06/10/2026
Abramās Troubles
Genesis 16
OK, now let me get this straight - a rich old dudeās wife canāt have kids. Since a male heir is the greatest legacy a man can have in their community, both he and she feel like all the neighbors stare at them and talk behind their backs when they see them at the grocery store and the mall. He feels bad because he canāt put his son in little league and run around saying, āthatās my boyā; and she feels inadequate because not only can she not have kids, but her husband has also even told a king she was his sister to keep from being killed. Boy, her self-esteem must have been up there really high.
Now God has promised Abram a son, but Sari doesnāt have faith, so she is willing to sacrifice what she knows is Godās way and Godās promise just to make old rich dude look better to the neighbors by having a son. She really doesnāt want to share Abram, but she lets guilt and shame override good judgment and decides to let her husband use her slave (whom I doubt was asked what SHE thought of this arrangement) for procreation. Now Abram, being the (uh-hum) honorable man he is, accepts his wifeās offer (but solely for procreation, not recreation, Iām sure.) He knows what God has promised, but like Adam before him, he just figures he can blame it on the woman. āNot my idea, God. You know how a woman is when she gets an idea in her head. I just did it to make her feel better.ā Talk about putting the āfunkā in dysfunctional. This stinks up Godās plan. This is not the first and will not be the last time Abram fails to take responsibility as the leader of his household.
Suddenly, this servant girl (who is a little mad about the whole situation) has something to offer Abram that Sari doesnāt-an heir. She cops an attitude with Sari. āDo your own dishes, Iām having morning sickness. Abram says I should rest.ā Not only has Sariās husband slept with another woman; sheās having his child! Sari never thought about this before she impulsively tried to solve a problem on her own that God had already handled. Now she doesnāt have authority even over her own slave; sheās even more worthless (in her own eyes, at least) to Abram than ever. She gets mad at Abram and tells him itās his fault (which actually is the truth), but Abram, true to his bold and strong nature, dodges the bullet and tells Sari to handle it herself. She decides to get rid of Hagar. She goes off on the girl and throws her out of the house. Now itās Hagarās turn to suffer from selfish actions. If she had just stayed humble and loyal to Sari, she could have rode this thing out, at least until the baby was much older. Now she has no one and nowhere to turn. Sheās scared and alone, but God hears her crying and sends an angel to tell her how to handle this. āGet over your pride, go back to Abram and Sari and be the same humble servant you were before, and I will bless your son with many descendants."
So, we have a weak-willed man, a wife with low self-esteem, and a slave girl who gets treated like property instead of as a person, and a baby that God had not prescribed. And you thought āAs The Cookie Crumblesā was a good soap opera! If Abram had been the man and husband God had made him to be, all this could have been avoided. If he had loved Sari and put her on a pedestal, she wouldnāt have felt the need to compromise her values and ākeep up with the Jonesāsā by having a son through a surrogate. If he had been trusting, he would have believed that God would fulfill His promise His way instead of manās way. If he had been a man of honor, he would have seen how his disobedience and selfishness would destroy his family instead of building it. Abram blew it big time.
But, true to His word, God resolves Abramās problems again. No matter how bad we mess up, God is able to fix us again. God made a covenant with Abram, and God is true to His word then as He is now. He has made that covenant with us through the Blood of His son, and we can trust him to do what he says. Our responsibility is to be obedient and faithful to His commands. Donāt depend on yourself; you will only wind up in your own personal episode of āAs the Cookie Crumbles.ā Trust and obey, for thereās no other way.
