Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 1.djvu/135

Rh wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the judge between me and thee. 6. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

We have here the immediate bad consequences of Abram's unhappy marriage to Hagar; a deal of mischief it made quickly: when we do not well, both sin and trouble lie at the door; and we may thank ourselves for the guilt and grief that follow us, when we go out of the way of our duty. See it in this story.

I. Sarai is despised, and thereby provoked and put into a passion, v. 4. Hagar no sooner perceives herself with child by her master, than she looks scornfully upon her mistress, upbraids her perhaps with her barrenness, insults over her, to make her to fret, as 1 Sam. 1. 6, and boasts of the prospect she had of bringing an heir to Abram, to that good land and to the promise; now she thinks herself a better woman than Sarai, more favoured by Heaven, and likely to be better beloved by Abram; and therefore she will not take it as she has done. Note, 1. Mean and servile spirits, when favoured and advanced either by God or man, are apt to grow haughty and insolent, and to forget their place and original. See Prov. 29. 21.—30. 21..23. It is a hard thing to bear honour aright. 2. We justly suffer by those whom we have sinfully indulged, and it is a righteous thing with God, to make those instruments of our trouble, whom we have made instruments of our sin, and to insnare us in our own evil counsels; this stone will return upon him that rolleth it.

II. Abram is clamoured upon, and cannot be easy while Sarai is out of humour; she accosts him violently, and very unjustly charges him with the injury, (v. 5.) My wrong be upon thee; with a most unreasonable jealousy, suspecting that he countenanced Hagar's insolence; and, as one not willing to hear what Abram had to say for the rectifying of the mistake, and the clearing of himself, she rashly appeals to God in the case, The Lord judge between me and thee; as if Abram had refused to right her. Thus does Sarai, in her passion, speak as one of the foolish women speaketh. Note, 1. It is an absurdity which passionate people are often guilty of, to quarrel with others for that which they themselves must bear the blame of: Sarai could not but own that she had given her maid to Abram, and yet she cries out, My wrong be upon thee, when she should have said, What a fool was I to do so! That is never said wisely, which pride and anger have the inditing of; when passion is upon the throne, reason is out of doors, and is neither heard nor spoken. 2. Those are not always in the right, who are most loud and forward in appealing to God; rash and bold imprecations are commonly evidences of guilt and a bad cause.

III. Hagar is afflicted and driven from the house, v. 6. Observe,

1. Abram's meekness resigns the matter of the maid-servant to Sarai, whose proper province it was to rule that part of the family; Thy maid is in thy hand: though she was his wife, he would not countenance or protect her in any thing that was disrespectful to Sarai, for whom he still retained the same affection that ever he had. Note, Those who would keep up peace and love, must return soft answers to hard accusations; husbands and wives particularly should agree, and endeavour not to be both angry together: yielding pacifies great offences; see Prov. 15. 1.

2. Sarai's passion will be revenged upon Hagar; she dealt hardly with her, not only confining her to her usual place and work, as a servant, but probably, making her to serve with rigour. Note, God takes notice of, and is displeased with the hardships which harsh masters unreasonably put upon their servants: they ought to forbear threatening, with Job's thought, Did not he that made me, make him? Job 31. 15.

3. Hagar's pride cannot bear it, her high spirit is become impatient of rebuke; she fled from her face; she not only avoided her wrath for the present, as David did Saul's, but she totally deserted her service, and ran away from the house, forgetting, (1.) What wrong she hereby did to her mistress, whose servant she was, and to her master, whose wife she was. Note, Pride will hardly be restrained by any bonds of duty, no not by ''many. '' (2.) That she herself had first given the provocation, by despising her mistress. Note, Those that suffer for their faults, ought to bear it patiently, 1 Pet. 2. 20.

7. And the angel of the found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? And whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9. And the angel of the said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

Here is the first mention we have in scripture of an angel's appearance. Hagar was a type of the law, which was given by the disposition of angels; but the world to come is not put in subjection to them, Heb. 2. 5. Observe,

I. How the angel arrested her in her flight, v. 7. It should seem, she was making toward her own country; for she was in the way to Shur, which lay toward Egypt. It were well if our afflictions would make us think of our home, the better country. But Hagar was now out of her place, and out of the way of her duty, and going further astray, when the angel found her. Note, 1. It is a great mercy to be stopped in a sinful way, either by conscience or by providence. 2. God suffers those that are out of the way, to wander a while, that when they see their folly, and what a loss they have brought themselves to, they may be the better disposed to return. Hagar was not stopped till she was in the wilderness, and had sat down weary enough, and glad of clear water to refresh herself with: God brings us into a wilderness, and there meets us, Hos. 2. 14.

II. How he examined her, v. 8. He called her Hagar, Sarai's maid, 1. As a check to her pride: though she was Abram's wife, and, as such, was obliged to return, yet he calls her Sarai's maid, to humble her. Note, Though civility teaches us to call others by their highest titles, yet humility and wisdom teach us to call ourselves by the lowest. 2. As a rebuke to her flight: Sarai's maid ought to be in Sarai's tent, and not wandering in the wilderness, and sauntering by a fountain of water. Note, It is good for us often to call to mind what our place and relation are. See Eccl. 10. 4.

Now, (1.) The questions the angel put to her, were proper and very pertinent. [1.] "Whence camest thou? Consider that thou art running away, both from the duty thou wast bound to, and the privileges thou wast blessed with, in Abram's tent." Note, it is a great advantage to live in a religious