CRITICAL NOTES.—
Genesis 16:6. Dealt hardly.] Heb. Afflicted her. The word is too strong to indicate merely the employment of sharp and reproachful expressions; acts of oppression are intended.
Genesis 16:7. The angel of the Lord.] This remarkable title occurs here for the first time in the O.T. Here it is evidently to be understood of God Himself. (Genesis 16:13.) God, who is Himself invisible, visited her under the appearance of an angel, the Angel of the Covenant—the Second Person in the Blessed Trinity who has ever manifested God to men. Alford regards this identity as probable, but not to be held as an ascertained fact:—“We know who it is that is the shining out of the Father’s glory, and the expressed stamp of His Deity (Hebrews 1:3), even the Divine Word, who is the Declaration of the Father to man. (John 1:18; John 14:9.) But the more we feel this in our hearts, the more lightly and reverently should such thoughts be touched. It has not pleased God positively to declare to us that it was the Divine Son who was present in these Divine appearances, and therefore we should not on our parts positively declare, nor build systems upon it.” Shur. “Hagar seems to have made her way towards Egypt, as if aiming to return thither. Her route lay from Hebron, through the wilderness of Shur, which stretched from the south-west corner of Palestine to the head of the Red Sea. There is a caravan road through this wilderness or desert to this day.” (Jacobus.)
Genesis 16:9. Submit thyself.] Heb. Humble, or afflict thyself. This is the same word which occurs in Genesis 16:6, and is there rendered “dealt hardly with.”
Genesis 16:10. I will multiply thy seed exceedingly.] Heb. Multiplying, I will multiply thy seed. Thus the Angel claims to be God.
Genesis 16:11. A son.] “The hope of a Hebrew household lay in the son, as the representative of the family name, and the protector and perpetuator of the family line. A daughter was held in small estimation among the Orientals.” (Jacobus.) Ishmael. Heb. God will hear; or as it is interpreted immediately, God hath heard. The L
XX. has, God hath given heed to thy affliction. The Chal. Hath received thy prayer. Targ. Jon. Thine affliction is revealed before the Lord. This is the first instance of a name being given by Divine direction before birth.
Genesis 16:12. A wild man.] Heb. A wild ass man. Targ. Onk. A wild ass among men. “The raving fierceness of the wild ass of the desert is described. (Job 6:5; Job 24:5; Job 39:5; Job 39:8; Psalms 104:11; Isaiah 32:14.) The A.V., by omitting the central word in the sentence, loses altogether the point in the prophecy.” (Alford.) His hand will be against every man, and, every man’s hand against him. As this could not be literally true of any individual man, we must have here the prophetic description of a race. The Ishmaelites (whose representatives are the modern Arabs) were and still are noted for their frequent quarrels amongst themselves. One of their national proverbs is, “In the desert everyone is everyone’s enemy.” And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. The Heb. for “dwell” signifies “to dwell in tents.” This is still the manner of life of a portion of the Arab tribes. In the presence of is interpreted by Delitzsch as rather meaning to the east of, but Kalisch, and other commentators, render as in the text, and understand it as describing “the wide and almost indefinite extent of territories through which the Bedouins roam, so that they seem to be everywhere before the eyes of their brethren.” (Alford.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Genesis 16:7-12
PROVIDENCE AND THE OUTCAST
Hagar chooses rather to brave the dangers of the wilderness than to remain any longer under the tyranny of her mistress. She undertakes a wild journey, insensible to the real dangers which lay before her. The extremity of her misery is God’s opportunity. His Providence interfered to comfort and console—that Providence which does not desert even the outcast and the miserable.
I. Providence finds them. “And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness. (Genesis 16:7.) God brought help to this fugitive and outcast by the ministry of an angel, and He still interferes on behalf of such though the agencies of His Providence are unseen.
