The God who Sees: Genesis 16:7-16

The story focuses briefly on Hagar and her flight back to her home country of Egypt.  There God (v.13) speaks to her and tells her to return to Sarai.  He also tells her of her son and his descendants.  Before we look at what God tells her here, let's remember how God called Abram back in Genesis 12:2-3.

I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.

Also remember how God described the number of Abram's descendants in 13:16 - like the dust of the earth - if they could be counted.  Now, in 16:10, God tells Hagar that her descendants will similarly be too numerous to count.  But that is where the similarity between Hagar's descendants and Abram's descendants ends.  Unlike God's promise to bless those who blessed Abram and curse those who cursed him, God tells Hagar that her son's life will be marked by conflict (16:12).  There is no mention of making him into a great nation and no mention of God using him to bless the earth.

This difference makes it clear that Hagar's son is not the child of God's promise to Abram.  This is the child of Abram taking control and doing for himself.  The implication of God's pronouncement in 16:12 is that Ishmael will follow in Abram's footsteps of doing for himself.  For him, there will be no peace associated with letting God act to bless and protect.  Instead there will be struggle and hostility.

We should not be surprised by this pronouncement or think that it is harsh.  God is described here as The One who sees me.  He is the one who sees Hagar in her distress and hears her misery.  His direction and pronouncements are intended to comfort and provide for Hagar and her son.  In spite of God's comforting intention, there can be no peace without God's presence in our lives.  Ishmael was not to be a man of peace and - I think we can conclude - not to be a man who sought after God's presence.

Looking back:  I think there is a similarity with God's pronouncements about Ishmael here and his relational pronouncements in the Garden of Eden.  There, God told Adam and Eve about their broken relationships with Him, each other, and the world.  As I mentioned before, this was not a new punishment from God, he was simply listing the things that had already been broken as a result of their decision to seek after their own glory.  Similarly, When God says Ishmael will not be a man of peace, He might not necessarily be pronouncing a new judgment, He may be saying something about the nature of mankind in His absence.

Family Feud: Genesis 16:4-6

Sarai's maidservant Hagar became pregnant when Abram took control of producing an heir.  Taking control made good sense at the time.  God said Abram would have an heir and this was a very pragmatic way to get that done.  But disaster awaits us when we try to do things according to our own wisdom and sensibilities instead of doing things God's way.

At the end of verse 4, Hagar begins to despise Sarai.  This doesn't require a great leap of imagination to visualize.  Suddenly, Hagar's status had been elevated from maidservant to heir-producer.  I can picture the hurtful things she must have said to Sarai.  And I can imagine Sarai didn't hold back in her responses.  These are not good conditions for a peaceful domestic environment!

Sarai reported to Abram and placed all the blame squarely on his shoulders in verse 5.  I've talked about his fault in this situation  (he stopped listening to God and listened to Sarai instead) so he certainly deserves blame for the situation.  However, this was originally Sarai's plan.  She is the last person who should point fingers of blame.

It is clear that Abram has returned to his passive stance (where is the family protector we saw when Lot was in trouble?).  I don't imagine Hagar would have gotten very far in her mistreatment of Sarai if he had cared enough to involve himself in the squabble early on.  And, his passivity extended to the solution as well.  Instead of taking responsibility for the mess and using his authority to produce a comprehensive solution, he told Sarai to do whatever she wishes with Hagar.  Now that he had what he wanted (an heir) it seemed he had little regard for the feelings of the people who were hurting because of it.

So, in order to quickly restore peace to his family, Abram quickly (and ironically) relinquished control.  Sarai used her new authority to terribly mistreat Hagar.  Apparently, Hagar was so mistreated that she had to flee the camp.  It is also ironic that there is no mention of Abram pursuing Hagar since her departure meant his unborn heir was leaving too!

What a mess!

But we shouldn't expect anything other than a mess in this situation.  Abram desired the fulfillment of the promise more than he desired God (an important detail we will look at again a little later).  He also believed that he had the best way of bringing about the promise.  Instead of patiently waiting for God to fulfill the promise like He said He would, Abram acted for himself and by himself.  His focus was on self and self ONLY.  

Once again, sadly, I can see so much of myself in the way Abram acted here.  He is grasping, prideful, callous, self-interested, passive, cowardly, and uncaring.  And my default is to be all these things too.  Thankfully, just like Adam and Eve's story, God didn't abandon Abram.  He will faithfully bring about the promise.  And, thankfully, God doesn't abandon me either - no matter how much I might deserve it.  God's good, gracious, and faithful character has not changed.

Taking Control: Genesis 16:1 - 4

In my last post, we saw the lengths God took to assure Abram that He would fulfill His promises to him. Specifically, the promises of an heir and of land.  Abram, for his part, believed that God would fulfill the promises.  However, in this chapter, we see him waver under the pressures of time and family.

Verses 1 through 4 of chapter 16 set the stage.  Sarai tells Abram that God has kept her from having children.  She suggests he get children through her maidservant.  Apparently this was not an uncommon practice in that culture (we'll see this sort of thing again about a dozen chapters or so from now).  Abram agrees with Sarai, does as she suggests, and her maidservant becomes pregnant with Abram's first child.

