Genesis 16:4-5 "And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 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."
Genesis 16:8-11 "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. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 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.
Genesis 16:13 "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?"
Sarai gave Abram her maid, Hagar, to be another wife unto him. The plan was for Hagar to give Abram an heir that Sarai would raise in her household. So, Abram did as Sarai asked and had an intimate relationship with Hagar. This did not work out quite as Sarai had envisioned. As soon as Hagar realized she had conceived, she thought she was better than Sarai. It is always dangerous to receive God’s blessing with the attitude that the blessing somehow signifies that we are better than others.
Have you ever done exactly what someone asked of you, only for them to become offended at you because you did it? Nothing ever works out the way we think it will when we decide to circumvent God’s promise. Abram did exactly as Sarai asked only to find himself in trouble with Sarai. She charged Abram before the Lord to do something about it. Perhaps because of his love for Sarai, Abram did not try to shield Hagar from Sarai’s anger. Rather than be humbled again as Sarai’s handmaid, she chose to run away.
She quickly learned that you cannot run away from God. God did for Hagar what He often does for us. When we try to run away as though we are being treated unjustly, He first reminds us of exactly who we are. God spoke to Hagar, called her by name, and then reminded her of her responsibility by adding to her name “Sarai’s maid.” God is always able to remind us of our place in life when we become haughty.
The angel of the LORD first told her to go back and face her responsibility. He also made to her some promises that He would surely keep. God was perfectly aware of the “affliction” that Hagar was under. He further assured her that He had heard (was aware) of her affliction. Even when we find our responsibilities difficult, God is always aware of our burdens.
The scripture tells us that Hagar called the LORD “thou God seest me.” How many times in our lives has God proved to us that He sees us? He sees who we are, where we are, and why we are where we are. He may rebuke us even amid reminding us of His promises. We may have to bear our responsibilities under what would seem to us to be difficult circumstances. Knowing that our God is the God that sees us, let us strive to live in a manner that honors Him.