In the book of Genesis, through the account given of Abraham and Sarah’s life, we gain an important insight about the one God from the most unlikely person—Hagar. Hagar was the handmaid of Sarah and from a polytheistic culture, yet her experience teaches us about the ever-present nature of God and His impartial love.
Abraham had received a promise from God that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan and become a great nation. However, he had no children himself, and as the years passed, the prospect of offspring from him and his wife Sarah became less likely in their minds. Believing she was past childbearing age, Sarah, who was well aware of God’s promise of an heir for Abraham, decided to intervene. In her well-intentioned desire to see God’s promise come true, Sarah offers her handmaid to Abraham in order to procreate an heir. He accepts the offer, and Hagar soon becomes pregnant (see Genesis 16).
Realizing her position in the household was now much elevated due to her carrying Abraham’s heir, Hagar treats Sarah with contempt. Angered, Sarah mistreats Hagar so harshly that Hagar soon runs away. Out in the wilderness, pregnant, and far from home or any supportive friends, this young handmaid despairs of what will become of her and of what will become of her unborn child. In that moment of isolated distress, “the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness,” and Hagar receives answers to both concerns.
