Deserts

Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. So God was with the lad, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness. – Genesis 21:17-20

Hagar was in a situation not of her own making. She was an innocent victim. A slave to Sarah, she was forced to become the second wife of Abraham and bore a son which thankfully, Sarah did not claim as her own even though that had been her intention. Hagar was never the “other woman” or the “mistress”. She never chose to marry Abraham.

As it turned out, Sarah regretted her decision and took it out on Hagar, hating her, and despising the boy that she had thought she wanted. Sarah now had her own son and had no need of Hagar’s, so she told Abraham to cast both of them out.

Abraham didn’t want to do this because Ishmael was his first-born son, so he took his problem to the Lord. God told him to listen to Sarah and that Ishmael would be the father of nations.

So basically, God agrees to the “divorce”, likely to have harmony in the home and to rescue Hagar from any abuse she might be experiencing and to give her freedom from slavery. Hagar may have risen in the world from slave to second wife, but she was probably treated the same only worse, because now Sarah hated her.

So what does Abraham do? Does he give her a portion of his wealth, which she is entitled to as his wife, and to help support their son? He has plenty and then some. He's often making deals with men. He’s rich in goods and animals and money much of it given to him by kings. Does he ask for volunteers to go with her and help her establish a new household? Does he build her or buy her a house in a nearby village? Does he even have someone escort her to a town where she can live? Does he arrange to have funds given to her on a regular basis?

Nope.

He hands her some bread and water and casts her out into the desert with Ishmael. No horse or camel to carry them. No provisions to last until they get somewhere. No protection from the elements. No protection from men. And even if they did manage to get somewhere he doesn’t provide any money to survive.

God did not tell him to do that!

He gives her NOTHING except the son she bore and what meagre personal possessions they can carry on their backs.

This woman needed a lawyer!

And so before she can get to civilization they run out of water and they are nowhere near any water and Ishmael, a teenage boy (we know those people require a lot of sustenance) is weak from lack of food and water, can no longer walk, and is on the verge of death.

So Hagar does the only thing she can do. She lies him down and then she kneels down and cries out to God.

The agony that this woman must have felt, herself on the verge of starvation and dehydration, rejected and cast out by her family, humiliated, alone, and watching her only child dying before her eyes, as those who cast her out revel in their riches and comfort.

God hears her and answers her and provides for her immediate needs and then continues to provide for her the rest of her life while he blesses Ishmael beyond her wildest dreams.

Sometimes we too can be the victims of the unfair and unrighteous decisions of other people. Like Hagar, we may find ourselves lost in the desert, destitute, homeless, hungry, thirsty, and dying, if not physically, then spiritually.

And maybe after everything we’ve tried, the only thing we can do is lift up our voices to God and plead for help.

The help that comes may not be an angel appearing and saying, “I’m here from God.” It will likely be subtler. Something we have to look for and recognize. But with faith, the help will come, some way, some how, and perhaps not immediately, but it will come.

We all have our deserts to cross. But there will be wells of water for replenishing.