Devotional Reading Plan

Victims of Shortcuts

Rebekah and Jacob were not the first in their family line to try and secure God’s Promises through their own efforts. Abraham and Sarah were the first to set this trend. The Bible reveals that God made a covenant with Abraham, promising, “ ‘A son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’ ” (Genesis 15:4–5).

It was an incredible Promise from God. But there was just one problem: Abraham and Sarah were old. Their childbearing years were long behind them. It was hard for them to believe how this Promise could ever come to pass. So Sarah (first known as Sarai) took matters into her own hands. “Now Sarai . . . had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her’ ” (Genesis 16:1–2). Abraham agreed, and eventually, Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

However, this was not God’s Plan for Abraham and Sarah, and the couple would soon reap the consequences of taking shortcuts. Hagar “began to despise her mistress” (verse 4). Sarah, in turn, grew disdainful of Hagar and mistreated her to the point that Hagar fled from her (see verse 6). Later, she was cast out of the community by Sarah (see Genesis 21:10).

Because of Sarah’s shortcut, an innocent woman and her son suffered greatly. While God took care of Hagar and Ishmael, they would not have endured this pain if Sarah hadn’t taken her and Abraham’s future into her own hands—and if Abraham hadn’t agreed to the plan. Two generations later, Esau would suffer in a similar way at the hands of those attempting to “play God.” He lost his birthright and blessing, the victim of a plan that wasn’t God’s.

This is the thing about taking matters into our own hands—in trying to protect ourselves, we can hurt others. And while God ultimately looks out for all His children, we must live with the consequences of our actions and the consequences they have on those around us.

Reflection

Hagar, being an enslaved woman, did not have rights and was considered the property of her mistress, Sarah. She would have had no choice but to be Sarah’s surrogate and do as she was told—and no choice when she was then cast out of the community alone, with her young son, and with no money or husband as her protector. According to this passage, how was Hagar feeling about her and her son’s situation?

How did God respond to Hagar when He heard her son crying? Considering her position in life, how do you think it felt for her to hear God’s Words about the destiny of her son?

When have your actions negatively affected those around you?

Looking back, how could trusting or obeying God in that situation have prevented what happened to you and to those around you?

Prayer

Ask God to open your eyes to the Hagars in your community—the ones who are victims of their circumstances or someone else’s actions. Ask the Lord to help you see those individuals as He sees them—His children whom He loves.