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19 - Commentary on The Book of Genesis · Philosophy and Faith

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Chapter sixteen. Hagar is the person most concerned in the story of this chapter,
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an obscure Egyptian woman whose name and story we never should have heard of
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if Providence had not brought her into the family of Abram. Probably she was
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one of those made servants whom the King of Egypt, among other gifts,
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bestowed upon Abram Genesis fourteen sixteen. Concerning her, we have four things in
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this chapter numeral one. Her marriage to Abram, her master, Verses one
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through three, Numeral two. Her misbehavior towards Serai, her mistress, Verses
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four through six, Numeral three. Her discourse with an angel that met her
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in her flight Verses seven through fourteen, Numeral four. Her delivery of a
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son Verses fifteen through sixteen. Abrams Sarah and Hagar b. C. Nineteen
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eleven, Verses one through three. Now Sarah, abrams wife bear him no
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children, and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian whose name was Hagar.
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And Sarah said, unto Abram, behold, now the Lord hath restrained me
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from bearing I pray thee go in unto my maid. It may be that
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I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarah,
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and Sarah, Abram's wife, took Hagar, her maid the Egyptian,
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after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her
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to her husband, Abram, to be his wife. We have here the
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marriage of Abram to Hagar, who was his secondary wife. Herein though some
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excuse may be made for him, he cannot be justified, for from the
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beginning it was not so, and when it was so, it seems to
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have been proceeded from an irregular desire to build up families for the speedier peopling
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of the world and the Church. Certainly, it must not be sown.
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Christ has reduced this matter to the first institution and makes the marriage union to
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be between one man and one woman only now numeral one the maker of this
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match. Would one think it was Sarah herself. She said to Abram,
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I pray thee go in unto my maid. Verse two. Note number one.
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It is the policy of Satan to tempt us by our nearest and dearest
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relations, or those friends that we have an opinion of and affection. For
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the temptation is most dangerous when it is sent by a hand that is least
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suspected. It is our wisdom therefore to consider not so much who speaks as
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what is spoken. Number two. God's commands consult our comfort and honor much
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better than our own contrivances. Due it would have been much more for Sarah's
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interest if Abram had kept to the rule of God's law instead of being guided
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by her foolish projects. But we often do ill for ourselves Numeral two.
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The inducement to it was Sarah's barrenness. Number one. Sarah bear Abram no
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children. She was very fair Genesis twelve fourteen, was a very agreeable,
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dutiful wife and a sharer with him in his large possessions, and yet written
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childless. Note Subscript one. God dispenses his gifts, variously loading us with
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benefits, but not overloading us. Some cross or other is appointed to be
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an alloy to great enjoyments. Subscript two. The mercy of children is often
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given to the poor and denied to the rich, given to the wicked,
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and denied to good people. Though the rich have most to leave them,
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and good people would take most care of their own education. God does herein
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as it has pleased him. Number two. She owned God's providence in this
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affliction the Lord hath restrained me from bearing. Note subscript one. As where
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children are it is God that gives them Genesis thirty three five, so where
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they are wanted, it is He that withholds them Genesis thirty two. This
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evil is of the Lord. Subscript two. It becomes us to acknowledge this,
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that we may bear it and improve it as an affliction of His ordering
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for wise and holy ends. Number three. She used this as an argument
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with Abram to marry his maid, and he was prevailed upon by this argument
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to do it. Note subscript one. When our hearts are too much set
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upon any creature comfort, we are easily put upon the use of indirect methods
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for the obtaining of it. Inordinate desires commonly produce irregular endeavors. If our
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wishes be not kept in a submission to God's providence, our pursuits will scarcely
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be kept under the restraints of His precepts. Subscript too. It is for
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want of a firm dependence upon God's promise and a patient waiting for God's time,
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that we go out of the way of our duty to catch at expected
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mercy. He that believes does not make haste No. Four. Abram's compliance
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with Sarah's proposal, we have reason to think, was from an earnest desire
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of the promised seed on whom the covenant should be entailed. God had told
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him that his heir should be a son of his body, but had not
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yet told him that it should be a son by Sarah. Therefore, he
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thought, why not by Hagar, since Sarah herself proposed it. Note Subscript
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one, Foul temptations may have very fair pretenses and be colored with that which
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is very plausible. Subscript two fleshly wisdom, as it anticipates God's time of
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mercy, so it puts us out of God's way. Subscript three. This
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would be happily prevented if we would ask counsel of God by the word and
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by prayer, before we attempt that which is important and suspicious. Herein Abram
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was wanting he married without God's consent. This persuasion came not of him that
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called him Verses four through six. And he went in unto Hagar, and
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she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was
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despised in her eyes. And Sarah said, unto Abram, my wrong be
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upon Thee, I have given my maid into thy bosom. And when she
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saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes the Lord judge
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between me and thee. But Abram said, unto Syah, behold, thy
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maid is in thy hand. Do to her as it pleaseth THEE. And
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when Sarah dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. We have
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here the immediate bad consequences of Abram's unhappy marriage to Hagar. A great deal
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of mischief it made quickly. When we do not do well, Both sin
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and trouble lie at the door. And we may thank ourselves for the guilt
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and grief that follow us when we go out of the way of our duty.
