Hagar's cry

We are going to celebrate the women, the grandmothers, the aunts, the daughters, all those people who influence the lives of our little ones everywhere.

And some famous phrase that he shared with the Congregation in English last week was that behind every great man there is always a great woman, these are things that one hears and I think that many of us agree with that. Another one that I found was that there cannot be great men or great women without great mothers, and I added without great fathers as well, because I think that fathers also play a very important role in the development of little ones. And finally, something that Abraham Lincoln said: that everything he is and hopes to be, he owes to his angelic mother. I think many of us may identify with that phrase when it comes to our parents.

Last week we talked about various women from the Bible like Ruth, Deborah, Esther, Ana, Rebekah, all these women who did different things that meant a lot to the world, I think the Pastor also mentioned some of these women, including the Canaanite woman who was the Cyrophoenician, who asked God to bless her, to pray for her daughter who was demon-possessed, the Lord told her no because she was not a Jew and that He had not come for that type of person, and She said: But Lord, but the dogs still eat what falls from the teachers' table.

So with her faith she fought and fought and fought and the Lord blessed her, and I think that's more or less what I want to share today, but we're not going to talk about any of these women. Today I want to talk about another woman in the Bible who may not be so famous but I think her life has something very important to teach all of us, not just mothers but fathers, each and every one of us. . I want to talk about Hagar.

Hagar, and I think that Hagar has a story of a strong woman and a fighting woman, I think that there are several principles that we can learn about her. Go with me to Genesis chapter 16, verses 7 through 13. And the Bible says: "And he found the angel of the LORD by a spring of water in the desert, by the spring that is on the road to Shur, and he said to him To Hagar, Sarai's servant: Where do you come from and where are you going? And she answered: I fled from the face of Sarai, my mistress; And the angel of the Lord said to her: Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand." Some translations say: "Submit to his authority."

"And the angel of the Lord also said to him, I will multiply your offspring so much that they cannot be numbered because of the multitude; and the angel of the Lord said to him, behold, you have conceived, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your affliction. And he will be a fierce man, his hand will be against all and the hand of all against him, and he will dwell before all his brothers."

"Then she called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees, for he said: I have seen here the God who sees me. Therefore he called the well: Well of the living being that sees me, and behold, it is between Cadesh and Berel. And Hagar bore Abram a son and Abram called the name of the son Hagar bore him Ishmael, and Hagar was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael."

A bit interesting story. And before I go any further, I want to talk to you a little bit about the historical background of all this. There is a legend that Hagar was the daughter of one of the kings of Egypt who met Sarai and Abram when they lived in Egypt, and became very close to them. And when Sarai and Abram decided to leave Egypt, she told her father, who was the king, that she wanted to go with them, and her father told her: are you going crazy? you are going to go with those people and for them you are going to become simply a servant while here you are my daughter, you are a princess, you have all the comforts.

And the legend says that she told her father: I would rather be a servant in the house of Abram and Sarai where the living God lives than stay here in Egypt worshiping the idols that all of us have had for so many years, and that she decided leave, and went with them. But that's just a legend.

When I was reading about it I said: wow look, how interesting to see how Agar's tenacity and decide this in case it was so. But what we do know about her is that she was Egyptian, she joined Abram's family while he and Sarah were in Egypt, and she gave birth to a son to Abram who named him Ishmael, and thus became the founder of all Ismailis and Arab nations.

As an Egyptian it is very likely that she came from a very idolatrous background because the Egyptians worshiped all kinds of gods, and the fact that she became a slave, a servant in the house of Abram and Sarai perhaps exposed her to the knowledge of the God of Irrael, the God of Abram, the God of Sarah, the true God; So I imagine that perhaps family devotions that Abram had with all his family, with all his people, perhaps through this she heard the Word and was able to know the best about God. So that's a little bit of the background. But there is still more.

If one zooms out and we open the lens a little, we will start from Genesis 16 chapter 1 to see all this background of what is happening with Hagar's relationship and this situation that the angel of God found her in the desert.

Genesis 16:1 says that Sarai, Abram's wife, did not bear him children and she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar: "Then Sarai said to Abram: You see that the Lord has made me barren. I beg you then, come to me And Abram answered Sarai's plea, and Sarai, Abram's wife, took her Egyptian maidservant after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband to wife. ."

