In the story of Hagar and Ishmael, when they were expelled by Abraham into the desert, we interestingly have the beginning of seeds of what will happen to Abraham’s descendents several hundred years later, in Egypt.
The clues begin with the name of Hagar, whose name means: the stranger! But where has this word “stranger” also occurred in the context of Abraham’s circle of life? That’s right: Genesis 15:13 — “Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for four hundred years.” Yet it was Hagar who felt her herself to be a stranger in Abraham’s house! Hagar suffered oppression, a precursor of what Abraham’s children will feel for 400 years in Egypt’s household. It seems that right here in Chapter 16 in the Book of Genesis, we’re beginning to get the hints of a gathering storm. One begins to see in Hagar a type of Israel. In other words, Egyptian slavery doesn’t come out of nowhere; there are seeds. How Abraham and Sarah treated Hagar and Ishmael appears to be one of the seeds.
Then in the desert, a miracle occurs! An angel comes, tells Hagar, “Do not fear, Hagar. I will make your child into a great nation.” Hagar opens her eyes; miraculously, there is a well there. She gives water to the child and he lives, and her journey through the desert goes on. What does this story remind you of in the book of Exodus?
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Keywords: Abraham and Sarah, Abram and Sarai, Abraham and Hagar, Hagar, Hagarite, Egypt, Egyptian, stranger
Bible reference(s): Genesis 15:13-14, Genesis 16:1, Genesis 16:3, Genesis 16:4, Genesis 16:8, Genesis 16:15, Genesis 16:16, Genesis 21:9-10, Genesis 21:14, Genesis 21:17, Genesis 25:12, Exodus 22:21, Leviticus 19:33, Deuteronomy 23:7
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