Sarai had still not bore a son to Abram so she decides to go about building a family in another way. In those days, the children of slaves could be claimed by those that owned them. Sarai asked Abram to have sex her Egyptian slave Hagar. He does and Hagar conceives. Hagar, a slave who has essentially become a sex slave, and is now pregnant, hormonal and likely uncomfortable, begins to resent Sarai. This makes Sarai angry who blames Abram for her problems with Hagar. Abrams ignores the issue and Sarai mistreats Hagar who then flees.
Then we get a beautiful glimpse of the depth of God's love. In the desert, God comes to this pregnant, Egyptian female slave. He asks her where she is going and Hagar confesses she is fleeing her mistress. God asks her to return and promises her a great line from this son, who is to be named Ishmael. Hagar responds that God has seen her and she has seen God, so she will return. She gives birth to Ishmael a while later.
This is an interesting chapter in that we see the problem with interfering with God's plan. God had promised a line through Sarai and yet Sarai is impatient and is cruel to a woman in her charge. This causes strife for the whole family. We can see here the importance of family unity to God's call. When I was growing up on the mission field, it was consistently emphasised that when a family went on the field, both spouses had to feel called. If this was not the case, the family was not sent. Right now, I am praying for the call for my whole family.
While not related to waiting on God, the story of Hagar is so moving. God came to her in her pain. God blessed this woman even in her struggles. We see again that God sees everyone. Regardless of nation, gender or class.
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