How interesting is this right? A wife who cannot have children has a servant, let's say a housewife in our time, the servant, the nanny, whatever, right? and he says: well, since I can't have children, I want you to go to my servant and have a child through her. Something a little scandalous for some people. However, in that culture it was somewhat common among people at that time, people who could not have children were considered cursed by God and it was something like a big thing, like you can't have children? so what the person used to do was have children through the slaves, then when the slaves gave birth that child was adopted into the family as if it were the son of the leaders of that family, then it was something common.

However, while it was common at the time, it is not something that God necessarily encouraged. If you look in the Bible every time there were situations where there was a man of God who had more than one wife, things never ended well, there were always complications, and one of the famous examples was Jacob with Rachel and Leah, right? all the problems they had with the twelve tribes and all that stuff. So it was kind of permissible but it wasn't something that God kind of encouraged His people to do.

And this simply, when I was reading this I said: this is like a real life soap opera, for you who like soap operas, there is a soap opera in the Bible. And I said: because here we have a love triangle, right? between a wife, Abram who was the lover, there is always a lover in the soap opera, and then here is the servant or the maid. I think that all those Mexican, Venezuelan, Colombian soap operas have already seen this, maybe it was from the Bible that they acquired these ideas, right? but these are things that entertain people. And I said: but this is a novel, here is a love triangle between three people.

And what happened to this? well, one of the things was that Abram ended up having relations with a surrogate wife, a person who was not his wife, it was a common practice in those times; it was a humane solution to the problem that Sarai and Abram had, which was not being able to have children. God had promised them that they were going to have a child with the two of them, but they got desperate and said: you know what? maybe God wants you know, help yourself and I'll help you, I have to do my part and then we're going to do as I think.

So they made a human solution, they doubted the Promise of God and here is seen this struggle between the faith of God, against the customs of that time. Many times when God promises things to us and we see that everyone around us behaves in a different way we try to accommodate what people say because it is what looks normal, it is what it looks like It makes sense, and sometimes we make solutions on our own and put God's promises aside in our lives, and this is what happened in this real life soap opera of Sarai, Abram and Hagar.

So I began to study the different characters in this soap opera and we have Sara the search-partner, right? she is at home but she needs to do something and she found her husband Abram a partner. Notice that in all this time Abram never seemed hesitant, hesitant or resistant to this idea, right? he listened, the Bible says that he listened to what his wife told him. Something interesting here: this idea, as crazy as it sounds, was his own wife who thought of it.

Sometimes the people closest to us, the people we trust the most and with whom we are most intimate can give us wild ideas that we may find acceptable simply because of the trust we have in that person; and well, if it is coming from that person then it may be fine.

There is a phrase that says: there is danger in trust, and many times it is with our closest friends that we do the mischief that we do out there, because we have trust, that will stay between us, but we have to have Be careful, we listen to advice and we listen to the voice of the people who are closest to us.

I am sure that if that advice reached Abram's ears through the mouths of any other person in his house, whatever, perhaps he would not have paid as much attention because: and what is this crazy man saying to me? but it was his own wife, so he said, well, it makes sense.

Hagar was the victim in this triangle, right? she was a slave apparently with her hands tied. What were Hagar's options? she could run away, have soldiers send to look for her, maybe kill her or mistreat her, so she didn't have, you know, a way out. I started to think: but maybe Hagar could have said no, why don't they find another servant girl or something like that, and I said: well, maybe Hagar was attracted to Abram, right? and there was an opportunity like wow, this gallant now it's my turn; As in the novels, the maids always fall in love with the impossible love, the owner of the house (laughs). This is biblical, so when you watch Univisión this week you say: they took it from the Bible.

So, but she was a victim because she didn't have much choice and simply refrained from its consequences. But we have to see the advice of our friends against the Voice of God. At no point here is it seen that Abram consulted with God. He simply listened to what his wife said, as Agar perhaps was willing, he also said: well, there is no problem with my wife or with Agar so let's go there. So you have to be careful because sometimes we misinterpret the circumstances of our life and when everything seems to line up one says: well, this is from God, and we have to be careful with things like that, because sometimes God allows things like that to happen simply. to test our faith and to test our confidence in what He has promised to each one of us.

