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God does not want our help, He wants our Obedience---Sarah's mistake is in not seeking God's plan.

Sarah was a sharer in the promise to Abraham.  She too, longed for the fulfillment of God's promise of an heir.  Genesis 11:30 tells us the tragic words that Sarah was barren.  No cry echoes so deep as that of a woman whose longings for a child go unanswered.  To the people of Sarah's day, her barrenness was a matter of shame---a evidence not of God's hand being on her marriage, but against it.  As we look at Sarah's mistake regarding Hagar, we must not judge her too harshly, for the 20/20 vision of hindsight we enjoy was not her's to draw on.

  Take a look at Genesis 16:1-2.  What was Sarah's idea, and where do you think she got it?

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It had been a long time since Abraham heard from God.  Verse 3 seems to indicate they had been waiting ten years.  The biological clock was ticking.  Sarah was at this time in her seventies and had given up on having a child herself.  So she suggested that Abraham have a child using her maid as a surrogate mother.  This was not a new idea.  It was a common practice in the Chaldean region they had come from.  But it was not God's design.  Monogamy was His plan from the very beginning.

"...and Abram listened to the voice of Sarai." (Genesis 16:2)

  As you read the account of Hagar's pregnancy (Genesis 16:3-16), write down the changes in her attitude toward Sarah.

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In verse four we see that once Hagar is pregnant, her boss is "despised in her sight."  Later in verse 9 we begin to see a hint of what the problem was.  The angel of the Lord instructed Hagar to return to Sarah and submit to her authority.  Apparently once Hagar was bearing Abraham's child, she began to see herself as Abraham's wife and as superior to Sarah.  Sarah very quickly regretted ever suggesting her idea concerning Hagar to Abraham.

  Looking at Genesis 16:5 and 6, write what you see there about how Sarah handled the situation, and give your opinion on the right and wrong aspects of her response.

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When Hagar began to flaunt her pregnancy in Sarah's face she was incensed and complained to Abraham.  He had followed Sarah's lead so far in this mess, and he wasn't about to change now.  He basically says in verse 6, "Do whatever you want to her."  In her anger, Sarah treated Hagar so harshly that she fled.  Sarah was not wrong for feeling hurt by Hagar's attitude, but she was wrong in how she dealt with it.  James 1:20 states, "for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."  Whenever we respond out of our anger we respond wrongly.  Again we see Sarah reacting without seeking God.

  Read the rest of Genesis 16 and record how the situation was resolved.

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After an encounter with the "angel of the Lord," Hagar returned and submitted to Sarah's authority.  The child she carried was born and named "Ishmael."  This child was not a child of blessing, however.  He grew up to be "a wild donkey of a man" (Genesis 16:12).  Everyone in Abraham's household had to adjust to this wild child's presence.

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