Episode 168 Women's Meeting "Celebrate" Bible Study : The Debate Sarai Vs Hagar

Read Chapters Genesis 16, 17 , 18 , 21, 25

1. Sarai’s Barrenness and Hagar Given to Abram

• Context: Sarai is unable to bear children, so she proposes that Abram have a child by her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar.
• Key Passage:
  
  
  • “Sarai said to Abram, ‘Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’” (Genesis 16:2)
  • Abram consents, and Hagar conceives. (Gen 16:1–4

2. Conflict and Hagar’s Flight

• Rising Tension: Once Hagar knows she is pregnant, she “regards her mistress with contempt,” and Sarai treats her harshly.
• Hagar Flees:
  
  
  • “Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. …’ So Abram said to Sarai, ‘Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.’” (Gen 16:5–6)
  • Hagar escapes into the wilderness of Shur. (Gen 16:7)

3. Divine Encounter at the Spring

• Angel’s Promise: At a desert spring, the Angel of the LORD finds Hagar and commands her to return, promising her numerous offspring through the child she will bear:
  
  
  • “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Gen 16:10)
• Naming of “Ishmael”: Hagar is told to name her son Ishmael, “because the LORD has listened to your affliction.” (Gen 16:11–12)
• Outcome: Hagar calls the well “Beer‑lahai‑roi,” “the well of the Living One who sees me.” (Gen 16:13–14)
• Return: Hagar goes back and gives birth to Ishmael when Abram is eighty‐six. (Gen 16:15–16)

4. Isaac’s Birth and Ishmael’s Mocking

• Fulfillment of God’s Promise to Abraham: In their old age, Abraham and Sarah miraculously conceive and bear Isaac. (Gen 21:1–7)
• Jealous Conflict: When Sarah sees Ishmael “playing” (often understood as mocking) with Isaac, she demands that Abraham cast out Hagar and her son.
  
  
  • “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” (Gen 21:10)

5. Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

• Provision and Departure: God reassures Abraham, who gives Hagar “bread and a skin of water” and sends her into the wilderness of Beersheba. (Gen 21:14)
• Despair and Divine Rescue: When their water is spent and Ishmael is fainting, Hagar places him under a bush and weeps. The Angel of God calls to her, comforts her, and reveals a spring of water. God reiterates His promise that Ishmael too will become a great nation. (Gen 21:15–19)

6. Ishmael’s Growth

• Life in the Wilderness: Ishmael grows up, becomes an archer, marries an Egyptian woman, and settles in the Wilderness of Paran. His twelve sons become tribal princes. (Gen 21:20–21; Gen 25:12–18)

Scripture References:

• Genesis 16:1–16 (Hagar’s conception, flight, and promise)
• Genesis 21:1–21 (Birth of Isaac; expulsion and rescue of Hagar and Ishmael)
• Genesis 25:12–18 (Genealogy of Ishmael)

This summary highlights the key moments in Hagar’s story—her service, suffering, divine encounters, and the establishment of her son Ishmael as the ancestor of a great nation—alongside Sarah’s role and God’s overarching covenant with Abraham’s family.