Hagar

When Sarai discovered she was unable to conceive she offered up her slave Hagar to Abram, her husband. Although this practice seems alien to us it was a common procedure in the ancient near east of their day. Hagar found herself pregnant in due course which proved to be a powerful catalyst for change in her life. She was no longer just their slave; she was carrying a child for Sarai and Abram. This event proved to be an epiphany for Hager and she discovered her worth as an individual. We read in Genesis 16 Sarai claiming that Hagar looked down upon her and despised her. We can not be sure of the details of Sarai’s claim but we can be sure of what came next. Sarai complained to Abram who told her to treat her slave as she pleased. We know that Hagar was ill-treated by her mistress and unable to bear it she chose to flee. She only returned after an Angel of the Lord appeared and admonished her to return and submit to her mistress. This angelic messenger announced to Hagar that she would have a son and he would be as a “wild ass” meaning he would be free, a prophecy of great promise for a slave. God had forged a covenant with Hagar completely separate from his covenant with Abram. Years later when Sarai sees her son Isaac playing with Hagar's she is driven by jealously over Abraham’s estate. She encourages her husband to drive away Hagar and her son and they are sent into the wilderness. Were it not for divine intervention they both would surely have perished. God kept his bargain with Hagar and she and her son lived free. She found him a wife in Egypt and he fathered a great people.

Hagar is an exemplar to all oppressed persons that through faith comes true freedom.