Genesis 16

Please do open up your Bibles to Genesis 16.

!

Abraham falls, but the up, God makes a promise.

Evil fills the world, but God saves Noah.

Abraham is called, but almost destroys the promise, but God rescues.

As you follow God's people and his promise to save the world,

it isn't this neat straight line journey with no hiccups.

No, it's actually a real mess.

It's a rollercoaster of ups and downs.

That's why all of our lives are never just this neat straight line.

But we also see in Genesis, the rollercoaster never collapses.

It keeps going, because God's grace is always there to rescue and restore.

And this constant cycle of sin and grace, sin and grace,

it's there throughout Genesis because it is showing us

this is what life is like under God's promise.

This is the reality of being God's people in Christ's church.

It's not neat or perfect.

It's messy.

The Christian life is full of failures and sins and brokenness and even shattered families.

But there is something constant in our life that stops us from collapsing.

It is the grace of God.

The God who sees us and restores us and looks after us as we live under his promise.

And this chapter in front of us really captures the down and the up of the Christian life.

This is a very unvarnished and honest account of the messy reality of God's people.

And so if you are here tonight and you are thinking that Christians are just these glossy people

with picture perfect lives, I hope your assumptions will be dashed tonight.

Because that is simply not the reality.

But I also hope you'll see there is something even more beautiful going on in a Christian's life.

It is the grace of God who restores us.

And so this chapter is a story of two hearts, sin and grace.

Our mess and God's restoration.

And this chapter is here to help us to understand the mess of our lives.

To understand how we wander, why we doubt, how we end up in those downs and to warn us of it.

But this also shows us the God who restores.

Our saviour who helps the wandering and the broken and the destitute.

And he sees all our affliction.

So we're going to look at the two halves of this chapter.

The mess of sin and the grace when God sees us.

But first we need to recognise, we need to understand the mess of sin.

My first point today, the mess of sin.

This chapter begins with a double problem.

Did you see, look at verse 1.

Now Sarai, Abraham's wife, had borne him no children.

So not only is Sarai suffering the painful grief of childlessness, an agonising experience for so many.

But there is something even worse.

The child she hopes for is meant to bring blessing to the world.

That's the promise God made to Abraham.

Abraham's going to have a child, offspring.

And from him will come a great nation.

And through that offspring, God's blessing will reach the world.

God is going to save this world from the curse through someone coming from Abraham's family tree.

It's the same promise of the gospel we have today.

Except we know who the offspring turns out to be.

We can look back to see who Jesus is.

See the fulfilment in him.

But Abraham and Sarai can't look back.

No, they are looking ahead.

Waiting for God to act.

Waiting for God to do something.

But they don't see anything.

In fact, look at verse 3.

It's been 10 years of nothing.

Can you imagine how hard that is?

10 years of waiting.

I'm sure we all know that feeling when life seems bleak.

And God has made big promises for us.

Promises to be with us.

And love us.

But we just don't see it.

We don't see God working in our lives.

We don't see his promises coming true.

We wait and we wait and we wait.

We don't see light at the end of the tunnel.

And it can make us doubt God, can't it?

We wonder, where are you, Lord, in all of this?

And when that happens, we can either, by faith, wait on the Lord.

And even though we don't see him, we trust God that he is there and he is doing something in my life, even though I don't understand it.

Or we can just become bitter and replace that faith with doubt.

Well, look how Sarai responds, verse 3.

And Sarai said to Abraham,

Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.

What's she doing?

She doesn't see God working according to her timings and her ways.

And so she becomes bitter.

And she doubts God's character.

In fact, she blames God.

The Lord has prevented me.

God's done this.

God's set me up.

God's against me right now.

She thinks God is useless and can't and won't fulfill his promises.

And so, because of that, she starts looking at everything in the wrong way.

Like lenses over our eyes.

With the lens of faith, we may not see God at work right now, but we realize he is there.

He is at work and his promises never fail.

And so we see this problem in my life.

I may not understand it, but I know it's there for a reason.

But with the lens of doubt, we only see our problems as God is against me.

Or God is useless.

Or God can't really help me in this cursed world.

And so when we think like that, what do we try to do?

We try to fix it ourselves.

If God won't make me happy, then I'll take my happiness into my own hands.

Which is exactly what Sarai does, verse 2.

Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.

Go into my servant.

It may be that I shall obtain children by her.

If God won't bring this child, I will.

If God can't bless me, then I'll find the blessing myself.

So she takes plans into her own hands.

And she gets Abraham to sleep with her servant, Hagar.

And did you notice?

It's just like the Garden of Eden all over again.

Like Eve, Sarai doubts God's character.

Like Eve, Sarai tempts her husband with this plan.

And like Adam, Abraham listens to the voice of his wife instead of leading her.

And like the fruits, look at verse 3.

