Always Working For Our Good – Genesis 16:1-16

 

Illus – In 2015, we were in our first year as a church, and one day while praying, I felt like God told me, “I will give you land at the right time.” In pure Greg Fashion, I began looking for that land – in fact, several of us identified a piece of land just north of the bridge, now Gordon Reed Elem., that we thought was going to be ours – we scouted it, drew up rough plans of how we would develop it, but we had two major problems: we had no money and the owner wasn’t interested in selling - spent a ton of time working on a plan God never asked me to work on – in fact, a year later, Ted Seago contacted me out of the blue, and within 8 weeks, we took possession of this land – My timing vs. God’s timing.

 

How often do you feel God moving you in a direction, but in your impatience and misunderstanding, you take matters into your own hands? I have a history of running out ahead of God, and thinking I am solving his problem for him, I actually make things more challenging.

 

Today, moving forward in life of Abram – Remember, last week, number one thing he had going for him was God told him to LEAVE and GO, and he LEFT and WENT – We saw in Genesis 12 for first time that God made a promise to Abram – Genesis 12:2-3 – Abram believed the promise, and left the familiar and secure to pursue God’s promise of land, generational descendants and generational blessing – and in the last half of 12-14, we see God making good on his promise – Abram and Sarai go Egypt to escape a famine, Abram lies to and tells Pharaoh that she’s his sister, and Pharaoh takes her into his harem, but protects Abram – Abram didn’t trust God for provision or protection, yet God provided both – he struck Pharaoh’s palace with disease, (spoiler alert – happens again in Exodus) and they are released and sent home – But Abram prospered and gained wealth while in Egypt – God blessed them in spite of themselves.

 

In 13, Lot, Abram’s nephew, is living with them, but they grow concerned that the land can’t support their growing family, so Abram and Lot decide to split – Abram gives Lot first choice of land, and Lot chooses to go East toward Sodom – foreshadowing – Again, God blessed Abram and promised him blessing with the lands he chose and his offspring like the dust of the earth Genesis 13:16.

 

In 15, Abram questions God about being childless, and God reiterates his promise of generational blessing – Genesis 15:4-6 - I want to pick up the story here today in Genesis 16:1-16 –

 

V1-2 – Remember, we learned at the end of chapter 11 that Sarai was barren and couldn’t have children – God kept telling Abram that he would have descendants that numbered the dust of the earth and stars of the sky, but Sarai couldn’t provide that for Abram – Imagine the pressure and shame Sarai must’ve felt not being able to provide a child for Abram – so, she took matters into her own hands – NOTE: Any decision made from a place of shame will never end well.

 

Sarai offered her Egyptian servant Hagar as a surrogate, which was a cultural custom at the time, to carry Abram’s child – remember, this was before there was any medical means to fertilize an egg, so there was only one way: sleep with her –

 

V3-4 - Abram followed his wife’s advice and slept with Hagar and she conceived – Nothing about this feels right – all in the name of God’s promise, Abram and Sarai concocted a plan to accomplish what God had already promised –

 

This is how the enemy works – He is always at work trying to convince you to accomplish a God-given desire in an ungodly way – According to ancient cultural customs, what they were doing was culturally accepted, but it reminds me of Romans 12:2 – It was a PATTERN OF THE WORLD THEY CONFORMED TO – And, as a result, look what happened – “Sarai despised her mistress”- I’m sure Sarai’s hatred of Hagar was a decade’s long sadness and anger that she couldn’t have kids, and what seemed like a good idea in the moment now increased her pain – SIN NEVER SATISFIES, it only makes things worse.

 

V5 – “Look at what you’ve done, Abram!” – Sarai’s idea was now Abram’s problem – “Abram, why didn’t you talk me out of this? How could you do this?” Immediate regret – Reminds me of the movie Indecent Proposal, where the rich guy played by Robert Redford offers Woody Harrelson $1 Million for a night with his wife, Demi Moore – they agree, but once it takes place, it almost destroys their marriage – all that money couldn’t satisfy the pain of a bad decision.

 

V6 – Abram, being the stand-up guy, said, “She’s your slave. Do whatever you want, “ and allowed Sarai to mistreat her – So much wrong with this story – and just quick pause: These are the ones whom with whom God made a covenant – a reminder that God WORKS OUTSIDE OF OUR OBEDIENCE TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSES.

 

V7-10 – Hagar fled – can you imagine how she felt? Sarai had commanded her to provide a child for her husband, and now she had become a reminder of her deepest pain, her greatest brokenness, so she ran – And GOD MET HER IN HER PAIN AND FEAR – “Go back and submit to Sarai, and I will bless you with descendants too numerous to count.” A similar blessing promised to Abram is now being spoken over Hagar – This is where I love how God works: He is using an imperfect situation for HIS GLORY and PURPOSES – he tells Hagar to be OBEDIENT and she will be BLESSED.

 

Interesting that this angel of the Lord met her by a well – some scholars believe this was Jesus himself meeting her there – Imagine a woman, scared, living in shame, running from her past, meeting Jesus by a well – and he sees her and blesses her.

 

V11-12 – God named the child “Ishmael” meaning, “The Lord hears” – Ishmael’s descendants will be the Arabic people – and we later see that his half-brother Isaac’s descendants will be the Jews, both fathered by Abraham – interesting that God could’ve let Hagar die in the wilderness, but had a plan to redeem this situation, even though what we see today doesn’t seem like redemption – Jews and Arabs are still in conflict today, but God is SOVEREIGN OVER IT ALL.

 

V13-14 – “You are the God who sees me.” Remember, she was Egyptian, so only familiarity with God was likely Abram and Sarai, the two who screwed her life up with their plan – BUT GOD…

 

V15-16 – Hagar went back to Abram and Sarai and bore Abram a son at age 86, and he was named Ishmael.

 

We have to fast forward 13 years to see how this all plays out – Genesis 17:1-7 – God reminds Abram of the covenant he made with him, and changes his name to Abraham, “ the father of many nations” – and, in V15-19, God changes Sarai’s name to Sarah and promises her a son, Isaac, and the covenant will be passed on through him.

 

Here is what I want to focus on as we close today:

 

1. If it is God’s will, then it’s God’s bill. When God makes a promise, he keeps it. God will make good on his promises, EVERY TIME.

 

2. God often works outside our obedience to accomplish his purposes. Sarai gave up on God, but God didn’t give up on Sarai – Abram chose the logical, human path, which led to pain, hatred and heartache, but God redeemed the situation and continued to bless Abram in spite of his lack of faith. Where do you need to chart a new path of faith?

 

3. In the middle of Hagar’s fear and flight, God came down. Hagar was a pawn in this narrative, and while Abram and Sarai easily dismissed her, God Came down and met her in her brokenness. Jesus stepped into her mess and promised her a hope and a future. Where do you need Jesus to step into a mess you’ve made?

 

4. Your failure doesn’t have to be final. Abram was a failed leader at home. But God didn’t let that be the final chapter – Abram persevered through his failure, and God blessed him – “Abram, Go and sin no more. I am changing your name, and I am making good on my promise. Walk forward as a covenant keeper.” Abram earned God looking elsewhere, BUT GOD made good on his promise.

 

5. God will make good on his promises in extraordinary ways. Sarai couldn’t have kids her whole life until she could. Where have you trusted a logical process, and God is asking you to believe for the extraordinary?