September 12th Class Summary

Genesis 16

Suffering Servants

Sarai could not bare children and told Abraham to sleep with Hagar, her salve (Pharaoh gave Hagar to Abraham as a gift).. Sarai got impatient and wanted to do God’s work for him instead of waiting for their blessing. Abraham agreed to do it. She should have been praying and remaining obedient to God.

Abraham put Hagar in the place of his wife and she was lifted.

The moment Hagar became pregnant, Sarai began to despise her. These are the consequences of being disobedient and blinded by the enemy.

It was both Abraham and Sarai’s fault because they both fell prey to the enemy’s deception by not being patient and being disobedient.

God will make you wait for your blessings and test you to show your heart. Not for Him, but for yourself to see.

Sometimes we will deal with people out of our own trauma. Sarai could have shown more compassion to Hagar because she too was once a slave from Pharaoh and knew what Hagar was experiencing. Instead she put Hagar in a bad position.

Abraham gave Sarai permission to treat Hagar any way she felt, and Hagar was mistreated by her.

After the mistreatment from Sarai, Hagar fled (Hagar means slight and forsaken)

An angel found her and asked where are you going? And told her to return to Saraii and submit to her. This was a reminder to humble herself. Despite her sufferings she had to see that she was still lifted up by becoming pregnant. The Lord reminded her that he will increase her descendants numerously. He told her she would bare a child named Ishmael. Ishmael will be a wild man and will live in hostility towards all of his relatives

Hagar recognized at that moment that God had come to answer her prayers and that He had seen her.

God will allow us to suffer because in suffering comes reign with the Lord. Our suffering is not in vein, even when we do wrong.