Sarai took Hagar and gave her to Abraham.

And like Adam and Eve, they try to find blessing without God.

This same pattern of sin continues east of Eden.

We see it with Abraham.

We see it with Sarai.

And we see it in our own hearts today.

When we don't see God working the way we want him to.

And we're dissatisfied with what the Lord has given us in this life.

And we aren't happy in the way that we hoped.

And maybe, maybe, like Sarai, it's the disappointment that God hasn't given me a family.

And we don't see light at the end of the tunnel.

And we can't see his plans.

We don't like his timings.

And the new creation isn't coming fast enough.

And so what do we do?

We doubt God.

And we take things into our own hands.

Well, if God won't fix my dissatisfaction, well, I'll find satisfaction somewhere else.

I'll find it in my work.

Forget church.

Forget Sundays.

Let's really do something with my career now.

Or if it's not God's plan to give me a family, well, I'll make my own plans.

And we get on the apps.

We start texting.

We say yes to those coffee meetups with that guy at work, the guy at the gym.

Or God isn't working fast enough with the pain in my life.

But drinking helps it instantly.

So I'll take it into my own hands.

This is what we do.

God has promised to restore Eden, but I can't see it, so I'll make an Eden for myself.

We may not realize it, but it is the attitude of, I can create blessing better than God can.

And in fact, in Galatians, in the New Testament, Paul looks back at this very moment with Sarai and Hagar,

and he says, what is going on here is actually, at heart, this is Sarai trying to save herself.

Abraham can either have a saviour child through Sarai, relying on God's promise, and therefore salvation will come by God alone.

By faith, God will be the one to fix the sin and mess of this world.

Or, Abraham and Sarai can have a child through Hagar, relying on what they do, their works, their plans, their efforts,

and trying to fix sin themselves.

What we have here is salvation by faith versus salvation by works.

And when we doubt God and try to fix our fallen life with what we do,

whether it be building a happy life our way,

or trying to cover up our guilt by living a better life,

either way, ultimately, we are trying to save ourselves.

But it doesn't work.

Because the only way out of this curse is for God to save.

To trust in God's promise, faith.

This is why Christ came.

Not for you to dig yourself out of this hole,

but for Christ to reach down and pick you up himself.

Not for you to work,

but for Christ to work for you.

And that is the choice set before us.

With our sin, with our guilt,

with whatever misery and pain we are going through,

and we struggle to see God,

or any light at the end of the tunnel,

will you leave it in God's hands?

Or will you take it into your own hands?

Well, this chapter warns us,

when we do take it into our own hands,

it only leaves us in a bigger mess.

Just look at the fallout of Sarai's plan.

Verse 4.

Hagar becomes pregnant,

and Hagar looked with contempt on her mistress.

Hagar looked down on Sarai,

mocks her.

I got pregnant and you didn't, Sarai.

And it sparks jealousy,

a rivalry in the household.

And verse 5.

Sarai says to Abraham,

this is all your fault.

I gave her to you,

and now look how she's treating me.

It's all your fault, Abraham.

Even though this was actually Sarai's plan.

But Abraham, he's stuck in the middle now.

And so verse 6, he says,

well, she's your servant,

you deal with her.

And so Sarai is harsh with Hagar.

Hagar makes her life a living nightmare.

And so Hagar runs away.

Away from Canaan,

away from the promise,

and away from God.

Broken family,

broken marriage,

runaway pregnancy,

shattered faith.

It is by any standard,

an absolute mess.

This is a very,

very low dip

in the roller coaster.

And how did it all start?

With doubting God

and taking things

into our own hands.

From that

to now this mess.

And this is showing us

something very important

that we need to know.

Sin

has real consequences.

Sin

never just

happens

in a vacuum.

No.

Sin

ripples out

into this world

and into our lives

and causes

real,

tangible mess.

Our decisions

to make an Eden

for ourselves

here on earth

without God,

it has consequences.

It can

shatter families.

It can

taint marriages.

It can

cause

rivalries,

jealousy.

jealousy.

And like

Hagar,

it can even

make people

run away

from God

altogether.

It is what we

painfully see

all around us

and it's what we

painfully see

in our own lives.

And these

consequences,

they can even

be long term.

The big one

here being

there is now

this child,

Ishmael.

and though

every child

is a wonderful

gift from God,

he will be

a permanent

reality in

their lives

now.

And that

family dynamic

is going to

be complicated.

And in fact,

this child

is going to

cause trouble

for generations

to come.

Did you see

that in verse

12?

His hand

will be

against everyone

and everyone's

hand against

him.

And he shall

dwell over

against all

his kinsmen.

This is

anticipating

the friction

between the

Ishmaelites

and the

Israelites.

Now this

isn't saying

that every

child brings

complicated

dynamics.

No, it's

not saying

that.

