16:1 NOW SARAI ABRAM'S WIFE BARE HIM NO CHILDREN: AND SHE HAD AN HANDMAID, AN EGYPTIAN, WHOSE NAME [WAS] HAGAR.
**It had been about ten or eleven years since the reassurance given to Abram in 15:16 ("After these things the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.")
16:2 AND SARAI SAID UNTO ABRAM, BEHOLD NOW, THE LORD HATH RESTRAINED ME FROM BEARING: I PRAY THEE, GO IN UNTO MY MAID; IT MAY BE THAT I MAY OBTAIN CHILDREN BY HER. AND ABRAM HEARKENED TO THE VOICE OF SARAI.
A.Sarai attempts to hasten the fulfillment of God's promise concerning Abram's heirs, and Abram agrees to the plan.
B.This is his second effort along this line (the first was his suggestion in 15:1-2 that his steward, Eliezer, might be the one through him his descendents would come).
16:3 AND SARAI ABRAM'S WIFE TOOK HAGAR HER MAID THE EGYPTIAN, AFTER ABRAM HAD DWELT TEN YEARS IN THE LAND OF CANAAN, AND GAVE HER TO HER HUSBAND ABRAM TO BE HIS WIFE.
16:4 AND HE WENT IN UNTO HAGAR, AND SHE CONCEIVED: AND WHEN SHE SAW THAT SHE HAD CONCEIVED, HER MISTRESS WAS DESPISED IN HER EYES.
16:5 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.
16:6 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.
A.Sarai blamed Abram for her WRONG (of course, he was in agreement with the plan).
B.Abram turned the matter back to her as her responsibility.
16:7 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD FOUND HER BY A FOUNTAIN OF WATER IN THE WILDERNESS, BY THE FOUNTAIN IN THE WAY TO SHUR.
A.This is the first mention in Scripture of THE ANGEL OF THE LORD (will see this many times as we study).
B.Was He the Father? Was He Christ? Was He Michael, the Arch-Angel? Was He some other angel? We do not know. The ISBE, in its article ANGEL, gives the references where the ex-pression is used, and has a good discussion which shows the
possibility that the ANGEL was a preincarnation appearance of the Savior (see ISBE, Volume 1, pages 133-134).
C.Note that Hagar was travelling from The Oaks Of Mamre (which was Abram's current home just north of Hebron), IN THE WAY TO SHUR (which was a plain on the way to Eqypt). Perhaps she was intending to return to Egypt.
16:8 AND HE SAID, HAGAR, SARAI'S MAID, WHENCE CAMEST THOU? AND WHITHER WILT THOU GO? AND SHE SAID, I FLEE FROM THE FACE OF MY MISTRESS SARAI.
16:9 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID UNTO HER, RETURN TO THY MISTRESS, AND SUBMIT THYSELF UNDER HER HANDS.
16:10 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID UNTO HER, I WILL MULTIPLY THY SEED EXCEEDINGLY, THAT IT SHALL NOT BE NUMBERED FOR MULTITUDE.
A.Her child was to be the father of many descendents.
B.We know them as the Arabians (or Arabs), and they, like the Jews, are also innumerable.
16:11 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID UNTO HER, BEHOLD, THOU [ART] WITH CHILD, AND SHALT BEAR A SON, AND SHALT CALL HIS NAME ISHMAEL; BECAUSE THE LORD HATH HEARD THY AFFLICTION.
16:12 AND HE WILL BE A WILD MAN; HIS HAND [WILL BE] AGAINST EVERY MAN, AND EVERY MAN'S HAND AGAINST HIM; AND HE SHALL DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HIS BRETHREN.
A.AFFLICTION: Sarai had DEALT HARDLY WITH HER, and SHE FLED FROM HER FACE (Verse 6).
B.Ishmael would be an outcast except among his own; he would DWELL IN THE PRESENCE (in the midst) of his descendents.
16:13 AND SHE CALLED THE NAME OF THE LORD THAT SPAKE UNTO HER, THOU GOD SEEST ME: FOR SHE SAID, HAVE I ALSO HERE LOOKED AFTER HIM THAT SEETH ME?
A.Hagar called THE ANGEL of Verse 7 "Lord" and "God."
B.Did she know something we do not know? Was He an angel with authority to speak for Deity? Or was He Deity?
C.We will have more occasion to consider this as we proceed.
16:14 WHEREFORE THE WELL WAS CALLED BEER-LAHAI-ROI; BEHOLD, [IT IS] BETWEEN KADESH AND BERED.
**The name BEER-LAHAI-ROI literally means "Well Of The Living One Who Sees Me."
16:15 AND HAGAR BARE ABRAM A SON: AND ABRAM CALLED HIS SON'S NAME, WHICH HAGAR BARE, ISHMAEL.
**ISHMAEL means "God Hears."
16:16 AND ABRAM [WAS] FOURSCORE AND SIX YEARS OLD, WHEN HAGAR BARE ISHMAEL TO ABRAM.
A.So closes a somewhat dark chapter in Genesis, and introduces us to a problem for 86-year-old Abram.
B.If the union of Abram and his mistress Hagar was considered an adulterous relationship, we have no record that God directly reproved Abram or punished him for it.
C.But we can see that all parties suffered heartache, resent-ment, and animosity (will see it increase later).
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