This is “Yehovah: The God Who Sees.” It is the 13th Parshah of our 3-year Torah Reading cycle. The whole of the reading is contained in Genesis 16:1-16.

 

In our reading today, we’re led to think and reflect on the themes of:

 

●   Trusting Faith ●   Respect ●   Patience & Perseverance ●   Responsibility ●   Honor ●   The Spirit Realm Intersecting with the Physical Realm ●   Promise ●   Sonship

 

Given that our reading this week is just 16 verses, we’ll read all 16 verses, for the sake of time and focus of study, we will read and then discuss each verse sequentially.

 

As in the previous 12 Torah Readings of this cycle, I will be reading from Robert Alter’s “The Five Books of Moses.” However, if you are led to follow along with me, you can certainly use whichever English Translation suits you. It’s all good.

 

We will begin with verse 1 of the 16th chapter of Genesis:

 

1. Now Sarai Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian slavegirl named Hagar.

 

The text is silent as it relates to Avram and Sarai for some 10-years (reference verse 3) after the events depicted in Parashah 12 (I.e., STAR 12). Covenant promises were cut and certified via blood sacrifices. Yet, up to this point, no heir has emerged for the couple. And so, we are left to speculate what undisclosed conversations were had between Yehovah, Avram and Sarai, concerning the promises of that covenant, if any. What thoughts, feelings, doubts, frustrations, fears, concerns lingered during those long years in Hebron?

 

Surely, our previous parshah’s highlighted headline was that “Avram trusted Yehovah.” And because of that trust, Avram was reckoned righteous by the Court of Heaven (Gen. 15:6). And maybe that trust endured for the ensuing decade untarnished. Wouldn’t that be amazing and uncharacteristic of the general human make-up and condition? But as it relates to this question of an untarnished or undiminished faith on the part of Avram and Sarai, leading up to our reading here today, we can only speculate.

 

And I would offer here, that maybe these 10-years of no son being born to the couple, was a season of testing. Just a thought.

 

Interestingly, the extra-biblical texts of Jasher and Jubilees remains silent on these 10-years. Jubilees, however, treats Genesis 15 (last week’s parshah chapter) and 16 (this week’s parshah chapter) as a continuous, unbroken set of events without any break in time. In fact, according to Jubilees, Avram joyfully tells Sarai of the promise of a son as revealed to him by Yah. And at that point, Sarai, realizing that she was infertile, post haste offers Hagar, her Egyptian maid, as a surrogate.

 

 

So, the narrative begins with a rather blunt statement of fact: Sarai was barren, and Sarai possessed a slavegirl (or handmaid as the JPS and other English translations describe her) by the name of Hagar.

 

The traditional English rendering of Hagar being a handmaid or handmaiden creates some degree of misleading. For the Hebrew term for handmaid or handmaiden that is used here by Moshe is “shifhah.” Shifhah is indicative of a menial servant, or better, a slavegirl as Alter translates it. So then, it should not be construed that Hagar was a member of Avram’s household with any exceptional place or power like Eliezer of Demmesek was described as in Genesis 15:2.

 

And so, right off the bat, we should be able to see potential for problems, given the relationship that existed between Hagar and Sarai: Sarai can’t have children. But oh look, Sarai has a slavegirl. Hmm. What could possibly go wrong with this equation?

 

Here’s an interesting tidbit: In the extra-biblical book of Jasher, 15:23-36, the text records that Hagar was given unto Sarai as a handmaid by Pharaoh during the couple’s challenging times in Egypt well over a decade previous to this event.

 

Rashi, arguably the most renown Rabbi in Jewish history, fancifully asserts that Hagar was the daughter of this same Pharaoh, whom he records as saying, “Better that my daughter be a maid in this house (Avram’s house) than a mistress in a different house…” (Midrash Rabbah 45:1).

 

As interesting an assertion as this may be, there is absolutely no evidence that this is at all true. Beyond the fact of there being no biblical support for Hagar being of such breeding, Avram and Sarai placing Hagar in the house position of slavegirl does not sensibly support such a claim. It is clear from Moshe’s use of the term “shifhah,” that Hagar’s vocation was that of a menial servant in the house of Avram.

