Comparison Of Hagar And Abraham In Genesis

The worst thing any parent can imagine is losing their child; however, this is the reality that both Hagar and Abraham face in Genesis, as their respective sons come close to death but never reach it. After being banished by Abraham from his camp because of Sarah’s anger, Hagar and Ishmael are forced to wander around the unforgiving desert until they find provisions or run out of water. After the latter happens, Hagar “flung the child under one of the bushes” in order to not have to see him die of dehydration (104). Hagar is not the direct reason for Ishmael’s suffering, while Abraham, on the other hand, is the instigator of his son’s fear and suffering. Called by God to “offer him up as a burnt offering” Abraham comes extremely close to slaughtering

his son, the sacrificial knife already raised above Isaac when the Lord’s messenger tells him to stop (108). The fundamental difference in the role both parents play in their children’s suffering can be tied back to their previous interactions with God.

Hagar first interacts with God while she is alone and pregnant, desperately fleeing the abuse of Sarah.

A messenger of God comes to tell her to “return to your mistress and suffer abuse at her hand,” for if she does this God “will surely multiply your seed” (79). Hagar, an Egyptian, who has had no previous contact with God, blindly follows His instructions and returns to an abusive situation. She trusts that God will eventually provide and care for her, naming her son Ishmael or “God has heard” (79). Abraham on the other hand doubts God. Even after He has continuously promised He will multiply Abraham’s seed to be as great as the stars in the sky, Abraham and Sarah both laugh when they hear Sarah will conceive a son. When God hears Sarah’s laughter from behind a curtain He questions her and when she denies it, sternly reprimands, “Yes, you did laugh” revealing that He is always listening and making note of their doubts and fears even when He is not physically present. Although Abraham has followed God’s instructions thus far, he and his wife have revealed their doubt in His ultimate divine plan. In contrast Hagar fully accepts that a great nation will spring from her and returns back to a place of suffering in order that God’s plan might be carried

out.

These themes of trust and doubt connect back to the trials each parent must endure. God quickly comes to Hagar and Ishmael’s aid, revealing a well with fresh water in it. God had promised Hagar that He would listen and when He hears both her and her son’s desperate cries He provides, fulfilling His promise that He will care for them in even the direst situations. Abraham, on the other hand, is forced to undergo a test where he will knowingly murder his son. Walking those three days to the sacrificial site must have been torturous for Abraham knowing that each day passed brought him closer to killing his only child. It is only when Abraham is looking down on his son ready to deliver the death blow that God calls out for him to stop. Through these situations God tests both Abraham’s and Hagar’s faith in him, telling Abraham “I know that you fear God” (111). Both reveal their trust that God will take care of his children whatever situation they are in, but Abraham and Isaac arguably suffer more emotional distress that creates repercussions later in their lives. This could be in response to Abraham’s original doubt towards God. By showing how easy it is for his child’s life to be taken away, he makes Abraham more grateful for the covenant that he has bestowed upon him as well as more fearful towards the power of the Lord.

Through enduring the pain of watching their children suffer, both Hagar and Abraham grow in their strength and their trust in God. Through this pair of parent-child relationships and the subsequent pairs that follow, God reveals that anguish is necessary for greatness. After undergoing the trials God put them in, they are more ready to be the progenitors that give life to a great nation and recognize their roles of being parents to two great nations respectively. As for Isaac and Ishmael, after surviving near death experiences they are able to take on the leadership roles needed to proliferate their populations and fulfill God’s covenant with each of their parents. Both boys will use their experience of suffering and consequent deliverance by God to fuel their future actions that will solidify God’s promise of two great nations.