But look at what it says in verse 4 then, continuing it says: "And he went to Hagar, who conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked at her mistress with contempt. Then Sarai said to Abram: My shame be upon you, I gave you my maidservant as a wife, and when she saw herself with child, she looked down on me; let the Lord judge between me and you." And Abram answered Sarai, "Behold, your maidservant is in your hand; do with her what seems good to you. grieved, she fled from his presence." So here is Abram, he already nodded, he did everything. Then look at what happened with Hagar.

Hagar suddenly went from being a servant to a wife. She was no longer like all the other servants in the house, in her mind she was a wife because I already had a son, and be careful. Now perhaps I am higher than Sara because I gave him a son and Sara did not give him a son.

So your attitude changed right? that was like a promotion they gave him. And the Bible says that then, after she gave birth, she looked at Sara with contempt, that is, she looked down on her, as if she was proud. And this makes me think sometimes in our jobs when someone receives a promotion of some kind. Our attitude changes and suddenly one believes that one is already a big deal.

What happened with Hagar here was that she lost her identity, she lost her humility. As a servant she was a very humble person: yes sir, yes ma'am, but since this situation happened she lost her essence. She was no longer the humble, calm, spoiled slave servant, now perhaps she was filled with pride and perhaps she thought she was a better woman, perhaps she thought she was more favored by God himself because she had already been able to have children and Sara was not, perhaps she was in line to be loved better by Abram because now we have a family of the two of us, regardless of Sara being here; I am no longer a slave, I am not going to submit anymore and I already have rights.

What happens to us when we start to learn about the different rights that we have in our workplaces? It seems to us that no, it's that no, things are not like that because this and that, and I always think of people who begin to climb from one position to another in different companies. When you enter, you are kind to everyone, very helpful to everyone, but after you become an important person, then it is by appointment that you have to talk to me, what's up, I don't know what.

Brothers: I think that we should never lose our essence regardless of our situation in our jobs or in our schools, or wherever we are. The more God blesses us, the more humble we have to be and recognize that the blessings come from God.

This was not what happened with Hagar and this also brought consequences. Look at what it says in verse 5, Sarai's attitude. "Sarai then got angry and said to Abram: my affront be on you, I gave you my servant for a wife and seeing herself with child she looks at me with contempt, let the Lord judge between you and me" then Sarai said: ah, are you bad? but I'm worse than you, wait. And then the fight began.

However, something happened that I have called the Adam and Eve syndrome. Sarai began to look for a culprit, and who did she blame? to Abram. She said: "My affront be upon you" she blamed him, having been the one who caused, the one who came up with the idea, everything, everything. Doesn't that happen sometimes in our lives? we fail to recognize our own mistakes and want to find someone else to blame. That happens in our jobs, that happens in our homes, there is always something to look for someone for us to evade responsibility. And that's what we're seeing from the beginning.

Adam and Eve. When they screwed up, what did Adam say? well wait, it was Eva, and Eva said: well wait, it was the serpent, and the Lord told them: Ok, it's true but the three are going to take. I am going to give each of you what is yours. Do you get me? so that's what Sarai did.

She then started blaming Abram since she was the one who got impatient right? because God had made a promise to her and she could not wait on God, she doubted God's promise and tried to do things by her own hand. His human solution created problems for him.

Many times when we try to figure things out on our own, outside of the parameters that God has established for our lives, things may work or appear to work but never end well because that is not how God designed things. So we have to be careful with the decisions we make, always try to do things in the light of God's Word so that we can count on God's blessing, which is what enriches as His Word says.

After this Sara became a bitter woman and the Bible says that she began to abuse her power, and it says that she afflicted Hagar. We have to be careful when situations happen in our lives that embitter us, we have to be careful not to want to vent our anger, our unhappiness on the people around us. Sometimes it is the people closest to us who pay the piper for things that happen either at home or at our jobs.

So we have to always keep in mind what God has called us to and how God has called us to react to life's problems, and even when we mess up. Sara shouldn't have tried to find a culprit for her situation. If she had recognized her problem and accepted God's correction for her life, and perhaps handled the situation in a different way, things would not have turned out the way they did.