1. There are occasions in human life when the Providence of God specially manifests itself. The care and concern of God for His creatures is watchful and constant. Infinite power cannot be wearied, nor can infinite skill pause in its designs through perplexity. The action of God towards His creatures never intermits. But from our point of view, there are times when God’s providential interference is distinctly manifest. This happens usually in the season of great trouble, when we are driven to our wits’ end. When all human resources fail we obtain a more distinct view of the operation of God. By the checks to our happiness in this life we are taught that there is a Power above us. Providence is sure to find us at some time or other of our lives.
2. That Providence finds us for a purpose of mercy. Hagar was now at her worst estate, in the most lonely and miserable condition, on the point of perishing in the wilderness. God revealed Himself, not as the lightning’s flash reveals the awfulness of a shipwreck, but in order to show His tenderness and compassion. He had “heard her affliction,” and sent His angel to comfort and console. In all our wanderings God finds us to the end that He might bring us back to Himself.
3. That Providence is minute in its care and knowledge. The angel calls Hagar by name; asks her questions, not for information, but to draw out her honest reply, and to produce the feeling that she was specially cared for. (Genesis 16:8.) We think of all the departments of Providence as classes of things and persons over which God exercises care and dominion. It is a necessity of our mind to view the subject in this way, for our knowledge of individuals and particulars is limited. For the convenience of our thought we include much in our words, but the impressions made upon our minds are thereby less vivid. There is no such infirmity with infinite knowledge. God is under no necessity to conceive of persons and things as great wholes, but knows perfectly and intimately all the parts of which they are composed. He calleth the stars by their names. It is difficult for us to believe in this special knowledge and care of God for us, His dominion being so wide and long, extending over all time and space. Hence the necessity of revealed religion to teach us that God’s government over all His creatures is not a heartless routine, but proceeds upon an exact knowledge of the condition and wants of each. Without this faith we should feel ourselves but at the mercy of a ponderous machine, whose wheels would crush us if we could not get out of their way. Man, in his misery, might utter a complaint against ruthless force, but could appeal to no heart of compassion, nor behold an eye of regard and pity turned upon him. God’s voice must be heard within the soul in tones of mercy, or else the greatness of His majesty would make us afraid. As the telescope shows us God’s attention to the infinitely great, so the microscope shows us His care for the infinitely small. It is one of the purposes of revelation to teach us the personal interest which God takes in us. Hence Christ is the Shepherd “who calleth His own sheep by name.” (John 10:3.)
II. Providence teaches them. All the ways of God with men are for the purpose of enlightening them with the light of the living. They are intended to impart to us, not that kind of knowledge which satisfies curiosity, but that which is needful to correct our sinful courses, and to teach us our duty.
1. Lessons of reproof. “And He said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence comest thou? and whither wilt thou go?” (Genesis 16:8.) Thus the folly of our own ways is brought home to us, and the dark suggestion of a future, hiding in it unknown troubles, is forced upon our mind. “Whither wilt thou go?” When the past and the future like two gulfs overwhelm us, then is the time to give ear to God if haply we may hear some words of mercy and hope. In all God’s reproofs of our way wardness and folly, conscience approves. “And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress, Sarai.” However we may be pained at them, or rebel against them, we know that the chidings of God are just and right, and that sin must end in our destruction.
2. Lessons of instruction and guidance. Hagar was told to return to her mistress and submit herself under her hands. (Genesis 16:9.) Thus it is only in the humble ways of duty that we can fulfil God’s pleasure and serve Him. If we have quitted the place of duty, or the place of religious privileges, we must return. Though in such a lot there is much that is unpleasant, and that we would gladly avoid, yet this is our calling of God, and we forsake it at our peril. The Church of God is a home for the lonely and the wanderer.
