Hagar: Woman of Promise and Influence

There are many amazing women of influence in the Bible.  Some were queens or princesses, others were business owners. Still others were prophetesses or teachers.

My favorite, though, was a lowly slave girl.

There was really nothing notable about her. She wasn’t known for being the most beautiful woman in the tribe, nor is she remembered for her patience, grace, or wisdom.

She is actually known for being so spiteful to her mistress that she was exiled from her camp, sent away from the only family she knew.

How could a girl this lowly be a biblical woman of influence? What could she have to teach us about the power and grace of God?

She teaches me a lot. I would love to share her story with you!

Hagar: Biblical Woman of Influence

You may have read Hagar’s story, which is found in Genesis 16 and 17.

This is a story that may seem odd to us today. We find mention of slavery, concubines, exile, and other practices that don’t seem like they belong in scripture.

That is something I love about scripture, though…it doesn’t gloss over the realities of life or the flaws of people. It doesn’t condone or glorify them, but it also doesn’t gloss over them.

These are all things that were part of Middle Eastern culture at the time that Hagar lived.

Hagar was an Egyptian slave girl in the household of Abram, later named Abraham. She was the maidservant to his wife, Sarah.

The slave trade was a common thing in Egypt, as seen by the story of Joseph a few generations later. We are not sure if Hagar was an Egyptian girl from a poor family who was sold into slavery, or if she was part of a tribe that was conquered by Egypt and taken into slavery.

Either way, she was not a woman of status. She was a slave girl, a foreigner, owned by her mistress.

In God’s eyes, though, she was so much more.

Hagar’s Story

One of the reasons I love the story of Hagar is because it is so real. She was not someone we might think of as being born to be used by God.

Fortunately, we don’t get to make that decision. What He sees is so much greater than what we understand.

Hagar’s story is one that is hard to relate to on the surface, but when we dig down, she really starts to come to life.

Her mistress, Sarah, was barren. In their culture, a woman gained status and honor through various means – bearing children was high on that list. As a barren woman, Sarah felt the sting of dishonor.

When God promised Abram and Sarah a child, their understanding was limited. They were aging quickly and had no prospects. They believed that what God said would somehow come true, but it still made no sense to them.

So, they did what many of us today try to do: they took God’s promise into their own hands. They tried to “make it come true” through human means.

Because inheritance and continuing the family line was so important in Mesopotamian culture, there were laws and traditions in place to keep the line in place when a male heir was not born to the head of the family.

One of these traditions allowed for the wife’s slave to be a type of surrogate mother. Her child would be the child of the patriarch, but legally, her child was also considered the offspring of the matriarch.

Because Sarah owned Hagar, she could lay claim to Hagar’s child. Through Hagar, Sarah could provide an heir.

To Abram and Sarah, this made perfect sense.

El Roi: The God Who Sees Me

As often happens when we try to control God’s plan, this did not go well.

Hagar took pride in her ability to conceive and made it clear that she held little respect for her mistress. She could give Abram what Sarah could not: a son.

In their culture, this was something that could not be overlooked.

She was not overtly disrespectful to Sarah, but she took every opportunity to put in little digs. She slowly tore at Sarai, knowing that her position as the “real” mother of Abram’s child would not go away.

In the Desert

Eventually, Sarah responded by treating Hagar so harshly that she ran away. Hagar’s pride, her status, suddenly could not protect her.

Being part of a nomadic tribe, the only place she had to run was to the desert. Her fate, and that of her unborn child, was in God’s hands.

As a slave in Abram’s household, Hagar was familiar with his God, but as an Egyptian, she would have considered Him one among many. Abram’s God was simply one of the pantheon.

At that time, people believed that deities were territorial.  Abram’s God would have traveled with him, but not beyond. When she was exiled from Abram’s camp, she believed she was also exiled from his God.

She had no protection, no provision, and no hope.

She was pregnant and alone. And she was terrified.

With nowhere to turn, God spoke.

It always amazes me how He does that!

God did not berate her for her pride or foolishness, and He did not leave her in despair.

He lovingly and honestly showed her that He saw her.

He saw her. Her beauty, her worth, her flaws, her mistakes. He saw all of her.

And He loved her enough to tell her so. He held her, in the way that only He can, and He gave her the hope and strength to do what came next.

She returned to the mistress she had shamed. She took her place in the household and served her mistress.

When her son was born, he was raised as Abram’s son. Ishmael was seen as the heir of the patriarch.

I encourage you to read the rest of the story!

The God Who Sees Us

How many of us have been in Hagar’s position? Her earthly position – that of a mistreated slave – is one that (hopefully) few of us can really relate to.

But her position before man and before God is one that many of us live in, daily.

How often do we allow our emotions, our pride, and our tongues to get away from us? And once we are face to face with the consequences of our choices, how often do we want to run away?

How easy is it to feel like the one that even God will never see? Although we may try to justify our flaws, we know they are there. How can God love us through our imperfections?

Well, that’s the amazing thing about God. He does.

Just as He truly saw Hagar – every detail, strength, and flaw – He sees you. He sees me. And in spite of our imperfections, He loves us unconditionally and completely.

That love is so amazingly deep, so incredibly perfect, that nothing else can even describe it. Nothing comes close.

And the best thing? He wants you to know that love. It’s there, waiting for you, patiently and steadfastly. All you have to do is ask Him to show you. He’s the God who sees you, too!

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Jennifer Duncan

Jennifer is a Jesus-loving wife and mom. She's also the owner and founder of A Helping Hand Homeschool, where she offers creative tips, resources, inspiration, and support to homeschool families.

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• Hagar: Woman of Promise and Influence - May 17, 2018