God Speaks
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)
4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”
6 Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. 12 This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” 14 So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” 18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” 22 When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. 26 Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, 27 along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Genesis 16 and 17 will be considered together. Since Sarai was unable to bear children, she suggested to Abram that he should sire a child through her Egyptian maid, Hagar, which he did. When Hagar knew that she was pregnant, she began to act disrespectfully toward Sarai. In turn Sarai treated her so harshly that Hagar ran away. An angel met Hagar at a spring in the wilderness. There he told her to go back and submit to Sarai’s authority. He further told her that she would have a son, whom she should name Ishmael (meaning ‘God hears’), and what his personality and future would be like. From then on, the well in that place was called “well of the Living One who sees me.” Hagar is the only non-Jewish woman to whom God made a covenant promise regarding her future and descendants. * This shows that God cares about “unbelievers.” Hagar gave birth to their son Ishmael when Abram was eighty-six years old. In chapter 17, when Ishmael was 13 years old and Abram was 99, God appeared to him again. He introduced Himself saying, “I am El-Shaddai–‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”(Genesis 17:1-2 NLT) Then God changed both Abram’s and Sarai’s names to Abraham and Sarah (“father of many” and “princess”) and said that they would have a son named Isaac (“he laughs”). God not only told Abraham that he would be the father of nations, but He also promised to give him the land where he now lived as an inheritance for future generations. But God also predicted what would happen to his many descendants several hundred years ahead of time. To distinguish Abraham and his descendants and dependents from those around them, God had Abraham institute the circumcision of all males in his household, which he did that same day.
* Much of my thinking on the Torah, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, was influenced by The Rational Bible by Dennis Prager (audio version).
Prayer: Dear LORD God who knows and predicts the future, thank You for choosing to bless people like Hagar, Ishmael, Abram, Sarai, Isaac, and me. I need Your help to respectfully submit to those in authority with whom I strongly disagree. Please help me to hear You speaking to me through the Bible and to see You at work in the world today. Draw me close to You, O Living One who sees me. I declare, “You truly are El-Shaddai God Almighty.” I really desire to serve You faithfully and live a blameless life. I look forward to the new name You will give me in Heaven (Revelation 2:17). Whether I have physical descendants or not, please grant me the privilege of having many spiritual descendants–those I have led to faith or helped to grow. Please continue to fulfill Your covenant with Abraham regarding Your chosen people and their land. I look forward to dwelling with You in the New Heaven and the New Earth. Please point out and cut away anything in my life that is keeping me from serving and loving You faithfully and wholeheartedly. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask God to show me how to bless someone of a different background than me. Then I will do what He says.
- I will make a point to respectfully submit to the authority of someone with whom I disagree.
- I will thank God for specific ways in which He has revealed Himself to me.
- I will make a list of the ways I see God fulfilling the promises He made to Abraham even in this present age.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.