III. Providence inspires hope in them. Hagar was informed by the Angel that she should be the mother of a numerous race, which was destined to act an important part in the history of mankind. The very name of the son which was to be born to her was to preserve the memory of God’s gracious dealings with her. (Genesis 16:10-12.) God cannot impart to us the future in the present, but He gives us what is next to it, that principle of hope which links the present with the future. Thus our soul is sustained amidst the varied trials of life, and we are kept in the attitude of waiting upon God. Without hope in the future, Providence would be a dark enigma. We take refuge in the thought of that goodness which God has laid up for us when we are oppressed by the apparent exceptions to His goodness here. All are not called to the same kind of destiny to which Hagar was appointed. It is given but to the few to act the part of principals in the affairs of human history. But God deals with all so as to give them an interest in the future. No soul can listen to God’s voice and obey His will without being inspired by an unquenchable hope which gives it an interest in all that eternal ages shall unfold.
1. The lowest and most despised have some purpose of Providence to serve. God has His plan concerning them also, and they are needed to work out the great designs of His will. They are called to answer some wise and worthy end. God does not design that the life of any creature made in His own image should be aimless. The thought that we have some Divine purpose to serve should inspire us with the hope that a great future is reserved for us. Until God’s plan concerning the human race is completed it is impossible for us to estimate the real importance of single lives, however humble they may be in the ordinary view of mankind.
2. All who have consciously felt the action of a Divine Providence have some memorial of God’s goodness. Hagar was commanded to give her son a name which was ever to preserve the memory of God’s compassion in her misery. If we have been made to feel that there is a Divine Providence over our lives, we can recount such instances. God has heard our affliction, and calls us to the inheritance of a noble future. The Angel of the Covenant met Hagar and announced the destined purpose of her life; and Christ now meets the sinner, apprehends him as He did St. Paul, so that he, too, may apprehend the purpose of his calling.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Genesis 16:7. The Lord finds sinners when they lose themselves.
Egypt, to which Hagar was fleeing, was the representative of the world kingdom. The Angel of the Covenant still arrests sinners while they are on their way to join His enemies. Thus Saul was met while he was bent on his journey to persecute the saints.
Christ often finds human souls, and brings them to Himself, when this world becomes a desert to them and no earthly hope is left.
Abram and his wife were of the family of God—the Church that then was. The Church has, through mistaken zeal, persecuted men and made them outcasts and wanderers. But this cannot shut such out from the Divine mercy and regard.
There are junctures in our lives where God’s Providence manifestly crosses our path. It is as if an angel met us. In the wilderness the fugitive meets with a better friend. She wanders on in her solitary way, weary of the heat and toil of travel, and half repenting of the hasty step she had taken. At last she sits down beside one of the fountains of water which, with their little spots of freshness around them, form the grateful resting places for the worn and fainting traveller in the desert, as the burning sun beats upon his aching head, or the shades of evening invite his exhausted limbs to rest. There, as she meditates at leisure and alone, the excitement of angry strife having passed away, many bitter thoughts crowd upon her mind. The pride which sustained her is gone, and her spirit is mortified and tamed. She cannot now find support in justifying herself and blaming others. Her heart is beginning to yearn towards the home in which she has dwelt so long in peace, and which, for all that had passed, might still, through God’s mercy, and the mutual forgiveness and forbearance of His erring servants, have proved to her a refuge of holy tranquillity and repose. While feelings like these are swelling her bosom and dimming her eye, a heavenly stranger unexpectedly stands beside her, and a heavenly voice reaches her ear. Trained in the household of one familiar with such divine fellowship, Hagar easily recognises the Angel of the Lord; the Being of whose visits she has heard her master speak.—(Candlish.)
The angel of the Lord finds Hagar; that pre-supposes he had sought her (Deuteronomy 32:10). God meets thee in thy desert; He comes to thee in thy conscience; He kindles in thee the sparks into a flame, and comes to thy help in His grace.—(Lange.)
Genesis 16:8. When Hagar found her name familiarly called by One who knew her state and occupation, and the purposes of her mind, she must have been impressed that the voice which had spoken to her was more than mortal. When we hear a voice within telling us what we are, and convincing us of the folly of going on in our own way, we know that God has spoken to us.