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See it in this story Numeral one, Sarah is despised and thereby provoked
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and put into a passion. Verse four. Hagar no sooner perceives herself with
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child by her master than she looks scornfully upon her mistress, upbraids her,
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perhaps with her barrenness, insults over her to make her to fret as first
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Samuel one six, and boasts of the prospect she had of bringing an heir
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to Abram, to that good land and to the promise. Now she thinks
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herself a better woman than Sarah, more favored by Heaven, and likely to
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be better beloved by Abram, and therefore she will not submit as she has
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done. Note number one. Mean and servile spirits, when favored and advanced
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either by God or man, are apt to grow haughty and insolent, and
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to forget their place and origin. See Proverbs twenty nine, twenty one,
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thirty twenty one through twenty three. It is a hard thing to bear honor
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or aright. Number two. We justly suffer by those whom we have sinfully
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indulged, And it is a righteous thing with God to make those instruments of
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our trouble, whom we have made instruments of our sin, and to ensnare
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us in our own evil counsels. This stone will return upon him that rolleth
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it. Numeral two. Abram is clamored upon and cannot be easy, while
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Sarah is out of humor. She upbraids him vehemently and very unjustly charges him
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with the injury. Verse five. My wrong be upon thee with a most
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unreasonable jealousy, suspecting that he countenanced Hagar's insolence, and as one not willing
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to hear what Abram had to say for the rectifying of the mistake and the
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clearing of himself. She rashly appeals to God in the case the Lord judged
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between me and thee, as if Abram had refused to write her. Thus
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does Sarah, in her passion speak as one of the foolish women speaketh Note
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number one. It is an absurdity which passionate people are often guilty of,
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to quarrel with others for that of which they themselves must bear the blame.
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Sarah could not but own that she had given her maid to Abram. And
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yet she cries out my wrong be upon thee when she should have said,
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what a fool was I to do? So that is never said wisely,
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which pride and anger have the indicting of. When passion is upon the throne,
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reason is out of doors and is neither heard nor spoken. Number two.
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Those are not always in the right who are most loud and forward in
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appealing to God. Rash and bold imprecations are commonly evidences of guilt and a
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bad cause. Numeral three. Hagar is afflicted and driven from the house.
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Verse six. Observe number one. Abram's meekness resigns the matter of the maid
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servant to Sarah, whose proper province it was to rule that part of the
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family. Thy maid is in thy hand. Though she was his wife,
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he would not countenance nor protect her in anything that was disrespectful to Sarah,
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for whom he still retained the same affection that ever he had. Note.
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Those who would keep up peace and love must return soft answers to hard accusations.
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Husbands and wives particularly should agree and endeavor not to be both angry together.
