upon the children of God's pardoning love, He makes a way of escape in order that they shall not be tempted above that which they are able to bear. Divine strength is imparted to make the believing child able to resist the temptation, and to escape the
snare" (Manuscript 27, 1894).
(For more study on this subject, see Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 13).
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