Genesis 16:1-16

As we see the great failure of Abram and Sarai in Genesis 16 and the damage it brings, it will show us the way God sees us in our hardship and sustains our hope.

Outline

  • First, Hardship happens when we resist the plan of God (16:1-6)
    • Hardship comes through broken trust (1-2a)
    • Hardship comes through broken vows (2b-4a)
    • Hardship comes through broken relationships (4b-5)
    • Hardship comes through broken people (6)
  • Second, Healing happens when we experience the presence of God (16:7-16)
    • Healing after hardship comes through the presence of God (7-8)
    • Healing after hardship comes through the provision of God (9-12)
    • Healing after hardship comes through the providence of God (13-16)

Christ Connections

  • The angel of the Lord find Hagar, the rejected women, near a well in the desert. The language may indicate that this is an appearance of Christ before he takes on flesh, pointing forward to John 4 where Jesus meets another woman at the well. In both cases, the presence of God brings healing after hardship.
  • Isaiah 53:3-5 shows us our spiritual reality, if we don’t know Jesus, we are like Hagar—rejected, abandoned, and alone.  But God in his kindness sees us in our pain and sends his son to save us. Jesus is the suffering servant who doesn’t just meet a servant girl suffering in Gen. 16; he meets you and I in our sin and suffering. Jesus sees, Jesus hears, Jesus lives, Jesus heals.

Applications

  • Those wrestling with infertility today may feel the same pain as Sarah. This passage shows that God works in his own timing and he calls us to trust us in our most painful moments.
  • Sin comes when the voice of others drowns out the voice of God in our lives. Our desires tell us we can reach our destination apart from God’s design.
  • Broken choices lead to broken relationships. The conflict in Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham is similar to what we face in our choices and relationships.