*“But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son . . . Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away.” Genesis 21:9-11, 14

No matter how you look at the story of Abraham and Hagar, Abraham comes off bad. Hagar is Sarah’s slave. Unable to have a child herself, Sarah gives Hagar to Abraham to get pregnant. Hagar has no choice in this. She is simply a tool to be used for the purpose of producing  a child.  When Hagar does get pregnant, Sarah is jealous. Conflict reigns in the family, but they somehow manage to get along until Sarah’s son Isaac is born. It’s then that Sarah grows even more resentful of Hagar and Ishmael. Until the day comes when Sarah demands that Abraham throw them out of the camp.

In the scriptures, God seems to side with Sarah and tells Abraham to do what Sarah asks. We learn  Abraham is troubled because of the child, nonetheless he puts Ishmael on Hagar’s shoulders sending them on their way. The only help he gives is some bread and a skin of water.

Which is where the real question of Abraham’s heartlessness comes in. He may have felt he had to send Hagar away, but couldn’t he at the very least, have taken her to a safe place? Instead he sends her out into the wilderness alone, with a small child? Abraham is not without resources. He has servants, sheep, oxen, donkeys and camels. He could have given Hagar some of that livestock to get started on her own.  Certainly, one or two of his servants could have accompanied Hagar and the child until they got settled. But Abraham does none of that.  In a cruel twist, he gives Hagar  and his son, no more than he might give a beggar traveling by. 

Hagar is forced into the wilderness, with a child small enough to sit  on her shoulders. She does not know where she is headed, where there is water, or where there is safety. Given all she faces, Hagar despairs. Before long, their meager water supply is gone. Hagar, unwilling to watch her son die, puts him under a bush and goes off to grieve.  She is resigned to dying in the wilderness, with her son . . . feeling lost, alone and abandoned.

Were it not for God watching over Hagar and her son, the story of Hagar and Ishmael would have come to a tragic ending. In the depths of her desolation, God  intervenes:   “The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.”  Genesis 21:17

In spite of what she felt . . . in spite of her emotional turmoil . . . in spite of all that she had lost . . . in spite of the despicable way she has been treated, Hagar learns she is meant for more than to die in the wilderness. She discovers God is with her.  Even as she has wandered,   a silent hand has guided her to a well of life-giving water.

God meets us in  places where we are most lost . . . Feeling alone and isolated, anxious and afraid, fearing for ourselves and our loved ones. In spite of all feelings to the contrary,  God does not abandoned us.  God speeds to our wilderness places, to give comfort strength and encouragement.   God comes to remind us that we are not alone.  We are loved.   There in the wilderness,  God is with us to guide us to places of healing and  wholeness, where we can begin life again.

But surely, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life. Psalm 54:4

*The full story of Hagar is found in Genesis 16:1-16 and Genesis 21:9-21. The Genesis 21 account, indicates that Ishmael is still a small child when he and his mother are sent away.