GRIFFIN COMMENTS—GEN 16 (Gen 16:1) Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. You will notice that this was immediately after God made a covenant with Abraham in promise of a son. No sooner had that happened than Sarah and Abraham try to work things out their own way. This is human nature. We believe God and yet He is not doing things quickly enough, or in a way that pleases us, so we try to work it out. That was going to be worked out by Hagar an Egyptian servant that they probably received from Pharaoh when they went to Egypt. (Gen 16:2) And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. The idea apparently made sense to Abraham, even though he had just heard from God and this answer would counter His, so he agreed to it. It is always wise for a man to listen to his wife’s advice because a woman has a certain intuition that a man does not have. But men often have a problem of not wanting to make a decision and will then allow his wife to convince him and in cases like this one and the decision Adam made with Eve, it can be counter to the will of God. (Gen 16:3) And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Notice that Sarah did this. It was not Abraham who simply went and took her, but Sarah wanted everyone to know that this was her decision. Yet later when the consequences begin to show she wanted to shift the blame to Abraham. Notice also the similarity of this with the first sin in the Garden of Eden when the serpent beguiled Eve. There is a very similar beguiling here as well, showing the same originator of the deed. (Gen 16:4) And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 16—PAGE 1