Biblical Lessons From Stories of Pregnancyনমুনা

Hagar and the tricky one

There are always tricky ones. Hagar’s story is tricky, partly because it is one many of us know well – familiarity can blind us to what’s going on. Sarai cannot have children and so gives Abram her female slave, Hagar, so that a child can be conceived and borne. Because we know this story well, we might overlook Hagar. She is a woman enslaved in a patriarchal society with no rights, inheritance, or status. She is passed from Sarai to Abram, effectively as a sex slave, for the sole purpose of reproduction.

Within the confines of Sarai and Abram’s home, Hagar has no name and no voice. Aside from the narrator, she is not addressed by name by anyone until the angel speaks to her in the wilderness. She herself does not speak until questioned by this angel. Sarai’s situation must have been desperate for her to willingly give another woman to her husband to mother a child. But Sarai had agency, power, and voice, while Hagar had none.

And so, Hagar flees to the wilderness, and the angel of the Lord comes to her with words of promise. Hagar is the first woman in the Bible to receive an annunciation: an announcement concerning the baby she was carrying. This begins a series of annunciations, promising children of significance in God’s story of salvation. Hagar is seen, known, and given a voice despite her pregnancy's less-than-ideal beginnings. The story doesn’t end there for Hagar, but at this moment in the wilderness, she knows God’s care.

Pregnancy and childbirth will always include tricky ones. The ones with difficult relationships, the ones with painful beginnings, middles, or ends, and the ones with anxiety, shame, or grief. There are other ‘tricky ones’ in our lives: a difficult relationship at home, a bullying colleague in the office, or a structure perpetuating systemic injustice.

Amidst all these tricky ones, perhaps it is our task to remember names and listen to voices. As we do so, we are reminded of an individual’s humanity and identity as an image-bearer of God. As we make space to listen, we hear the voices that have been forgotten or overlooked, perhaps for decades. All this so that God may use our voices, silences, and presence to share His love, nurture, and care with those we meet.

Action

What tricky situations are you facing? How is God calling you to respond?