Genesis 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
Commentary says Sarai blames Abram for the mess they are in as well she should. I do not agree; however, I also don’t think God looked down on this predicament and was first concerned with assigning blame. God loves us. Deeply. He knows us. Intimately. I think His first concern would be the deep, deep pain that Sarai, Abram, and Hagar are all feeling for very different reasons.
Genesis 16:6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
God wants us to seek Him first, to put Him first. Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” That doesn’t mean that if we love God, He will give us what we want. It means that when we put Him first, He IS what we want, and we will see His goodness, His love, His compassion abundantly in our lives.
Genesis 16:7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
Precious Savior, Help us to put You first in our lives. Always. Forgive us when we place other things above You. Wrestling with our desires in this life can be real and painful. Help us to place our burdens at Your feet, to place our hopes and dreams at the foot of Your cross and to trust You, even when the road before us is dark and uncertain. Help us, Jesus. Amen.
Genesis 16:8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
Have a blessed day.