Genesis16_4-6

Genesis 16:4-6

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

The Bible is very precious because one reason is that it records the truth without intentionally modifying anything. Even though Sarai is the ancestor of Israel, the record about her is objective. It reveals the human nature of Sarai. She wanted to help Abram fulfill God’s promise by giving her maid to her husband. However, after Hagar conceived, she drove her away because she felt despised. Thus, personal profit is often placed first in human character when someone feels hurt. When facing Hagar, Sarai chose to protect her position and self‑respect, even though the plan had originally been her own idea to help her husband.

On the other hand, Hagar also revealed her ambition from human nature when she conceived. It is common for someone to easily lose humility when reaching a higher position. As a result, Sarai accused her maid of causing her suffering. Meanwhile, Sarai again invoked God Elohim to express her desire, just as she had done previously. When she first proposed her idea, she said that Jehovah had restrained her from bearing children. In fact, she and Abram had the same father but different mothers. Perhaps the issues caused by inbreeding would disappear once they reached a certain age. But this time, perhaps God did not judge the matter, because it was a dispute between two women, not a serious moral issue.

Abram, however, gave a judgment and allowed Sarai to do as she pleased. We do not know how Sarai oppressed Hagar, but it was severe enough that Hagar fled from home. From this scene, we see that attempting to fulfill God’s promise through the flesh brings suffering. Fallen human nature governs what happens and torments everyone who begins according to the flesh.