In calling Hagar “Sarai’s maid,” he seems tacitly to disallow of the marriage, and to lead her mind back to that humble character which she had formerly sustained. The questions put to her were close, but tender, and such as were fitly addressed to a person fleeing from trouble. The first might be answered, and was answered: “I flee from the face of my mistress, Sarai.” But with respect to the last, she is silent. We know our present grievances, and so can tell “whence we came” much better than our future lot, or “whither we are going.” In many cases, if the truth were spoken, the answer would be, From bad to worse. At present this poor young woman seems to have been actuated by mere natural principles, those of fleeing from misery. In all her trouble there appears nothing like true religion, or committing her way to the Lord: yet she is sought out of Him whom she sought not.—(Fuller.)
By nature we are homeless, and wandering in uncertainty; it is a turning point in our moral history when we can put the question to ourselves, From whence have we come, and whither are we going. Like the prodigal, we have left our Father’s house, and we can have no true peace or joy till we return thither.
When God’s light shines in upon us, conscience answers faithfully; and though we may be alarmed, yet we need not be dismayed; for that light, though revealing, is kindly.
God never questions us to increase the misery of our condition, but to bring us back to Himself.
She recognises her old and true relation to her “mistress Sarai.” This would indicate some softening of her spirit, left, as she was, to her reflection, and cast out upon that dreary desert alone, and now also met by the Covenant Angel, who was ready to counsel her, and to do her good. If her heart was now humbled so as to own her mistress, and cease her proud boasting over her, why might she not return? She would probably have perished on the route of weariness and thirst.—(Jacobus.)
Genesis 16:9. The injunction of the angel to Hagar was to return and submit. The reason was, that she had done wrong in despising her mistress, and by her exposure in endangering the fruit of her womb, and now she must be humbled for it. Hard as this might appear, it was the counsel of wisdom and mercy. A connection with the people of God, with all their faults, is preferable to the best of this world where God is unknown. If we have done wrong, whatever temptations or provocations we have met with, the only way to peace and happiness is to retrace our footsteps in repentance and submission.—(Bush.)
Religion does not place us above the duties arising from the social relationships of human life.
It is in the humble ways of duty that we can best glorify God. It is enough if we are faithful in that which is least. We should resist the temptation of seeking large places and occasions in which to do our duty.
The angel, in commanding Hagar to return to duty, virtually promised her support and favour under it. All God’s commands are really promises to those who obey them. Therefore, we should not hesitate to follow at God’s command, though the prospect may seem uninviting.
Abram was to become a blessing to Hagar as he had been to Lot (ch. 12). It is best for us to dwell with those whom God has appointed to minister to us spiritual good.
The household of God on earth is not perfect. The operations of divine grace are here complicated with human passion and infirmity. Still, this is the place of our greatest safety, and where our souls can thrive best.
The Angel of the Covenant is still inviting wanderers home—calling them out of the wilderness of this world into His own chosen family. It is when we are toiling and labouring for very vanity, with nothing but the wildest chances before us, that He invites us to come to Him.
God’s favourable time for speaking to our souls often is in the time of our affliction, when the desert is about us, and every other voice is hushed.
When God appears, it is not for the end that He might gratify our curiosity, but to instruct us in the humble tasks of duty.
Genesis 16:10-11. In God’s gracious dealings with mankind comfort follows counsel.
The angel-speaker here adopts a style suited only to the Deity, and for Hagar’s encouragement, gives her grounds to expect a portion of Abram’s blessing, of which she must often have heard—viz., a numerous offspring. This was the prompting of Divine benignity; for it is clear that the language of absolute authority might have been used without any intermingling of gracious promises; but God delights rather to win than to compel the hearts of His people into the ways of obedience.—(Bush.)