 

2. And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, pray, the LORD has kept me from bearing children. Pray, come to bed with my slavegirl. Perhaps I shall be built up through her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

 

It should be understood that in the ANE, childlessness was viewed and treated as a family calamity, in particular, a personal disgrace to the woman/wife.

 

Furthermore, female slaves such as we have with Hagar, were generally the property of the wife. So, it was within Sarai’s purview and wherewithal to give her slavegirl Hagar over to Avram as a wife and surrogate.

 

It should be noted here that Sarai attributes or holds Yehovah responsible for her infertility. The ancient Hebrew mindset was such that every aspect of life was viewed as being inextricably tied or linked or ascribed to, what J. H. Hertz in his Torah-Haftorah publication, as “Divine agency.” In other words, every aspect of the human condition fell within the purview and control of the sovereign Creator of the Universe. And so, we have here in Sarai’s exasperated statement her, a sense of Sarai’s understanding of Yehovah’s complete control over her life.

 

What we see proposed here by Sarai is essentially maternal “surrogacy.” Surrogacy was a common practice of the ANE.

 

Alter, in his commentary on this verse, puts forth an interesting perspective. He suggests that although Avram and Sarai likely knew the consequences that this surrogacy solution to their infertility problem would present, Avram, for the sake of conjugal peace agreed to his wife Sarai’s proposal.

 

I see Alter’s suggestive comment here an interesting one. For it presumes an appreciable degree of strife existed in Avram’s home because of the couple’s infertility problem. It’s interesting to me because, if indeed the couple truly trusted Yah’s promise that Avram would have a son, then the chances for marital strife over this issue should be minimal. Right? I mean, when we truly trust Yah for something that He has promised us, the timeframe between that promise being made and the fulfillment of that promise should theoretically be a period of blessed expectation. A period of “don’t worry, be happy.” It should be anxiety free. But if Alter’s suggestion is correct, which seems feasible to me, then Avram’s and Sarai’s faithful expectation of the fulfillment of this promise over the course of those 10-years (next verse, 3), may have worn somewhat thin.

 

We should not overlook the fact that Yehovah promised Avram a biological heir (Gen. 15). In making this covenant promise to Avram, if we are careful in our reading of that promise, we will find that nowhere was Sarai mentioned. And we find in at least one of the extra-biblical texts that Sarai mentions this missing piece of the covenant promise discussion between Yah and Avram when she confronts Avram over Hagar’s disrespect of her later on in this story. And I would contend that this is an important element that should not be overlooked or marginalized. Did Abba intend for Sarai to be a part of the covenant promises he made to Avram? If so, why did Father when making the promise of seed to Avram, simply tell Avram that he would sire an heir through Sarai, his wife?

 

The answer to this question obviously cannot be answered based on the content of the text. Clearly Abba meant for Sarai to birth the chosen seed of Avram, who will be Yitschaq (aka Isaac). But by Yah leaving this critical element out of the promise, it would either force the couple to trust that Yah would fulfill His promises to Avram within the framework of His sacred institution of marriage, or trust that the promise would be fulfilled, but through means of the couple’s own devising. Clearly the couple initially believed Yah would fulfill his promise of an heir or son within the confines of their marriage union. But as I suggested earlier, maybe Sarai’s faith had waned somewhat over those 10-years, and she sought to bring about the promise of a son or heir via a path of least resistance: surrogacy.

 

Indeed, the nuances of the home environment over this infertility issue is supposition on our part. But it does introduce into our discussion the thinking that maybe Yah was testing Avram.

 

Avram’s covenant relationship with Yehovah was filled with tests. I believe it was the extra-biblical book of Jubilees that actually stated that over the course of Avram’s relationship with Yehovah, Yah tested Avram some 10 or so times.