Now, let's see what Abram did in this situation, because he also had cards in the matter. It made sense to Abram from the beginning: my wife, it's okay, come on, no problem. He never consulted with God, never talked to God about any of those things; It's good to be a Pastor, you see. Abram did not consult with God, he saw himself at some crossroads that well, he said: well, I don't know what I'm going to do and he simply continued. However, when Sara confronted him, he simply told her: "Behold, your servant is in your hands, do with her what you see fit."

There are two important things in what Abram told him. The first thing I notice about this is that he didn't take responsibility either, he said: no, but do what you want with her, she's your servant, perhaps to keep peace with Sara. Because I imagine that Sara must have been very angry and yelling at her like some of you sometimes get with your husbands, I think she was the same way. And yet, two things, because he kind of washed his hands of it, he put all the responsibility on Sara, perhaps to see how: no, my love I love you, do what you want.

And the good side of this is that maybe his response was mild, right? that in a couple conflict when people start yelling and fighting he kept his cool, and responded calmly. Sometimes when we, the Bible says that: "A soft answer removes anger." When we find ourselves in situations where one wants to be fighting, one of the two of us has to try to calm down and keep the peace even if you are right, because Abram was right. Sara was not right at all and was the one who was instigating and fighting.

Abram could have said well to her: wait a minute, wait, wait, wait. It was you who came up with the idea, I didn't even propose it to you, it was you. He didn't say anything, he never defended himself. He simply said: she is your servant, she is in your hands, do with her as you see fit. So sometimes when things get tense at our jobs or at our homes or at our schools someone has to give in even if one is right and let God take care of the rest, and eventually it will all come out.

Waiting patiently on God and seeking His advice is the best response to the problems and uncertainties of our lives. When one despairs because he sees that God does not respond and nothing happens, that time passes and nothing happens, wait patiently and continue consulting with God: Lord, Lord, are you sure, is this what you promised me? that is the best answer for our lives, staying in the Word and praying in the Word of God.

Now let's go to verse 7. After this, Hagar had to flee because she couldn't find a solution at home, Sara was oppressing her, Abram didn't get involved in anything, so she said: well, I'm going this way, it's more right. And he went away, and he says: "And the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the desert, by the spring that is on the way to Shur." The way to Shur was the way to Egypt. She said: I'm going home again, I don't have to be in this situation, I'm leaving. He went away.

But it strikes me that God found her in the desert and the desert in the Bible is sometimes like a vulnerable place where one has no help, where one is generally alone and how good it is to know that God found her there, in that desert where she was.

And look what the angel of God said to him. He said to her: "Hagar servant of Sarai, where did you come from and where are you going?" Those questions are very important. Sometimes when we are in despair and we start to run and run away from our problems, we are not sure what we are going to do, we are simply running as if by inertia to get out of the situation. But the angel wanted her to think and say: where do you come from and where are you going? And he said where is he? verse 7, he told her: "And she answered: I fled from the face of Sarah, my mistress. And the angel of Jehovah said to her: return to your mistress and put yourself under her hand; and the angel of Jehovah also said to her: I will multiply your offspring that cannot be numbered because of the multitude."

And then in verse 11 he said to her: "Behold, you have conceived and will give birth to a son." The angel of the Lord reminded her that: you are pregnant, you cannot walk like that in the desert no matter how strong you think you are, go back home. He told her two things: return to your mistress and submit to her.

The first thing that I began to think about when I saw that the angel said to her: go back to your wife, I said: but if I were Hagar I would say to her: but how is it? Are you not seeing how they are treating me in that house, that I am a victim there, that they have marginalized me there, that from the beginning? Are you asking me to go back there? no, no, no, but you're going crazy.

Perhaps it didn't make sense to her, but perhaps what God wanted was to work on her humility and return her to that place of simplicity where she was before she became an arrogant and troublesome woman, so to speak. And look what he said, the angel said to him in verse 8: "Hagar, servant of Sarai." He reminded her that she was still Sarai's servant regardless of whether she had a baby in her womb, and by sending her back he was saying: running to your problems never solves problems. We have to go back and face our problems. And he wanted her to go back and face her problem, and take responsibility for what she had done too because she was a part of all of this too.