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Yielding pacifies great offenses see Proverbs fifteen one, number two. Sarah's passion
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will be revenged upon Hagar. She dealt hardly with her, not only confining
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her to her usual place and work as a servant, but probably making her
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to serve with rigor. Note God takes notice of and is displeased with the
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hardships which harsh masters unreasonably put upon their servants they ought to forbear. Threatening
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with Job's thought, did not he that made me make him Job? Thirty
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one fifteen number three. Hagar's pride cannot bear it. Her high spirit,
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having become impatient of rebuke, she fled from her face. She not only
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avoided her wrath for the present, as David did Sauls, but she totally
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deserted her service and ran away from the house forgetting Subscript one, What wrong
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she hereby did to her mistress, whose servant she was, and to her
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master, whose wife she was. Note pride will hardly be restrained by any
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bonds of duty. No, not by many script too, that she herself
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had first given the provocation by despising her mistress. Note those that suffer for
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their faults ought to bear their sufferings patiently. One Peter two twenty, verses
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seven through nine. And the Angel of the Lord found her by a fountain
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of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to shore.
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And he said, Hagar, sayah is maid, whence camest thou, and
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whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of
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my mistress Sarah. And the Angel of the Lord said, unto her,
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return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. Here is the
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first mention we have in scripture of an angel's appearance. Hagar was a type
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of the law which was given by the disposition of angels. But the world
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to come is not put in subjection by them. Hebrews two five. Observe
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merle I. How the angel arrested her in her flight verse seven, It
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should seem she was making towards her own country, for she was in the
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way to shore, which lay towards Egypt. It were well if our afflictions
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would make us think of our home, the better country. But Hagar was
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now out of her place and out of the way of her duty, and
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going further astray when the angel found her. Note number one, it is
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a great mercy to be stopped in a sinful way, either by conscience or
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by providence. Number two. God suffers those who are out of the way
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to wander awhile, that when they see their folly and what a loss they
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have brought themselves to, they may be the better disposed to return. Hagar
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was not stopped till she was in the wilderness and had sat down, weary
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enough and glad of clear water to refresh herself with God brings us into a
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wilderness, and there meets us Joseah two fourteen numeral two. How he examined
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her verse eight, Observe number one. He called her Hagar Siria's maid Subscript
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one as a check to her pride, though she was Abram's wife and as
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such was obliged to return. Yet he called her Siri's maid to humble her.
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Note though civility teaches us to call others by their highest titles, yet
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humility and wisdom teach us to call ourselves by the lowest. Subscript two,
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as a rebuke to her flight. Sirie's maid ought to be in Sarah's tent,
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and not wandering in the wilderness and sauntering by a fountain of water.
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Note it is good for us often to call to mind what our place and
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relation are see Ecclesiastes ten four, number two. The questions the angel posed
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to her were proper and very pertinent. Subscript one. Whence comest thou consider
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that thou art running away both from the duty thou wast bound to and the
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privileges thou wast blessed with in Abram's tent. Note it is a great advantage
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to live in a religious family, which those ought to consider who have that
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advantage. Yet upon every slight inducement are forward to quit it. Subscript two.
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Whither wilt thou go thou art running thyself into sin in Egypt. If
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she returned to that people, she will return to their gods and into danger
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in the wilderness through which she must travel. Deuteronomy eight fifteen. Note those
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who are forsaking God and their duty would do well to remember not only whence
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they have fallen, but whither they are falling. See Jeremiah two eighteen.
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What has thou to do with Hagar in the way of Egypt? John six
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sixty eight, Number three. Her answer was honest and of fair confession.
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I flee from the face of my mistress. In this subscript one she acknowledges
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her fault in fleeing from her mistress, and yet subscript two excuses it that
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it was from the face of displeasure of her mistress. Note children and servants
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must be treated with mildness and gentleness, lest we provoke them to take any
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irregular courses and so become accessory to their sins, which will condemn us,
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though it will not justify them. Number four, how he sent her back
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with suitable and compassionate counsel. Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her
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hand. Verse nine. Go home and humble thyself, for what thou hast
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done amiss, and beg pardon and resolve for the future, to behave thyself
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better. He makes no question, but she would be welcome, though it
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does not appear that Abrams sent after her. Note, those that have gone
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astray from their place and duty, when they are convinced of their error,
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must hasten their return and reformation, how mortifying soever it may be. The
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promise concerning Ishmael b. C. Nineteen eleven, verses ten through fourteen.
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And the Angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed
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exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the Angel of
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the Lord said unto her, behold thou art with child, and shalt bear
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a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael. Because the Lord hath heard
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thy affliction, and he will be a wild man. His hand will be
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against every man, and every man's hand against him, and he shall dwell
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in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the
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Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me, For she said,
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have I also here looked at him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was
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called beer LAHIROI behold it is between Kadosh and Baread. We may suppose from
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the Angel having given Hagar that good counsel verse nine to return to her mistress.
