Here we find a woman alone and outcast. You might think she’s not a good example for a mother’s day message. Many times she is talked about in a negative way for the mistakes she made. Yes. She made them. However, she could not help the fact that she was an Egyptian. It wasn’t her fault she was a handmaid. She didn’t come up with the plan to be the mother of this child. I’m talking about Hagar, the mother of Ishmael.
Genesis 21: 14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
True motherhood is struggling. It’s a worldwide problem that extends down to our communities and homes. These are confusing times. The definition of mother and father is distorted and corrupted at every level. Anything goes today, whether heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual. When people turn away from the Biblical definition of mother and father into what is not even natural, it goes against God. We had better watch or we’ll get caught up in it.
Abraham and Sara had lots of servants. Things got turned upside down. Age was against them. They were still wandering around and hadn’t claimed the land promised to Abraham. God keeps his promises. They just didn’t wait. Because she wasn’t conceiving herself, Sara came up with the plan for Abraham to take Hagar. She was Sara’s handmaid and became second wife to Abraham so that he could get the child that Sara had not been able to conceive. She bore Ishmael. His name means God will hear. Isaac was important as the promised son, but so was Ishmael. He was important to God. His life teaches us that God still reigns and hears our prayer.
Life can still be successful as a mother or father. You know what is right and wrong. You know the struggle you’re against. Hagar tormented Sara because she had no child. Finally Isaac was born. At the feast to celebrate his weaning, at about three years old, Ishmael mocked Isaac. He would have been a very young teenager. We’re all guilty of such behavior as this. Sara got mad and told Abraham that Hagar and her son had to go. Abraham was torn. He loved his son. It broke his heart to send him away, but it had to be done.
What are you facing as parents? Hagar ended up in the middle of a desert called Beersheba. I rode a bus through there when we toured that area. If you weren’t well supplied, you would die there. She was alone. She had no one to turn to. She had stopped drinking the water that she brought with them so Ishmael would have water, but the supply was gone. The sun showed no mercy. She didn’t know what to do.
I must confess that at times I don’t know what to do, but there is a God in the desert. One more person was with them. On the verge of giving up, the only thing she could was put him under a shrub out of the sun a little. He was dehydrated. Her heart was breaking for her son. Unable to watch him die, she walked away from him and asked that she not see it happen.
You have a responsibility to be the right kind of mother. You owe it to your family to be right with God. You must be a woman that can withstand the desert of 2012. Hagar had no place to hide. She didn’t want this to happen to her child. She was doing all she could for him physically. Mothers, you must do all you can spiritually to help your children. The worst problem you have is what is after the soul of your child. No matter how you protect your child, if the devil gets to him or her, you can’t undo the damage. The responsibility to protect our children is for the inside (spiritually) as well as it is the outside (physically).
Hagar’s water bottle was empty. You may feel your bottle is empty, but that’s not true. There is a resource for you. Hagar cried for her child and God heard her from heaven. The angel of God asked what aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. God is a prayer away. You may think that is a simplistic answer for you, but if God had not spoken, Hagar and Ishmael would have died. Your only hope is the voice of God. You feel the full heat of what happens to your children. God feels it. He’s God of wherever you may find yourself. Only one person can straighten out your situation—God. You can’t do it yourself. Your bottle is as empty as Hagar’s.
Come cry to God. Give him your situation. He will hear you heaven. He opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well of water. The devil didn’t want her to see it just as he doesn’t want you to see what God has for you. He wants you blinded to the ways of God. Call on the Lord, and he will show you the well for your desert so you can continue on. You have a God who is all ears when it comes to hearing your prayer. If you call on him, he will hear. He will answer. You can drink from the well and carry on.
Ishmael’s descendants are the Arabians today. Hagar is not the mother of Islam. Mohammad ushered in that movement. She was the outcast Egyptian who called on God and found her way. You can too.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 