 

We know that Yah is a tester of the hearts of those who would be his (”The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it? I, Yehovah, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds-Jeremiah 17:9-10; NASB). And so, in this case, I would say that it is quite conceivable that Abba was testing Avram’s patience and endurance on this matter. Would Avram trust Him to fulfill the promise of a son, even after many many years have passed without the fulfillment of that promise? What would have been the benefits of Avram’s trusting faith playing out to the end—the fruition of the promise–without his or Sarai’s direct intervention? We can only surmise. And we shouldn’t overlook that as more and more time passed between the time the promise was made and the fulfillment of that promise, that the couple would find themselves well past childbearing years. And so, when time for the fulfillment of the promise would come, the couple’s successful birthing of a son would bring glory and honor to Yehovah, as such an event could only be explained as being brought about by the miraculous.

 

Continuing.

 

Sarai proposes to Avram that through this surrogate maternity arrangement, she, Sarai, would be “sonned” through Hagar (’ibaneh).

 

As an aside, we find in the extra-biblical writings of Joesphus, Antiquities of the jews, 1.10.4, that Sarai was directed of Yehovah to give unto Avram, her Egyptian handmaid, to serve as a surrogate for the couple. And so it would be that upon Hagar conceiving, she “triumphed and ventured to affront Sarai, as if the dominion (Avram’s estate) were to come to a son to be born of her.” And so, it was Avram who turned Hagar over to his wife Sarai for “punishment.”

 

Josephus reflects, in some ways, first century rabbinic Torah thinking.

 

Now, it may come as a sobering surprise to some that what Sarai and Avram agreed to do here by appointing Hagar to be their surrogate, runs contrary to what we would expect from such devout or righteous people. However, it should be realized that it was ancient Babylonian custom for a husband who was childless because of his wife’s infertility to take unto himself a surrogate or concubine. That surrogate or concubine, however, would not enjoy equality or precedence to that man’s first wife.

 

Now, I’m not bringing this up to short-circuit any sense of morality that any of us may have related to such ancient practices. What I am trying to convey here is the historical realities that Yah’s people were forced to confront. Sarai is no doubt having to endure some degree of shame in her inability to bare a son or heir unto Avram, her husband. And so, instead of subjecting her and her family to any further turmoil over this issue, she sees before her an option that is common to the peoples of her time. To her, and I’m just surmising here, this option would not contradict Yah’s covenant promise with Avram, but rather, this option may actually help the situation along. Beside, neither she or Avram were getting any younger. Time for the fulfillment of this promise of an heir was not on their side.

 

And the other thing related to this ANE practice of surrogacy, our western sensibilities should not cause us to go to the carnal aspects of a polygamous relationship such as this one. Sarai was not attempting anything untoward. Her intent in offering Hagar, her slavegirl, as a surrogate was that she would adopt Hagar’s children as her own.

 

It will turn out, however, as we will later see, that Hagar is promised a vast lineage of her own, that falls outside the realm of Avram’s covenant seed promises.

 

Ancient Hebrew thinking views a man’s or husband’s family, metaphorically speaking, as a house. Rabbinic thinking shifts the Hebrew thinking, somewhat, to that of the wife, again metaphorically speaking, being the house of her husband. And thus, as it applies to our story here before us, Sarai making the assertion in her offering Hagar as a surrogate/wife/concubine unto Avram, “it maybe that I shall be builded up through her.” Thus, the building of Avram’s house through the surrogacy of Hagar and Sarai adopting the children that descended from that surrogacy.

 

3. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian her slavegirl after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

 

Abba, through Moshe’s writing here, makes for no confusion in terms of who’s who in the zoo, so to speak. “And Sarai Abram’s wife;” “Hagar, the Egyptian her (Sarai’s) slavegirl.” “She (Sarai) gave to Avram her husband as a wife Hagar.”

 

Moshe insists on making clear the relationships of the 3 individuals involved in this surrogate maternity plan, setting up for us a preview of the potential fallout to come when this thing does in fact take place.

 

It’s almost as though Moshe expects the reader to say to themselves: “Oh oh! This arrangement couldn’t possibly go well for neither Avram, Sarai, or Hagar.

