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Women in the Bible
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Lesson Nine: by turtle
Part of spiritual battle is having to deal with the circumstances you find yourself
in. Sometimes you can change your environment and sometimes you can not.
However you can change what you believe and think. No one but you controls
your mind. Okay God can control, but in general He gives free will of your
thoughts. God even knows and hears our thoughts. So be aware of what you put
in but is also being sent above to God.
1 Chronicles 28:9 KJV
(9) And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him
with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts,
and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will
be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Psalms 139:23-24 KJV
(23) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
(24) And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.
Isaiah 66:18 KJV
(18) For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather
all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
God word even declares he knows our thoughts. Cain is a good example of God
knowing one thoughts. Cain was in trouble before he even sinned, because his
thoughts betrayed him. So God knows are thoughts. So what you believe and
think in your heart you are? Not necessarily. Our mind runs a mile a minute.
Okay probably faster then that. What we see, hear and think all filters through
our brain. How we perceive our circumstances.
Sometimes we are put in a circumstance that is no fault of our own. Take for
example Hagar. She is Sarah handmaid. Abraham instructed by his wife takes
Hagar to be his second wife but does not have status of being an actual wife.
Hagar a servant has no choice but to do her masters bidding as well as Sarah.
And maybe with no doubt Hagar in her own thoughts thinks that maybe she will
have favor if she can produce a child for Abraham.
Genesis 16:1-4 KJV
(1) Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an
Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
(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.
(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.
(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.
Now that Hagar is pregnant her mistress is displeased with it. Not surprising
Sarai would be jealous. No doubt the hurt and pain of knowing it was her own
body that could not bare children must of racked with her mind. Yet she choose
to treat Hagar with her own hurt and anger.
Genesis 16:5-6 KJV
(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.
(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.
No doubt the Bible does not give explicit information about what Sarai said to
Hagar but it was enough to put fear in Hagar heart that she flees. She runs for
her life. Hagar is no in disobedience to her situation. Yet no doubt if she was
fleeing she was making the choice based on safety of her and her unborn child.
Genesis 16:7-12 KJV
(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.
(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.
(9) And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and
submit thyself under her hands.
(10) And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed
exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
(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.
(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.
Hagar was no doubt terrified, but even so God brings her comfort by an angel. I
be honest until you feel like Hagar you do not know what it is like. Many
battered and bruised women make a choice to give their husband’s a second
chance after they have gone through counseling in today’s world. But
unfortunately they did not have psychologist way back then, yet God heard
Hagar thoughts and sent her a messenger to give her instructions. He tells her to
go back and not to worry about her safety. That is all she needed to know. She
needed to know she would be taken care of and safe. And so Hagar goes back
with gladness in her heart and also a prophecy to hold on to in the days ahead.
Hagar own thoughts almost disrupted what God was going to do in her life. She
could not change her circumstances, but she could change her thoughts. Hagar
could only change her thoughts with the help of the Lord. If you seen an angel
like Hagar I am sure you would of reacted the same as well. Now Hagar after
hearing from the Lord became thankful.
Genesis 16:13-16 KJV
(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?
(14) Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh
and Bered.
(15) And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which
Hagar bare, Ishmael.
(16) And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to
Abram.
Hagar story does not stop there. Soon Sarah would have a child as well the
promise seed to fulfill the covenant that God made with Abraham. As with any
family unit two women in a household is a big mistake. Most men except for
some religious groups would agree they rather just deal with their one wife. They
even wonder how men with more wives deal with the nagging. Abraham would
have trouble with his women.
Genesis 21:6-11 KJV
(6) And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh
with me.
(7) And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have
given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
(8) And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the
same day that Isaac was weaned.
(9) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto
Abraham, mocking.
(10) Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son:
for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
(11) And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
Abraham would send Hagar away with a few provisions. Hagar now finds herself
an outcast because of Sarah continue jealousy. Hagar has only a small child and
herself. So often when women are abandon, put out or abused they find
themselves in the position of not having but the bare necessity and sometimes
not even that.
Genesis 21:12-14 KJV
(12) And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of
the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee,
hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
(13) And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is
thy seed.
(14) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of
water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent
her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Abraham did as he was told to do. He put Hagar out. God had given instructions
to the Abraham. We must remember that God had already made a promise to
Hagar and we also see God makes that same promise to Abraham. Abraham had
to have faith. Hagar had to have faith God knew what He was doing.
Hagar like so many of us grows faint physically and mentally at the challenge.
God had promised her grandkids and here she is ready to give Ishmael to the
desert heat. How often we hear God promises in our heart but lack the faith to
believe. Our heart believes but our mind can not comprehend.
Genesis 21:15-16 KJV
(15) And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of
the shrubs.
(16) And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were
a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over
against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Hagar question was more like Lord I am dying here and I see no help. Often we
are also blinded by our circumstances that we fail to see the help right in front of
us.
Genesis 21:17-21 KJV
(17) And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar
out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God
hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
(18) Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a
great nation.
(19) And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and
filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
(20) And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and
became an archer.
(21) And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife
out of the land of Egypt.
It is almost has if God is saying Hagar you are not trusting me, so I am not
hearing your whining, but I have not forsaken you for I hear your son crying
about the situation as well. He has her open her eyes and right before her is a
well. Did it just appear, did God place it there. Probably what had happened the
heat, the stress and all her anxiety had gotten he best of her. God knows what we
need before we ask. And God’s provision was already there. All she need was
to stop worrying and trust in God. We believe what we want to and we see what
we want to and even tune out with ours ears what we want to. Yet even so God
knows our heart, our mind our soul and we can not hide those things from God.
We must trust God to provide no matter our circumstances. His promises are
always true. It does not mean we will not go through periods of being thirst, near
faith, exhausted and full of frustration. God knows we will, but He allows it so
that we can learn to trust in God. Jesus is the way and hope of every lasting life
as long as we trust in Him and believe in Him.
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