I have to admit this one requires a bit of speculation, even after you gather all the facts, but I think it is worth considering or I would not put it out there.
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai (Gen 16:1-2).
Where did Hagar come from? Abraham went to Egypt almost immediately after he left Haran. He was 75 then and 86 when Ishmael was born, so 10 years passed between the time he went to Egypt and the time he took Hagar as a wife (Gen 12:4; 16:16). Several Old Testament scholars say that when girls reached puberty in those ancient Near East cultures, they were considered marriageable, possibly as young as 14. People want to say that the ancients were malnourished and would have had a much later puberty, but these were rich people we are talking about here. I doubt if malnourishment was an issue. By the first century, at least one scholar says that girls were betrothed at 13 and married at 14. Even 14 is two to three years later than today's girls reach puberty so I can easily imagine that Hagar was about that age or maybe a year older, but not much more than that.
So it is plausible that Abraham and Sarah acquired Hagar's mother when they went to Egypt—possibly as a gift from Pharaoh (Gen 12:16), and that she brought with her a four to five year old daughter who grew up in Abraham's house. From that righteous couple she must have learned about God. Read the encounters she had with "the angel of the LORD" and the "angel of God" (Genesis 16 and 21) and see for yourself. Truly I have seen Him who looks after me (Gen 16:13) does not sound like a pagan idea of God.
Now add to this the servant who is sent to get Isaac a wife (Gen 24), who prayed to God and trusted Him to answer that prayer. "Abraham…has clearly taught his household about the God he follows. Not only does this servant pray—itself an indication that he knows God—he is confident God can act immediately and decisively and will do so because God has a special relationship with his master" (Our Eyes Are on You, Nathan Ward, p 10). These two servants grew up in and/or lived in Abraham's household. They saw their worship, their faith, and their absolute trust in God. And that brought them to at least some and possibly a full degree of faith themselves. Remember, despite Abraham sending Hagar and Ishmael away at God's order, Ishmael still returned to Abraham's burial roughly seventy years later (Gen 25:7-9). Somehow, a connection continued.
So here is the lesson. Would someone growing up in our home, or perhaps simply growing up next door, see the kind of faith Abraham and Sarah had? Would they even have heard the name of the God we worship and have seen us in prayer and study? Would they have seen how God was pivotal in our decisions and actions?
Abraham and Sarah made their share of mistakes, but the majority of their lives acted as a sound testimony of their faith. What about ours?
For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him (Gen 18:19).
Dene Ward
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai (Gen 16:1-2).
Where did Hagar come from? Abraham went to Egypt almost immediately after he left Haran. He was 75 then and 86 when Ishmael was born, so 10 years passed between the time he went to Egypt and the time he took Hagar as a wife (Gen 12:4; 16:16). Several Old Testament scholars say that when girls reached puberty in those ancient Near East cultures, they were considered marriageable, possibly as young as 14. People want to say that the ancients were malnourished and would have had a much later puberty, but these were rich people we are talking about here. I doubt if malnourishment was an issue. By the first century, at least one scholar says that girls were betrothed at 13 and married at 14. Even 14 is two to three years later than today's girls reach puberty so I can easily imagine that Hagar was about that age or maybe a year older, but not much more than that.
So it is plausible that Abraham and Sarah acquired Hagar's mother when they went to Egypt—possibly as a gift from Pharaoh (Gen 12:16), and that she brought with her a four to five year old daughter who grew up in Abraham's house. From that righteous couple she must have learned about God. Read the encounters she had with "the angel of the LORD" and the "angel of God" (Genesis 16 and 21) and see for yourself. Truly I have seen Him who looks after me (Gen 16:13) does not sound like a pagan idea of God.
Now add to this the servant who is sent to get Isaac a wife (Gen 24), who prayed to God and trusted Him to answer that prayer. "Abraham…has clearly taught his household about the God he follows. Not only does this servant pray—itself an indication that he knows God—he is confident God can act immediately and decisively and will do so because God has a special relationship with his master" (Our Eyes Are on You, Nathan Ward, p 10). These two servants grew up in and/or lived in Abraham's household. They saw their worship, their faith, and their absolute trust in God. And that brought them to at least some and possibly a full degree of faith themselves. Remember, despite Abraham sending Hagar and Ishmael away at God's order, Ishmael still returned to Abraham's burial roughly seventy years later (Gen 25:7-9). Somehow, a connection continued.
So here is the lesson. Would someone growing up in our home, or perhaps simply growing up next door, see the kind of faith Abraham and Sarah had? Would they even have heard the name of the God we worship and have seen us in prayer and study? Would they have seen how God was pivotal in our decisions and actions?
Abraham and Sarah made their share of mistakes, but the majority of their lives acted as a sound testimony of their faith. What about ours?
For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him (Gen 18:19).
Dene Ward
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