 

I don’t care what any modern day polygamist has to say in support of their desire to engage in such a problem prone relationship (and there is at least one prominent Messianic teacher who has built much of his ministry and teachings around the efficacy and validity of polygamy. (See our discussion entitled “Polygamy and the Bible-A Messianic Perspective.”) The biblical record clearly paints for its readers the downside to relationships that run contrary to Yah’s original design for the one-man one-woman marriage relationship.

 

Continuing.

 

Most English translations, contrary to that of Alter’s translation, define Hagar’s position in this surrogate work around for Yehovah’s covenant promise of an heir for Avram, as a concubine, as opposed to a wife for Avram. Hagar being defined as a wife, I feel, carries with it greater implications for all concerned here. Sarai, in her act of giving her slavegirl to Avram to serve as a surrogate mother, effectively elevates Hagar’s position in the house to that of a second-degree wife. The problem with this set-up is obvious. Given that a woman’s ability to bear children played such a major major role in ANE societal norms and customs, Sarai’s primary wife position in the household could potentially be threatened by Hagar’s ability to bear children unto Avram.

 

The Hebrew term that would generally be used for concubine is “pilegesh,” which is not used here in this text. Instead, the Hebrew title used to categorize Hagar is the same Hebrew term used to title Sarai, which is “’ishah,” or wife in modern English. And so, Sarai gave her slavegirl Hagar to her husband Avram to serve as a secondary or surrogate wife.

 

Rashi asserts that the mention of “at the end of 10-years” here in our reading serves as a marker. According to Rashi, 10-years is the allotted time for a woman who has lived 10-years with her husband, but has not borne children, that he is obligated to marry another. (Gen. Rabbah 45:3).

 

Again, another Rabbinic invention that probably sounds right on paper, but certainly not the Will of the Father.

 

 

4. And he came to bed with Hagar and she conceived and she saw that she had conceived and her mistress seemed slight in her eyes.

 

The extra-biblical text of Jubilees, 14:21-24, adds a little more flavor to this story’s narrative by describing Hagar’s demeanor here as jubilant. Hagar develops within her a false sense of superiority to Sarai. In Hagar’s mind, here is the great Sarai, supposedly blessed and favored of Yehovah, remains barren all these years. She, Hagar, on the other hand, being a simple handmaid, quickly conceives a child for Avram. So, who is the better woman here, she reasons within herself.

 

 

5. And Sarai said to Abram, “This outrage against me is because of you! I myself put my slavegirl in your embrace and when she saw she had conceived, I became slight in her eyes. Let the LORD judge between you and me.”

 

Sarai’s use of the phrase to describe what she had done to Hagar, “I…put my slavegirl in your embrace…” literally means, “I…put my slavegirl in your lap,” the awkward rendering is intended to directly imply marital intimacy here.

 

Returning to Jubilees again for fill-in to this story, upon learning of Hagar’s pregnancy, Sarai, who originally gave Hagar to Avram to serve as the couple’s surrogate, quickly becomes insecure. Sarai becomes jealous of Hagar, whom Sarai reasons she, Hagar, feels she is better than her. And as time passes, it appears as though that sense of superiority Hagar possessed, manifested in behavior that exacerbated Sarai’s insecurity and jealousy. And so, Sarai accuses Hagar of disrespecting her before Avram.

 

In the heat of this discussion, Sarai blames Avram for the strife that had now been introduced into their marriage relationship. (Recall, the very first verse of this reading sets the stage for: Nothing good can come of this situation.) Sarai thus blames Avram for his not praying for her to conceive and only prayed for himself to have a son. And so, it is he, Avram, who is responsible for this problem.

 

And so, Sarai’s complaint to Avram, such that “my wrong be upon thee,” is Sarai laying responsibility for Hagar’s disrespecting her, at Avram’s feet. Thus, Sarai accuses Avram of failing to correct or put Hagar in check for her haughtiness towards her.

 

Avram, wishing to resolve this dispute diplomatically, applies the breaks to the situation by placing the handling of the situation on Sarai’s shoulders. It’s indeed interesting that Avram does not become defensive, nor does he attempt to disavow or reject any part he played in this debacle.

