Hagar and Ishmael – Genesis 16

Read Genesis 16

The union of Hagar and Abram for children was culturally acceptable and practiced commonly as a way of securing an heir.
To be his wife – This is the first example in scripture of polygamy after Lamech.
Three verses in, polygamy causes strife and hostility.

Though Sarah's attitude may be wrong as she speaks to Abraham, she is right in accusing him. No matter what Sarah said, he himself chose to listen to her and try to conceive a child in his own strength instead of in God's power. God's covenant is the seed, but Abram tried to use his own. Even though he tried to blame Eve, Adam was held accountable for his own sin.

Was Hagar's I'll treatment of Hagar in order to make her miscarry? Whatever the reason, Sarah is hateful, Abraham is complicit, and Hagar is innocent.

God sees Hagar in her distress, and helps her. She is not forgotten. He also blesses Ishmael with many descendants.

God promises to see Hagar, and it is based on this promise that she can return. She does not need to fear that she will miscarry, because God promised she would have a son.

God's description of Ishmael does not need to apply to all of his descendants. To imply that only a certain population of the earth is uniquely likely to be corrupt or evil is profoundly racist. Arabs are no more uniquely and inherently likely to be evil than Jews are likely to be uniquely and inherently good. We are all fallen.

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Also, in the strictest understanding of ethnicity and genetics, modern day Arabs are not to be considered descendants of Ishmael. Even if one were to take a literal and judgmental translation of this passage as applying to all of Ishmael’s descendants forever, it would still not apply to Arabs today. The Arab people were originally a geographic group, not an ethnic one. The common understanding that Arabs are descended from Ishmael began with Muhammad, and has become part of the cultural milieu because of Islam. Therefore, to increase understanding of Arabs, it is helpful to consider the cultural significance of a people group that identify with Ishmael. However, there is absolutely no biblical precedent whatsoever (theological, historical, or genetic) to be hateful or prejudiced toward Arabic people, or any other people group on earth. All are equally loved, equally fallen, equally made in the image of God.

(See the next post on Ishmael and Christian Islamophobia)