It was in God’s plan to increase the family of Abram in the Iśhmael branch for Abram’s sake. This son is to be trained in the family of the patriarch in order to be capable of obtaining the measure of blessing reserved for him. Here is a memorial in his very name of that Divine interposition to which his life, first and last, would be due. And whether Hagar distinctly prayed to God or not, He heard her groans and sighs, and came to her relief for the Covenant’s sake.—(Jacobus.)
This is the first instance of a name given by Divine direction before birth, though many such instances occur hereafter. It is remarkable that God is not said to have heard her prayer, for it does not appear that she had yet called upon His name. She merely sat bewailing herself, as not knowing what to do. Yet, lo, the ear of mercy is open to what we may term the silent voice of affliction itself. The groans of the prisoner are heard of God, not only theirs who cry unto Him, but, in many cases, theirs who do not. See a parallel case (Genesis 21:17).—(Bush.)
God is pleased with such memorials as cause us to remember His mercy.
Genesis 16:12. Nations of the most diverse character owe their origin alike to the will of Providence.
Those nations which have become the plagues of mankind may yet boast of manifest instances of God’s mercy.
The descendants of Ishmael have been for ages the enemies and tormentors of the Church of God. They have oppressed its children and retarded its progress. Thus the worldly policy of Abram has spread itself out disastrously in human history.
He will be a wild ass which is fierce, untractable, and untameable. And such by nature is every mother’s child of us (Job 11:12) “a wild ass’s colt.” An ass is none of the wisest of creatures, much less an ass’s colt; least of all, a wild ass’s colt. Lo, such is man.—(Trapp.)
Their character drawn by the pen of inspiration (Job 24:5), exactly corresponds with this view of their dispositions and conduct. Savage and stubborn as the wild ass, which inhabits the same wilderness, they go forth on the horse or the dromedary, with inconceivable swiftness in quest of their prey. Initiated in the trade of a robber from their earliest years, they know no other employment; they choose it as the business of their life, and prosecute it with unwearied activity. They start before the dawn to invade the village or the caravan; make their attack with desperate courage and surprising rapidity; and plunging instantly into the desert, escape from the vengeance of their enemies. Provoked by their continual insults, the nations of ancient and modern times have often invaded their country with powerful armies, determined to extirpate, or, at least, to subdue them to their yoke; but they always return baffled and disappointed. The savage freebooters, disdaining every idea of submission, with invincible patience and resolution maintained their independence; and they have transmitted it unimpared to the present times. In spite of all their enemies can do to restrain them, they continue to dwell in the presence of all their brethren, and to assert their right to insult and plunder everyone they meet with on the borders or within the limits of their domains.—(Paxton.)
Every addition to our knowledge of Arabia and its inhabitants confirms more strongly the Biblical statements. These Ishmaelites became formidable in history under the name of Saracens. They marched out to curb the world to their dominion, and to force the nations to their faith; they inundated Persia, the districts east of the Caspian Sea and India; they carried their victorious arms into Syria and Egypt and the interior of Africa; they occupied Spain and Portugal, Sicily and Sardinia, and have beyond their native tracts ascended more than a hundred thrones. Although they sent presents of incense to Persia, and of cattle to Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, they were never subjected to the Persian empire. They are expressly mentioned as independent allies. Nor had the Assyrian and Babylonian kings more than transitory power over small portions of their tribes. Here the ambition of Alexander the Great and of his successors received an insuperable check, and a Roman expedition in the time of Augustus totally failed. The Bedouins have remained essentially unaltered since the time of the Hebrews and the Greeks.—(Kalisch.)
God has provided that the separate existence and persistent characteristics of some nations shall be a standing witness to the truth of the early records of Revelation. The Bible has rich evidence in the external facts of human life, as well as in the native excellence and force of its spiritual truths. For upwards of four thousand years has this prophetic voice been made audible to mankind in the history of this people. How lasting is the Word of God!
Those of an alien faith and nation may still be our brethren, for they too can speak of mercies from a common Father.
Before the eyes of civilised nations God has provided evidences of His faithfulness through many generations.