Abused
Sometimes relationships can get complicated.
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, ‘You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived for ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!’ But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.’ Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her. - Genesis 16:1-6
Today's story of Sarai and her slave, Hagar is a story of anger, jealousy and vengeance. In other words, it is a human story, one we can all relate to.
Hagar is the focal point of the story. She has no say in how she is being used by Sarai and Abram. She is a slave and must do as she is told. And yet, she rebels.
She treats Sarai with contempt and when Sarai deals harshly with her, she runs away.
At this point, something unusual happens in this story. Instead of staying focused on Abram and Sarai, the main characters, we follow Hagar into the desert where she encounters an angel of God.
What is so troubling is that God sends her back to her abusers, telling her to submit. He will not abandon her but will make her offspring great.
In the end, Hagar will leave with her son, but I can't help but wonder why God wanted her to put up with an abusive relationship, only to give Sarai her own son later.
Is it better to stay in a bad situation when the alternative is death?
Possibly, but we would be up in arms over this today, if a couple treated a servant this way.
So, I guess the question is this. Is it enough to know God is with us when we suffer abuse at the hands of others, or do we need to just get out?
As much as I feel we need to trust in God, I have to believe God will help us find a way out, rather than keep us in abad situation.
More to come...