This chapter

is teaching

that sin

can have

short term

and long

term

consequences.

It causes

all sorts

of mess.

And what

makes it

even messier

is that

there aren't

clear-cut

goodies and

baddies

here.

It's not

sinners or

victims.

It's both.

Sarai

sinned with

this plan

but she

was also

sinned

against

by Hagar.

Abram

was sinned

against,

tempted by

Sarai,

but he

also sinned

by listening

to her.

Hagar

was used.

She was

treated

harshly

but she

also sinned

against

Sarai.

She

sparked

this

rivalry.

So not

only are

the

consequences

messy

but also

the

situations

that

start

them.

And this

is usually

the case

in the

mess of

our lives.

We are

very tempted

to think

we are

only

victims,

never the

sinner.

Now there

are cases

victims of

that.

Don't get

me wrong,

we don't

want to

ignore

real victims

of sin

but we're

so easily

tempted to

think we

are only

victims,

never the

sinner.

But most

of the time

it's messy,

it's both.

And it

takes real

humility to

recognise that

and to see

where we

have sinned

and in all

the mess

of it,

if we have

been sinned

against,

are we

responding

sinfully.

And this

chapter,

it's getting

us to

ask ourselves

that.

It is here

to warn

us of the

mess,

sinking

cause when

we doubt

God and

take things

into our

own hands.

And let's

not miss

this.

This is all

happening in

the church.

In this

chapter,

we aren't

in the

pagan nations.

We aren't

following the

lives of

unbelievers.

No,

this is the

very heart

of God's

people.

At this

point,

the promise

exists nowhere

else in the

world.

It is only

here in

this family

and what

does it

look like?

An

absolute

mess.

And this

shows us

what life

in the

church can

be like.

It's a

rollercoaster.

If you are

here thinking

that Christians

are just

these glossy

people with

picture-perfect

lives,

that simply

isn't the

reality.

This side

of heaven,

life in the

church is

messy,

full of

complexities

and difficult

family dynamics

and hurt

and sin

and all its

consequences.

And so

there will be

many here

tonight who

are going

through that

right now.

You may be

in that mess.

You took

things into

your own

hands and

it's all

gone wrong

and it

just seems

unfixable.

You don't

know where

to turn

and you

still don't

see any

light at

the end

of the

tunnel.

Well if

that is

you and

it's all

of us

really,

then we

need to

see how

God responds

to all

this mess.

In his

grace and

in his

gentleness,

God sees

us.

And this

is the

second and

the final

thing I

want us to

see tonight,

the grace

when God

sees us,

the grace

when God

sees us.

At this

point,

we're really

at the

bottom of

the roller

coaster.

Hagar is

pregnant and

vulnerable and

alone,

abandoned,

nowhere to

turn,

lost in the

mess,

literally lost

in the

wilderness

right now,

and now

very far

from God

and his

promises.

It's

rock

bottom.

But then

we hear

these very

beautiful

words in

verse 7.

The angel

of the

Lord found

her by a

spring of

water in

the wilderness.

A broken

woman,

nowhere to

turn,

a guilty

woman whom

the Lord

didn't need

to take

notice of,

but the

Lord found

her.

Just like

the lost

sheep,

isn't it?

And I

think it's

just such a

lovely phrase

that captures

how God

deals with

us.

He finds

us when

we're lost

in the

mess.

And when

he does,

he begins

to untangle

it by

speaking.

Do you

see,

God speaks

the exact

words she

needs.

He actually

speaks the

gospel here.

He first

of all

addresses her

sin.

He asks

verse 8,

where have

you come

from?

And where

are you

going?

He forces

Hagar to

reflect on

her life,

on her

choices.

And then

God calls

her back.

Return to

your mistress

and submit

to her.

Hagar,

repent.

Return to

the people of

God,

come back

to salvation.

And then

he promises

to bless

Hagar,

verse 10.

I will

surely

multiply your

offspring so

that they

cannot be

numbered for

multitude.

They're not

easy words to

hear,

but they are

such good

words.

And it's

what God

says to

everyone who

doubts and

wanders and

has taken

life into

their own

hands.

In our

mess,

God says,

repent.

Return to

my people,

and I will

bless you

even more.

God

brings her

back.

She

returns to

the promise

to God's

people.

God

begins even

to repair

the

relationships.

She goes

back to

Sarai,

but God

never holds

her sin

against her.

He doesn't

bring it

up.

She doesn't

have to

make up

for it.

She doesn't

miss out

on any

blessing.

God is

just so

gentle and

kind, and

he just

safely brings

Hagar back

into the

promise.

The

rollercoaster

dips, but

he never

lets it

collapse.

And he

only just

blesses her

even more.

It's like God

is saying

here, I

know what

you've done.

I know

what you're

going through.

Now come

back.