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She immediately promised to do so, and was setting her face homeward.
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And then the angel went on to encourage her with an assurance of the mercy
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God had in store for her and her seed. For God will meet those
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with mercy that are returning to their duty. I said, I will confess,
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and thou forgavest Psalm thirty two five. Here is numeral one a prediction
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concerning her posterity given her for her comfort in her present distress. Notice is
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taken of her condition. Behold thou art with child, and therefore this is
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not a fit place for thee to be in. Note it is a great
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comfort to women with child to think that they are under the particular cognizance and
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care of the divine providence. God graciously considers their case and suits supports to
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it. Now Number one, the Angel assures her of a safe delivery and
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that of a son, which Abram desired. This fright and ramble of hers
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might have destroyed her hope of an offspring, but God dealt not with her
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according to her folly, thou shalt bear a son. She was saved in
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child maring, not only by providence, but by promise. Number two He
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names her child, which was an honor but to her, and it call
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him Ishmael. God will hear, and the reason is because the Lord has
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heard. He has and therefore he will. Note the experience we have had
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of God's seasonable kindness to us in distress would encourage us to hope for similar
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help in similar exigencies. Psalm ten seventeen. He has heard thy affliction,
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Verse eleven. Note even when there is little cry of devotion, the God
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of pity sometimes graciously hears the cry of affliction. Tears speak as well as
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prayers. This speaks comfort to the afflicted that God not only sees what their
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afflictions are, but hears what they say. Note further, seasonable succors in
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a day of affliction ought always to be remembered with thankfulness to God. Such
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a time, in such a strait, the Lord heard the voice of my
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affliction and helped me See Deuteronomy twenty six seven. Psalm thirty one twenty two.
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Number three He promises Sir a numerous offspring verse ten, I will multiply
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thy seed exceedingly Hebrew multiplying. I will multiply it, that is, multiply
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it in every age, so as to perpetuate it. It is supposed that
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the Turks at this day descend from Ishmael, and they are a great people.
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This was in pursuance of the promise made to Abram, I will make
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thy seed as the dust of the earth. Chapters thirteen through sixteen. Note
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many that are children of godly parents have for their sakes a very large share
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of outward common blessings, though like Ishmael, they are not taken into covenant.
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Many are multiplied that are not sanctified. Number four, He gives the
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character of the child she should bear, which, however it may seem to
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us, perhaps was not very disagreeable to her. Verse twelve. He will
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be a wild man, a wild ass of a man. So the word
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is rude and bold and fearing, no man untamed, untractable, living at
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large, and impatient of service and restraint. Note the children of the bond
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woman who are out of covenant with God are as they were born. Like
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the wild ass is cold. It is grace that reclaims men civilizes them and
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makes them wise and good for something. It is foretold Subscript one, that
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he should live in strife and in a state of war, his hand against
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every man, this is his sin, and every man's hand against him,
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this is his punishment. Note those that have turbulent spirits have commonly troublesome lives.
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Those that are provoking, vexatious, and injurious to others must expect to
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be repaid in their own coin. He that has his hand and tongue against
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every man shall have every man's hand and tongue against him, and he has
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no reason to complain of it. And yet subscript too, that he should
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live in safety and hold his own against all the world. He shall dwell
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in the presence of all his brethren. Though threatened and insulted by all his
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neighbors, yet he shall keep his ground, and for Abram's sake, more
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than his own, shall be able to make his part good with them.
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Accordingly we read chapters twenty five through twenty eight that he died and lived in
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the presence of all his brethren. Note many that are much exposed by their
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own imprudence are yet strangely preserved by the divine providence. So much better is
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God to them than they deserve, when they not only forfeit their lives by
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sin, but hazard them Numeral two. Hagar's pious reflection upon this gracious appearance
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of God to her Verses thirteen and fourteen. Observe in what she said,
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Number one, her awful adoration of God's omniscience and providence, with application of
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it to herself. She called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her.
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That is, thus she made confession of his name. This she said,
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to his praise, Thou God seest me. This should be with her
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his name forever, and this his memorial by which she would know him and
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remember him while she lives. Thou God seest me. Note subscript one.
