Hagar was a slave. She was also the mother of Ishmael, who would later become one of the most famous people in the Bible.
But before we get there, let’s start at the beginning: Hagar’s story begins when her mistress, Sarah, is unable to conceive with Abraham (their husband). After the couple has waited for many years and Sarah has started to despair about ever having children, she and Abraham decide that Abraham will take another wife who can bear him children.
So Abraham does what all good husbands do: he finds himself a young woman named Hagar, who is beautiful and fertile. They sleep together, and she becomes pregnant with Ishmael. But just as Hagar gets pregnant, Sarah also gets pregnant with Isaac—and her jealousy overcomes her. She demands that Abraham send Hagar away so that she doesn’t have to share the love of her husband or have any competition for his affection when it comes time to raise their children.
Abraham agrees, but after sending Hagar away he becomes stricken with grief over losing his new wife and son—so much so that God promises him that someday he will have many descendants through this new
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Introduction
Hagar is a woman in the Bible that many Christians have heard about, but few know anything about. She’s the slave of Sarai (Sarah), and the mother of Ishmael. So why should you care about Hagar? Why shouldn’t we just read our Bibles and forget about her? Because she was an Egyptian slave with a child to raise, and because her story can give us insight into how God looks at even those who are not his chosen people. This blog post will tell you more about her story so that you will be better able to understand how God deals with all of us.
Hagar in the Bible is a person with a story we can all relate to
Hagar is a person with a story we can all relate to. She was a slave who became a mother, only to be enslaved again. But Hagar’s story didn’t end there; she became pregnant again, this time with the child of Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac. And once again, she was sent away by her mistress to live in the wilderness (Genesis 21:14).
But then Hagar found herself back at the well where God had spoken to her and her son Ishmael so many years before (Genesis 16). It was there that He spoke yet again when He told her that she would have descendants too numerous to count (Genesis 17:16). But this time it wasn’t just two people alone—it was now three generations separated from one another by hundreds of years!
Who was Hagar? We don’t know much about her life before the bible, but we do know she was an Egyptian slave.
We don’t know much about Hagar’s life before the Bible. We do know that she was an Egyptian slave, and that she was a concubine to both Abram (later Abraham) and Sarai. It’s possible that Sarai granted her freedom during her pregnancy with Ishmael, but no one knows for sure. Either way, Hagar continued to serve as a servant and nursemaid to both of them until they were married again (and then later divorced).
How did she come to be a slave?
Hagar was the daughter of a king, but she was sold into slavery by her brother-in-law. The Bible doesn’t say much about Hagar’s life before she got to Egypt. It only mentions that she was taken from her homeland and family and given to Sarah as a wife (Genesis 16:1-5). She also had five sons with Abraham: Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam and Mishma (Genesis 25:13-16).
How did the story of Hagar start? We don’t know for sure! But many scholars believe that Hagar became enslaved after her brother tricked her into having sex with him so he could get an heir for himself instead of trusting God would give him one through his own wife Sarah (who couldn’t have any children after giving birth at age 90!). This might explain why some people think it’s ok if women must be submissive because they were created as slaves anyway…
What was her life like as a slave?
Hagar’s life as a slave was very different from the lives of slaves in the United States today. For starters, she was a slave to not one but two masters—Abraham and his wife Sarah. However, both of these masters were kind owners who treated her well and even gave her an Egyptian name (Hagar) after she became pregnant with their child.
In addition to this kindness, Hagar’s master Abraham also allowed her to live in his home (Genesis 16:3). This would not have happened during slavery in America because white people did not allow black slaves inside their homes because they were considered “dirty” by whites living at this time in history—and it was also against the law!
Things were going well enough until Sarah found out that she wasn’t able to conceive.
Sarah and Hagar were living together in the same household, but their relationship was not a happy one. Sarah was jealous of Hagar because she had borne Abram a child. She was also upset that he had given Hagar to him as a wife while she herself remained barren. (Genesis 16:1-5)
Sarah became even more angry with God when He failed to answer her pleas for children after giving birth to Ishmael (Genesis 16:2). This was difficult for Abraham and Sarah because they loved each other very much and wanted nothing more than for their family to grow as large as possible.
Sarah decides to give Hagar to Abram, so that he may father a child through her.
The Bible’s account of Hagar’s birth is vague. It simply states that Abram and his wife, Sarai, were childless and that Abram told Sarai to take a slave named Hagar as her handmaid. His plan was for Sarai to have a child through Hagar that would be his heir.
The next passage in the Bible regarding Hagar reads: “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram and said unto him: ‘I am El-Shaddai; walk before Me and be perfect.” The meaning of this verse is not clear; however there are two main theories about what it means. First, some scholars believe that this passage refers back to God creating Adam out of dust (Genesis 2). In other words, God created man from nothing but he also gave us free will so we could choose who we wanted to serve him with our lives as well as how we lived them day by day during our stay here on earth since once we die there will be no more chance for repentance or repair work before judgment day comes (Luke 16:19-31).
Secondarily, others believe this verse means something entirely different because they think it refers specifically back at Genesis 17 where it talks about covenant relationships between God making covenants with humans who belonged under His authority both spiritually (which includes obedience) but also physically (which includes being circumcised). So maybe these two theories aren’t mutually exclusive after all?
This works and Hagar has a baby boy whom she names Ishmael.
Sarah was not happy with Hagar and Ishmael. She told Abraham to send them away. So Abraham did as she asked, and took them out into the desert and left them there.
Meanwhile, a famine had begun in the land and when Sarah heard about it, she remembered how kind Hagar had been to her in her time of need. She went after her to bring her back because she knew that without water or food they would die out there alone.
She found them just as they were drinking from a well near some bushes that had died from lack of water; this is where we get the name for “wells”–“ba’alim”–meaning “lords.”
But after that things start going downhill fast.
But after that things start going downhill fast. Abram becomes jealous of Hagar and their son, Ishmael, so he blames her for the birth of his son. He then refuses to help Hagar when she is struggling in the desert with all three of them stranded there together. She runs away from him and leaves him with Ishmael alone…
The story of Hagar is one of both abuse and redemption.
Hagar is a character in the Bible whose story shows both abuse and redemption. Hagar was a slave belonging to Abraham and Sarah, who gave birth to Ishmael. She struggled with her identity as an outsider and her place in God’s plan for humanity.
Conclusion
This story is a powerful one. It’s about the struggle to be free of something that has you trapped and bound to it, whether it’s an abusive relationship or addiction. The story of Hagar in the Bible isn’t just about her life as an Egyptian slave who became Abraham’s second wife – it is also about how God showed compassion upon her by helping her escape from this situation into freedom