Let me

fix this

mess, and

let me

just love

you even

more.

We have

such a

generous

God.

And Hagar

realizes that,

verse 13.

So she

called the

name of

the Lord

who spoke

to her.

You are

a God

of seeing.

For she

said,

truly here

I have

seen him

who looks

after me.

And again

it's such

beautiful

language.

God is

the one

who sees

me in

my mess.

when you

have no

hope and

nowhere to

turn, and

you've made

a mess of

everything, God

sees you.

He doesn't

forget, he

doesn't

abandon, no, he

sees.

And he

looks after

you.

Just like

Hagar, he

comes to

heal and

restore, to

bring us

back and to

transform the

mess.

And how?

through

forgiveness in

his son.

Whatever

mess you

might be in

right now,

however much

you have

doubted God,

however far

you have

wandered,

whatever Eden

you have been

trying to

build for

yourself, if

you will

return to

the Lord

now, and

come to

the Lord

Jesus who

has come

to find

the lost,

when you

return, God

will only

look after

you.

And there

will be

complete

forgiveness.

Whatever

you've done,

he won't

hold it

against you,

he doesn't

tell you to

pay for it,

he doesn't

hold back

any blessing,

no, he

forgives.

And his

grace is

always there to

restore the

mess of our

lives, to

begin to

heal the

pain of

our failures.

He helps

us forgive

others.

He helps

us see where

we have sinned

in all this

mess.

And he

promises to

bless us

even more,

to finally

one day

restore the

mess completely

and make

all things

new.

There really

is a light

at the end

of the tunnel.

And so the

rollercoaster may

dip, but with

the Lord Jesus

it never

collapses, he

looks after

you.

In our ruined

lives, in our

affliction, we

can't take

things into our

own hands

anymore.

And so

what else

is there?

There is

the grace

of God.

But we

must realise,

though God

does find

and forgive

us, this

doesn't mean

the consequences

will go away

in this life.

Ishmael

doesn't go

away, does

he?

Sarai still

had to live

with Hagar.

these events

couldn't be

undone, the

consequences

don't disappear.

And so

likewise, we

may still

live with

the consequences

of our sin.

Maybe for

the rest of

our lives.

The memories

may still

remain, the

scars never

completely fade

this side of

heaven.

God doesn't

make our

mess disappear,

tear, but

he does

atone for

it.

And whatever

mess is

still there,

he gives

it a new

meaning in

your life.

Look at

verse 11.

Look what

God says

to call

Hagar's

child.

You shall

call his

name Ishmael

because the

Lord has

listened to

your reflection.

The name

Ishmael

literally means

God hears.

And look

what the

well was

called,

verse 14.

Be'er

lehi roi,

which literally

means well

of the

living one

who sees.

These could

be painful

reminders of

sin.

Ishmael

could be a

walking reminder

of Sarai's

doubts and

Abraham's

failures.

This well

could be a

haunting

reminder of

Hagar's

sin and the

low point of

her life.

But God

finds her,

forgives her,

and gives a

new meaning

to these

things.

With this

new name,

Ishmael is

now a

constant reminder,

a monument

of God's

grace.

Every time

they see

him and

say his

name, it

is not

their sin

God brings

up, it's

his grace.

They look

back at

this mess

and now

they can

just know

God hears

me in my

trouble.

And if

Hagar

were to

ever walk

past that

well again,

it could

have been a

painful monument

for her.

But now

she can

walk past

and God

tells her,

I don't

want you

to remember

your sin.

I want

you to

remember

God

sees me.

And that's

what God

has done

with the

monuments

of our

sin.

those scars,

those

consequences,

those

memories,

all that

mess,

the Lord

Jesus has

taken them

and not

only paid

for them

but transformed

them and

given them

a new

meaning,

a new

name.

They are

no longer

reminders of

our sins

and failures

but they

are now

monuments

of God's

grace to

you.

Those

scars

are

monuments

that God

rescued me

from that

life.

Your

past

is now

a monument

declaring

God

sees me

even though

I didn't

see him.

Our

foolish

choices

are now

monuments

that show

God

looks after

me even

when I

didn't

care about

him.

And the

Lord

Jesus

has washed

all my

guilt

away.

And so

if things

of your

past

still haunt

you,

if like

Hagar

you walk

past a

well that

could remind

you of

your failures,

let it

now remind

you of

God's

grace.

It could

overwhelm

us with

regret and

despair but

God wants

it to drive

you to

praise.

Praise for

his mercy

and grace.

And whatever

mess we might

be in right

now and it

feels like God

is distant,

like he

doesn't see,

trust him,

wait for

him,

hold to

his promises

right now

and never

forget you

may not

see him but

God sees

you.

And so

we can go

into this

week saying

those beautiful

words,

God sees

me and

God always

looks after

me.

Let's

pray.

Amen.