 

And so, Avram returns to Sarai full authority over Hagar, despite (1) Hagar having, previously been given to him by Sarai as a wife; and (2) despite Hagar now carrying his heir, his child, in her womb.

 

When it comes to family issues, we see that Avram, the great patriarch of faith, seems somewhat soft. Recall the conflict he had with his nephew Lot a decade previously, and how he allowed Lot to have choice of the land for grazing rights. Avram had every right to tell Lot how things were going to be. He was in charge.

 

And so, here, he listened to Sarai and took Hagar as a surrogate, which also means as a wife. Was he trying to appease Sarai who was no doubt having some internal issues over being infertile?

 

Recall also how Avram convinced Sarai to go along with the ruse that she was his sister as they went down to Egypt to escape the famine that had gripped the region. There’s this strand of softness that haunts Avram’s life throughout the biblical text.

 

And now, we have Avram turning away from Hagar, the mother of his child, in order to regain the peace that we can surmise previously existed in their home. So, instead of taking responsibility and control of the situation, he gives it over to his wife to deal with. And we see that in every such occasion in which Avram shirks his responsibility to take control of the situation, things have a tendency to go south for him and his family.

 

6. And Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slavegirl is in your hands. Do to her whatever you think right.” And Sarai harassed her and she fled from her.

 

Rabbinic thinking suggests that Sarai’s harshness towards Hagar resulted in Hagar giving birth to a son who would be the patriarch of an antagonistic nation or race that would be the bane of Yisra’el’s existence in perpetuity. In other words, ancient Yisra’el’s many enemy challenges can be attributed, in great part, to Sarai’s harsh treatment of Hagar.

 

 

7. And the LORD’S messenger found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.

 

Alter’s use of the term “messenger” in the Hebrew is “mal’akh,” which is best known to us in our modern vernacular as angel. The Hebrew plural for angels or messengers is “mal’akhim.” In the Greek the term for “mal’akh” is “angelos.”

 

We will find that this is the first mention of messenger or “mal’akh” in the Tanach (aka Old Testament).

 

As it relates to who or what mal’akhim are, some of the Jewish sages saw them as beings that were split off from or that emanated from Yehovah. That being the case, in some Jewish minds, mal’akhim should not be distinguished from Yehovah in the scriptural record. Along this same line, J. H. Hertz, in his Torah-Haftarah publication, asserts that in some instances, the Angel of the LORD denotes Yehovah Himself appearing before the individual in question and speaking directly to them.

 

All indications are that the pregnant Hagar here was heading south to her home country Egypt. The text notes that Hagar was headed towards Shur, which Alter denotes is the northern fortification or wall of Egypt.

 

 

8. And he said, “Hagar, slavegirl of Sarai! Where have you come from and where are you going?”

 

I find it interesting that Yah reports the mal’akh here as addressing Hagar by her former or previous vocation: “Hagar, slavegirl of Sarai!” And the mal’akh asks slavegirl Hagar where she’s coming from and where she’s going.

 

It stands to reason that if the mal’akh knew the woman’s name and former vocation, and her present location, the mal’akh would have to know the answers to these two questions. So why did he ask her these questions?

 

I suggest that the posing of these two questions was critical to the conversation that the mal’akh was engaging Hagar in. In fact, it was important to this conversation that Hagar verbalize what was going on inside of her at the moment. She, Hagar, had to come to terms with what she was doing in response to the conflict that erupted between Sarai and Avram.

 

 J. H. Hertz seems to agree with my line of thinking here. He suggests that this angel’s or messenger’s line of question here is leading, for it opens the door for Hagar to tell that which was on her mind and heart at the moment. The messenger, referring to Hagar also by her vocation, as the handmaid of Sarai, drills home to Hagar as to her prevailing responsibilities to Avram’s household. In other words, the messenger asks Hagar, “why aren’t you back in Hebron, fulfilling your duties as a servant in Avram’s house?

 

 

 9. And she said, “From Sarai my mistress I am fleeing.” And the Lord’s messenger said to her, “Return to your mistress and suffer abuse at her hand.”