Now, she was not going to be alone, she was going to be with God because God was going to be with her and he was going to accompany her. The angel of God did not appear to him simply to appear. God's angel appeared to her so she would know that God was not oblivious to the problems she was facing, that God saw her and was with her. And the fact that she was able to have this conversation with the angel there in the desert shows that she believed in the true God, in the God of Abram, in the God of Sarai, and that is why God remembered her and appeared . And he said to her: return and submit to your mistress.

Hagar was totally justified in her running and fleeing action because any of us might have done the same. However, telling the angel to come back was perhaps telling him: I need that, perhaps you will get out of this problem at some point but now is not the time. Now I need you to come back, confront your problems, fix your relationship with Sara so that when you go out, you go out in a good way, in a good way.

Later we will see that she left again. But sometimes it makes me think that avoiding problems is not the best solution, and before avoiding problems we must confront them, try to find a solution and if a solution does not appear then avoid them but in a friendly way, go out and not have as a queue that they step on him as they say out there, right?

In a work situation when you have a conflict with your supervisor or any other person, the easiest thing to do is to say: look, I'll quit, I'm leaving here, I can't stand it, I don't know what. Okay, maybe there's going to be a time for you to quit but what's the way you're going to quit? Are you just going to turn everything upside down and leave to do a disservice to the company, even though they may be doing you wrong, not treating you fairly? No, confront them, speak the truth in love and we will come out okay because there is no need to go wrong out of situations.

So that was what the angel was telling him: submit to his authority. And then he told her: "I will multiply your offspring so much that they cannot be counted because of the multitude" he was promising her that when she returned he would be with her and that his story did not end there, that he was going to bless her even though she went through the fire. And how good it is to know that one can count on God when one is in the desert of life, with absolutely no one. Results of situations that are out of one's control, that have been imposed on one by external or greater forces, how good it is to know that God meets one in the desert. But God wants that when we find ourselves in the desert we self-examine and evaluate our interior to correct our attitudes, and to do things well despite everything.

In First Peter chapter 2 verses 18 to 23, we are going to go to the Bible in First Peter chapter 2 to see what Peter says regarding submission to others, Peter 2 from 18 to 23. Look what the Bible says , here it says: "Servants: be subject with all respect to your masters, not only to the good and affable but also to those difficult to bear." Sometimes it's very nice to smile when you like the boss, but what about when you don't like him, when he becomes that thorn in your shoe?

Look at what Peter is saying to the slaves of that time, he tells them: "You have to submit to those who are difficult to bear because this deserves approval, and if someone suffers discomfort because of conscience before God, suffering unjustly, then what Glory is if you are buffeted in sin and bear it? But if doing good you suffer and bear it, this is certainly approved before God, for to this you were called; for Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example so that you may follow in his footsteps."

"Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth, who when he was cursed did not respond with a curse, when he suffered he did not threaten, but commended the cause to the one who judges justly." When we find ourselves in situations in our life that are unfair, that are oppressive, we have to submit and fight the battle on our knees with God, telling God to fight for us, to give us grace and to do justice.

God works in mysterious ways in our lives and has sometimes unusual ways to bless us. But when one is in a test, perhaps what God is strengthening our character, strengthening our attitude and preparing us for another scenario later that may be similar or worse. So one has to handle things in the light of the Word of God and try to submit trusting that with God one will be able to withstand the test and will be able to move forward. It is not by itself, it is by drawing closer to God.

Sometimes when we stop praying, reading and getting cold and just becoming a Sunday Christian, then God sends trials into our lives so that we can draw closer to Him. Many people come to God when they are afflicted, when they are vulnerable, because it is that they remind themselves that they cannot do it by themselves and that they need God.

So the Bible says in one place: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation." God wants us to be faithful to His call, to endure, to remain humble and when it is time to leave the oppressive situation in which we find ourselves, we leave with our heads held high and leave things well, and leaving things as they are. peace, taking care of our testimony.

Now, in verse 11 again of Genesis 16, we're going to go back to our Genesis passage, we're going to look at the conversation that the angel had with Hagar when he found her there.