Distraught by Idolatry - Genesis 16:1-16

This Sunday we’ll return to our study in Genesis.  We took a break from Genesis for the Advent and Vision and Values sermon series.  

If you recall from chapter 11, we were told that Sarai was barren.  At that time, a woman’s value in society was based on the number of her offspring; so, Sarai is essentially worthless.  In chapter 12, God promised to perform a miracle and provide Abram and Sarai with a child which would become a great nation and bring blessing to the world.  However, ten years have now elapsed, and Abram and Sarai decide to take matters into their own hands.  Rather than waiting on God, Sarai instructs Abram to impregnate a young enslaved Egyptian woman named Hagar. This follows an ancient near east convention of raising up children through surrogate mothers.  Abram, wanting to alleviate his wife’s distress, agrees.  Once Hagar is pregnant, she begins to treat Sarai with contempt.  Sarai becomes unhinged.  She abuses Hagar; Hagar is forced to flee for her life.  Abram is callously dismissive and passive.  

What are we to make of this story?  First, we see God intervene to protect the oppressed.  He is a God who ‘sees’ the marginalized and exploited.  We’ll explore this theme in greater detail next week.

For this week, I want to focus on Sarai’s heart.  It’s clear from her response to Hagar that she finds her worth through the conventional social means of children.  When Hagar excels in the way that Sarai views herself as a failure, Sarai becomes blind to her own sin.  She blames Abram, grows embittered towards God, and unjust towards Hagar.  

The same is true for us.  When we’re not finding our identity in Christ, we will seek to establish our worth and righteousness elsewhere. It may be in professional success, beauty, popularity, or money.  When we encounter someone who is succeeding more than us, in the place we find our identity, we, like Sarai, become emotionally distraught, angry, and abusive.

Thankfully, we know from chapter 18 that Sarai came to know the God of grace.  She grew to root her identity in God’s love and acceptance in Christ rather than her child.  May God train us to do the same.