 

10. And the LORD’S messenger said to her, “I will surely multiply your seed and it will be beyond all counting.”

 

The mal’akh, after hearing Hagar’s explanation, instructs her to return to her mistress and suffer abuse at Sarai’s hand. What does that mean? Why was she to return to such an abusive environment? Is Yehovah an Elohim that insists that human creation suffer throughout their lives?

 

This is one of the more mysterious utterances in this story to me: Hagar, go back to Avram’s house and suffer under Sarai, your mistress. To our modern, western sensibilities, for Yehovah to require Hagar to do such a thing, serves to support the claim by some that Yehovah is a mean, careless, misogynistic God who enjoys seeing people suffer.

 

I recall that my former boss, who was a self-proclaimed, devote Christian, held such a view. And because she was a staunch trinitarian, she much preferred the New Testament version of God (who she identified as Jesus Christ) to the Old Testament God (who she described in terms not too unlike that which I just mentioned).

 

Yehovah, through His anointed prophet Isaiah, proclaimed to Yisra’el:

 

“Seek Yehovah while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to Yehovah, and He will have compassion on him, and to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, “declares Yehovah.” “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (55:6-9; NASB).

 

Along this line of reasoning, we must understand, in one perspective, the whole of human history is as a great woven tapestry. Yah knows every aspect; every thread; every stitch; every color; every nuance of that tapestry, and has known all there is to know about this tapestry from the very foundation of time. It’s as if all of creation is a drama that is played out before the Court of Heaven. And so, many times Yah requires man’s foolish endeavors to play out in a certain manner that will ultimately bring glory and honor to Him and fulfill His perfect will in the earth. Often these events that are to be played out serve as testing opportunities; as refining opportunities; as correcting opportunities; as clarifying opportunities; etc., for Yah’s people. We don’t always understand the reasons why Yah insists that things go a certain way, or that He requires certain individuals subject themselves to certain situations. But Yah certainly has His reasons. And He may reveal those reasons to His chosen ones, or He may not. And this is where trusting faith must come in. We must learn to trust the Eternal at every level and aspect of our lives.

 

So, we don’t know at this juncture how Avram or Sarai will deal with the Hagar situation after she returns. Will it directly influence their faith and trust in Yehovah? What will this do for Hagar and her future relationship with Yehovah? She’s promised a multiplication of her seed, just as Avram had been. And even though Hagar may not be in a friendship covenant relationship with Yehovah as Avram was, Abba stilled favored her. And Abba, despite Avram’s and Sarai’s lack of trust and their foolish circumventing of Yah’s plan, Yah would take the lemons of that situation and make lemonade so as to fulfill His Will and glorify and uplift His Name on the earth.

 

11. And the LORD’S messenger said to her: “Look, you have conceived and will bear a son and you will call his name Ishmael. For the LORD has heeded your suffering.

 

Avram’s and Hagar’s son would be named Ishma’el, which carries the meaning of “God has heard.” His name is intricately linked to Hagar’s profound encounter with the Divine near the springs heading towards Shur. Yah saw and heard Hagar’s suffering at the hands of the abusive Sarai.

 

The affliction that Hagar endured, according to Rabbinic thinking, was unjustified. For the Hebrew mindset was that every human, regardless his/her station in life, was to be treated with respect. Hagar was not being afforded the level of respect that Avram’s other servants no doubt enjoyed, such as Eliezer of Demmesek.

 

It should be mentioned, in all fairness, however, that Eliezer, although a servant, held a privileged place in Avram’s home. Affluent homes of the ANE, were peopled with varying levels of servants who possessed varying privileges and responsibilities. Now, this is not to say that Hagar deserved the mistreatment she received from Sarai and Avram. Yah’s Will is that servants be treated with respect and kindness. The brutality that we associate with slavery in our western way of thinking, is not in the least, the way Abba sees how slavery is to be conducted. Slavery in the ANE became somewhat of a necessary evil. And thus, Abba worked with what He had to work with, within the framework of the human condition, and He commanded that His morality be applied to that framework. Who says that our Father is a terrible, uncaring Elohim. Oh to the contrary, our Elohim is loving and kind. It is the human heart that distorts and hates and causes mistreatment, abuses and the like.

