A Broken Bond

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

A BROKEN BOND

Gen 16:4-6

4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me." 6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

NIV

It seems strange to begin with the idea of Abram having Hagar as a secondary wife, or concubine and that she conceived was the brainchild of Sarai, since she was unable to conceive. Since Abram was able to produce a child with Hagar it proves all the more to Sarai that she is the reason she does not conceive a child for her husband. It is also interesting that Hagar despised Sarai. However, we also thought from some of our sources that Hagar could have been putting on airs, thinking how special she was because she conceived a child for Abram. At the same time, Sarai, the wife of his youth was unable, so Sarai felt this bitter feeling from her own fault and was not happy about it and that could have caused some tension in the family, which Hagar was more than happy to see. This brings us to a truth that should remind us that no outside forces or situations should ever disrupt the pure relationship between a husband and wife. They are bound in the eyes of the Lord and as such that bond should not be broken. We see Sarai now blaming Abram for the wrong she is suffering from the attitude of Hagar toward her. Now there is this tension, this accusatory attitude of Sarai. She wants the LORD to judge between them, tension at its best. It looks like Sarai thought that she was not at fault, and she wanted the LORD to judge her husband. A bond had been broken and Abram in defense reminds Sarai that Hagar is her maidservant, and she can do with her as she pleases. More tension, more bad choices, more rotten attitudes, and these were supposed to be people who served the LORD. Abram was a man of faith, who God credited his faith as righteousness, and who should have had a loving devoted wife. Now everything is just upside down and tempers flared, and words were spoken out of anger. This should be a great lesson for us today that we should always be ready to be slow to speak and find forgiveness in our hearts before we say anything we will regret. We know in our hearts that love covers a multitude of offenses, and thus forgiveness should be our first response, so there would not be any tension of attitudes develop that shake that God-ordained bond between a husband and a wife. As one there should be no separation into two, if that happens there are only two halves and how does a half live rightly by itself? Let us always be ready to forgive and live as one in peace with our oneness, with that God-ordained union, that bond that cannot be broken. Abram and Sarai had a broken bond, something we should be careful not to allow to happen with our bond.