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The God with whom we have to do is a seeing God, and all
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seeing God. God is, as the ancients express it all I Subscript two.
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We ought to acknowledge this with application to ourselves. He that sees all
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sees me as David saw one hundred thirty nine one. O, Lord,
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Thou hast searched me and known me. Subscript three. A believing regard to
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God as a God that sees us will be of great use to us in
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our returns to him. It is a proper word for a penitent. Sup
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Point one, thou seest my sin and folly. I have sinned before THEE,
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says the prodigal in thy sight, says David. Sub Point two,
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thou seest my sorrow and affliction. This hagar especially refers to when we have
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brought ourselves into distress by our own folly. Yet God has not forsaken us.
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Some point three, thou seest the sincerity and seriousness of my return and
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repentance. Thou seest my secret mournings for sin and secret motions towards THEE.
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Su point four, thou seest me if in any instance I depart from thee
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Psalm forty four, twenty and twenty one, this thought should always restrain us
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from sin and excite us to duty. Thou God seest me Number two her
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humble admiration of God's favor to her? Have I here also looked after him
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that seeth me? Have I here seen the back parts of him that seeth
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me? So it might be read, for the word is much the same
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with that Exodus thirty three twenty three. She saw not face to face,
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but as through a glass darkly First Corinthians, thirteen twelve. Probably she knew
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not who it was that talked with her till he was departing as Judges six
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twenty one and twenty two thirteen twenty one. And then she looked after him
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with a reflection like that of the two Disciples Luke twenty four, thirty one
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and thirty two. Or have I here seen him that sees me? Note
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subscript one. The communion which holy souls have with God consists in their having
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an eye of faith towards Him. As a God that has an eye of
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favor towards them, The intercourse is kept up by the eye. Subscript two.
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The privilege of our communion with God is to be looked upon with wonder
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and admiration. Sub Point one. Considering what we are who are admitted to
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this favor? Have I I that am so mean? I that am so
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vile? Tewod Samuel seven eighteen su point two Considering the place where we are
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thus favored? Here also not only in Abram's tent and at his altar,
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but here also in this wilderness, here where I never expected it, where
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I was out of the way of my duty. Lord how is it John
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fourteen twenty two. Some make the answer to this question to be negative,
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and so look upon it as a penitent reflection. Have I here, also,
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in my distress and affliction, looked after God? No I was as
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careless and unmindful of Him as ever I used to be, And yet He
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has thus visited and regarded me. For God often anticipates us with favors,
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and is found of those that seek him. Not Isaiah sixty five one,
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numeral three. The name which this gave to the place beer Lahiroi, the
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well of Him that liveth and seeth me verse fourteen. It is probable that
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Hagar put this name upon it, and it was retained long after in perpetuum.
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Ray Memoriam a lasting memorial of this event. This was a place where
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the God of Glory manifested the special cognizance and care he took of a poor
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woman in distress. Note number one. He that is all seeing, is
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ever living, He lives and sees us. Number two. Those that are
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graciously admitted into communion with God and receive seasonable comforts from Him should tell others
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what He has done for their souls, that they also may be encouraged to
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seek him and trust in him. Number three. God's gracious manifestations of himself
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to us are to be an everlasting remembrance by us and should never be forgotten.
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The birth of Ishmael b. C. Nineteen eleven, Verses fifteen and
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sixteen. And Hagar bear Abram a son, and Abram called his son's name,
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which Hagar behar Ishmael, and Abram was fourscore and six years old when
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Hagar bear Ishmael to Abram. It is here taken for granted, though not
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expressly recorded, that Hagar did as the angel commanded her, returning to her
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mistress and submitting herself, and then, in the fullness of time, she
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brought forth her son. Note those who obey divine precepts shall have the comfort
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of divine promises. This was the son of the bondwoman that was born after
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the flesh Galatians four twenty three, representing the unbelieving Jews verse twenty five.
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Note number one, many who can call Abraham father are yet born after the
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flesh. Matthew three nine, number two. The carnal seed in the church
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are sooner brought forth than the spiritual It is an easier thing to persuade men
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to assume the form of godliness, than to submit to the power of godliness.
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End of Chapter sixteen.