 

Here again Rashi makes an assertion. According to Rashi, the way he reads this verse is that the messenger informs Hagar that she will conceive and bear a son. The fact that the messager states that she will conceive as though it has not happened yet, is indicative of Hagar having miscarried the first child. Thus, the messenger declares, she would conceive and bare Avram a son once she returned to Avram’s house (Gen. Rabbah 45:5).

 

Well, another fanciful rabbinic invention.

 

But I put these tidbits out here on this forum because, we being often exposed, by virtue of our honoring Torah, to rabbinic teachings and doctrines. And it’s always good to know what the other side may have been thinking and teaching on any given subject.

 

 

12. And he will be a wild ass of a man-his hand against all, the hand of all against him. He will encamp in despite of all his kin.”

 

13. And she called the name of the LORD who had addressed her, “El-Roi.”

 

Again, this sense of Yehovah seeing what is going on and acting on it is embodied in the name that Hagar forthwith referred to Yehovah by: “the God who sees me.”

 

Now, many bible thinkers have postulated opinions as to what Hagar meant by all of this Yah has seen me; Yah sees me; Yah hears and sees my affliction, and so forth. Some have opined that the thinking behind Hagar’s naming of Yah as El-Roi as simply her stating the obvious: that Yah sees and takes notice of the things that happen on the earth and to the people He cares about. Others opine that Hagar was responding to an ANE mindset that stipulated no human could ever survive a direct encounter with the Creator of the Universe and live. Death was a certainty in such an encounter. But Hagar proclaims here that she indeed survived such an encounter and she is profoundly affected by that encounter.

 

 

14. For she said, “Did not I go on seeing her after He saw me?” Therefore, is the well called Beer-Lahai-Roi, which is between Kadesh and Bered.

 

15. And Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram called his son whom Hagar had born Ishmael.

 

16. And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. 

 

Practical Messianic Halachah

 

Trusting faith should never be glossed over by a “God helps those who help themselves” mentality. It falls to us to look to Yehovah whenever we have questions related to His promises. And Abba may clarify and answer our questions, or He may be silent on the issue. Clearly, if Abba clarifies or answers our questions and concerns, we as His child, are required to fall in line with His instructions. We are required to obey Him and do that which He instructs us to do. On the other hand, if Yah remains silent on the issue, we are encouraged to continue pressing the issue with Abba until He answers. And if Abba still won’t answer our petitions and inquiries, then we wait on Him and live according to our Faith (Hab. 2:4). This is the very heart of what a true, trusting, obedient covenant relationship with the Eternal is all about.

 

Did Avram suffer a lapse in His trusting faith? I would say, possibly; most likely. But Avram would learn from this mistake and his relationship with the Almighty would be strengthened.

 

We can learn from Avram’s story here: to persevere in our trusting; to not give in to the path of least resistance. For the race to the finish line of glory is given to those that endure to the end (Mat. 24:13).

 

Along these lines, it was our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach who taught His disciples in what has been titled, the Sermon on the Mount, that they were not to worry about the cares of this life. And he used the example of the beauty and strength of the lilies of the field as the basis of the understanding that Yah’s chosen ones must have as it relates to Yah taking care of them and their needs. Thus, Master concluded that section of His teaching by simply admonishing His disciples to seek first and foremost the Kingdom of Yah and His righteousness. And if they were successful in doing that, Yah would take care of those areas of concern in their lives (Mat. 6:25-34).

 

One can only wonder if Avram would have had this teaching delivered to Him before this incident went down, would he have gone ahead with that surrogacy plan? Just thoughts and reflections here.

 

As we’ve seen throughout the previous 12-parashahs, Yah’s set apart people have always been led to resist taking the path of least resistance in their walks of Faith. Avram’s chosen pathway to fulfilling Yah’s covenant promise of a seed by which he could pass on his vast wealth to, was the common path taken by his Chaldean kinsmen. It was the path of least resistance for Avram, despite Yah’s encouraging him to trust Him and live by his faith. Indeed, trusting Yah is never easy. And when we choose the path of least resistance to address the cares of our lives, the outcome to that is invariably problematic.

