Lost and Found: Sarah and Hagar

Blog about the book: Lost Women of the Bible -by Carolyn Custis James

Two women in conflict...sounds familiar. Quite common.

Driving home one day, I was listening to the radio playing Michael Buble's song which goes "...babe, you're not lost "...funny how I was writing this blog about women being lost. True, the song narrated about the hopelessness of life - yes - without Jesus! Only with Him, can we find and recover our true identity. He gives us the ultimate definition.

But on our own, we can't find our true selves.

Sarah was in that place. She was lost in a world of men. Firstly, it was Sarah's three brothers, then her husband Abraham. "This reflected the patriarchal culture, where daughters had less value than sons and a woman's identity was tied to her husband" the book stated. Her beauty didn't help either and it might as well have been a curse for on two occasions, her husband left her to her defenses when it became obvious that Abraham's life was endangered.

Sarah was not only lost in a man's world, she was barren too. That would have caused her so much pain for as I have mentioned before, ancient culture gauges the success of a woman by the number of sons (not daughters) she bears.

When God spoke to Abraham ( Genesis 12:1-2) 1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth" . It might as well been God talking to Abraham alone for there was no mention of Sarah or any favorable promises for her. Or so Sarah thought. That's why she played God and gave Hagar to her husband as a surrogate. In olden times, it has been known to occur for infertile wives of wealthy families to choose one of their servants for purposes of bearing children. But of course one should seriously consider the chaotic and dysfunctional interactions within polygamous marriages.

Sarah suffered through many years of God's silence. She felt so defeated she made the biggest mistake she could ever make. When Hagar bore Ishmael, her life became unraveled. When Hagar started to feel more important than she was allowed to feel, Sarah let hell loose on her maidservant. And even when God finally "spoke " to her, she did not believe it and laughed at God Himself. When Sarah, age 90, gave birth to Isaac, she finally got His point. Even though her multiple mistakes and frailties made her a less satisfactory role model for us, Sarah "reminds us of God's promises and of his power to keep His word". When God's will is present, nothing is too hard. Nor impossible..

The book continues..."if the childless Sarah scored a zero in the ancient culture, Hagar fell into the minus column." She was not only a foreigner (Egyptian descent), Hagar was a slave and a woman. Amidst the multiple tasks of being a slave and taking care of the wants and needs of her masters, one painful question remains, who was looking after Hagar?

When Sarah banished her into the wilderness, Hagar was in a hopeless and helpless state. She was fleeing for her life, and vulnerable to whoever can take advantage of her. But then Scriptures said "The angel of the Lord found Hagar" (Genesis 16:7). Take note of the verb "found". God played an active role in seeking Hagar! And what that means to me is that the God of the Universe takes interest in everything I do, in every detail. It's as if His face is close to mine and He's saying " You are important to me, I see you"

The song on the radio finishes with.....".. it's not too late ...It's not too late ...'Cause you are not alone ...I'm always there with you.."

Yes, these would have been the very words spoken by God to us.