Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Abraham has a child through surrogate (named Hagar) Sarah's request, Sarah runs Hagar her off and God comforts her, God promises that Sarah will bear a son and Abraham will become the father of many nations, and Abraham bargains with God to spare Sodom if 10 righteous people can be found.
Sarai, Abram's wife, has borne no children, and she is 90 years old. She has a maidservant named Hagar, and she devises a plan to have a child through her by surrogate. She brings her plan to Abram, and he agrees (it's interesting that Scripture says that "Abram took Hagar to be his wife.") Hagar conceives, but when she becomes pregnant, she begins to look down on Sarai. Then, Sarai blames Abram, who tells Sarai to do with her as she wishes. Sarai treats Hagar "harshly," so she runs away. In the wilderness, "the Angel of the Lord" finds her, calls her by name, and asks her where she is coming from and where she is going. After she answers truthfully, the Angel of the Lord tells her to return to Sarai and submit to her. He leaves her with a promise, that He will make of her son a great nation, with the caveat that "his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand... against his." He tells her to name him Ishmael, which means "God listens." Hagar calls God "the God Who sees," and says, "Have I also seen Him Who sees me?" (It's interesting how God meets her at a well and, 2,000 years later, will do the same with another lonely woman!)
When Abram is 99 years old, the Lord appears to him again, again telling him that He will make a covenant with him. Abram falls on his face and talks to God.
God tells Abram that he will become the father of many nations, that he will no longer be called Abram, but Abraham, which means "father of many." God says His covenant will be with Abraham and his descendants, that it will be everlasting, and that He will give him and his descendants all the land of Canaan. He commands him to circumcise himself along with all the males in his household as a sign of the covenant, which Abraham does the same day (this will continue to be a sign of the covenant in future generations.) He also tells Abraham to call Sarai, Sarah, which means "princess of the multitude."
Abraham falls on his face and laughs that a son would be born to him in his old age. He asks God if his son, Ishmael, might "live before [Him]." God also promises to bless Ishmael and make of him a great nation, but He reasserts that Sarah will have a son, and that his name will be Isaac, and that God will establish His covenant through him.
The Lord appears again to Abraham as he is sitting in his tent door. Abraham sees three men coming from the distance, and somehow knows that it is the Lord. He jumps up and begs them not to pass by, but to stay a little and eat and be refreshed before going on their way. He asks Sarah to prepare some bread, and he has a calf prepared, and they eat together. The Lord tells him again that by this time next year, Sarah will have a son. He says, "I will return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son."
Meanwhile, Sarah is eavesdropping, and she, like Abraham, also "laughs within herself." The Lord confronts her and asks why she laughed. Afraid, she lies and denies it, but He tells her that she did.
The men get up and look toward Sodom. Here, God talks to Himself and debates whether or not He should hide His plans from Abraham, since He is going to make him a father of many nations. An outcry has come to Him because of the wickedness of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and He plans to see whether or not it is warranted and if He should destroy them. Abraham "comes near" to talk to Him. He asks God if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked, and if He would spare the city if even 50 righteous people could be found. God says that He would. Abraham continues to bargain with God, with God eventually conceding that He would not destroy the city if even 10 righteous people could be found.
After speaking, the visitors go on their way.
Thoughts/Questions:
God asks Hagar to return to her place of pain rather than run from it. How do you think there might be healing in this?
How long have you been waiting for what God has promised you? This story helps us not to lose heart. "Nothing is impossible with God."
Our motive matters. Sarah laughed in cynicism, but Abraham laughed in faith.
We can move God's heart when we come to Him in humility. He is affected by us. What a mystery!