But consider what else is happening here.  In Genesis 15:3, Abram acknowledged that having a child is under God's control.  God reassures Abram that He will fulfill the promise and Abram believes Him.   Now, at the beginning of chapter 16, Abram stops listening to what God said (he listens to and agrees with his wife instead) and decides to take matters into his own hand.  It's as if the author wanted to curtail any notions we might have about Abram as a larger-than-life man of faith.  This portrayal of Abram's story hasn't been photo-shopped to remove the blemishes.  He is presented with all his flaws, human, and easy to identify with.

I say easy to identify with because we all struggle with exactly the same things.  It's easy to believe God when He says we are loved, rescued, and made pure only by Him.  It's easy to believe with our minds and our mouths and then wake up the next morning and try to DO those things for ourselves.  We want to make ourselves worthy of love, rescue ourselves, and make ourselves pure.  We want to do the work He says only He can do...  Because then, not only can we control the how, and when, and if, but we can also claim the credit.  Sidenote:  I'm not advocating laziness here.  But we do need to be careful of our motives.

Let's remember back to the covenant God made with Abram in chapter 15 for a moment.  This was a unique covenant since God was the only contractually obligated party.  There is a not-so-subtle point God makes by not giving Abram a part to play in the promise making.  God was the one to fully bring about the promises.  Abram would have no part in supplying the promised child or bringing forth a nation to claim the land of Canaan.

So, what happens when we try for ourselves to do the things God has promised us?  What happens when we (just like Eve) choose our own wisdom over God's?  Abram soon found out when Sarai and her maidservant began fighting.

I'd love to find fault with Abram and point an accusatory finger at him.  But, truthfully, I've done no less.  I imagine most of us have.  In his position, I probably would have listened to the practical advice of Sarai and done the same thing.  Today, we aren't concerned with trying to produce an heir to inherit God's promise.  But we still consider the promises of God and try to accomplish them on our own.  We desire happiness and become slaves to hedonism.  We try to earn God's favor and become prideful through our good works.  We listen to the advice of those around us instead of God and fall well short of what He has promised us.

Assurances: Genesis 15:7-21

Abram and God have had one short exchange where God tells Abram that he will have a son to inherit the land God promised and Abram believes what god tells him.  In verse 7, God reiterates His purpose for Abram, "[I] brought you out of [your homeland] to give you this land to take possession of it."

We might well ask, "why did God say this?"  He had already initiated a conversation with Abram, listened to his situation, and made a response.  Abram believed what God said so that should be the end, right?  Thanks for the chat.  Good night.  Enjoy the rest of your dreams.   

Instead, God makes a statement and waits for a response.  Again!  It seems Abram's trust about an heir wasn't the only thing on God's agenda.  Abram responds by asking God how he can KNOW that he will inherit the land.  

Now God's purpose for extending the conversation make a little more sense.  He is assuring Abram about two of the promises not seen: an heir and the land he was giving to Abram's descendants.  

God's response starting in verse 9 seems a bit strange.  Why all the animals?  Why the smoking firepot and torch?  What's going on here?  Derek Kidner notes in his commentary "Genesis" that this covenant ritual usually involves two parties passing through the carcasses.   Each party was ritually saying, "if I break our agreement, my fate should be the same as that of these grotesquely slaughtered animals."  Here, however, only God (manifested as the firepot and torch) makes this agreement.  The covenant is clearly one-sided - a great blessing for Abram.

But, why should God make such a one-sided agreement at all?  Well, firstly, Abram really has no power to  accomplish the promise.  He cannot give himself a child and even if he could, he has no power to build a nation from that child.  Only God has the power to do those things.  Secondly, in verses 13-16, we learn that the nation won't be created for over 400 years.  Abram certainly wouldn't be around to see that!  So God makes a covenant with Abram to show him how serious He is about accomplishing the promise.  In effect, the eternal God was saying, "I, who cannot die, will die before I break this promise to you and your descendants."  The strength of the promise was now rooted in the immortality of the creator-God.  I cannot think of any greater assurance.

Looking ahead:  Ok, I just cannot help myself here.  The comfort and assurance God gives Abraham and his descendants in this section is mirrored in another section of scripture too.  You might be tempted to read Ephesians 1 (particularly verse 14) where Paul talks about God giving his spirit as a pledge (or down payment) guaranteeing inheritance.  This simple phrase has a similar effect of rooting promises in God's eternal and unified nature.  He guarantees the promise of redemption by giving Christians His spirit.  While God effectively told Abram He would die before breaking the promise, God tells Christians they can keep His spirit if He breaks his promise.  He does not simply make a promise, He backs it up with his unbreakable, eternal nature.  God goes above and beyond to comfort and assure all His children.

