Hagar and Ishmael

The Old Testament doesn't seem to whitewash Israel's history much--at least not in Genesis. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all on display. The shameful stands right alongside the heroic: Noah's drunkenness, Abraham's fear & scheming, Lot's treatment of his daughters (& their treatment of him), Jacob's lies, Judah's seeking out a prostitute, etc.

Having just read Genesis, however, one event stuck out to me as the most shameful--the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. Let's review the story leading up to that story:

1. The LORD calls Abram and promises to make him a great nation (Gen. 12:2).
2. Abram passes his wife off as his sister in Egypt, and Pharaoh ends up marrying her! (12:19)
3. God promises to make Abram's offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth (13:16).
4. Abram despairs that his servant Eliezer will be his heir, but God assures him that it will be his own issue and that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars (15:2-5).\
5. Sarai herself gives Hagar, her Egyptian slave-girl, to Abram as a wife. She does this so that she can get children by her. Hagar conceives Ishmael. (16:1-4) Abram was 86 at the time (16:16).
6. Once she has conceived, Hagar looks on Sarai with contempt, and Sarai deals harshly with her, driving her into the wilderness. (16:4, 6-7)
7. The angel of the LORD tells Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her. She does so, and gives birth to Ishmael. (16:9, 15)
8. The LORD promises a son to Abraham and Sarah (18:10).
9. Abraham passes Sarah off as his sister--again. A king takes her for himself--again. God rescues her from his hand--again. (20)
10. Sarah conceives and bears Abraham a son: Isaac (Laughter) (21:2).
11. During a feast for Isaac, Sarah sees Ishmael playing and tells Abraham to cast out Hagar and her son. Abraham is distressed by this matter, but God says, "Go ahead and do what she says." (21:8-12)
12. Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness. (21:14)

There are several elements in this story that are distressing. Why does Sarah want to be rid of this woman so badly? (Why is the "Mother of the Jewish Nation" so mean?) Why does God go along with her plan? Even if Abraham does agree to this seemingly atrocious act, why does this man of great means send his wife and child away with so little?

I really feel for Hagar and Ishmael in this story. The scene in 21:15-16 is heart-wrenchingly pathetic. Sarah seems so cruel. I really can't find any way to excuse her. Hagar and Ishmael, however, are not without blame. First of all, Hagar was treated very well by Sarai when Sarai gave her to Abram as a wife. In return, Hagar looked at Sarai as if she were one big nothing (my rendering of the Hebrew verb in 16:4). So, perhaps Sarai had some justification in getting rid of her the first time? After all, God did tell Hagar to go back and submit to Sarai. Interestingly, we are not told how well she followed through on the submission part.

In Galatians 4:29 we learn that Ishmael "persecuted" Isaac. Is this what Sarah has seen in 21:9 when the Septuagint says that she saw the Ishmael "play" with Isaac? (The only time this verb is used in the NT is 1 Cor. 10:7--a very negative context.) It may well be that Ishmael was making fun of Isaac on his special day, and Sarah caught him. Regardless, Sarah's reaction seems pretty harsh.

Abraham, who was conflicted over the whole affair (after all, he'd cried out to the Lord on Ishmael's behalf in Genesis 17:18), ended up sending them away. Why? I am convinced that this was a matter of faith, just as the binding of Isaac was. God had promised Abraham twice (chs. 17 & 21) that He would make a great nation out of Ishmael. Abraham simply believed it. Thus, he sent them out in faith.

In a way, this story reminds me of Joseph. Perhaps Ishmael could one day have returned to Sarah and say, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." Who knows? I wish I knew more of Ishmael's story. I've heard that Muslims claim him as their ancestor, which disturbs me. I do know that he shows up again in chapter 25 to help Isaac bury Abraham. He lives to be 137 years old and is the father of 12 princes (just as God promised).

I am bothered by this story, but I do think it shows that God cares about all humanity. It shows that He works through flawed people. It shows that we should laugh with others (rejoice with those who rejoice) and not at them. And it shows that God can be trusted. He is El Roi, the God who Sees. No matter how things appear, He will take care of His own.