 

Today, society insists that Yah’s elect conform to the ways of established society; do what all the cool kids are doing:

 

1. Take the vaccine.
2. Reject or shelve your faith convictions for the good of the cause.
3. Adopt the popular, liberal and global mindset of cancel culture; the LGBTQ agenda; critical race theory; the villainizing of Yah’s instructions in righteousness. Etc.

 

For it is put forth by the power-brokers of this world today that if Yah’s people do that which they demand, life for them will be so much easier and enjoyable. For these, no one should have to make the impossible decision to be singled out and be ostracized by society. To these, culture must displace conviction, truth, faith, hope, love, peace, obedience to Yah’s instructions and loyalty to one’s covenant relationship with Him.

 

The evil power brokers demand that Yah’s elect compromise their faithful, obedient covenant relationship with Yehovah. But we, who are His, know that Abba will not share his glory with any other being (Isa. 42:8).

 

But along these lines, it was again our Master, Yeshua, who warned that:

 

“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of Yah” (Luk. 9:62).

 

In other words, we’ve been called, and some of us, even chosen, to a way of life that can never be compromised by societal norms and assertiveness. Once we agree to entering into covenant with Yehovah through the Person and ministry of Yahoshua Messiah, we must never look back towards involving ourselves in society’s established ways of life. For we are not our own, as we’ve been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20). Yah has invested a tremendous amount in our success; not just for this life, but for all eternity. It thus falls to us to fall in line with Yah’s instructions and leading, and run the race, toward the mark of the high calling in Messiah (Phi. 3:13-14).

 

Hagar and her unborn son, Ishma’el, here in our parshah discussion, metaphorically, even spiritually, represents those who are of the flesh in terms of their covenant relationship with Yehovah. The point of what I’m about to summarize here in closing, is contained in Shaul’s midrash or discussion on this parashah, to be found in Galatians 4:21-31.

 

Ishma’el is effectively a son of the flesh. He was born as a result of Avram’s and Sarai’s surrogacy plan. Yitzchaq (Isaac), as we will see in the next few parashah discussions, will be a son of the promise; essentially a son of the Spirit, as his birth was the result of the miraculous. Both Sarai and Avram were beyond their reasonable childbearing years, and Sarai was infertile.

 

Looking back for just a moment to Ishma’el. Ishma’el, in Shaul’s metaphorical teaching, represents those who profess to belong to Yehovah, but who instead of having a trusting relationship with Yehovah, they trust in the works of the law for their salvation; their heritage and culture as a Jew; their possessions; their religion; their relationships; their ideologies; and such. In other words, these are children of the flesh.

 

And so, on to Yitschaq, those of us who have entered into a covenant relationship with Yehovah through Yahoshua, we place our trust, not upon those things enumerated above by the sons of the flesh, but rather, our trust rests in the Person and Work of Master Yahoshua Messiah. Our trust rests in the Person of Yehovah, our Elohim. Our trust rests in Yah’s eternal Words of truth.

 

And so, by us being children of promise, we are being saved and justified before the Court of Heaven as a result of our trusting in Yah and His Son Yahoshua Messiah.

 

Those who are sons of the flesh will be as Ishma’el and Hagar were: always slaves in one form or another. Those of us who are sons of promise, we are free forever, free indeed. And it is along the lines of this premise that we will part with Yahoshua’s description of Yah’s true children:

 

“(31) So Yeshua was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; (32) and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” (33) They answered Him, “We are Avraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” (34) Yahoshua answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. (35) The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. (36) So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:31-36; NASB)”

 

Let us embrace our promised sonship by rejecting the ways of world, and staying true to Yah and His Words. The rewards to be had by doing this, make the rewards of the flesh appear as nothing but rubbish.

 

Shabbat Shalom beloved. Shavu’tov. And as always, may you be most blessed, fellow saints in training. Take care.

 

Robert Bills—https://www.highpursuitministries.com

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