Review and Trust: Genesis 15:5 - 6

In my last post, we saw God (infinite creator of the universe) initiate a conversation with Abram.  He tells him his reward will be great and pauses to hear Abram's response.  As I read their interaction, I get the sense that God is preparing Abram for something new.  In a way similar to how God prepared Adam for something new (Eve), God starts a conversation with Abram and let's him express come to the right conclusion.

Abram, for his part, realizes that he has been blessed by God and that God has kept all His promises so far.  He is so richly blessed that he needs nothing more for himself.  But he wonders about God's promise to make his family into a great nation that will inherit the land and bless the earth.  He has not seen this promise happen and he is getting too old to do it himself.

So Abram tells God about his situation.  He is getting old and God has not provided descendants to inherit his land.  The land God promised to his descendants will go to his servant.  We might be tempted to think there is some bitterness in Abram's response.  But I don't think this is the case.  I think Abram is acknowledging God's role in providing descendants here.  So, Similar to the way in which God paused in verse 15:1, Abram pauses to see how God will respond.

God responds dramatically in verse 5 just as I mentioned in my last post.  He is not harsh, or sarcastic, but kind and comforting - giving Abram the reassurance he needs.  Not only does this demonstrate something about God's character, but it strongly suggests Abram was not bitter or disrespectful to God for bringing up the issue.  This suggests we have a similar freedom with God.  We are invited to respectfully bring Him our concerns and He will answer.

For his part, Abram believes what God tells him.  Verse 15:6 says that God credits Abram with righteousness for believing.  We should ask ourselves what this means.  We should also ask what this does NOT mean!  This is not blind belief - God has proven himself to Abram regarding the promises He has made and kept - so Abram's choice to believe God was informed by his previous experiences.  But what does it mean to believe God in this case?  Put simply, Abram trusted that God would fulfill the promise He spoke of.  He trusted that God spoke the truth.

And what about crediting as righteousness?  What does that mean?  Let's go back several posts to the fall of Adam and Eve.  In the garden they proved that they did not trust God.  They thought He was not being completely good to them and they did not trust His provision for them.  Here, Abram does the opposite.  He trusts that God is being completely good to him and trusts God's promises.  Where Adam and Eve's mistrust lead to sin and death, Abram's trust is considered righteous by God.  Interestingly, this righteousness comes before any action on Abram's part (hint: that's later in the story).

God confirms His promise to Abram: Genesis 15:1 - 5

After Abram's faithful recognition of God's protection, he has a vision in which God says: "...I am your shield, your very great reward."  The footnotes in my NIV translation suggest an alternate translation, "I am your shield, your reward will be very great."  This makes more sense when we consider Abram's response in verse 2.

Notice there is an implicit pause at the end of verse 1.  God says, "...your reward will be very great," and nothing more.  God, through Abram's vision, initiates a conversation and pauses for Abram's response.

Abram responds by telling God about his situation - the part of God's promise not yet seen.  Abram, at nearly 86 years old (from chapter 16), wonders how God intends to fulfill the promise of numerous descendants.  How could God bless the world through him if he had no child?  How could God make Abram's name great without an heir to carry on his name?  How could a nation come from him when a small family seemed out of reach?

I'm a bit torn about Abram's response.  In one sense, it seems like he still has hope about the promise of descendants (otherwise, why bring it up at all).  In another, it seems like he is resigned to not having this promise answered.  I picture him hemming and hawing in a more modern context: "Hey God, um, thanks for all the blessing, and protection and all, but, well...  I mean, I don't want to seem ungrateful, 'cause, really, you've saved my bacon countless times (thanks for that by the way)...   And, well, it seems like I'm getting on in years and I was about to go see my lawyer to draw up my will tomorrow....  And, um, since you've not given my any kids, it looks like my butler is going to get everything...  And, um, well, is that what you meant about having descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth or did you mean something else?"

But, perhaps I'm not giving Abram enough credit.  Perhaps Abram's response is one of bewildered acceptance.  "Ok God, my reward will be great...  But the only thing left for you to give me is an heir.  I haven't seen that happen yet, and I would have expected that gift from you first, you know, when I was younger and could have kids..."

God responds in verses 4 through 5.  Notice that God is not harsh.  He does not belittle Abram or punish him.  He responds to Abram's earnestness by confirming His promise for a third time.  He tells Abram that he will have a son to carry on his name.  And, instead of just telling him that his descendants will be as numerous as dust (13:16), he uses the uncountable stars as a visual aid to SHOW Abram what he means.

But why?  Why act this way?  Why does God initiate a conversation instead of just addressing Abram's issues?  And why confirm the promise in a new way instead of just repeating it?  I think these questions rightly challenge our view of God as an imperious tyrant.  We would expect an imperious God to be more declarative and harsh.  To say, "Abram, you whining, faithless doubter, I promised a son and you'll get one.  Now, stop bugging me about it."  And we expect a tyrant God to strike Abram dead for asking questions.  But this is not the God Abram serves.  God initiates a conversation with Abram because He desires relationship.  And He knows Abram's need for comfort and reassurance on this issue (wouldn't we all after at least 10 years of waiting).